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.
Hi Sarah:
This is the first time I visited your website. I made this last night and my wife and I loved it..especially the Crema. I used my own seasonings for the fish.
Hi Mehesh, I’m so happy you liked this recipe.
Hello. I made these -first time making fish tacos-and they were delicious! Thank you. Question-I have left over cooked chicken- would this recipe work with chicken? Thank you!
Hi Char, We always make them as fish tacos, but I think it would still work as chicken tacos. I hope you love them that way!
We use your recipe for the seasoning and amazing sauce every time now. Thank you for sharing!
That’s so great! I love to hear our recipes becoming family favorites! Thank you for sharing that with me, Amanda!
I made this recipe for my husband who is a picky eater. Once I served it there was nothing but sweet silence and the sound of people going up for seconds. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of using grilled Pollock in place of tilapia. I will definitely make this again!
I’m so happy you both enjoyed that, Sarah! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Made these for supper tonight, everyone said they loved them. With my husband being celiac I’m always looking for good recipes to add to my arsenal!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Alana 🙂
Best fish taco recipe I have ever tasted, we use cod instead of tilapia and it turns out great. It is a regular at our house, everyone loves it! Greetings from Norway 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Karolina!
Nice
Thank you for the wonderful review!
Made these tonight for my husband’s father day dinner. We all really enjoyed them. I was worried the fish would be a bit spicy for my son, but the sauce cooled it right down and he had no complaints. No need to find another fish taco recipe. Thank you Natasha.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Made these today! Really loved them! Full of flavor! Thank you for sharing! 😋
You’re welcome AIsha! I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to share your excellent review!
I made these for my family and they loved it!! Even my extremely picky-eater daughter devoured them!!! I added some homemade picodegio which just sent these tacos over the top and served them in whole wheat tortillas, so yummy!!!
I’m happy to hear the recipe is “picky eater” approved! Thanks for sharing your excellent review Yvette!
I don’t usually comment on blog posts I have tried, but these are AMAZING! Cooked them for a group of five and everyone raved!! And the sauce…OMG!
I’m happy to hear the recipe is a huge hit! Thanks for sharing your excellent review Liz!
I was looking for ways to use up some leftover salmon and came across this recipe. It was so good!!! I didn’t have the cheese but will make sure to use it next time. Can’t wait to check out some of your other recipes! Thank you!
You’re welcome Natalie! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for following and sharing your excellent review!
Love this recipe! Not a big fish eater, but this was a great place to start.
Also, thanks for how gracious you are about people that feel like the need to correct your choices or improve your recipes with superior knowledge. Class act.
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for following and sharing your great review!
AMAZING!!! First time making fish tacos, last recipe I’ll ever need for fish tacos!! Who ever created this recipe knocked it outta the park!!! For a mom and daughter that do not care for fish we gobbled this down!! My family said it was coastal restaurant quality!!! Forever a favorite now in our home, thank you!!!
You’re welcome Summer! I’m happy to hear how much you and your daughter love the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
How long do you think the sauce is good for. I made these last week and wanted to make them again
Thank
Hi Ryan, I think the sauce is best enjoyed within 3 days of making it, but I think it could last longer – it won’t go bad within a week but the flavors do mellow out the longer it is refrigerated so if you want more heat or zestiness, add a little more citrus and or hot sauce to taste.
These are delicious! Even my picky 2 year old liked them. It is now in a regular rotation of dinner meals. I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in the sauce- it was the best!!!
I’m happy to hear the recipe is “picky eater” approved! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review Erin!
This was amazing!! How long is the sauce good for?
Hi Jackie, I’m so happy you loved it! The sauce can be made 1-3 days in advance and kept refrigerated until served.
Oh my goodness! I had some salmon and cod that I needed to use up so I just put them together. Absolutely amazing! Thanks so much : )
You’re welcome Katie! I’m glad you love the recipe, I will have to try that combo myself! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
The majority of tilapia in the USA comes farmed from China. If you wish to eat tilapia you might want to educate yourself about their fish farming practices. Eating fish that has been fed on livestock feces doesn’t appeal to me.
I’m going to make these tacos this weekend, using wild cod.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/tilapia-fish#section4
Thank you for sharing! I love the idea of these with wild cod!
Your page and this recipe is really impressive. Your photos make me wish I could skip the work and just start eating. Thanks for the food love.
p.s. I love it when I find gluten-free recipes that aren’t specifically labelled as such.
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe Wendy! Thanks for sharing your thoughtful review! 🙂