Cod au Gratin is a traditional Newfoundland recipe with the star ingredient being, of course, cod! There’s a lovely béchamel, or white sauce, covering the fish. Then, it’s topped with cheese and breadcrumbs and oven baked until bubbly and golden brown. So comforting and delicious!
Hi friends!
Sharing an iconic Newfoundland recipe with you today: cod au gratin!
I just love sharing traditional Newfoundland recipes. Some of my favourites are salt cod fish cakes, boiled beans, crispy cod tongues and toutons (fried bread dough).
So what’s this traditional Newfoundland cod au gratin recipe all about?
Well, cod is the fish in Newfoundland. And cod au gratin is among the most popular traditional dishes of the province. You can find this recipe made at some time or another in practically everyone’s home in Newfoundland. It’s no wonder, it’s so comforting!
My Mother-in-law gave me these beautiful frozen cod fillets and they went to good use in this dish. Au gratin anything is never a bad thing, is it? I mean, cheese covered whatever and baked? Sign me up!
I like to add dill and lemon to my recipe. Not everyone’s version of cod au gratin has dill, but I love to add it because seafood and dill go so well together. It’s definitely a classic combo.
Another little twist that I like to do (just to take it one step further) is to add lemon zest to the sauce. I find that the freshness of the lemon and dill really brighten the dish.
How To Make Cod au Gratin
Full details on how to make this traditional Newfoundland cod au gratin are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Place cod in a casserole dish, season with some salt and set aside while you make the sauce.
- Warm milk in a saucepan for use shortly.
- In another saucepan, cook onion in a a little olive oil until softened.
- Add butter to the onion and melt, then whisk in flour (the flour and butter, or roux, mixture helps thicken the sauce).
- Slowly add milk to the roux, cook until thickened a little, and season with salt, pepper, lemon zest and dill.
- Pour sauce mixture over cod, mixing in, and then top with cheese and bread crumbs.
- Bake until bubbly and golden brown.
- Let cool slightly and garnish with additional dill. Serve and enjoy!
Can I Make This Ahead of Time?
Yes! While I prefer to make the cod au gratin, bake and enjoy the same day, you can definitely prep the recipe a day ahead if you like.
To prep ahead of time, you can make the recipe up to the point before baking. Then, simply cover it well and store in the refrigerator a day ahead. The next day, you can uncover and bake. You just may have to bake a little longer until heated through (as it was in the cold fridge).
What To Serve With Cod au Gratin
- Lemon wedges for squeezing over the servings (so good).
- Hot sauce dabbled over top for a little bit of spice is lovely.
- Serve with a mixed green salad to really make this a substantial meal.
- A thick slice of homemade bread. My favourite? Bread slathered in butter and drizzled with molasses. Trust me. It works with the cod au gratin.
Can This Recipe Be Served as an Appetizer?
Yes! Cod au gratin works as an appetizer as part of a multi-course meal. Of course, it’s substantial enough to easily be a meal in itself.
For this recipe, I made in one big dish. However, for presentation purposes it really looks nice cooked and served in little individual dishes.
This recipe yields about 4 servings for dinner or 6 appetizer servings.
Tips and Variations for Making This Cod au Gratin Recipe
- You can use either frozen or fresh cod fillets. As mentioned, if using frozen cod fillets, pre-cook a little to get rid of excess moisture. I find that cod, when frozen, releases a lot of moisture when cooked. By pre-cooking the cod, it gets rid of excess moisture so that lovely creamy béchamel sauce you have made doesn’t get watered down. If you are using fresh cod, you don’t have to pre-cook before baking the cod au gratin.
- Croissant bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs work in this recipe (regular bread crumbs are more traditional).
- Want an even richer sauce? Use equal parts milk and half-and-half (or cream) instead of all milk.
- Dill was used in this cod au gratin and it works so lovely with the fish. If you’d rather not use it, you can omit. Another yummy herb is thyme.
