Grilled Fish Tacos extremely juicy and flavorful with quick mango salsa and any firm white fish like cod, halibut or mahi mahi. 30 minute dinner the whole family will love!
Grilled Fish Taco Recipe
Grilled fish tacos… Show me a person who doesn’t love tacos and we will check if he is a human. 🙂
Unlike our family favorite fish taco recipe with crispy fried fish and delicious crema, here I opted for grilled fish with super juicy mango salsa. Light, summer-y and super easy.
Fish is a source of lean protein and healthy Omega-3 fats. When cooked properly (quickly), fish retains its moisture. And when seasoned lightly, it is delicious!
It took only 3 – 4 minutes per side to cook my fish to perfection. It came out juicy and flaked with a touch of a fork. Meaning it was soft and not overcooked.
Ingredients You Will Need
- White fish: Any firm white fish like cod, halibut, tilapia, mahi mahi, snapper or sea bass works.
- Mango salsa: Mangoes, cilantro, red onion and jalapenos.
- Seasonings: Just taco seasoning, garlic powder and salt. Simple but with a punch. I am using my homemade taco seasoning – make sure you buy low sodium.
- Tortillas: I highly recommend to use corn tortillas for the most authentic taste. If extra small, use two to hold it all together.
- Optional crema: I included the recipe in recipe’s notes. It would be nice, I just didn’t see a need for it.
How to Make Grilled Fish Tacos
- Marinate fish for 10 mins: Flavorful taco seasoning, garlic powder and acidic lime juice allow for quick marinating while you make mango salsa.
- Meanwhile make mango salsa: Chop and stir this super juicy salsa. So perfect when mango is in season. Your fish is ready to grill.
- Grill fish: Grill fish on medium-high heat on outdoor grill or a grill pan. I currently don’t have outdoor grill and Lodge cast iron pan worked like a charm.
- Warm up tortillas: Directly on a grill or in a pan until pliable or charred on each side. Takes seconds.
- Assemble tacos: Flake fish with a fork, place lots of it in each tortilla and top with lots of mango salsa. So fresh and juicy!
Tips for Best Fish Tacos
- I used 4 smaller Ataulfo mangoes. Large green red mango (Tommy Atkins) works too.
- White onion is a great substitute for red onion.
- Warming up tortillas is not only for taste. Heat makes corn tortillas more pliable and prevents them from breaking.
- Flour tortillas will work but more authentic taste is with corn.
- Recipe calls for 3 lbs of fish for a reason. To make tacos more “meaty” and/or use leftovers to make buddha bowls next day – anything goes.
- If cooking on a grill pan indoors, you will have to cover fish with a lid for a few minutes to help it cook through.
- Don’t overcook the fish! See it is white on the bottom? Flip and cook a few more mins. It will finish cooking off the heat with residual heat.
How to Serve, Store and Re-Use Leftovers
Tacos are a meal on their own. But if you are serving a spread, here are good additions:
- Instant Pot corn on the cob
- Mexican corn salad
- Mexican cauliflower rice
- Mango slaw (maybe in place of mango salsa)
- Instant Pot refried beans
Store: Refrigerate fish leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I specifically included 3 lbs of fish in the recipe but you can use 2 lbs. Leftovers taste great cold or reheat on a skillet with a splash of water or oil covered.
Leftovers use: Leftovers would be good to make a buddha bowl. What is it? It is a bowl with protein, whole grain and veggies/fruit. Anything from your fridge basically. It could look like this: grilled fish, mango salsa, quinoa or brown rice, mixed greens or arugula and more veggies.
I will be honest and say we rarely make tacos with leftovers next day – they become a buddha bowl.
Enjoy!:)
More Taco Recipes
Grilled Fish Tacos
Grilled Fish Tacos extremely juicy and flavorful with quick mango salsa and any firm white fish like cod, halibut or mahi mahi. 30 minute dinner the whole family will love!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 18 tacos 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Fish Tacos:
- 3 lbs white firm fish (cod, mahi mahi, halibut, haddock)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 limes, juice of
- 4 tsp low sodium taco seasoning (I use homemade taco seasoning)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 18 small corn tortillas
Mango salsa:
- 2 large mangoes, peeled & diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1 small bunch cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 lime or lemon, juice of
- 1 jalapeño, seeded & minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk taco seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- In a large rimmed baking dish, add fish, drizzle with oil and rub it around. Sprinkle with mixed seasoning on both sides and set aside.
