You don’t need to deep fry to make terrific Fish Tacos. You just need a really great marinade! A seriously delicious way to serve up white fish fillets, this recipe can be cooked on the BBQ or stove. Either way, they’re healthy, fresh and bursting with serious taco goodness!
Bonus: they happen to be HEALTHY 💪🏼
Fish Tacos
A bad fish taco is worse than a bad chicken taco.
And while most people would be turned off after multiple dismal experiences, I persevered, believing there to be better.
I mean, tacos. They have always been one of my favourite foods, ever since the first time I tried them.
And I’m thankful I didn’t give up. Because it just got better and better. Went to Mexico, tasted the real deal, then used that as my benchmark to make my own.
And now I’ve got The Fish Taco recipe. Well, at least, what I think is the BEST Fish Taco recipe. 🙂
What I like to do is load the fish with flavour with a chipotle lime marinade. You just know by looking at it that it’s gonna be good, right??!
Will you LOOK AT THAT!!! Tender and juicy on the inside, deep golden brown on the outside, flavoured all the way through with just a quick 20 minute marinade!!
What to serve with Fish Tacos
Here’s what I serve with Fish Tacos:
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The chipotle marinated fish;
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“Pink Taco Sauce” – 2 ingredient, mildly spicy sour cream or yogurt sauce, goes very well with the fish;
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Quick pickled cabbage; and
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lime wedges and coriander/cilantro leaves.
What you need for Fish Tacos
Here’s what you need to make fish tacos.
Any firm white fish fillets will work fine here, especially if they are fleshy.
My favourites are snapper and barramundi. They have “meaty” flesh which I particularly enjoy in tacos.
Other common fish that are ideal include: tilapia, basa, cod, John Dory and Silver Dory, ling, bream, haddock, pollack, monkfish.
I recommend avoiding:
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really lean fish – like swordfish, tuna and kingfish
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very delicate fish – like dover sole and flounder
Quick Pickled Cabbage for Tacos
I serve these tacos with a quick pickled cabbage. Pickling it makes the cabbage floppy so it kind of melds together better with the fish (raw cabbage would be too pokey and crunchy for tender fish), and the slight tang is a classic pairing with seafood.
Here’s what you need for the pickled cabbage:
Don’t restrict yourself to using this pickled cabbage just for Fish Tacos! It will go with any type of tacos – chicken, old school beef tacos, shredded beef, beef barbacoa, or pork carnitas.
How to make it
I think I’ve pretty much talked through the making part, but here’s a visual anyway!
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20 minute fish marinade – no longer, because otherwise the lime juice in the marinade will “cook” the fish;
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cook it, flake it;
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quick taco sauce – sour cream and sriracha. I call it my Pink Taco Sauce;
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pickle the cabbage – 20 minutes to become floppy (same as the fish marinating time, nice and convenient!);
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stuff and devour.
I typically cook Fish Tacos on the stove for midweek meals. But this is fantastic food for a barbecue with friends! It cooks so quickly so it doesn’t take you away from your guests and you can throw the tortillas onto the BBQ to warm up.
It also scales up easily, and you can lay everything out on the table and let everyone help themselves. Definitely my preferred method of entertaining!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Fish Tacos
Ingredients
Fish Marinade
- 1.2 lb / 600g firm white fish fillets (Note 1)
- Zest of 1 lime
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp chipotle powder (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp canned jalapeno , finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro / coriander , finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Quick Pickled cabbage
- 4 cups red cabbage , finely shredded
- 3 green onion stems , finely sliced on the diagonal
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar, cider vinegar)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Pink Taco Sauce
- 3/4 cup sour cream (or yogurt)
- 2 - 3 tbsp sriracha , adjust to taste (Note 3)
To Cook & Serve
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 12 small tortillas (corn or flour), warmed
- lime wedges
- coriander/cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Marinade fish: Combine Fish Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag. Set aside for 20 minutes to marinate - no longer than 1 hour.
- Pickled Cabbage: Place Pickled Cabbage ingredients in a bowl. Toss to combine and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain excess liquid, scrunch cabbage with your hands (to help soften). Set aside.
- Pink Sauce: Mix to combine.
- Cook fish: Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook fish for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked.