- Let the cod au gratin cool for a little after it’s baked before digging in. This gives things a chance to cool down a bit and set.
Hope you love this cod au gratin recipe as much as we do!
If you make this traditional Newfoundland cod au gratin recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Traditional Newfoundland Cod au Gratin
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds cod fillets (boneless and skinless), cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 large fillets)
- 1.25 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1.5 cups milk, use 2 cups if you want things more saucy
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, reserve lemon for wedges (4) for later
- 1 ¾ teaspoons dried dill (dill weed), divided (use less if you want less of a dill taste)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 croissant, made into bread crumbs (or 1 cup bread crumbs)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place cod in a casserole dish (about 8-inch x 11-inch or something similar) and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Set aside until you make the sauce. See "Notes" below if using cod fillets that have been previously frozen.
- In a small saucepan on the stovetop, heat milk over low heat just to warm through (the milk will be used shortly for the sauce).
- Meanwhile, in another saucepan on the stovetop, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- To onion, add butter. Once the butter melts, add flour and stir to form a paste. Cook, stirring often, about 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly add the warmed milk to this (½ cup at a time), whisking after each addition until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes or so. Sauce mixture should coat the back of a spoon (mixture will be thick).
- To sauce mixture, add remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, black pepper, lemon zest and 1.5 teaspoons of dill (you can use less, if you prefer). Stir to combine. Pour sauce mixture over cod, coating all fish. Stir to ensure mixture is incorporated well.
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese and croissant crumbs (or regular bread crumbs) on top of sauced fish mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
- Once done, sprinkle remaining ¼ teaspoon of dried dill over top. Let cool for about 20 to 30 minutes before serving (don't skip this; it allows things to settle). Serve with lemon wedges (if desired). Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition (estimate only)
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Smitha
I never got a chance to taste a casserole. This looks tasty and flavirful. Hope i got a few bites
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Smitha. It is pretty delicious. Perhaps you’ll get a chance to try the recipe soon 🙂
April
I saw fish in your pan and got so excited! I love recipes like this. This looks and sounds so good. I gotta try it!
Girl Heart Food
Oh, yay!! Thanks so much, April! That makes me happy! Let me know how you like it when you try….I’d love to hear 🙂
Serena @ Serena's Kitchen
Looks delicious! And what a great idea with croissant crumbs instead of breadcrumbs, extra buttery = extra yum! 🙂 .. and dill, and lemon, so many great flavours *drool* … Great recipe Dawn! 🙂 🙂
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Serena! Agreed….extra buttery IS extra yum 😉 High five for that! Happy you like the recipe 🙂
Natanja
What a delicious dish! I’m so glad you posted this because my husband and I are visiting Canada in July and have been wondering what the local cuisine is like. We are considering moving there and I’m glad you guys have such delicious food because that’s important to us. We are super excited to try some Canadian dishes and this will hopefully be one of them! 🙂
Girl Heart Food
That’s so exciting, Natanja! The cuisine varies slightly over different areas of Canada and Newfoundland definitely has it’s own unique dishes, that’s for sure. Hope you do get a chance to try. Best of luck and thanks for the comments 🙂
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
A little cheese, a little crunchy topping and you’ve got a recipe for success. It doesn’t hurt to add some cod to balance it all out!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, Kathy! Cheese and breadcrumbs can make any dish awesome 🙂 Have a great week, girl!
Miriam - londonkitchendiaries.com
I completely understand food cravings – I have them too and usually give in to them 😉 Cauliflower is great and so versatile! We have birds nesting in our apple tree at the moment but I have not seen any baby birds yet. Maybe a little bit later in the year. ♡
Girl Heart Food
Oh, that’s so nice! Imagine when you do see the baby birds? How cute! I could just watch them all day 🙂
Tracy | Baking Mischief
Dawn, you are a GENIUS. Croissant breadcrumbs might just be the best idea I have ever heard. And to answer your question about cravings, YES. Now all I can think about is what I can put croissant breadcrumbs on. So thanks for that. Now I have to go out and buy some croissants. The worst! 😉
And I had never heard of cod au gratin before! I’m not usually a cod person, but I made like this, it sounds delish!
