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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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.
Yum these were so good! I used plain nonfat greek yogurt instead of sour cream to cut some cals, and it turned out so well! I mixed cabbage, onion and cilantro with some of the sauce to make a slaw. My husband said this was in my top 3 meals :). Will definitely make again!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Easiest fish taco recipe and oh so good! Any night of the week this is a go-to but especially when short on time. Love the crunch of the cabbage. I don’t always have all of the toppings but it doesn’t matter. Te sauce is the star of the show!
Thank you for sharing this great review with me Tina! We absolutely love the sauce! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
MY FAMILY LOVED THEM
These are amazing. I made 2 batches of the sauce. As is, the kids loved it. For the adults that like more spice, I added more Sriracha, garlic, and lime. I did use less cayenne on the fish.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m happy you enjoyed that!
Yum! This recipe is a keeper. My husband and I loved the seasonings, taco sauce and the method of crisping the edges of the tilapia. Will make this again!
Yay so happy to hear that, Sherri. Thanks for your good feedback!
Hi, these look amazing, but I’m unable to find any cotija cheese where i live.
What would you recommend as a suitable substitute? Thank you
Hi Brea, There are a few great suggestions in the recipe comments, I highly recommend looking through those. Some have mentioned goat cheese, Grana Padano, feta.
My husband does not like cotija so I used for him Monterey cheese. he said the creaminess from shredded Monterey cheese was a hit for him!
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that substitute with us!
Hi Natasha
These look delicious! Would the recipe taste good with plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Hi Chris! That will work! That’s actually the only substitute that I can guarantee will work – plain greek yogurt! I haven’t tried anything else yet other than that.
I’ve never tried fish tacos before, but this recipe is delicious!! Definitely I’ll repeat, I added finely grated carrot, great taste!
I’m so glad you loved it! It is one of our favorites.
This was amazing. This will become a staple in my kitchen, and I can’t wait to make this with shrimp. The sauce was amazing. I had to beat my husband back to the kitchen for seconds, so I knew he wouldn’t eat it all!
So wonderful to hear that, Candace. I’m glad to know that you both LOVED the fish tacos. Thanks for sharing your great experience with us too!
These fish tacos are so easy and so delicious! The sauce is amazing. Thanks for an easy weeknight dinner that everyone loved!
So glad you loved it, Ashley. Thanks for your awesome review!
I think your amazing why aren’t you on the food network. Love your fish tacos and everything else you make
Aww, you’re so nice! Thank you!
I made these tonight and they were so delicious! You are right that sauce is amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made your fish tacos and they were great! My husband loved them too! Thanks
So great to hear that! I’m glad you both enjoyed this recipe.
Holy cow!! Best tacos I’ve ever had!!! They were amazing!! The perfect Blend of salt and spice, umami and crunch. Absolute perfection!!
That’s just awesome Amanda! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Fantastic Recipe! We were lucky enough to have fresh caught yellowfin tuna and used that to make these amazing tacos. Thanks, this recipe is a keeper for sure!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
These fish tacos were the best. They were light, fresh and so tasty. Will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe.
Our favorite!! Thank you fo sharing this wonderful review Lily!
So I did everything the recipie said except I salt and pepper the tilapia then added the cumin and cayenne pepper and rub on some Valentina hot sauce then lined a baking pan with parchment and rub butter on it, did it in the oven, I mixed some lime juice in with chopped up cilantro and red onion. Thats the only thing I did differently other then use regular flour tortillas cause that’s what I had on hand and Roma’s from my garden and I think the tacos turned out wonderfully !
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Made your fish tacos, first time ever, and they are delicious. The sauce is finger licking good! Whole family said this is a keeper
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I don’t like fish tacos. Like, at all. But these tacos are amazing!! We had some fresh red snapper and used that for our fish. Delicious! I am absolutely blown away by how good these are. Maybe I like fish tacos after all….
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Made once already and love it.
Wanted to make for a larger group without being in the kitchen the whole time cooking the fish. Can the fish be made ahead of time?
Hi Dana, we enjoy it best fresh but that may work! I would recommend finding a way to reheat it without overcooking it. Perhaps the oven or a skillet.