Fish Tacos Recipe with Best Fish Taco Sauce!
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.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
The sauce is what makes both the fish tacos and the shrimp tacos stand out. We like this sauce so much I have used it on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise Depending on how spicy you make it, it really kicks up the flavor in the sandwiches a LOT. Lasts about a week in our house
Yay, thanks for the wonderful feedback, Andrea!
So delish!! I always order fish tacos if they are on a restaurant menu and these held up! Loved the spice the fish seasoning had. FYI- if you put parchment under the fish you shouldn’t broil them at the end!
Thank you for sharing, Sarah! I’m glad you love this recipe. 🙂
Why is that, Sarah ? I just got
a set of these from my son and
was looking forward to using them to make these fish tacos
this weekend. Thank you
Eve
I think Sara was concerned about paper starting on fire. But, Eve, it sounds like you got the silicone sheets which would be fine under the broiler.
Made the Fish Tacos tonight.
Absolutely amazing.
Very light and fresh.
People loved them and kept going back for more.
Wonderful! Good to know that it was a huge success.
Thank you so much for this recipe. The Tacos were very easy to make and absolutely delicious. They were restaurant quality and much cheaper to make at home. My whole family loved them and the homemade Creama was to die for.
That’s wonderful! So glad they enjoyed them, Robin.
I love all your cooking videos. Natasha!! You make it sooo simple to cook up these great meals.
For the fish tacos, what other fish do you recommend besides tilapia?
Thank you!
O.V.S.
Another white fish! Common ones are halibut, mahi mahi, snapper, cod, bass and cat fish. 🙂
We made this along with your Pico exactly as you said and WOW yummy and filling. It was so delicious. My family of 6 devoured this. I agree with you! Best fish tacos ever! I’ve really enjoyed all of the recipes I’ve made of yours. Thank you thank you! Makes a moms life easier
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your excellent review, beth! Isn’t it the best when the family loves what we moms make?
Made the fish tacos tonight with no changes to the recipe. Wow was it delicious!! Thank you!
Excellent! So glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for the review, Nancy.
Thank you, Natasha, for this incredible recipe! We have made it many times and the whole family enjoys it! It is part of our regular menu line-up. This sauce really pulls it all together nicely!
That’s wonderful, Nancy. So glad your family enjoys this recipe. It’s one of my favorites! 🙂
Absolutely delicious!!! I used fresh cod. The sauce is amazing…. Such wonderful flavors. Will definitely be adding this to our rotation! Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Hello Lisa, thank you for your good comments and feedback. Happy to know that you just found a new favorite!
Hi, How many per serving on this recipe for the 172 calories?
Hi Catherine. If you look on the recipe card, this makes about 24 servings and those are the nutrition facts per serving. 🙂
Me and my son and daughter-in-law love to fish tacos. I don’t know if that’s not a sound appetizing to my husband.. But he’s a meat and potatoes man
I hope he loves it too!
Made these tonight, following the recipe exactly. LOVED them. The 13yo devoured approximately 10…which is unusual for him.
While I did say “exactly”, I made one small change. We like a slaw rather than plain cabbage. So I put 3 tablespoons of the fish sauce in the grated cabbage. Que perfecto!
Hi Moriah! Thank you for sharing your feedback. So glad you loved them. 🙂
Love this recipe for shrimp tacos. I add 2 tbs of seafood sauce to the sauce which takes it to another level! Thanks Natacha for this incredible recipe!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Chris!
I made these with left over ling cod fillets. I breaded the fish yesterday with GF flour & basic season. Dressed in butter olive oil & garlic sauce. Great on its own. Today used left over fish adding Mex seasoning. Perfect! The sauce is wonderful. Made corn salsa as a side.
Yum! Don’t you just love versatile recipes? I’m so happy you enjoyed this one, Polly!
These fish tacos were fabulous! Don’t know how I could improve on this recipe. Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Patricia! This is a top-rated recipe, and we love it too!
okay seriously!!!!? THESE WERE AMAZING 🤯🤯🤯 best fish tacos, or tacos in general, that we’ve EVER had, including tacos we’ve eaten in mexico and in restaurants. i made mine with basa fillet, but i can’t wait to try with other fish as well. thank you so so much for sharing this!
Hi Viv! These are a favorite in our household. I’m so glad you found them to be just as good. Thank you for your feedback and wonderful review. 🙂
This is the best recipe. We grilled MN Walleye instead. I added a tablespoon of our own maple syrup to the sauce … delicious. Everyone loved it. Will be making this again. Thank you!
Hi Therese, thanks for the great feedback! Happy to know that you all enjoyed it.
