These Tilapia Fish Tacos are a quick and easy dinner that’s packed with flavor. Bake or grill the fish, then add the sauce and coleslaw. An absolute crowd puller!
do you like tilapia Instead of grilling or baking the fillets, here’s a unique way to serve them: Tilapia Fish Tacos! This tender white fish is perfect for Baja-style tacos. You’ll bake or grill it with a homemade spice blend until flaky, then top with creamy sauce and crunchy coleslaw. It’s one of our favorite ways to enjoy this lean protein and it’s always a hit for entertainment or with a crowd. Here’s what you should know about wrapping tilapia in a tortilla.
How to Make Tilapia Fish Tacos: Grilled or Baked!
There are two ways to cook tilapia fish tacos: you can grill them or you can bake them! Here are the benefits of each:
- Grilled Fish Tacos: Using the grill is lightning fast! You can grill this fish in a total of 4 to 6 minutes: And you don’t even have to preheat the oven. It saves a lot of time and is our preferred method.
- Baked Fish Tacos: You can cook tilapia even if you don’t have a reliable grill. It’s fast too: just 10 to 12 minutes. Our baking method also requires toasting the top to give it a bit more crunch, which is also an option.
However, before you cook them, you will need a spice mix. Read on for some options…
Fish Taco Seasoning
There are a few spice options for these tilapia fish tacos too! Both are very similar, but one gives a larger amount of spice mix that you can use for other things. Here’s what you should know about these fish taco condiments:
- Fish Taco Seasoning: This recipe makes 1 recipe so you won’t have leftovers! It is heavier in chili powder and also contains cumin, smoked paprika powder, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Fajita Seasoning: This recipe makes 6 tablespoons total. You can use it for 3 fish taco recipes or for other recipes like fajitas and roasted vegetables. It’s heavier on the cumin but otherwise has similar ingredients to mix with (no onion powder).
Coleslaw for tilapia fish tacos
Now that you’ve mastered the fish: move on to the Fish Taco Salad! These tilapia tacos work with a few different coleslaws. Here we used our favorite Fish Taco Salad, which is quick and easy to make. But if you want to make it even easier, here’s a shortened coleslaw you can make in no time:
- Thinly slice 4 cups red cabbage (Here’s how).
- Add the juice of 1 lime (2 tablespoons) and a few pinches of kosher salt.
That’s it! Coleslaw is absolutely essential for fish tacos because you need a crunchy element to balance out the soft fish and tortillas.
Top it off with taco sauce!
The last element of tilapia fish tacos is the sauce! As with the other elements of this dish, we have a few options. Here’s the sauce we used and a little breakdown of some other options:
- Fish Taco Sauce: This creamy sauce takes 5 minutes and you don’t even need a blender. It’s tangy with a bit of spice.
- Cilantro Lime Ranch: Another favorite! This one is sweet and creamy, a take on ranch dressing. (Here’s a vegan version.)
- Chipotle sauce: This one is quick and easy and also vegan. It’s spicy too!
Sides to serve with tilapia fish tacos
That’s it! These tilapia fish tacos use 1 pound of fish for 8 tacos, so it’s important to add a few side dishes to keep the meal filling for 4 people. Or you can increase the amount of fish to 1.5 pounds (see notes below). Anyway, here are some easy side dishes to serve with tacos:
- Fried beans: Use homemade beans or heat them up with some cumin and chilli powder.
- Chips and Guac: So easy! Here’s our favorite homemade guacamole.
- Salad: This easy Mexican salad pairs perfectly with Latin-inspired dishes.
Nutrition of tilapia
Not as popular as salmon or shrimp, tilapia is incredibly versatile and a healthy lean protein! According to WebMD, it has these nutritional benefits:
- It’s a protein powerhouse. 3 ounces of tilapia contain 23 grams of protein and only 111 calories.
- It’s full of wholesome and healthy fatty acidssuch as omega 3 and omega 6.
More tilapia recipes? Try baked tilapia, parmesan-crusted tilapia, blackened tilapia, or grilled tilapia.
This Tilapia Fish Tacos recipe is…
Pescetarian and gluten free. For dairy-free items, choose a dairy-free taco sauce (options below).
The description
These Tilapia Fish Tacos are a quick and easy dinner that’s packed with flavor. Bake or grill the fish, then add the sauce and coleslaw. An absolute crowd puller!
- Boil or grill fish: When cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat the tilapia dry, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pat dry. Add fish taco seasoning or fajita seasoning and pat to coat the fish. Place the fish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10 minutes until tender, then grill 2 minutes until top is lightly browned. Or grill on high for 2-3 minutes per side (4-6 minutes total) until cooked through and flaking with a fork.
- Prepare the salad: Meanwhile, thinly slice the cabbage. Grate or grate the carrot (we used a julienne peeler). Finely chop the spring onions. Place the cabbage, carrots, and green onions in a bowl. Stir in lime juice, ¼ tsp kosher salt, and ¼ tsp celery salt. Serve immediately with a slotted spoon. Coleslaw absorbs moisture while it rests; If you plan on letting it sit, be sure to serve with the slotted spoon to filter out the moisture.
- Prepare sauce: Prepare the fish taco sauce.
- Warm up tortillas: Char the tortillas, if desired, by placing them over an open gas flame over medium-high heat for a few seconds on each side, turning with tongs until lightly charred and warmed through. Or heat them according to the instructions for reheating tortillas.
- Assemble the tacos by filling the tortillas with fish, coleslaw, and gravy. Garnish with chopped coriander and some lime.
Remarks
*If you’re serving 4 hungry eaters, you can increase the fish weight to 1.5 pounds and increase the spice amounts accordingly. Coleslaw and gravy should work for 12 tacos. Or, be sure to serve it with a hearty side dish like bean curd (store-bought or homemade).
- Category: main course
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Mexican inspired
- Diet: Gluten free
Keywords: Tilapia Fish Tacos
More taco recipes
Tacos are the perfect quick and easy dinner recipe! Here are a few more of our favorite taco recipes:
