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Portuguese

Bacalhau à brás

Non-vegetarian

Bacalhau à Brás

A Lisbon classic of flaked salt cod, onions and matchstick fried potatoes bound with softly scrambled eggs, finished with black olives and parsley.

Bacalhau à brás is a Portuguese egg dish from Portugal, ready in about 55 minutes and made with cod, potato and egg. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
25 min
Cook
30 min
Total
55 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
581

Ingredients

4 servings

For frying

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the potato (opens in a new tab) matchsticks and dry them thoroughly. Fry in batches in the oil at 175 °C until crisp and golden, then drain on paper.

    Food safety: Dry the potatoes well and never fill the pan more than a third with oil.

  2. Step 2

    In a large frying pan, cook the onions (opens in a new tab) slowly in the olive oil (opens in a new tab) with the garlic (opens in a new tab) and bay leaf (opens in a new tab) until soft and golden.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the flaked cod (opens in a new tab) and cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until heated through. Remove the bay leaf (opens in a new tab) and stir in the potatoes (opens in a new tab).

    • 4 min
    • medium heat

  4. Step 4

    Lower the heat, pour in the eggs (opens in a new tab) seasoned with the pepper (opens in a new tab) (and salt only if needed) and stir gently until just set and creamy. Serve at once topped with olives (opens in a new tab) and parsley (opens in a new tab).

    • 3 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Cook the eggs until set if serving anyone vulnerable.

About this dish

Origin
Lisbon (Bairro Alto), Portugal · Commonly attributedMore food from Portugal
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Egg dishes · Main courses
Cooking method
Deep-fried, Sautéed, Pan-fried
Taste
savoury, salty, mild
Diet
Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Uses leftovers
Cook more with
Cod · Potato · Egg · Onion · Garlic · Bay leaves
Techniques
Pan-frying · Deep-frying · Sautéing

Allergens

  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Fishfrom cod

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

581 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 404 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 21%
  • Carbohydrate 20%
  • Fat 59%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy581 kcal144 kcal
Protein30.8 g7.6 g
Carbohydrate29.4 g7.3 g
Net carbohydrate25.4 g6.3 g
Sugars3.7 g0.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4 g1 g
Fat38.1 g9.4 g
Saturated fat6.3 g1.5 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol322 mg80 mg
Sodium574 mg142 mg
Salt equivalent1.4 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1155 mg
Calcium
108 mg
Iron
4.1 mg
Magnesium
78 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
146 µg
Vitamin C
34 mg
Vitamin D
2.4 µg
Vitamin B12
1.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
76 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Shop-bought crisp straw potatoes are a common shortcut in Portuguese homes.

Common mistakes

  • Overcooking the eggs — the dish should be moist and creamy.

Food safety

  • Soak salt cod in the fridge, changing the water every 8–12 hours; once desalted it is perishable like fresh fish and should be cooked within a day.

Storage

  • Best eaten immediately.

Variations

  • Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (Portugal): A Porto dish of salt cod baked with potatoes, onions, eggs and olives.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Cod, soaked, desalted salt cod (weight after soaking), skinned and flaked400 g
  • Potato, cut into very thin matchsticks500 g
  • Egg, lightly beaten6 piece · 300 g
  • Black olives, whole or pitted60 g
Used in steps 1, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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