The Best Fish Tacos Recipe with crispy battered fish, creamy avocado, crunchy cabbage, and delicious, easy fish taco sauce. I promise, these fish tacos are better than any food truck’s!
Why You’ll Love My Fish Tacos
This is the best fish tacos recipe! Just read reviews for yourself.
I think the best fish tacos should be crispy, battered and fried, just like you get at any surf and turf joint. Fish has to be spicy and flavorful enough to help the plain veggies a bit. Everything is tied together with creamy zesty and spicy sauce!
That’s these fish tacos! It’s a weeknight dinner ready in 25 minutes from fridge to table, including making the fish taco sauce!
Ingredients for Fish Tacos Recipe
As always, my recipe is simple. And I even give you options for flours to use.
- Fish: Any firm white fish fillets that holds its shape. It does not have to be white fish but rather fish that doesn’t flake easily and fall apart. Cod, halibut, bass, haddock, rockfish, mahi mahi or snapper are great. Tilapia will not work. You can even use salmon or trout, if that’s what you have.
- Flour: Any flour works! Almond flour or almond meal, all purpose flour or whole wheat flour, spelt flour, gluten free flour, or even breadcrumbs. Anything that will make fish crispy.
- Simple spices: I use homemade taco seasoning and garlic powder.
- Yogurt and mayo: I call my fish taco sauce healthy because I use 75% plain yogurt and 25% mayonnaise unlike any restaurant’s 100% mayo white sauce.
- Oil: For frying I like to use high smoke point oil like avocado oil.
- Toppings: Red cabbage, tomato, avocado, fresh cilantro, and lime are our favorite fish taco toppings but you can use what you have on hand.
- Tortillas: You can use corn tortillas or flour tortillas for serving. We use corn tortillas because they are more authentic and nutritious.
- Cheese (optional): The best cheese for fish tacos is cotija cheese. It is Mexican cheese that is more mild and less salty than feta cheese and crumbles as you shred it. You can also use crumbled feta cheese.
How to Make Fish Tacos
There are 3 steps to making fish tacos: cook the fish, make the fish taco sauce and prepare the taco toppings. It doesn’t get easier than that.
Prep fish and its dredging: Cut fish into 1-inch cubes and in a medium bowl whisk flour, taco seasoning, garlic powder, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
To cook fish: Dip fish pieces into flour mixture and pan fry for 2 minutes per side in preheated large ceramic non-stick skillet on medium high heat.
Make Best Fish Taco Sauce
Make fish taco sauce while fish is cooking. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, mayo, fresh lime juice, taco seasoning, cayenne pepper and black pepper.
Adjust amount of cayenne pepper to your taste or add some sriracha if you like your fish tacos spicy. If the sauce is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached. This could be the case if you used Greek yogurt.
I also like to transfer fish taco sauce to a drizzling bottle.
Fish Taco Toppings
The finishing touch on these fish tacos are the toppings! Set up a taco bar and let each family member customize their taco how they like them for a peaceful and delicious dinner.
I like to place fish tacos toppings with different textures in a large baking dish, cover with linen towel and set aside.
Chop toppings: Thinly slice or shred the cabbage or lettuce. Freshly shredded purple cabbage or green cabbage adds the best crunch but store bought coleslaw mix or broccoli slaw will work as well. Dice avocado, tomato, cilantro and red onion. Crumble cotija cheese or feta cheese.
To assemble tacos: Warm tortillas in a cast iron skillet on high heat for 10 seconds per side and press on them with spatula. It makes fish tacos extra delicious! Fill each tortilla with 3-4 pieces of fish, add toppings and drizzle with sauce.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my top tips for the best fish tacos I have been making for past 7 years!
- Skip non-fat yogurt: Do not use 0% yogurt for the fish taco sauce because it will lack flavor.
- Don’t overcook fish: Fish cooks fast, so don’t overcook it to avoid rubbery fish.
- Do not overcrowd the skillet: Leave room for air to flow between fish pieces to keep fish coating crunchy.
- Double the recipe for 4+ people: I highly recommend to double this fish taco recipe. Single recipe makes 9 tacos and I find we all want 3-4 tacos each. And nobody minds the leftovers.
What to Serve with Fish Tacos?
These fish tacos are quite filling meal, so you will not need many side dishes. Here are a few ideas:
- Fruity salsas: Sweet with heat mango salsa, pineapple jalapeno salsa or pico de gallo round out flavors of any tacos very nicely.
- Guacamole
- I recommend to make this super easy Instant Pot corn on the cob.
- Instant Pot refried beans
FAQs
While I have not tested this, I am sure it will work! Air fry fish at 390 F for 12-15 minutes total, flipping after 8-10 minutes. Air fryer makes and models differ, so keep an eye on the fish.
More Tacos Recipes to Try
- Grilled fish tacos
- Shrimp tacos
- Bang bang shrimp tacos
- Ground beef tacos
- Ground turkey tacos
- Baked tacos
Easy Fish Tacos Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the Fish Tacos:
- 1 pound firm white fish like cod, halibut, bass, cut into 1" cubes
- 1/2 cup any flour, I used almond flour
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, for frying
- 9 corn or flour tortillas
For the Fish Taco Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 2%+ fat
- 1/4 cup mayo, I use avocado oil mayonnaise
- 1 lime, juice of
- 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Toppings:
- Red or green cabbage, tomato, avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime
Instructions
- Dredging for fish: In a medium bowl, add flour, taco seasoning, garlic powder, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Stir and set aside.
- Fish taco sauce: In a small bowl, add yogurt, mayo, lime juice, taco seasoning, cayenne and black pepper. Stir and set aside.
- Toppings: Chop and prepare the toppings.
- To cook fish: Preheat large ceramic non-stick skillet on medium-high heat and swirl 1 tablespoon of oil. In batches, dredge pieces of fish in flour mixture and fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until crispy and brown. Fish cooks fast, so don't over cook. Do not overcrowd the skillet – helps to keep fish crispy. Remove onto a plate.
- To assemble tacos: Warm tortillas in a cast iron skillet on high heat for 10 seconds per side and pressing on with spatula. Fill each tortilla with 3-4 pieces of fish, add toppings and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings (please see suggestions in notes).
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate leftover cooked fish, sauce and toppings covered or in a container for up to 24 hours. Fish is most crispy right after cooking.
- Make ahead: Chop toppings and make sauce up to 2 days in advance. Refrigerate separately. You can also mix and store in a dry place flour with spices that you will use for dredging.
- Double the recipe for 4+ people: I highly recommend to double the recipe. Single recipe makes 9 tacos and I find we all want 3-4 tacos each.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is my go to fish taco recipe. So good and everyone loves them.
So nice of you to say, so happy you and everyone loved it!
Love your fish tacos. Made them today and how easy they were to make. Love the sauce full of flavour and so yummy. So many wonderful recipes to choose.Thank you Olena.😋
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
What can i use instead of cornstarch?
Arrowroot flour or tapioca flour.
Absolutely delicious.Thank you Olena.Love your recipes so much.
So glad you enjoyed it!