This New England Baked Haddock Recipe is so comforting, delicious, and easy to make! This easy, family-friendly dinner uses only THREE ingredients and requires only FIVE MINUTES of hands on time.
If you are from New England, you have had New England Baked Haddock. If you aren’t or haven’t had it… you need to get it in your mouth ASAP. And I mean like, now.
You only need THREE ingredients for this baked haddock recipe: fish, butter, and bread crumbs, plus some salt and pepper. And lemon and parsley, if you want to get a little crazy. This is such a simple and inexpensive meal to make.
This is a very traditional dish in New England, and is often served as the fish option at weddings and other shindigs. It can be ordered at almost any seafood restaurant (sometimes, it’s made with cod), and is so melt-in-your-mouth yummy, it will be hard to go back to eating fish any other way!
New England baked haddock is perfect for when you want something pescatarian, but a little more soul-satisfying than your average light and healthy fish recipe.
It’s almost like fish meets casserole. It’s warm and hearty, and will satisfy even the meat lovingest of the meat lovers as a main course.
Traditionally, New England baked haddock is made using Ritz crackers (which are, incidentally, from New England) crumbled up with butter and spread on top of the fish, then baked in the oven with lemon and herbs. Delicious.
However, you can get the same delicious effect by using breadcrumbs and lots of butter (to get that awesome buttery Ritz-y taste).
Ritz Crackers vs. Breadcrumbs
I prefer using breadcrumbs instead of Ritz crackers. Here’s why.
For one thing, they’re already broken up, so you don’t have to worry about that extra step of smashing the Ritz crackers into crumbles. Just pour the breadcrumbs in a bowl, add some butter, and mix together.
For another thing, breadcrumbs are a little more flexible. You can easily make your own out of scratch-made or fresh bread, which means you’ll be more in control of the ingredients in the bread.
And there are so many kinds of breadcrumbs out there, including gluten-free or whole wheat versions, so it’s a great way to meet certain dietary needs easily.
That said, please feel free to use Ritz crackers, or another similar buttery cracker, in place of the breadcrumbs! Just crush them up (you can use a rolling pin to crush them in a zip-top bag) and add a little less butter than the recipe calls for with breadcrumbs.
What else can I add to the breadcrumb topping?
This recipe is SUPER basic- only three ingredients. You can add herbs, garlic (powder or fresh), and other seasonings to the breadcrumb mixture if you want!
Or you can season the fish with more than salt and pepper. I think Italian seasoning or lemon pepper would be great.
My store doesn’t carry haddock! What can I use instead?
Now that I live in Texas, it’s hard for me to find haddock at the store.
If you can’t find it, or if you just don’t like it, you can use any other mild white fish, such as tilapia, cod, pollock, flounder, or halibut. I’ve even gotten super Southern on this and used catfish- it was great!
If you like this New England Baked Haddock recipe, try these other easy fish recipes:
- Four Ingredient Southern Style Oven-Fried Catfish
- Instant Pot Fish Stew
- 10-Minute Blackened Tilapia with Avocado Cucumber Salsa
- 15-Minute Poached Salmon with Chive Butter
Here’s the printable recipe!
New England Baked Haddock
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lbs. haddock patted dry (or other mild-tasting white fish, such as flounder, pollock, tilapia, or cod)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs see note
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- kosher salt and black pepper
- lemon wedges and fresh parsley for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Put a spoonful of the melted butter in a baking sheet or dish and spread to coat the bottom.
- Combine the bread crumbs (1 cup) with the rest of the 6 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Salt and pepper both sides of the fish liberally, and lay in the buttered baking dish.
- Spread bread crumbs - all of them - evenly over the fish
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked thoroughly (and flakes easily).
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a garnish of fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Looking for more flavor? This recipe is basic and simple, which I LOVE. But if you're looking for bolder flavor, try adding spices or herbs to the breadcrumb mixture, such as fresh parsley, dill, chives, garlic (powder or fresh), onion powder, and/or lemon zest. Grated parmesan cheese would also be delicious added in!
- New England Baked Haddock is traditionally made with crushed Ritz crackers. You can use them if you prefer- just put them in a zip-top bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Then, use in place of the breadcrumbs in the recipe and use only 3 tablespoons of melted butter instead of 6.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
This New England Baked Haddock recipe first appeared on Bowl of Delicious in September 2014. I’ve updated it to include a video, updated tips and tricks, and clearer instructions.
Celeste P Rimac
Thank you for posting this easy to make and wonderful tasting recipe! It is my go-to for fish now.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay! So glad you like it! It’s my favorite way to prepare fish.
Kathy
I squeezed the crumbs together w butter and used a Sharp thin spatula to flip the crumb side down onto the buttered pan, then crumbed the other side. I sprinkled Parmesan cheese, it was amazing. The cat thought so, too.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw, so glad you (and your cat!) liked it! LOVE the addition of parmesan cheese.
Ronda
Nice simple but flavorful dish
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Shirley Freitas
I haven’t made it but my question is: the photos show fish with breading on all sides. But the recipe directions say to put fish in the pan and spread crumbs over it.
Seems that if the breading were to be on all sides, the fish would be dipped into it? Or you’d add half the breading halfway through cooking after turning the fish over?
Elizabeth Lindemann
That’s a great question, and you’re right, the photos do make it seem like it’s all around! But nope- there’s just a LOT of breadcrumbs, so they kind of fall around on the sides of the fish and create a thick layer that falls all around it when you plate it. If you look at the video in the post, that might help a little too. Hope that helps, and if you make it, I hope you like it!
Aryana Moschitto
Just wanted to say Ive been using your recipe for about a year now and Ive made some subtle changes here and there to suit my family’s taste but overall, its a huge hit at my house. Definitely one of those staple dishes of mine that makes my husband proud to call me his 🤗😇🤜🤛 lol and my 1 year old loves it too, so thank you!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Aw yay, thanks so much! So glad you like this recipe!
Celia
Made this tonight. I really liked it. I have always felt that the very best fish is fresh and simple. We will have this again… a classic! Thx for posting this recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Cindy Wroblewski
This recipe was not at all what we expected and was honestly not good. My husband usually rates my dinners 11/10 and tonight I got the …. ummmm you want me to be honest right!? Lol. Sorry I can’t recommend this recipe at all.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh no! So sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe! I WILL say this… this recipe is definitely very simple. I love it for this reason… kind of like how buttery noodles are absolutely delicious but also simple and kind of bland. If you’re looking for bold flavor, this recipe as is definitely isn’t the thing to make haha. Some readers have commented that they’ve added herbs and spices to the breadcrumb mixture. Parsley, dill, lemon zest, garlic (powder or fresh), or other ingredients would help elevate the flavor. And I also definitely recommend a liberal squeeze of fresh lemon juice all over the fish before eating. I’m going to add these suggestions to the recipe card so hopefully this doesn’t happen to anyone else :-) Anyway, better luck next time!
Brian Partridge
Had a terrible time trying to “sprinkle” breadcrumbs after mixing with 6TBSP’s butter! But tasted great!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Haha maybe I should change the word to “spread” instead of “sprinkle!” Glad you liked it :-)
Angela
Loved it I used ritz crackers
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yum! Glad you liked it!