This EASY Fish Tacos Recipe made with homemade cabbage slaw and the best fish taco sauce will become a family favorite.
Crispy blackened fried white fish (tilapia or cod) topped with a crunchy cabbage slaw and a spicy fish taco sauce – completely ready in just 20 minutes!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Tilapia fish tacos-
Tilapia Fish Tacos are a family favorite for busy dinners! Not only are they so easy to make, but they are also so filling and amazingly DELICIOUS! We like to prep everything and set the toppings in ramekins on the table buffet style and everyone assembles their fish tacos to their personal taste. Always such a fun dinner.
I love the crispiness of the fish combined with the homemade crunchy slaw and the homemade sauce just takes the tacos to a whole new level of GOOD.
fish tacos ingredients-
Fish tacos are so easy to make and totally versatile. Add your favorite toppings for a personalized taco and leave out whatever doesn’t sound appealing. 😉
- WHITE FISH- Though we used codfish in these fish tacos, tilapia, flounder or your favorite white mild fish may be used.
- FISH TACO SEASONING- We combined paprika, cumin, chili powder and garlic for the homemade seasoning.
- FISH TACO SAUCE- For the sauce, combine ranch dressing with sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, and hot sauce.
- TOPPINGS FOR FISH TACOS- Homemade cabbage slaw, diced tomatoes, avocado, and Cotija or feta cheese are our favorite toppings. Homemade guacamole is also a great idea!
- TORTILLAS- Use your favorite size flour tortillas. Note: The smaller the tortilla, the more tacos you will have. I usually purchase the kids the smallest size, they sure enjoy those; for my hubby and me, we use the medium-sized tortillas.
how to make fish taco recipe-
Preparing fish tacos is super quick and easy. You want to make sure all of your toppings, slaw, and tortillas are already made before you cook the fish so you can serve the tacos right away.
- Prep the cabbage slaw. Finely shred the white and red cabbage, a mandoline slicer works best. Thinly julienne the carrot and slice the red onion. Combine all the ingredients.
- Prepare fish taco sauce. In a bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the fish taco sauce.
- Prepare additional toppings. Cube or slice the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.
- Fry the fish. Coat the fish and fry until cooked and crispy.
- Heat tortillas. We like the tortillas heated so while the fish is cooking, I heat the tortillas in a toaster oven.
- Assemble the fish tacos. Add the fish to a tortilla, top with the coleslaw, sauce, and toppings.
how to make the BEST homemade Fish Taco Sauce-
We prepare a homemade sauce for the fish tacos. It has a slight kick to it from the hot sauce, you can adjust more or less hot sauce depending on how much heat you like in your sauce.
Prepare Chipotle Ranch sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Ranch dressing, sour cream, lime juice and hot sauce (or Sriracha).
NOTE: For a quicker dinner, substitute the homemade Chipotle Ranch sauce with a store-bought sauce.
easy fish taco seasoning-
In a deep dish (so it’s easiest to coat the fish), combine the flour with paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper. NOTE: For a quicker dinner, use a store-bought seasoning of choice.
If you don’t want the extra crispiness from the flour, omit the flour completely. Combine remaining ingredients and season the fish on both sides, cook in oil in a skillet or bake in the oven with butter.
The first time I tried Fish Tacos was at BJ’s Restaurant. I tried both the fried and grilled fish and I think I dreamt about the tacos for days (and this is not even when I was pregnant). I mean they were AMAZING!
And when something is that amazing, you recreate it – of course! So, we present our copycat version of BJ’s restaurant Fish Tacos. 🙂 This Fish Taco Recipe will surely hit the spot.
OTHER EASY FISH RECIPES:
- Blackened Tilapia Fish– The quickest way to make tilapia.
- Creamy Vegetable Tilapia– A party favorite.
- Buttered Cod– The lemon butter sauce is wonderful.
- Flounder with Vegetables– The vegetables add so much flavor.
Easy Fish Taco Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium flour tortillas
- 1 lb cod fillets
- 2 Tbsp canola oil, for frying
bowl 1-
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
fish seasoning, bowl 2-
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
cabbage slaw-
- 1 cup white cabbage, finely shredded
- 1/2 cup red cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
fish taco sauce-
- 3 Tbsp ranch dressing
- 3 Tbsp sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp sriracha or hot sauce
fish taco toppings-
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta or cotija cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup tomatoes, cubed
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Shred and julienne ingredients for the slaw. Combine and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
- Prepare the 2 bowls for the fish breading. Add ingredients from bowl 1 in one bowl and ingredients for bowl 2 in a separate bowl.
- Dredge the cod fillets into the first bowl, then completely coat in the seasoned flour.
- Once the oil is hot, add fish fillets and cook 2-4 minutes per side, or until the fillets are flakey and cooked.
- Meanwhile, warm the tortillas and cut toppings.
- Add cooked fish to a tortilla. Generously top with slaw, desired topping and drizzle with sauce and fresh lime juice.
- Enjoy!