This recipe for fish tacos is seasoned fish layered with cabbage, avocado, pico de gallo and a creamy sauce, all tucked inside warm corn tortillas. It’s a meal that’s fast, fresh, healthy and ready in 20 minutes!
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
Fish Tacos with Avocado
Ingredients
- 1 pound tilapia fillets a different variety of mild white fish will also work
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- 1 cup pico de gallo homemade or store bought
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 8 corn tortillas warmed
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Coat the fish with the taco seasoning.
- Place the fish in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until just cooked through.
- In a small bowl, mix together the plain yogurt, mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons of water.
- To assemble the tacos: divide the cabbage evenly between 8 corn tortillas. Break up the fish into large pieces and add it on top of the cabbage.
- Finish the tacos with the pico de gallo, avocado and a drizzle of white sauce. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 20, 2016 and was updated on June 9, 2019 with new content.
Emmie says
I made this recipe for my family. Everyone loved it! When I made the sauce, I added some avocado and more taco seasoning so it wasn’t super boring. It turned out so good! This recipe has such a fresh taste. I would 100% recommend this recipe
Deedee says
The only thing that might make it better is a squeeze of fresh lime😋
Flo says
These fish tacos are better than at a restaurant! Very flavorful!
Aimee says
Your entire site is fantastic. Easy to follow recipes, that anyone would love. Thank you!!
Sara says
Thank you so much Aimee, I really appreciate it! Happy holidays!
Cathy says
Love fish tacos and avocado obviously makes everything better!!
Catalina says
Oh my goodness! I want these for dinner tonight!
Jade Manning says
I have never thought of Fish in a Tacos, I love Fish and Tacos, perfect combo!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
I’m drooling this is everything I love! This looks totally awesome!
Dorothy Reinhold says
Love a good fish taco! I am thinking of all the great toppings I want!
Brandy O'Neill says
Tacos in any form are a favorite of mine! This recipe has been in my taco Tuesday rotation!
debbie says
These fish tacos are so amazing! My husband loved them!
Katie says
Is the 322 kcal per taco?
Sara says
Hi Katie, that sounded high to me so I ran the numbers one more time and got a more reasonable 199 calories per taco. Sorry about that! It’s an automatic system that generates the calories and on occasion it can be inaccurate if it doesn’t interpret the recipe ingredients correctly.
Sandy Keyes says
I am alergic to chilanto, what would I substitute for that?
Sara says
You can use parsley, green onions or simply omit altogether!
Dee says
I made this with lightly sautéed Mahi Mahi. It is such a lean fish & goes well with the tropical salsa.
Lakeisha says
So for the tropical fruit do we cook it as well or just leave it as it is and put it on top of the fish?
Sara says
The fruit doesn’t get cooked, it’s just diced and mixed with the other ingredients!
Barb says
No cooking the salsa. Fresh n chilled is the best.
Karly says
Fish tacos mean several things to me: 1) Vacation (at least for my tastebuds) 2) Sweet summertime and 3) Absolute bliss. I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says
I can’t express how much I love this recipe – my son has been after me to make grilled fish tacos again – and this sounds like the perfect recipe to try. Thanks so much – sharing and pinning!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Fish tacos are my absolute favourite and these look perfect!