This sauce took me back to my days living at the beach in San Diego! It’s quick and easy and uses pantry items.
I subbed:
– Plain yogurt for the sour cream
– Trader Joe’s Chile Lime seasoning
It is going to become part of my regular rotation.
Sounds delicious! So glad you found a favorite, thank you for sharing.
Followed the recipe and these are the best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten. The sauce is amazing. Thank you.
We love these tacos! I’m happy you enjoyed them too. The sauce is one of our favorites!
Do you think I could prepare the fish and grill it on outside grill? I want to make this for family vacation and don’t want to stink up the whole place!
Hi Laure. One of my readers commented that they make them on the grill and loved the results.
I made your fish taco recipe and it was fantastic. I used mahi mahi and shrimp but the end result was amazing. Thank you.
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it!
The sauce is the key to this whole recipe. Question: How long will the sauce keep in the refrigerator? Thanks!
Hi Jason, I usually make my sauce fresh when I prepare the tacos. I would say up to 1 week but you’ll also want to take into consideration the expiration dates on the ingredients you are using.
Hi Jason, I usually make my sauce fresh when I prepare the tacos. I would say up to 1 week but you’ll also want to take into consideration the expiration dates on the ingredients you are using.
Really really good and I love the sauce I did exactly what you said except I added finally dice cilantro to it and just to kick it up I put a little slap your mama in it. It was perfect I already had some tilapia that I was going to do something with and some fresh made tortillas.
So glad it was enjoyed! 🙂
had the fish tacos tonight and loved them! Definitely making them again.
That’s great, Dorothy! So glad you enjoyed them.
We absolutely love these fish tacos. So easy to prepare and the sauce makes this recipe amazing!
Thank you, Loretta! So glad you enjoyed these.
Hello Natasha! Excellent recipe! I live on the Pacific so I used fresh Mahi (not a fan of Tilapia) and these were amazing!! Instead of sriracha we use chiltepe here in Guatemala.
I bet this was so good with fresh Mahi! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Delicious! I would leave out the cayenne in the seasonings maybe replace with paprika and chili powder as my preschoolers thought it was too spicy. we made a large batch of fish and shrimp and the ENTIRE plate was demolished. I mixed the cabbage, avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro with some of the crema and made a sort of salsa-coleslaw. So So Good!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lisa! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with the preschoolers!
Oh my, that sauce! It took all my willpower not to eat it plain. So good. I had made some mango salsa and had some left over after the tacos. Ate it with tortilla chips with a little of the sauce squeezed over, best snack ever! I love your site Natasha, it’s my go-to when looking for a new recipe.
Thank you for the trust, Elise. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and especially the sauce! It is indeed so irresistible.
Made it exactly as written and it was excellent, as are all your recipes. Thank you for another quick and easy week night meal that the entire family loves!
You’re very welcome, Kelli!
Love everything about this recipe but it’s a hard, “NO” on Tilapia. Fresh from the ocean grouper, snapper, cod…all are great in place.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Ginny! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I loved this recipe however I did the fish in a beer batter first, used pickled red cabbage instead of shredded purple cabbage and substituted the Cotija for Feta cheese. Definitely a winner in our house.
Sounds delicious, Bonnie! Thank you for your review. I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe.
Question – the nutrition information says 1 serving – but is one serving one taco?
Hi Paige, yes, this recipe makes 24 tacos- so one serving would be a taco.
I have made these fish tacos at least four times for my family and friends and every time they are praised. The taco sauce is excellent. I made the recipe as written. Fast, easy and delicious 😋. Thanks Natasha!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you all enjoyed it, Elaine!
I used your recipe this past weekend for a quick dinner plan to entertain our guest with. This is super easy to make. These turned out to be amazing. Very simple and easy to make. Everyone enjoyed them.
Hi Jennifer! That is great! I’m happy they were enjoyed. Thank you for the feedback.
My wife and I always enjoy your recipes. This is yet another example. Thank you!!!
You’re welcome! I hope your family will love all the recipes that you will try from my website and channel.
I sure wish you had a cook book! I would love to buy it …love allll your recipes “
Thank you, Linda, for your kind words. I’m currently working on my cookbook and will be ready approximately in the fall of next year.
Always enjoy your recipes and your fun to watch! And of coruse delicious!
I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying them!
I love fish tacos and these were fantastic! Definitely going to be making these often, Barramundi fillets on the grill worked out perfectly and the sauce was delicious!
I hope you love this recipe, Michelle!
Love love love…but I make them with frozen fish sticks baked with cumin and spice. Still taste amazing
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
This is my Go-To fish taco recipe. Like all of your other recipes, this one is delish!!
