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Portuguese

Bacalhau com natas

Non-vegetarian

Flaked salt cod, onions and fried potato cubes baked in a creamy béchamel until golden. One of Portugal's most-loved bacalhau dishes.

Bacalhau com natas is a Portuguese bake from Portugal, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes and made with cod, potato and heavy cream. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Oven dish of bacalhau com natas, creamy baked cod and potato gratin
Photo: Fpenteado / Wikimedia Commons · CC0-1.0
Prep
25 min
Cook
1 h
Rest
5 min
Total
1 h 30 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
506

Plus 24–48 hours soaking if using dried salt cod.

Ingredients

6 servings

For the béchamel

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 220 °C. Toss the potato (opens in a new tab) cubes with half the oil and roast until golden, about 25 minutes.

    A tray of food roasting in the oven
    How it looks · Photo: locrifa on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Poach the cod (opens in a new tab) in barely simmering water for 8 minutes until it flakes, drain, then flake, removing skin and bones.

  3. Step 3

    Cook the onions (opens in a new tab) slowly in the remaining oil until soft and golden, add the garlic (opens in a new tab) and cod (opens in a new tab) and stir for 2 minutes.

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

  4. Step 4

    Make a béchamel: melt the butter (opens in a new tab), stir in the flour, then whisk in the milk (opens in a new tab) and simmer until thick. Add nutmeg (opens in a new tab), half the cream, salt and pepper.

  5. Step 5

    Fold the cod (opens in a new tab) mixture and potatoes (opens in a new tab) into the sauce, spread in a baking dish (opens in a new tab), pour over the remaining cream and scatter with Parmesan (opens in a new tab). Bake at 200 °C until golden.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  6. Step 6

    Rest 5 minutes and scatter with parsley (opens in a new tab).

    About this dish

    Origin
    Portugal · Well documentedMore food from Portugal
    Dish
    Dinner · Lunch · Casseroles & bakes · Main courses
    Cooking method
    Roasted, Oven-baked, Sautéed
    Taste
    creamy, savoury, salty
    Diet
    Pescatarian · No nut ingredients · High-protein
    All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein · Low-sodium
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Make-ahead · Festive & celebration
    Cook more with
    Cod · Potato · Heavy cream · Onion · Garlic · Butter
    Techniques
    Roasting · Baking · Sautéing · Simmering · Poaching

    Allergens

    • Contains: Milkfrom butter, milk, heavy cream, parmesan
    • Contains: Fishfrom cod
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

    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

    506 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 397 g · recipe makes 6

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 20%
    • Carbohydrate 27%
    • Fat 53%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy506 kcal128 kcal
    Protein25.1 g6.3 g
    Carbohydrate34.5 g8.7 g
    Net carbohydrate31.2 g7.9 g
    Sugars7.9 g2 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre3.3 g0.8 g
    Fat30.1 g7.6 g
    Saturated fat14.2 g3.6 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol104 mg26 mg
    Sodium346 mg87 mg
    Salt equivalent0.9 g0.2 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    1122 mg
    Calcium
    163 mg
    Iron
    1.9 mg
    Magnesium
    76 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    234 µg
    Vitamin C
    27 mg
    Vitamin D
    2.5 µg
    Vitamin B12
    1.4 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    57 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.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: parmesan, parsley.
    • “—” 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

    Serve with

    • Serve with a green salad.

    Food safety

    • Soak salt cod in the fridge, changing the water every 8–12 hours; once desalted, treat it like fresh fish and cook within a day.
    • If assembling ahead, refrigerate and bake within 24 hours.

    Storage

    • Keeps 2 days refrigerated; can be assembled a day ahead and baked to order.

    Reheating

    • Reheat covered at 180 °C until piping hot in the centre.

    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)600 g
    • Potato, cut into 1 cm cubes700 g
    • Heavy cream200 ml · 200 g
    • Parmesan, grated (optional)30 g
    Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 5

    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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