The Best Healthy Fish Tacos with spicy crispy battered fish, diced avocado, crunchy cabbage, and lime crema sauce. I promise, this easy fish taco recipe is better than any food truck!
We love all things Mexican, seafood, and healthy taco recipes around here. This shrimp taco recipe along with shrimp ceviche, and shrimp tostadas are at the top of our list!
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These are the best healthy fish tacos! Yes, I’m that bold but just read reviews for yourself.
“I’ve been looking for a quick, easy, healthy, and delicious fish taco recipe forever and this one fits the bill. The whole family loves them.” – Laura
“Had these fish tacos 2 days ago, kids are asking for them again!! Made with broccoli slaw!! So good!!” – Paulina
Living on the West Coast and travelling to Mexico a dozen times, I tried a lot of tacos in my life. Healthy chicken tacos, beef tacos, carne asada tacos, you name it.
And they are all great but I honestly think homemade tacos are equally as good, or even better, for a quick healthy meal at home!
I think the best fish tacos are 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.
Then drizzle them with a flavorful fish taco sauce, add a ton of fresh toppings, and it’s a delicious explosion of flavor!
Ingredients You Will Need
As always, my healthy fish tacos ingredients are super simple. And I even give you options for flours to use.
- Fish: Best fish for fish tacos is any firm white fish like wild cod, halibut, bass, haddock, rockfish, mahi mahi or snapper. Try lemon butter baked cod, next!
- Flour: Any flour works! Almond flour or almond meal, regular white 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 Instant Pot yogurt and 25% mayo unlike any restaurant’s 100% mayo white sauce.
- Cabbage, tomato, avocado, fresh cilantro, and lime are the toppings but you can use what you have.
- Tortillas: You can use corn or flour tortillas for serving. We use corn ones because it is more authentic and nutritious.
How to Make Healthy Fish Tacos
I doubled this fish taco recipe and they were gone by morning. So, if serving a crowd, definitely do that. You will be glad you did.
- 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.
- Make lime crema sauce by whisking yogurt, mayo, lime juice, taco seasoning, cayenne and black pepper in a medium bowl. I also like to transfer sauce to a drizzling bottle.
- Chop toppings: I like to place them in a large baking dish, cover with linen towel and set aside.
- 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.
- To assemble tacos: Warm tortillas in a cast iron skillet on high heat for 10 seconds per side and press on them with spatula. Fill each tortilla with 3-4 pieces of fish, add toppings and drizzle with sauce.
Toppings and Sauce
Tacos are a complete meal. So easy, just 25 minutes from fridge to table including making the lime crema sauce!
The finishing touch on these healthy 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.
These best fish tacos are lower in calories, yet battered and fried (a must!), easy to make and a perfect healthy weeknight dinner! Enjoy and please let me know in comments below how you liked the recipe.
Let’s go over the bazillion of toppings possibilities:
- Slaw: Use plain shredded cabbage or lettuce, store bought coleslaw mix or broccoli slaw. Once you drizzle crema sauce on top, tacos will taste anything but plain. Or make your own healthy coleslaw (with bagged slaw) or try my mom’s Ukrainian vinegar coleslaw.
- Avocado: Learn how to cut an avocado or make easy guacamole recipe.
- Beans: Make Instant Pot refried beans or quickly open a can of store bought pinto or black beans.
- Fruity salsas: Sweet with heat mango salsa recipe, pineapple jalapeno salsa or pico de gallo round out flavors of any tacos very nicely.
- Crumbled cotija or feta cheese.
Tips for Making the Best Tacos
- Skip non-fat yogurt: Do not use 0% yogurt for the lime crema sauce because it will lack flavour.
- Fish cooks fast: So don’t over cook it otherwise it will come out rubbery.
- Do not overcrowd the skillet: Leave room for air to flow between fish pieces helps to keep healthy fish tacos coating crunchy.
- Double the recipe for 4+ people: I highly recommend to double the recipe. Single makes 9 tacos and I find we all want 3-4 tacos each. And nobody minds the leftovers.
What Kind of Fish to Use?
Any firm fish. You can even use salmon or trout if that’s what you have. It does not have to be white fish but rather fish that doesn’t flake easily and fall apart.
My friend Dina, has this amazing panko crusted salmon recipe that you could crumble up and serve in tortillas with sauce and toppings.
What to Serve This With?
I recommend to make this super easy Instant Pot corn on the cob or cilantro lime cauliflower rice.
Any seafood usually tastes good with a glass of chilled white wine or beer. Delicate white fish needs lighter white wine like Pinot Grigio or Pino Gris.
FAQs
To be able to call these “healthy fish tacos”, we use almond flour as a breading, fry fish cubes in high smoke point and heart healthy avocado oil, and reduce mayonnaise in the crema taco sauce by 3/4.
I prefer to buy store bought tortillas to save time and then warm them in the skillet.
But if you feel adventurous and for fun, you can try your hand in making homemade corn tortillas from my friend, Aseygul at Foolproof Living.
Although fresh fish will always yield the best taste in healthy fish tacos, you could use thawed frozen fish. I would not cook straight from frozen as your breading will not stick.
While I have not tested this, I am sure it could work! Air fry at 390F degrees for 12-15 minutes total, flipping after 8-10 minutes. Air fryer makes and models all differ. You might also like air fryer salmon!
More Healthy Tacos Recipes
- Grilled fish tacos
- Ground chicken tacos
- Ground turkey tacos
- Buffalo chicken tacos
- Instant Pot chicken tacos
You may also like to browse through all my healthy taco recipes!
The Best Healthy Fish Tacos
Ingredients
Fish Tacos:
- 1 lb any firm white fish I used cod, cut into 1″ cubes
- 1/2 cup any flour I used almond flour
- 2 tsp taco seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp avocado or coconut oil for frying (or whatever you use)
- 9 corn or flour tortillas
Fish Taco Sauce:
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt 2%+ fat
- 1/4 cup mayo I use avocado oil
- 1 lime juice of
- 1/2 tsp taco seasoning
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Pinch of cayenne
- Ground black pepper to taste
Fish Taco Toppings:
- Cabbage
- Tomato
- Avocado
- Red onion
- Cilantro
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 tbsp 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).
Video
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.
- Fish: You can use any firm white fish like wild cod, halibut, bass, haddock, rockfish, mahi mahi or snapper. Even salmon.
- Flour: Flour that will work is almond flour or almond meal, regular white or whole wheat flour, spelt flour, gluten free flour or even breadcrumbs.
- Yogurt: Please do not use 0% yogurt because sauce will lack flavour.
- Fish cooks fast: So don’t over cook it otherwise it will come out rubbery.
- Do not overcrowd the skillet: Leaving room and air to flow between fish pieces helps to keep it crispy.
- 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.
Absolutely delicious.Thank you Olena.Love your recipes so much.
So glad you enjoyed it!