- In the meanwhile, chop and add mango, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and salt to a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.
- Preheat grill or grill pan on medium high heat and add a bit of oil to coat.
- Cook fish untouched until white and opaque on the bottom, about 4 minutes.
- Carefully flip on the other side and cook another 4 minutes. You might have to cover fish o na grill pan for a few mins to allow to cook through. Probably it will fall apart which is fine. Transfer to a platter.
- Warm up tortillas on the grill or microwave and keep under a towel.
- To assemble a taco, flake fish with a fork, place desired amount in a warm tortilla and top with mango salsa. If you would like to make white sauce (crema), I included recipe below in notes.
Notes
- Leave as many seeds as you like in jalapeno if you like heat.
- Feel free to cut recipe in half or use fish and mango leftovers next day in a buddha bowl – anything goes.
Optional white sauce (crema):
I think mango salsa makes grilled fish tacos super juicy and flavorful. But if you would like to drizzle white sauce as well, here is the one I use for my regular fish tacos.
- 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
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
I really enjoy this recipe. I have never had mango salsa before now it’s all I talk about. The first time I made this I used the fish I had in the freezer and it was good but the last time I did the cod and what a game changer!
★★★★★
Awesome!!! Happy to hear, Erica.
My family is not a big fan of fish but I decided it was time for something different. Turns out they are fans now!! My kids especially loved it, although their faces were so funny when they saw me preparing this meal. It was delicious and definitely going in my mini stack of recipes.
★★★★★
That is so funny and amazing to hear, Marisol! It is the best when kids love what we, moms, make.
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. I love if tacos. I also appreciate how you explain everything clearly. Makes my life as a fair cook much easier. Keep posting these yummy recipes!
★★★★★
Yay
★★★★★
So happy to hear you loved this recipe, Amy!
Delicious!!! I used grilled halibut and flour street taco-sized tortillas. My husband grows, dehydrates, & grinds his own hot pepper powder, so in addition to the chili powder I added a few shakes of his powder to the marinade as well for a little extra kick (it doesn’t add flavor, just heat). We didn’t garnish the tacos with anything but the strawberry mango salsa (no extra lime, cilantro or hot sauce). My husband loved these!!! I loved these!!! This is another ifoodreal keeper! The left over salsa was gobbled up with tortilla chips.
★★★★★
Yay. Super glad to hear! Is your husband Italian? Our friends grow their pepperroncinos and then make like this spicy thick sauce. Yum.
No, he’s not Italian…he just learned to love heat from his co-workers who used to pour hot sauce on everything. He didn’t like how hot sauce alters the flavor of food, so he started experimenting with growing hot peppers in our greenhouse. Last summer he grew 21 different varieties for his pepper powder blend. He has 19 varieties started this year. All of his co-workers (as well as family and friends) rave about his powder because it’s like ordering “stars” at a Thai restaurant – you can shake on as little or much as you want.
Great post on grilled fish tacos
photos are looking great and mouthwatering.I think you have covered all ingredients.Great work
★★★★
Hi Olena,
I’am Chantal from Travelling Papilles, I just discover your nice blog, full of beautiful recipes.
I like your fish tacos, sounds yummy and healthy as well.
Have a great day
Chantal
Hi Chantal. Thank you and nice to meet you!:)
I love fish!! I also don’t get it when people say they don’t like fish, it is so good and good for you, how can you not like it?! The store just had a huge sale on tilapia and I bought a bunch of it and I’ve been looking for tasty recipes to cook with it. I love fish tacos and I love your fish marinade, so this recipe is definitely on my to-cook list! I can’t wait to try these 🙂
Hope you like it, Isadora!:) Exactly. I honestly can’t even name any food I don’t like, period. I think some foods like fennel I didn’t give a good chance to love but I don’t hate it. Same with asparagus. But the problem with fish is what I described – it hasn’t been given a chance by many people.
Great photos here 🙂 it looks delicious!
Thank you, Anna! Hope your blogging is going well.:)
Just made It! It is sooooo good! My daughter found this recipe, and I couldn’t stop saying “thank you” to you! I made just one adjustment: I used 1/2 of jalapeno pepper in salsa, but only because of my daughter, otherwise I’d use the full amount: I like it spicy! Thank you!
Forgot to rate this recipe!
★★★★★
Welcome.:) Yes, I would have to do the same for my kids too.