Great to hear that this is your go-to recipe, Jennifer!
We make these all time and just love the sauce! What is a good side to serve besides rice?
Hi Shannon, we also love having this with refried beans, chips salsa and guacamole, coleslaw, fries and so much more.
Great tacos! Love the seasoning for the fish and the white sauce is delish.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Eldou!
Tried ’em last night with the grandkids. Excellent! I had them make everything; We used cod. After everything was prepped, we got them in a “production line”; One helped with heating the tortillas, the next put the fish on the tortilla and plated them on pre-heated plates (we also used shrimp!), then the next put on cabbage, tomatoes, avocados, red onions, and then the cotija cheese (wow! what flavor BTW), then I put the taco sauce on (another major hit, BTW) and put a nice scoop of Spanish rice and a lime garnish on the plates. Everyone got two fish, and one shrimp taco. Perfect! Plates were brought to the table, and everyone then sat down and we all got to eat together. Everybody loved it. We had New York style cheesecake for dessert, with homemade blueberry sauce. Limeade for drinks, Caribbean music in the background (Thanks Alexa), and we had another meal to add to our rotation!
I’m so glad you and the grandkids loved these tacos, Merk! Thank you for sharing those recipe notes with us!
This recipe is fantastic – I’ve come back to it multiple times.
I cooked professionally for over a decade, and I make very few alterations, unlike recipes I find elsewhere.
Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Miles!
Best fish tacos I’ve ever had. I have used cod, halibut and bass. My wife is not a fish eater but she ask for these taco’s often.
That is nice to know, Greg! Thank you for your awesome review and I hope you and your family will love all the recipes that you will try from my website and videos.
Winner Winner Fish Dinner!! My husband, who does not like fish, requests this often. This is a go to favorite. Easy and fast to make. Thank you for sharing Natasha!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Barb!
My husband is an avid fisherman and we were trying to get creative with all the trout in the freezer. I personally have never had fish tacos and was hesitant about trying them but I am so happy I stumbled upon this recipe. It is going to become a classic in our home! We loved all the flavors and textures. I made mine into a bowl style with rice and all the toppings and it was great too! Definitely give this a shot!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Hannah! I bet this is so good with fresh-caught fish! Thank you for your wonderful review!
My husband loved these tacos another successful natasha recipe
Great to hear that he loves this recipe! Thank you for the good feedback.
This is our go-to fish tacos and fish sauce dish to make! My family loves it. That fish sauce is a game changer! Keep up the great work Natasha!
Thank you, Mary! So glad to hear that. Thank you for the review.
I’m new to your show, I want to make the No cook cheesecake you had on your show. How do I get the recipe for it
Hi Donna, you can find my cheesecake recipe HERE.
Absolutely Delish! And the fish sauce IS the best, and as a bonus, gluten-free.
Thanks for the awesome review and feedback!
Tried your fish taco recipe for first time tonight, using cod. Loved it and will be using the sauce on lots of other dishes in the future.
Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Isn’t it so good?! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Phyllis!
Thanks so much for this great recipe! Made tonight for dinner and we loved them! Will definitely be making often, especially during the summer months! Can’t wait to make for my daughter and her partner, they are vegetarians and will love these!
You’re welcome! Thank you for the review.
Super yummy!! We used Feta on ours and since I had pita bread on hand, we used that for our “taco” shell. We loved it. Already added this one to my recipe book. Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Kim!
You’re so welcome, Kim. I’m happy ton know that you enjoyed it using the ingredients that you have on hand.
This looks very tasty, but can I make it without cilantro? Is there a substitute?
Hi Valerie, you can leave out the cilantro and it will still be good.
Out of this world fish tacos. Wow the sauce was excellent. Thanks.
You’re welcome, John. Glad you loved it!
These were awesome! They were the best fish tacos we’ve ever had including out at restaurants. The sauce was delicious and took them to a new level. I did use some healthy type flour tortillas. It was all I had. We will definitely be making them again.
So happy to hear that Sylvia! I’m glad you enjoyed them. These are one of our favorites as well, the sauce is incredible. Thank you for the review.
I came across this recipe in a Google search for sauce for the tacos, made this crema and well I might just put this on everything from now on lol it’s delicious
Awesome, so good to hear that you loved it!
Soooooo good! I’ve made them about 4 or 5 times now. Tonight we lightly fried the tortillas and OMG. Game changer. I have to make this for company next time!
That’s great, Claudia! So glad you enjoyed them.
Hi,
we all love your fish taco recipe – especially the kids. I substitute the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and lime wedges for your amazing “Pico de Gallo”. And of course we use this creamy taco sauce !
