Our all-time favorite Fish Tacos recipe! These are loaded with fresh ingredients and perfectly seasoned plump fish. Don’t skip the best fish taco sauce – a garlic lime crema that you will want it on all your tacos!
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This is our go-to recipe for family get togethers and company because it comes together quickly and it always gets rave reviews. These fish tacos are so flavorful and satisfying but you will feel good and light at the end of the meal.
This recipe is party sized and can be scaled down to feed a smaller crowd. It was developed by my brother-in-law, Slavik and it has been adopted by pretty much everyone in our family. I have had so many requests to publish the recipe so here it is! It’s an easy, excellent fish tacos recipe. Thank you Slavik for sharing your awesome fish tacos with us. I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to ever get tired of this recipe. P.S. They just happen to be gluten free fish tacos!
Seriously though, be generous with that fish taco sauce! The sauce recipe was adapted from Kaylee on All Recipes. We simply doubled it because there never seems to be enough of the sauce ;).
Ingredients for Fish Tacos:
We used tilapia but you are welcome to use any white fish. Salmon or shrimp would be amazing as well!
Fish Taco Toppings:
*Cotija cheese is a Mexican cheese that crumbles when you grate it; similar to feta but much milder in flavor and not nearly as salty. It is inexpensive and found in the refrigerated cheese section of the grocery store.
Ingredients for Best Fish Taco Sauce:
For the fish taco sauce, all you need is sour cream, mayo, lime juice, garlic powder and sriracha. The sriracha gives it a little kick of spice so you can add more or less based on your preference. This taco sauce is essentially a lime crema – the perfect blend of tanginess and heat (print the recipe below).
How to Make Fish Tacos:
1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner. In a small dish, stir together seasonings: 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and evenly sprinkle the seasoning mix over both sides of tilapia.
2. Lightly drizzle fish with olive oil and top each piece with a dot of butter. Baked at 375˚F for 20-25 min. If you want it to get a little browned around the edges, you can broil for 3-5 minutes at the end if desired.
3. Combine all the Taco sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/3 cup Mayo, 2 Tbsp lime juice (from 1 medium lime), 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Sriracha sauce, or to taste in a medium bowl or a large measuring cup and whisk together until well blended. It’s really fun and feels like dining out to serve the sauce in a squeeze bottle like this one.
4. To serve the tacos, toast quickly toast the corn tortillas on a large dry skillet or griddle over medium/high heat.
5. To assemble: start with the fish then add remaining ingredients finishing off with a generous sprinkle of cotija cheese and finally that awesome taco sauce! Serve with a fresh lime wedge to squeeze extra lime juice over tacos.
Mmmm so much sauce! I’m so crazy about this taco sauce. Seriously the best!
⬇ Print-Friendly Fish Tacos Recipe:
Fish Tacos Recipe with Best Fish Taco Sauce!
Ingredients
Fish Taco Ingredients:
Fish Taco Toppings:
- 1/2 small purple cabbage
- 2 medium avocado, sliced
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced (optional)
- 1/2 diced red onion
- 1/2 bunch Cilantro, longer stems removed
- 4 oz 1 cup Cotija cheese, grated
- 1 lime cut into 8 wedges to serve
Fish Taco Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup Mayo
- 2 Tbsp lime juice, from 1 medium lime
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Sriracha sauce, or to taste
Instructions
- Line large baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner. In a small dish, combine seasonings: 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and evenly sprinkle seasoning mix over both sides of tilapia.
- Lightly drizzle fish with olive oil and dot each piece with butter. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min. To brown edges, broil for 3-5 minutes at the end if desired.
- Combine all Taco sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended.
- To serve the tacos, toast quickly toast the corn tortillas on a large dry skillet or griddle over medium/high heat.
- To assemble: start with pieces of fish then add remaining ingredients finishing with a generous sprinkle of cotija cheese and finally that awesome taco sauce! Serve with a fresh lime wedge to squeeze over tacos.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Love Tacos? Don’t miss our most popular taco recipes here (the beef bulgogi and shrimp tacos are completely swoon worthy!)
I’m so tempted to make these again for dinner tonight. I will never stop loving this recipe! I hope you all love it as much as we do.
We made these tonight, followed the recipe exactly, except we used haddock filets in place of tilapia. SOOO VERY, VERY good. Flavor, texture, freshness – just terrific! Easy and quick…a definite keeper recipe. Thank you!
