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.
Superb! This is the Best fish tacos I have ever tasted. Your spices and condiments are always perfect.
NAGI … JUST CAME ACROSS YOUR SITE & HAVE CHECKED OUT A COUPLE OF RECIPES (GREEK CHICKEN & LEMON RICE … AND THIS FISH TACO ONE). BOTH SOUND SO FLAVOURFUL & LOOK SO TEMPTING. A COMMENT ABOUT YOUR STYLE …. YOU ARE ONE OF THE ONLY RECIPE WRITERS TO INCLUDE PERTINENT INFO LIKE THE ACTUAL SIZE OF YOUR PAN OR YOUR TORTILLA !!! SIMPLE BUT SO HELPFUL. ALSO YOUR DESCRIPTIONS ARE DETAILED … AND YOUR NOTES ARE THE BEST. SO HAPPY I FOUND YOU !
I agree. Nagi adds those extra all important details in her recipes which make all the difference. I love how authentic your recipes are. And these fish tacos are so delicious.
I had some fish taco’s at a trendy restaurant last week in Nashville TN that was know for their “great” fish tacos. This recipe beat them hands down. I also used 8″ flour tortillas for a larger sized taco.
I did a variation as I had some breaded cod fillets. I deep fried them 80% done and then split them lengthwise and rolled them through the marinade. I finished them off in a convection toaster oven for a crispy crust with the spicy tang of the marinade. I also used fresh Serrano pepper instead of canned Jalapeño (a little more kick). The Pickled Cabbage was the what brought it all together. Perfect balance.
Wow, you jazzed this up big time! So glad you enjoyed the marinade for this – N x
ABSOLUTELY amazing!!!! I used cod because I couldn’t find snapper (sadly)! but it worked great. I also had some leftover red slaw and corn & black bean salsa which I used as a side 🙂
I’ve made a couple of your recipes now and not disappointed… making pad kee mao with tofu and veggies tomorrow. SO excited! thanks!
That’s great to hear Asako! Thanks for leaving a review! N x
UPDATE: Woolworths sells Chipotle powder now!!! 😀
Hi Nagi, I love the way you photograph your recipe, but also knowing that you’ve mentioned yourself that you’re height challenged I’m just visualizing you standing on a chair to get the right angle. LOL. Definitely going to try this one, maybe over the weekend.
Oh my GOSH you can’t imagine Josephine, I have a little ladder that is permanently near the table, I am up on it many times in one photo shoot!! 😂
Will apple cider vinegar or balsamic work for the cabbage
Apple cider will be perfect!
HI Nagi I’ve been wanting another fish taco recipe ( I have a fish taco obsession) and I’m so fixin to make these this week. One question though. When you say canned jalapenos do you mean pickled jalapenos like for nachos?
Hi Robert! Yup the stuff that comes in jars or cans in liquid 🙂 Hope you enjoy this!
Will the jalapenos in the marinade make the fish too spicy for toddlers? I’m not sure how much of a marinade transfers to meats… absolute beginner here.
You could always leave them out as well as the chipotle and put the jalapeños on top after you assemble the tacos (for people who want spice) ☺️
Nice recipe! We all enjoyed it!
Oh wow! I’m so happy that you tried and enjoyed this Angela, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Nagi, I just came upon your blog and printed off several recipes—can’t wait to try!
Dozer is gorgeous…I am passionate about Goldens—I’ve had 5 rescues over the years.
Thanks for sharing such delicious food items!
Oh wow, you’re such a wonderful person to be rescuing goldies! Can you believe – I tried to get a rescue but I was rejected!!! Honestly! They said my lifestyle didn’t suit and my fences were too low 🙁
Penzeys.com sells chipotle powder. I get all my spices from them, they are the best. I will try these soon. Unlike so many commenting here, I never had a fish taco I didn’t like & I’ve tried a lot.
I hope you do try this Patsy! And thanks for the tip! 🙂 N x
I have a bunch of salmon in the freezer. Do you think the flavors would work with salmon? Thanks!
Definitely! I’ve made this with salmon and it is phenomenal!
Thanks Nagi! This is on my “must try” list!
Fantastic fish tacos Nagi! Love, love, love!
I made it last week for my family and we all loved it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these Lizzie! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know! N x
Thanks, I make home made wraps for my husband and I to take to work.Looking for inspiration and this looks yum yum. 🙂 ill let you know how the Philippine version goes. I’m English but Ill be using Asian ingredients.
Oooh! Keen to hear what you sub! 🙂
Can I make your pickled cabbage in advance and keep refrigerated in a mason jar?
These were fantastic. I’ve loved fish tacos since the first time I had them in Anchorage, Alaska, where they made them with halibut. I’ve been trying to find fish tacos that were as good as those Alaska tacos, and nothing has held a candle until now. I made these using halibut (as apparently that’s the best fish for fish tacos) and I added a chipotle-mayo sauce at the end. I also used chipotle adobe sauce in the marinade instead of chipotle spice (because I didn’t read there recipe carefully before shopping). In any case, they came out great! Thanks for the recipe. I’ll definitely make these again.
So glad Leah! Thank you for trying my recipe and for coming back to let me know you enjoyed it! N x PS LOVE the addition of chipotle mayo – YUM!
There’s a portion of the population who equate eating food containing cilantro with having their mouth’s washed out with soap. It just has a soapy taste that is not pleasant at all … and my wife is one of those people who can’t stand it. Would parsley be a viable substitute, or would it be better to just forget about green leafy herbs?
Interesting, my mum calls Cilantro,’ soap’ but I love it and cant see her problem with it! Thai basil is sometimes a good substitute but this isn’t my recipie so you’ll have to ask the boss.LOL
I read somewhere that it’s genetic! 🙂 Actually I think dried oregano would be a great substitute – still on theme with Mexican flavours!
These tacos are excellent! I love the chipotle flavor. We added avocado and a peach mango salsa. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for trying my recipe Connie! So glad you enjoyed it – and thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! N x
This looks fantastic. I have to make this tonight. I hope it goes good with cod!
Cod is perfect! I hope you enjoy it Katie! 🙂
I must say I actually avoided reading this recipe for a few days, because I’ve had a really awful fish taco once, and have never wanted to try another. I’m kicking myself for resisting – your tacos look mouth-wateringly good. I think we’ll have to add these to the menu for next Saturday night.
OMG that is MY story too! I was almost turned off fish tacos for life because of a bad first experience!! That seems to be a common theme 🙂 Glad I persevered!
Hehehe I always overstuff my tacos too!
I just can’t contain myself!!! 🙂