Instead of Cotija cheese I used goat feta. Also very nice.
Thanks a lot for sharing your food ideas !
I don´t have a Facebook or Instagram account – but if you would like to see my pictures of your recipes please feel free to check my website at mylittlediner.com
Greetings from Germany!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review.
Do you have favorite brand of frozen fish you use? Or do you use fresh fish only?
Hi Lynn, I cannot think of any specific frozen fish brand but if I can, I use fresh.
I’m a Natasha too! So naturally i was drawn to this recipe. Lol. Im always looking for new fish taco recipies for my family because we do one Taco night a week and don’t do much beef. It was delicious! And the sauce was amazing. I doubled the recipie for the sauce because we all love to go heavy on our sauces. I also couldn’t find Cotija cheese so I used Queso Fresco but was still super delicious. This will be a staple taco recipe in my household from now on.
That’s a great substitute, thanks for your good comments and review, Natasha! I’m happy that you loved this recipe.
I just made these yesterday, and everyone LOVED them! There was only a little sauce left (which I will be enjoying with my lunch today) – everything else was gone! 🙂 I slightly reduced the amount of cayenne pepper for the tilapia seasoning, but I don’t even think my daughter noticed, so I will add the full amount next time. I love how easy this recipe is and how delicious these tacos were!
I did pickle some red onion and red cabbage in separate jars, and added those as topping options, too.
Thank you so much for a fantastic recipe. I will definitely make this again.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, NK! Thank you for sharing that great review with me!
I just ran across this recipe and LOVED the way they turned out! I used cod, instead of tilapia, and I didn’t have cumin so I used a chili seasoning packet (contained cumin). DELISH!! Oh, and the sauce is swoon-worthy!
Awesome,so glad you loved this recipe!
I absolutely love watching you cooking amazing meals and I just love how much energy you have and make the videos fun.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my videos, Jennifer!
We eat these at least once a week now, amazing recipe! Thank you 😊
You’re so very welcome! I’m glad it’s become a favorite.
Brilliant flavor! The combination of flavor and texture is perfect. Lime is a must. The sauce – doubled the recipe and so glad we did! I was reluctant about the red cabbage, but it all worked. This one is a keeper!
Yay to finding a new favorite! I’m so happy you loved this recipe!
I left dinner to the last minute tonight so was really hoping that the 30 minute time was going to be true… it totally was! Dinner was on the table in half an hour to rave reviews from the whole family. Love how the fish is hands-off once its in the oven so you can prep all the toppings. Definitely don’t skip the fish sauce, its the best.
Love it! Thank you for your great feedback and review, Carla. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and yes, definitely do not skip the fish sauce.
Made these for the family last night and it was a wild hit! My husband had 4 massively packed tacos and compliments abound from the entire family. He said I “knocked it out of the park” and “no need to go out for fish tacos anymore!!” Thanks so much for the recipe DELICIOUS!! It is my go to now for sure – used tilapia and it was phenomenal! Thanks again
I’m so glad it was a hit, Mikki! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Making them again tonight! My family and I love all of your recipes!
Thank you for the review, Heidi. I am happy you love this recipe.
Made these at lunch time for the family. Huge raves, thanks for sharing!
Anne
You’re welcome, Anne. I’m glad your family enjoyed it!
This was my first time ever eating fish tacos, so I was really apprehensive, but this recipe was a huge success!
I used cod instead of tilapia, but followed the recipe exactly, and wouldn’t change a thing!
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Susan. And thank you for the great review!
I made the fish tacos tonight. My husband wouldn’t stop hugging me. Kinda weird…haha. He said there is NO reason to ever eat out for fish tacos again! I have never had much luck cooking fish, but this was fantastic. So simple!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Mandy! Thank you for sharing this with me!
Whenever someone visits, I ALWAYS make these fish tacos. It’s absolutely everyone’s favorite- including mine!!
These are a hit each time! I’m so glad they’re your favorite, Thomas!
Making it tonight for dinner. What do you suggest serving with it?
Hi Catherine, we love it with a variety of sides, but one of my readers said it best: ” I serve with side of corn, black bean, cilantro and minced roasted red” Yum! I hope you try it soon!
Hard to believe being of Eastern European background, but I don’t like cabbage. Anyways my question is can one just use lettuce in lieu of cabbage?
Yes, that would be fine.
You have to read and re-read the recipe and instructions because you won’t know what temp and when to heat your oven (for just one example) – usually recipes begin by telling you “preheat your oven to X” this has you getting everything together without any preparation instructions
Good recipe, tastes better cold than warm. I would half or remove the salt though (and add as desired after).
Thank you for your feedback and review, Erika.