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.
Whenever someone visits, I ALWAYS make these fish tacos. It’s absolutely everyone’s favorite- including mine!!
These are a hit each time! I’m so glad they’re your favorite, Thomas!
Making it tonight for dinner. What do you suggest serving with it?
Hi Catherine, we love it with a variety of sides, but one of my readers said it best: ” I serve with side of corn, black bean, cilantro and minced roasted red” Yum! I hope you try it soon!
Hard to believe being of Eastern European background, but I don’t like cabbage. Anyways my question is can one just use lettuce in lieu of cabbage?
Yes, that would be fine.
You have to read and re-read the recipe and instructions because you won’t know what temp and when to heat your oven (for just one example) – usually recipes begin by telling you “preheat your oven to X” this has you getting everything together without any preparation instructions
Good recipe, tastes better cold than warm. I would half or remove the salt though (and add as desired after).
Thank you for your feedback and review, Erika.
I’ve made these a handful of times now and they are great! I do cut the salt down to about 1/2 tsp and I add a sprinkle of cayenne not as much as the recipe says. Also add smoked paprika! Use fat free sour cream and low fat mayo since I do weight watchers. Corn tortillas that I get from the Mexican store (I will never buy grocery store corn tortillas again!) I do want to try a different fish cuz sometimes tilapia is a little too fishy tasting. I also made a cilantro lime cole slaw. I’ve tried it with just the purple cabbage too and it’s good either way. The seasoning is amazing tho! I do a little more cumin, I do a tsp. I want to make a big batch of seasoning and put in a mason jar!
Thank you, Amanda. I’m happy you enjoy this recipe.
I would love to know what other fish you try, so please come back and share your experience with us. 🙂
This is my go to recipe for fish taco’s! Love the spices and how easy it is to make.
Great to hear that, Mandy! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Needs a lot more spice. On the fish as well as in the sauce.
Hubby went ice fishing and just brought home a bunch of fish. Do you think a lemon would work for the sauce instead of lime because that’s what I have on hand? Thanks
Yes- you could use a lemon. It will alter the taste just a bit but should still be delicious.
Thank you for the reply and also this delicious recipe! The lemon worked in the sauce and it was a wonderful Valentine’s day dinner.
Great to hear that, Riley!
I’m making this tonight but using fresh haddock. Tilapia is not a healthy fish. Just a recommendation to suggest another white fish.
No worries and sounds good. Thank you for your suggestion, I hope you like it!
Anyone try this recipe with Ahi Tuna? Definitely one I want to try and have some tuna out for dinner tonight.
Hi Jessica, I have never tried that to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Made fish taco’s for the first time yesterday with this recipe. I’ve always hesitated eating fish tacos as has not sounded appealing but used this recipe and loved them. I used Cat Fish chunks (cubed them) as had some on hand. Very delicious. Cooking the cat fish chunks via these fish cooking instructions would be wonderful by itself. A bit of a kick.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Greg!
I have not (yet) made this recipe, but I would plan on about 3 tacos per person. My guestimate is that the recipe serves about 8 people. You can always adjust the quantity the second time around. (Natasha – your software requires a minimum of 50 words for any reply, or it will not ‘take it’. Just FYI.) Also, your recipes are consistently superb! Thanks!
These were really good! I made them for my hubby and added just a smidge more Siracha than recommended and they turned out phenomenal! Thank you so much for the recipe, will be making again for sure!
Great to hear, Ryan! Thanks for the awesome feedback.
Haven’t made tacos before so I’m not clear on how many would serve one person. I understand the full recipe makes 24 tacos, but how many people does it serve? I’m only making it for two so I’m trying to figure our how much to reduce the recipe by. Thanks!
Hi there, it really depends. The serving size is 24 tacos but you can click on the serving size to adjust the recipe ingredients too if you want to make less.
Amazing recipe. The sauce makes the meal for sure! I never even considered baking the fish, I’ve always fried fish tacos, this is so much easier. Will definitely be making this again!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Kash!
Made these and LOVE them!How do you recommend REheating? Only 2 of us in the house and have ALOT leftover
Glad you loved it, Chuck. 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.
Love these! Made the first time using cod instead of tilapia, since we only eat wild caught fish, but cod was too bland. Made the 2nd time using shredded chicken, seasoned exact same way as the fish recipe. These were absolutely amazing! Officially my fave taco recipe! Hubby loved them too! Can’t wait to make these again! Thanks Natasha! 🙂
Hello Brandy, that’s great to hear! Thank you for your good comments and feedback.
Hubby caught a bunch of perch on a nearby lake so of course those fresh fish went into this amazing recipe the same day. This recipe is addicting! Natasha, your recipes are practical yet special. You make cooking new recipes fun! God bless you and the family 🇺🇦
That sounds awesome, fresh ingredients are always the best. Thank you for your good comments and review!
Made these tonight for dinner and they were delicious! My boyfriend even said they were the best fish tacos he’s ever had. Looking forward to adding these to our dinner rotation. Thanks for a great recipe!
Wow! That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I used haddock fish sticks because that is what we had and just wow!! We’re raving about it still the next day. Had plenty of garnishment left so I used the same seasoning mix on a large roast chicken breast and added about 1/2 cup water for dinner tonight and that was just as delicious! I slightly over measured the mayo and greek yogurt (instead of sour cream) so I doubled the garlic, lime and sriracha. Tastes like a fantastic restaurant fish taco, can’t wait to use fresh fish next! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Sam!