- Remove fish onto plate then flake into large pieces.
- To assemble tacos, top with cabbage then fish, a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze of lime juice. Fold tortilla over and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- lean fish - like swordfish, tuna, kingfish (unless you can get fatty kingfish)
- very delicate fish - like dover sole and flounder
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2016. Updated with new photos and video, and most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Helping shop for new appliances!! Need an industrial strength washing machine that can cope with all this darn FUR.
I buy my corn and flour tortillas online from
Chili mojo.
Also has Chipotle, hot sauces, etc. A great source for Mexican food ingredients
Hi Nagi, I am planning on making this recipe (looking delicious!). I just would like your recommendation on what brand of tortilla’s I should buy? Thank you for your time and love all your recipes!
HI Grace,
Im not Nagi but I use Old El Paso street market corn tortillas, or if you can get La Tortilleria online or in Melbourne they are the best.
This was absolutely amazing! Spicier than expected but still delicious!! Wondering what other recipes I can use the chipotle powder in and can wait to try them, or get a little creative myself!! These really should be served with a margarita or a gimlet!!
Just about to try this – looks like a fantastic recipe. You mention that Chipotle powder is hard to find in Australia – are you familiar with Herbies (online shop)? They have the most wonderful herbs and spices including Chipotle powder.
Sorry to jump on your post, but thank you for the information.
Really enjoyed this. It was tasty, quick to make and had a great amount of kick to it. Used ling and it was so tender and delicious. Though next time I’ll use a non stick pan!
I’m going to take this recipe to our outback adventure …frozen ling can be ordered from the distant supermarket
Hi Nagi, we cooked these and they were delicious. We have used this recipe over and over again. Next day we heated them up as per your instructions in your cookbook “Dinner” for our grandchildren and they devoured them. Crisp and still as tasty as the night before. Yum yum yum
These are incredible. I find that now when I go out for tacos I’m disappointed, because they’re never as good!
LOVED the flavor of the fish. I used snapper and it was fantastic. I would definitely make this again.
Hi Nagi, can I make the pickled cabbage 1-2 days before or will this make it too soggy?
I’m obsessed! Made the pickled cabbage the night before and it was so good. Also served the tacos with your guac recipe. I’ll be making this again
This recipe tastes delicious. I wanted to use white fish differently and I was not disappointed. However, since we are wimps in our family when it comes to hot food, I thought the jalapenos were too much, and I would skip them next time, as they dominated the taste of the delicious fish and marinade.
Delicious! Also made pickled onion and served with pre-bought chipotle aioli.
Another winner, Nagi! Used snapper, yoghurt for the sauce as that’s what I had in the fridge, and the spice combo in place of chipotle powder. Made sourdough naan breads to use as wraps. Whole family loved the tacos, including the picky eater (who went back for a third!) Thank you x
Delicious! My son wanted to try fish tacos and these hit the spot. So much so that for my family of 3 we use approx 800g of fish!
Will definitely make this again.
We LOVE the flavor of this, but I can’t get my fish to char or blacken! My pan is hot, what am I doing wrong? Do you use a cast iron or non stick skillet?
I love these tacos Nagi, they’re incredible 😊 I’m planning to make these for a dinner party, and wanted to check if I could cook the fish in the oven? Will take an age to do on the stove!
Scrumptious. Used local baby snapper fillets and the family were fighting over the last flakes of fish. Picked cabbage was a hit. Another winner Nagi.
Am going to make your fish tacos and cannot find chipotle powder, but have chipotle sauce….what is the ratio??
Chipotle sauces can vary widely Cathy. I would add a teaspoon at a time until you get the marinade to a heat that you like, or use the paprika sub that I have in the recipe notes! N x
Hi Nagi…looove this fish taco recipe, and have made it many times. Thinking of making it on Good Friday for quite a few people, do think the marinade would go ok made in advance, and then just put the fish in for half hour prior to cooking?? I love all your recipes….people think I’m a good cook now (I’m not) 🤣🤣🤣
Absolutely Jackie! You can make the marinade (and the pickling liquid for the cabbage!) ahead of time and keep them in the fridge then just combine 30 minutes before cooking! And I am sure that you ARE a good cook!!! N x