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.
Made these today and they are amazing!!! We used low carb tortillas and everyone loved them. Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent! My husband said the sauce was “restaurant-worthy”!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Claire!
I came across this recipe last weekend when I thought it would be fun to try something new. My family loved them so much we had them twice this week. My husband even requested the tacos for his birthday meal which is saying a lot coming from a guy who only likes pizza! Excellent recipe!
That’s so great Gretchen! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
These were very good! I had a couple of thin catfish fillets that I had planned to fry, but then I saw your recipe and had all the ingredients so I made the tacos instead – recipe is a keeper, thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I’m glad you shared your idea on the swap. I also have catfish that I was going to fry but wanted to look for a healthier alternative to frying. I’ve never used catfish for tacos before so thanks for the suggestion. May I ask if you still added the pat of butter? Also, did you soak your fish in milk first? I see that recommended for catfish recipes to get rid of the fishy flavor. Finally, how high & how long did you bake them for?
LOVE THIS!!!! Sauce is to die for! I used cod and it was so good!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
How many calories would it be if we did salmon instead?
Hi Michele, The built in nutrition calculator that we have only calculates the ingredients in the recipe so I would suggest trying one of the free online nutrition calculators and pasting the list of ingredients with salmon instead.
I’m looking to try this but, is there any substitute for mayo? I absolutely cannot stand it haha!
Hi Jennifer, we fell in love with this sauce and haven’t changed it since. You could experiment but it will give you a different flavor profile without the mayo. If it helps, it doesn’t taste overly mayo-y.
This is the second time I made this.. delicious, really is!! It is on our weekly Rotation
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
My husband raved about this and he never raves. The sauce was killer and just made the tacos awesome.
Hi Dee, That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Made this tonight (kinda). I used fish sticks we had on hand. Other than that followed the recipe to a t. Husband raved and we are excited to have leftovers tomorrow. Thanks for a great recipe. Will try soon with baked fish, but the fish sticks did not disappoint. They actually added a nice crunch.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Shannon!
These fish taco’s are simply superb !!!! Made them as directed . Will be making them again ! From Florida
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Forgot to rate with 5 stars! And I did use feta instead of the Mexican cheese. Can’t wait to make these again!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Judi!
If I use shrimp would I bake them just as long as the fish? Or a shorter period of time? 🙂
Hi Natasha, shrimp cooks really fast so I would definitely watch that closed and shorten the time. We have an awesome shrimp tacos recipe here.
These tacos are the bomb! I used cod because that’s what I had and added an extra tsp. of sriracha to the sauce. Otherwise followed the recipe. Love, love, love these tacos!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Judi!
These tacos were a big hit with friends last night. Followed the recipe exactly including tilapia and they came out perfectly. Still got half a squeeze bottle of the sauce which was also popular. I served refried beans as a side but everyone put a thin layer right onto the tacos. I also made guacamole which people also put onto their tacos rather than just avocado.
Thanks.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with me!
I definitely align with the comment below — I’m also not one to review recipes, but this one is a must! I’m currently making it for the second time. 🙂
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me Rachelle 🙂
Thought we’d try this as we both want to like fish but struggle to find recipes that would allow us to. This one hits the spot and is absolutely delicious! We’re in the UK so had to substitute a few ingredients, so used Cod for the fish and Feta for the cheese.
Can’t wait to make it again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that David & Amy! Thank you for sharing that with us!
I am not one to review recipes but this is one that truly earns it’s 5 star rating. The only improvement I can make to it is make the sauce a day before and keep it refrigerated overnight, it really helps to marriage the flavors together.
Great job, Natasha!!
Hi Terri, That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortill???
Hi Dana, you sure can! The flavor profile will slightly change but the filling will be just as delicious!
Fresh and tasty!! A new family favorite and so many options for variations.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I used perch being a Lake Erie girl and left out the avocados as I do not like them. I did make the crema. I felt that they were totally delicious with my homemade cole slaw. We will be making them again.
I’m so happy to hear that, Sue! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I made these fish tacos today and they were hands down the very best fish tacos I have ever had. The seasoning for the tilapia was perfection and the sauce was actually the very best. The leftover sauce and avocado are going on a burger tomorrow.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