Portugal boasts over 1,000 codfish recipes — they say one for every day of the year and more. Here, we've selected the 5 best traditional Portuguese recipes: Bacalhau à Brás, à Gomes de Sá, com Natas, Espiritual, and Bacalhoada. All tested, all with exact proportions.
Contents
- Portugal and Cod: A 500-Year History
- Bacalhau à Brás: The Most Famous
- Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá: The Most Elegant
- Bacalhau com Natas: The Creamiest
- Bacalhau Espiritual: The Most Comforting
- Bacalhoada: The Festive Roast
- Comparative Table of the 5 Recipes
- Choosing the Right Cod for Each Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusions
Portugal and Cod: A 500-Year History
Updated March 2026. Every day at Mercat del Ninot, we see what works and what doesn't. This is our real-world experience.
Portuguese people call cod fiel amigo (faithful friend). They have been fishing it in the waters of Newfoundland and Norway since the 15th century, and their per capita consumption is the highest in the world: about 20 kg per person per year. For a country with 1,200 km of coastline and access to all kinds of fresh fish, this obsession with a dried and salted fish says a lot about their culture.
The historical reason is practical: salted cod doesn't need refrigeration, it lasts for months, and feeds an entire crew. The current reason is gastronomic: desalted cod has a texture and flavor that no other fish replicates. The Portuguese understood this before anyone else.
The 5 recipes that follow are the most representative of Portuguese cod cuisine. All use desalted cod as a base, but each transforms it in a completely different way.
Bacalhau à Brás: The Most Famous
À Brás is the most well-known cod recipe in Portugal. It is essentially flaked cod sautéed with straw potatoes and scrambled eggs — a dish prepared in 20 minutes that can satisfy anyone.
Ingredients (4 people)
- 400 g desalted, flaked cod (skinless and boneless)
- 400 g straw potatoes (very thinly sliced or pre-packaged)
- 6 eggs
- 2 large onions, thinly julienned
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Portuguese black olives (for garnish)
- Fresh chopped parsley
- Salt and black pepper
Preparation
Fry the straw potatoes in plenty of oil until golden and crispy. Set aside on absorbent paper. In the same pan (remove excess oil), sauté the onion over low heat for 10-12 minutes until caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Increase heat to medium, add the flaked cod and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the straw potatoes. Beat the eggs with pepper and parsley, pour over the mixture and stir constantly over medium-low heat. The egg should remain creamy, never fully set — like scrambled eggs, not an omelet. Serve immediately with black olives on top.
Key to success: the egg consistency. If overcooked, you'll have a dry omelet. Remove from heat when the egg is still slightly liquid — residual heat will finish it off.
Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá: The Most Elegant
Created by José Luís Gomes de Sá in the 19th century in Porto. It is a cod gratin with boiled potatoes, caramelized onion, hard-boiled egg, and olives. More refined than à Brás, more presentable at a formal table.
Ingredients (4 people)
- 500 g desalted cod fillets
- 700 g potatoes
- 2 large onions, sliced into rings
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- Black olives
- Plenty of extra virgin olive oil
- Milk (200 ml, for poaching the cod)
- Fresh parsley
Preparation
Boil the potatoes with their skin on, peel them, and slice them 1 cm thick. Poach the cod in hot milk for 10 minutes (do not boil). Flake it into large pieces. Sauté the onions in olive oil over low heat until golden (15-20 minutes, with patience).
In an oven-safe dish, layer potatoes, cod, and onion. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes. When removed, garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg, black olives, and parsley. Drizzle with another splash of raw oil.
Key to success: slowly caramelized onion. If you rush the onion, you lose the soul of the dish. And the olive oil should be generous — it's part of the flavor, not just a cooking medium.
Traditional Dry Flaked Cod - 500g
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Bacalhau com Natas: The Creamiest
Cod with cream is the quintessential Portuguese comfort food. It's a gratin with béchamel enriched with cream, fried potatoes, and flaked cod. If you need more details, we have a specific recipe for cod with cream.
Ingredients (4 people)
- 400 g desalted, flaked cod
- 400 g potatoes, diced and fried
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 300 ml liquid cooking cream
- 200 ml milk
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 50 g butter
- 100 g grated cheese (Parmesan or blend)
- Nutmeg, pepper, parsley
Preparation
Sauté the onion and garlic in butter. Add the flour, stir for 1 minute. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until you have a béchamel. Add the cream, nutmeg, and pepper. Mix with the flaked cod and fried potatoes.
Pour into an oven-safe dish. Cover with grated cheese. Bake at 200°C for 20-25 minutes until the surface is golden and bubbling. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Key to success: don't skimp on the cream. And the potatoes should be fried, not boiled — they provide texture and contrast with the creaminess of the sauce.
Bacalhau Espiritual: The Most Comforting
Bacalhau Espiritual is a cod cake with breadcrumbs, milk, carrots, and béchamel, baked in the oven. Its name comes from the nuns who created it in Portuguese convents. It is the most humble of the five, but perhaps the most comforting.
Ingredients (4 people)
- 400 g desalted, flaked cod
- 200 g sandwich bread (crustless), soaked in 300 ml milk
- 2 grated carrots
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 eggs (yolks separated from whites)
- 200 ml béchamel sauce
- 100 g grated cheese
- Olive oil, parsley, nutmeg
Preparation
Sauté the onion and grated carrot in olive oil. Add the flaked cod and sauté for 3 minutes. Mix with the soaked bread (drained and crumbled), egg yolks, parsley, and nutmeg. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the mixture.
