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:
- 24 small white corn tortillas
- 1 1/2 lb tilapia
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
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 mayonnaise
- 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
Filed Under
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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.
Recipe looks great, planning to make it this week! I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to find any Cotija cheese though, any suggestions for a substitute? Is this fresh Cotija or aged?
Hi Vj, There are so many great suggestions in the comments I highly recommend looking through those. Some have mentioned goat cheese, Grana Padano, feta.
Hi do you and one of the sauces to the red cabbage?
Hi Tammy, I’m not sure I understand your question.
These are SO good an refreshing! Followed the recipe “to a T”. These are better than several restaurant fish tacos I’ve had! Definitely a new go to recipe. Thanks!!
Thank you for your great review Max. Glad that you loved this recipe!
Just made this last night and my kids and husband loved it!! Another recipe win from this website. Thanks Natasha!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great, Crystal!
yes please! These are great
We love fish tacos but that sauce is definitely a game changer! So good!
This recipe is as simple as it is delicious! So fresh and full of flavours and the topping suggestions make all the difference! Thank you, Natasha!
Have you ever made shredded beef tacos?
Hi Maria, that sounds like a great idea. We do have these beef tacos here you may enjoy.
I was looking for a fish taco recipe and came across this recipe, let’s just say no need to look no further! The best, most tasteful fish tacos I’ve had. Paired it with cilantro lime cauliflower rice and homemade beans. Thanks for the delish recipe
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
The family love these! So fresh and tasty. A little prep required, but totally worth it. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Stacy! I’m so glad you liked that.
My family has made this fro taco Tuesday night at least 4 or 5 times and it’s always a hit! The flavors are great together and the addition of cilantro gives it a “fresh” taste! Absolutely delicious!
That’s so awesome, Tae! Sounds like you found a new family favorite!
The recipe is for 24 tacos, and you have prepared 7 pieces of fish…so are you using just under 1/3 of each piece per taco? Do you shred all the flesh before dividing it up into the 24 servings?
Hi Diane, we sure do. We break it down and load them up with the desired amount.
I would update to lose the garbage fish tilapia to some other firm fish.
100% agree. I am surprised she used Tilapia, wouldn’t feed it to my dogs.
Tacos were amazing! loved it..
I’m so happy to hear that!
We made them for Dinner tonight. Super easy I had my teenage daughter helping with the whole process and she loved how easy it came together. My husband is super picky and he sure enjoyed them as well as our teenage kids. We have a new favorite in this family! Next time I make them the only thing I would add is a side of rice and beans like they do at Rubios! Thank you for all your recipes!
That’s awesome and it sounds like a good plan. Thank you for sharing that with me and for giving great feedback! I hope you love every recipe you try!
These are AWESOME! Made them tonight and they were delicious and enjoyed by my husband and son as well! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
We absolutely love these. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Shanna!
Hi Natasha,
Do you think I could leave out the lime juice out of the sauce? Hubs cannot have any citrus.
Hi Olga, I haven’t tried it with anything else acidic but just leaving it out – the sauce would seem like it’s missing something. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes. If anyone else has tried a substitution, please let us know!
I’d consider rice vinegar, either plain or seasoned.
I have experimented with this recipe over the years and pickled jalepeno juice works really well too.
Thank you for sharing that with us Kaylee!
Excellent recipe. I used cod and it was perfect. I am not a very good cook but these were simple, delicious, and my boyfriend loved them.
Hi Jenn, I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Search no more. This is THE best fish taco recipe and the one I will always use from now on.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Super scrumptious! And so easy! I made salmon and chicken versions, and both were tasty as. The sauce is to die for! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I will be making it again soon for sure.
I’m so glad to hear it, Elizabeth! Thank you for that awesome report.