We regularly celebrate Taco Tuesday at my house with slow cooker chicken tacos, carne asada tacos or tacos made with fresh fish. These fish tacos are better than anything you’d get at a restaurant.
We do tacos for dinner almost every week at my house. Not only are tacos easy to make, but I also love that they’re highly customizable which can be important when you’ve got picky eaters! These fish tacos are tilapia fillets seared to perfection, then layered with cabbage and topped with pico de gallo and avocado slices. Taco perfection I tell you!
How do you make fish tacos?
This recipe starts with fresh fish fillets, which get sprinkled with taco seasoning and seared in a hot pan until they’re golden brown and cooked through. While the fish is cooking, it’s time to prepare the taco toppings with which include shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, avocado and creamy sauce. Everything gets layered together in hot corn tortillas, then dinner is served.
Tips for fish tacos
I typically use store bought taco seasoning to save on prep time. If you don’t have taco seasoning on hand, you can mix together 2 teaspoons of chili powder with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin and pepper. Be sure not to overcook your fish – a thin fish fillet only needs to cook for 3-4 minutes per side. You can use flour tortillas or hard taco shells instead of corn tortillas if you prefer. I use a mandoline to finely shred my cabbage. You can purchase a bag of pre-shredded cabbage to save on time. I like to make my own pico de gallo whenever possible, but store bought pico de gallo from the deli section is also a great option. The white sauce is a blend of mayonnaise and plain yogurt, and can be made a day in advance.
WHAT FISH IS BEST FOR FISH TACOS?
I recommend using a mild white fish for these tacos, such as tilapia, halibut, cod or mahi mahi. In this case, I’ve used tilapia because it’s readily available and inexpensive. You’ll want to cut your fish into strips to fit inside your tortillas, or cook the whole fillets then cut them into 2-3 inch pieces.
WHAT TOPPINGS DO YOU PUT ON FISH TACOS?
While these fish tacos include just a few toppings, you can absolutely add other toppings to your liking. Here are some of my favorites.
Veggies: Roasted corn, sliced olives, diced red bell pepper. Cheese: Shredded cheddar or crumbled cotija cheese. Chiles: Roasted mild green chiles or thinly sliced jalapenos. Herbs: Chopped cilantro or sliced green onions.
Now you can enjoy taqueria style tacos in the comfort of your own home, in under 30 minutes! How can you go wrong with that?
MORE GREAT TACO RECIPES
Ground Beef Tacos Baja Fish Tacos Pulled Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Salsa Fried Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Relish Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
This post was originally published on June 20, 2016 and was updated on June 9, 2019 with new content.