Girl Heart Food
Well, thanks so much Tracy! Can’t go wrong with croissant crumbs, can ya? I mean on their own croissants are fantastic so anything else done with them ought to be good too…well, that was my reasoning 🙂 Cod au Gratin is so popular ’round here; if you try cod in a dish like this I’m sure you will love – or at least I hope so 🙂 If not, you can totally scrape off the cheese and croissant topping and eat all of that because I know that that will be unreal, lol. Thanks for the lovely comments, Tracy. Have a great week!
Kevin | Keviniscooking
When we put a bird feed outside it was so fun to watch all the varieties of birds come by the back yard. So many cool colors and birds I never knew were in our area, too. Then with some being a little messy the seeds on the ground soon brought the attention of rodents. No bueno! The dogs would chase and dig. So buh-bye bird feeder. Can’t stand ’em! Since we have dogs and no cats to keep them at bay…. The birds still come ’round for the water fountain though to bathe and drink – even humming birds! So I get to still see my winged friends.
You and cupcakes, that was funny! This dish looks mah-velous indeed. Like your little trick with pre-baking the cod to release excess water to keep that lovely dish looking creamy. Croissant crumbs! Love it and your dill and lemon zest add. Sounds fantastic!
Girl Heart Food
Ok, I know for reals what you are talking about, Kevin! We had a bird feeder once and experienced a similar thing. The birds were making a mess everywhere and pretty soon there were squirrels everywhere instead of birds. So, like yourself, bird feeder gone bye bye. The birds still come around without us having a feeder out so that’s definitely a good thing. Our little furry child loves watching the birds, too. He doesn’t bark at them or anything, just watches in amazement, or that’s what I like to think he is doing!
Happy you like the recipe. My little tricks have come along way since first making the dish, that’s for sure, and I pretty much only use frozen cod for cod au gratin. Hope you get to try soon and love to hear what you think of it. Thanks for the wonderful comments, as usual!!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
We have tons of birds too, Dawn! And deer.. and rabbits. Sitting out on the deck and watching all the animals is one of my favorite things to do on the weekend… with a cocktail or two of course! 😉 I think you saying you have a mad craving for cauliflower is the coolest thing ever!! So tell your hubby he is wrong. hahaha!! Anyways, speaking of cool – umm this au gratin is BOMB!! I love au gratins, but I’ve never had a cod au gratin!! Where the heck has this been all my life!! LOVING IT!! I could eat the whole casserole dish of this cheesy beauty! Gimme Gimme! Cheers, sweets!! xo
Girl Heart Food
Wow! So awesome, Cheyanne! We don’t have any deer, but have seen some rabbits and, occasionally, a fox. Totally with ya with a cocktail or two…have to stay hydrated, don’t ya? Well, thanks…glad you think it’s cool and I just told hubby that you said he was mistaken, lol. You have to come to Newfoundland and try some! It’s pretty much everywhere here. Thanks for the sweet comments, friend. Appreciate it bunches! xo
[email protected]
I am with you, girlfriend! Au Gratin anything is always a good thing!! We love cod in our house – so this will be a nice addition to our fish dinners! Thank you, sweets!
Girl Heart Food
I know, right? How can you go wrong with cheese? Oh, awesome, Annie…hope you enjoy it 🙂 Thanks so much for the comments, girl! Have a great week!
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes
LOL.. I crave cauliflower too.. it’s ok. We can both be uncool.
I love love love vegetable korma.. I’ll have to try making cauliflower rice!