Pour into a greased baking dish, cover with béchamel sauce and grated cheese. Bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes. The center should be juicy and the surface golden.
Key to success: the stiffly beaten egg whites. They give a fluffy and light texture that transforms what could be a dense cake into something ethereal.
Bacalhoada: The Festive Roast
Bacalhoada is the festive version of Portuguese cod. It is, in essence, cod baked in the oven with potatoes, onions, peppers, and hard-boiled eggs, all drizzled with olive oil. It is the Christmas Eve dish in Portugal (Consoada) and on Good Friday.
Ingredients (4 people)
- 4 thick desalted cod steaks (with skin)
- 600 g boiled potatoes with skin
- 2 large onions, sliced into rings
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 200 g Portuguese cabbage (or savoy cabbage), cooked
- Plenty of extra virgin olive oil (150-200 ml)
- Minced garlic
- Wine vinegar (optional)
Preparation
Boil the potatoes with their skin. Cook the cabbage. Boil the eggs. Roast the cod in the oven at 200°C for 15-20 minutes (or poach in water without boiling for 10 minutes). Arrange everything in a large dish: cod in the center, potatoes, cabbage, and eggs around it. Drizzle generously with hot olive oil with browned garlic.
It's an assembly dish, not an elaborate one. Everything is cooked separately and assembled at the end. The key is the hot olive oil with garlic poured over the whole — that's the sauce.
Key to success: the quality of the cod. In a dish where the cod is presented whole, without sauces to mask it, the difference between mediocre and good cod is abysmal.
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Comparative Table of the 5 Recipes
| Recipe | Technique | Time | Difficulty | Occasion | Calories/serving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bacalhau à Brás | Sautéed + scrambled | 25 min | Medium | Daily | ~500 kcal |
| Gomes de Sá | Oven-baked gratin | 50 min | Medium | Formal meal | ~450 kcal |
| Com Natas | Gratin with béchamel | 45 min | Easy | Daily/Festive | ~550 kcal |
| Espiritual | Baked cake | 55 min | Medium-High | Special | ~400 kcal |
| Bacalhoada | Cooking + assembly | 40 min | Easy | Festive (Christmas) | ~480 kcal |
Choosing the Right Cod for Each Recipe
Not all recipes require the same cut:
- À Brás and Com Natas: flaked cod. You can use trimmings, tails, or less prime parts — it will be flaked anyway. This is the most economical option.
- Gomes de Sá: large cod fillets. The dish is presented with visible flakes, so aesthetics matter.
- Espiritual: any cut works, as it is completely flaked.
- Bacalhoada: thick steaks with skin. This is the dish where cod truly shines. Invest in the best cut you can.
For bacalao dorado (another Portuguese recipe not included here as it's a variation of à Brás), flaked cod also works.
Universal Dry Flaked Cod - 500g
Desalted Cod — Flaked — Perfect for à Brás, com Natas and Espiritual. Saves preparation time without losing flavor. See formats
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest Portuguese cod recipe?
Bacalhoada and Bacalhau com Natas are the simplest. Bacalhoada is basically cooking everything separately and assembling it in a dish. Com Natas is a béchamel with cod and potatoes baked in the oven. Both forgive timing errors.
What kind of cod do Portuguese people use?
Portuguese people exclusively use North Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), salted and air-dried. They buy it whole (dry, rigid) and desalt it at home for 24-48 hours. It's the same cod we've been selling since 1990, although they prefer it drier than the Spanish.
Can cream be substituted with evaporated milk?
Yes, evaporated milk works as a substitute in Bacalhau com Natas, resulting in a slightly less creamy but acceptable dish. Do not substitute with vegetable cream — the flavor changes too much. Another alternative is to use crème fraîche for a more acidic touch.
Why is cod so important in Portugal?
For three historical reasons: 1) The Portuguese fishing fleet had been fishing off Newfoundland since the 15th century, ensuring a constant supply. 2) The Catholic Church imposed more than 150 days of meat abstinence per year, and cod was the permitted protein. 3) It could be preserved without refrigeration, ideal for a nation of sailors.
How many cod dishes does Portugal really have?
The figure of "1,001 recipes" is a cliché, but it's not far from reality. Maria de Lourdes Modesto's reference book documents over 200 verified recipes. Including regional variations, it's plausible there are over 500. Portuguese people don't exaggerate as much as it seems.
What is the difference between Portuguese-style cod and Spanish-style cod?
Portuguese cod cuisine uses more raw olive oil (poured at the end), more potato, more caramelized onion, and hard-boiled egg as a common accompaniment. Spanish cuisine tends to use more cooked sauces (Vizcaína, Pil-pil, Ajoarriero). They are complementary philosophies, not opposing ones.
Five recipes, five ways to understand the same ingredient. From a quick Bacalhau à Brás on any Tuesday to the solemn Bacalhoada on Christmas Eve, Portuguese cod cuisine demonstrates that a single product can last a lifetime without repetition.
The key, as always, is the cod. A well-cured Gadus morhua, correctly desalted, accounts for 80% of the success of any of these recipes. The other 20% is olive oil, patience, and not overcomplicating what already works.
Marc González Sáez · Bacalalo · Mercat del Ninot, Barcelona (since 1990)
Related articles: Golden cod · Cod with cream · Desalted cod collection
