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.
My husband was a little cautious but he is now a loyal fan👍
Great to hear that!
Natasha, my oven is out of commission, but I have an air fryer and an instant pot. Can you recommend cooking time/temp for either of these methods?
Hi Nicole. I’m sorry, I have not tested either method.
Is the nutrition guide per one taco? I’m trying to count my calories and know I’ll eat more than just one lol.
The the top of the recipe card, you’ll see the number of servings the recipe makes is 24 tacos. The nutrition facts are per one taco.
Having a taco bar for 70 people. I would like to use your recipe. Do you think you can bake the fish, and then freeze. Then warm the day needed?
Hi Nancy, I haven’t tested that to advise but I think that will work!
So easy to make and it is so very delicious. Better fish tacos than any restaurant I have ever been to has served. My family absolutely loves them and requests that I make them often. The sauce is amazing!
I’m so happy you found a family favorite, Denise! That’s just awesome!
Love this recipe! It’s definitely a family favorite. Easy to make and delicious!!
So glad to hear that! It’s one of our favorites too.
This is delicious! (As usual) I have many strengths and cooking is not one of them, now Every time I cook something delicious my boyfriend looks at me and says “Natasha ?”
– Yeah, Natasha
And we both start laughing, you literally saved both of us THANK YOU!
That’s awesome! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for sharing.
When using cotija, are you using the fresh kind like crumbly feta or the aged cotija more like Parmesan?
I live in a very small town no “fancy” cheese here hahaha 🤣
Hi Lee Ann. It’s not feta and it’s not Parmesan. Cotija is an aged Mexican cheese made from cow’s milk Which can be found with the other cheeses in your local grocery store.
Lee Ann was asking if the consistency of the cotija cheese is similar to crumbly feta or more like Parmesan. She realizes that the cheese is cotija. The stores where she is may have the cotija in both consistencies. I find it, where I live, that it’s consistency is more like crumbly feta.
I only want to make 6 tacos not 24. When I change the amount to 6 the ingredients change to the metric system which I don’t understand. Can you fix this to also show the US measurements? Your US Customary futon also shows the metric system measurements.
Hi Diane! I just tested it myself. I’m seeing both US and METRIC options. Are you clicking on the “US CUSTOMARY” button above the servings to the right? You have the option to switch between both.
Hi!
I love this recipe and have used it many times. What other fish, besides tilapia, can I substitute with and how would the recipe alter?
Thank you,
Talin
Hi Talin! You can use any other white fish without alterations. Some of my readers reported using halibut.
Absolutely love this recipe. So easy and so tasty. I buy prepared slaw mix and add the mayo to make it even quicker. Love your recipes Natasha!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Nerissa!
Recently discovered Fish Tacos, and decided to try at home. The sauce is amazing, and for my taste, I will go a little easier on the spices. I used sole, and cooked some in my counter top oven and some I ended up frying. Both were good. I added avacado, and created a wrap. I think I will try it “deconstructed”. Great recipe, Thank You
Sounds great! You can always tweak it a bit according to your personal preference. Thanks for this review!
We absolutely love the recipe. The sauce is as good as described. I blacken my fish instead of baking.
Hi Scott! Thank you for the feedback. So glad you love the recipe.
I have made this many times using shrimp and we love it. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Karen. We hope that you’ll enjoy all the other recipes that you will try!
I would love to make this because of all the 5 star reviews. There are just 2 of us. Can you tell me how to adjust the quantities to make this for 2 people who would probably eat a total of 5 tacos? Thank you in advance for your help with this!
Hi Barb! You can actually change the serving size in the recipe card and it will convert the ingredient list for you.
Made this tonight for my very picky Husband and Mom and we all LOVED it! That sauce!! OMG! I did reduce the lime to 1 Tbs because we are not big lime fans. I tasted it and it was good on its own but it was so delicious on the taco! I love your recipes and have made a lot of them. We are counting the days until our cookbook arrives! Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Thanks for patiently waiting for my cookbook, it means a lot to me! I’m also happy to know that thi recipe was a huge hit with your family, thanks for sharing!
How about coming to San Diego for your cookbook signing? Thanks Natasha!
I would have loved that too! I hope to be able to go to more places and tour more.
FIRST time trying to make Fish Tacos – my husband and brother both said “best fish tacos EVER”. Thank you so much for this winning recipe.
It has become a “treasured family favorite”!!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Kathy!
This was so good and so easy! My family loved it, even my non-fish loving son! I served with corn on the cob for a delicious and quick meal on a busy weeknight.
Hi Megan! That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you so much for the review.
Wow! These fish tacos are delicious and easy! The sauce is the perfect touch along with the fresh grated cotija cheese and a squeeze of fresh lime. I made a few small changes that wouldn’t have a large effect on the recipe. I made this recipe with Cod, wrapped it in foil and cooked it on the grill to avoid “fishing” up the house. I used seafood magic seasoning because it’s what I had on hand and I used yellow corn tortillas as I couldn’t find white corn. The sauce is a must and gives this recipe the wow factor! My whole family loved it!
Hi Shealene! Thank you for sharing your experience with this recipe. I appreciate the feedback.
These were fantastic! I made the tacos using pollock, and a couple days later, I used this recipe to make shrimp bowls. I used one pound of frozen uncooked shrimp with the suggested seasonings and baked for 15 minutes at 350. I made white rice seasoned with lime juice and cilantro. We topped the rice with all the topping ingredients minus the cabbage. The cotija cheese and taco sauce made this extra delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds wonderful, Katie! Thank you for sharing that with us!