Also- this looks amazing. And croissant crumbs?!?! yummmm
Girl Heart Food
Sounds good, girl! It was my first time actually making veg korma (though I’ve eaten it a bunch) and both hubby and I LOVED it! Yes, do try that cauliflower rice….it’s awesome! Thanks so much for the comments, Sarah 🙂
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
So glad you enjoyed your weekend Dawn! This dish is PERFECT for the weather we’ve been having lately. It’s been just a little chilly, so this dish would absolutely warm me up! Love the addition of the dill. Need to try this one for sure!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, Mary Ann! It’s definitely a comfort food dish! I love the dill, too, and the lemon really comes through. Hope you enjoy!! Love to hear how you do. Have a fantastic week 🙂
Demeter | Beaming Baker
Birds and the sun is shining? Loving it. 🙂 Also, how adorable is it that you have a visiting bird friend? How long until you name him? Any ideas to toss around yet? 😉 How about Stuart?
Omg, cauliflower really is delish, though! So I think you’re the COOLEST. Lol. Also, cauliflower popcorn. Amiright? Cauliflower rice sounds delish.
Wow, those 5 year olds sure are talented in the kitchen in Newfoundland! 😉 Meanwhile, that croissant crumb top looks so perfectly scrumptious… I can barely stand it. Wow! Can you make a potato version? Pretty please!! 🙂 Have a great week, my dear. Pinning, of course!
Girl Heart Food
Me too! Bring on the Summer, right?! Oh my goodness…Stuart sounds adorable. I think he looks like a Stuart…so Stuart it is! And how about buffalo sauce cauliflower? Yum! Hahaha…I know, they start quite young cooking, lol. Perhaps I may have to try a potato version or maybe a cauliflower one-oh the possibilities, but then, again the cheese baked on top would probably make a shoe taste good 😀 Thanks for the sweet comments, as usual, and the Pin. Have a great week too, Demeter!
Demeter | Beaming Baker
Aw, can’t wait to see pics of Stuart! 🙂 🙂
Buffalo sauce cauliflower sounds AMAZING!! Okay, you have to DM when you post it–I’ll need to share it vigorously. 😉 If you do add potatoes or do a potato version, I’ll just have to hop on a train to you and I’ll be bringing a ginormous appetite.
NEW LOGO: OMG!!! It’s so beautiful!! I <3 it Dawn!! Can't wait to see it everywhere. 🙂
Girl Heart Food
I’ll have to try to snap a pic of him soon, Demeter 😉 Now, I’m totally craving cauliflower again, lol. Thanks for that!! So happy you like the logo! I’m pretty excited about it and couldn’t wait to get it up there! Woo hoo! Have a great weekend, girl! Long one for us here and the weekend is looking beautiful. Yay!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
We actually did have a bird’s nest under our deck. . it was amazing. . we saw the eggs and then the hatched birds and my kids even got to watch the momma bird feeding the babies one day! I am also obsessed with cauliflower right now. . LOVE this cod au gratin!!What a great idea with the cod! I love this!
Girl Heart Food
Oh, wow! That sounds amazing! What a lovely experience for them (and you). Happy you love the recipe and get a chance to try it 🙂 Thanks for the lovely comments and have a great week, Alice!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
Sounds like you had a great weekend, Dawn! It was sunny, but cool yesterday here too…so I’m hoping this week warms up! And I get the strangest cravings too. Cauliflower is such a good one to have though…could be a lot worse, right? 🙂 This cod au gratin looks SO good! My husband and I make salmon a lot, so I’m loving this cod dish. Sounds perfect for dinner, especially with those croissants on top! Such a great idea! Pinned, of course! Hope your week is off to a great start!
Girl Heart Food
I did, Gayle…hopefully this weekend will be just as nice! I don’t even mind if it is cooler, as long as the sun is shining! Fingers crossed. I agree, I could have worse cravings….least it’s a veggie! Thanks so much; it really is a popular dish around here so I’ve definitely eaten my fair share, that’s for sure! Thanks for the Pin! Much appreciated, girl 🙂 Hope you have an awesome week too!