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:
- The chipotle marinated fish;
- “Pink Taco Sauce” – 2 ingredient, mildly spicy sour cream or yogurt sauce, goes very well with the fish;
- Quick pickled cabbage; and
- 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:
- really lean fish – like swordfish, tuna and kingfish
- 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, pork carnitas.
How to make it
I think I’ve pretty much talked through the making part, but here’s a visual anyway!
- 20 minute fish marinade – no longer, because otherwise the lime juice in the marinade will “cook” the fish;
- cook it, flake it;
- quick taco sauce – sour cream and sriracha. I call it my Pink Taco Sauce;
- pickle the cabbage – 20 minutes to become floppy (same as the fish marinating time, nice and convenient!);
- 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.
Last night I made these fish tacos and the prawn tacos! It was unanimous that the fish won! I used saddleback snapper and cheated and used Coles Asian slaw! The fish was AMAZING! Highly recommended!!
Hi Nagi, do you use the pickled jalapenos? or the fresh ones? I cannot find “canned” jalapenos that aren’t pickled, but in your video they looked fresh.
Hi Jihye, I use the canned pickled ones – you could definitely use fresh if you like too. N x
Delicious! Thank you so much for your amazing recipes. They’re always a hit in our house. (And so is the daily dose of Dozer)
Love, love love it! I have made this half a dozen times over the summer (Canada), and it is a big winner with everyone who gets some. Can’t believe how good the simple cabbage filling is too.
Great recipe. P.S. Using basa now with great results. And chipotle powder is easily found too, Bulk Barn.
Poetic combinations of wonderful flavours! I will definitely make this again
Hello Nagi,
Do you know any easy good recipe for rockling? I bought fillets and cutlets and don’t know how to cook them well.
Thanks in advance for your response!
Regards
Olga
Hi Olga, it’s a firm white fish so any recipe that uses a firm fleshed fish will be great. Here are a couple of ideas:
https://www.recipetineats.com/fish-fingers-recipe/
https://www.recipetineats.com/brazilian-fish-stew-moqueca-baiana/
https://www.recipetineats.com/crispy-pan-fried-fish/
https://www.recipetineats.com/fish-chowder-soup/
Thank you 😊
There is finally chipotle seasoning in the spices aisle in Woolworths now. It is in a Woolworths spice jar, it is labelled hot and smells very much like smoked paprika. I am going to use it tonight. Have made these tacos many times before with substitutes and they are awesome!
Hi Nathan – this is chipotle SEASONING not ground chipotle (it has other ingredients in it – “Salt, Sugar, Chilli Powder (14%), Garlic, Maltodextrin, Onion, Anti Caking Agent (504), Paprika, Yeast Powder, Pepper, Natural Flavour, Natural Colour (Paprika Oleoresins)”) This isn’t what you want to use in this recipe! If you head to Harris Farm you’ll find chipotle. N x
Kids were sceptical but loved them! Delicious easy meal.
Cooked this recipe today and it is a real winner. Had to fudge the fish marinade just a little to what I had on hand, but would not change a thing. A definite keeper in this household.
Dear Recipe Queen,
Thank you for your beneficence.
That is all.
Thanks so much Loonchick 🙂 N x
Absolutely delicious and definitely a keeper!
Wow! Following this recipe turned out much better than I anticipated! Fish was simply delicious, but really, it was the simple pickled cabbage that starred…great in combination.