You’re welcome Cathy! I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Absolutely phenomenal fish tacos! We didn’t have cumin, so we skipped that, we also used flour tortillas. Wow!! Definitely a keeper & a regular on our menu!
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe as much as I do Robin! Thanks so much for sharing your excellent review!
I have read several negative reviews on eating tilapia so I felt this was not a good choice of fish for this recipe. Cod, halibut or other white fish would be better.. Viktorya had it nailed on texture and taste of tilapia though I know many people like it just fine. I’m going with the health warnings and use another type of fish.
Hi Phyllis, you can definitely use a different kind of fish. I think salmon or even shrimp would work well also.
One of the reasons I am sure Tilapia was chosen for this recipe is cost factor, and please do not believe everything you here related to Tilapia, I live in Asia.
The original fish used is Mahi Mahi, aka Dorado, aka Dolphin Fish, which would put the cost of this meal quite high.
Another alternative to Tilapia is Pangasius. I would be interested in the results based on the fish you use.
A big thank you from Korin’s family – kids and parents. Everybody loved it and it’s a keeper. My husband asked me – Why didn’t you make it before? I will from now on.
Victoria
That is awesome!! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
I wasn’t a fan of tacos until last night. I made these because my husband loves tacos, and these were delicious! Can we say “awesome sauce?” I had to have another helping at 9 p.m. as a snack. The sauce gives the tacos a fresh and scrumptious kick. Side note, when I watch your videos, my two year old daughter says, “O! eto “tashinka.”
LOL, that’s awesome! I’m glad to hear you love the recipe! Thanks for following and sharing your wonderful review Inga!
Natasha, I’m a new fan of yours. These fish tacos were super easy and so delicious!!! My entire family loved them!
I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hello Debora! I’m glad to hear your family enjoys the recipe as much as mine does! Thanks for following and sharing your great review!
Another great recipe. Came together quick. No more then 30 minutes. I didnt count on my kids liking it. The ingredient list didn’t look kid friendly to me. But they gobled them up and asked for seconds. Overall great dinner idea for the summer. Thank you Natasha!
You’re welcome Tania! I’m glad to hear how much your family loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
I remember trying these tacos at the church camp last year. They are sooo good! Thank you so much Natasha, for sharing this recipe, now I can’t wait to make them!!!:)
My pleasure! I’m glad you like them! 🙂
I made it today for dinner and everyone loved it. It was so delicious. The sauce made a huge difference. Will do it again soon. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome Oksana! I’m glad to hear everyone enjoys the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi Natasha! I’m personally not a fan of tilapia due to texture and taste. What other fish can I substitute for this recipe which would provide a similar result? Thanks!
Most white fish would work fine or even salmon or shrimp 🙂
This came out great…my family loved it. It will go into rotation with your Korean beef taco recipe!
Awesome, I’m glad to hear your family enjoys the recipes as much as mine does! Thanks for sharing your great review Yolanda!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for all of your recipes, I have tried many of them (especially cakes), and its never a disappointment.
Your website is “go to” and is in my ” favorites”, can’t thank you enough….
As far as this recipe goes, could I substitute tilapia with salmon?
Thbank you,
Maria
Hi Maria, yes! Absolutely! That would work great. 🙂 Thank you for that amazing compliment!
These fish tacos look amazing! I can’t believe I haven’t tried making tacos with fish yet! Delish!
I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipes Julia! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow I just made these for dinner and they were incredible I’m so impressed! Thanks so such a delicious recipe, this is 100% going to be a summer staple for me now.
Awww!! That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear you loved the recipe 🙂
I love this website. Different, easy to make, impressive recipes. Keep up the good work Natasha.
Thank you so much Patty! That is quite a compliment and I’m so glad you are enjoying our site 🙂
Made these for my hubby (he loves tacos). Easy and yet delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your amazing review! 🙂
So simple to make & delicious 🙂 my favorite combination 😀
Thank you Karina!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 I completely agree – can’t get enough!
Amazing Recipe!
I’m glad you love it Jenny!
Made these and they are my new favorite. That sauce is amazing!
Awesome, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review Natalie!
Dear Natasha, thank you and Slavik very much for this idea ! Since it’s 102 F here and it lasts for days, I am pinning this one for later !
That is sure hot!! Our temperatures are pretty close this week in Idaho. Thank you so much for pinning! 🙂