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Best Easy Fish Tacos

25 reviews / 4.4 average

The Best Easy Fish Tacos! Tender and flaky fish full of spicy flavor tucked into flour tortillas and topped with garlic cilantro lime slaw. YUM!

The good news is this: even if it’s not summer, even if you live far away from any sort of ocean, even if you don’t really know anything about cooking… you can make EXTREMELY GOOD fish tacos at home.

Right here, right now, tonight. It’s on.

We love, love, love this recipe.


Check Out Our Video For How To Make Fish Tacos:


There is no love like the love I have for good fish tacos. And with these, you’re going to get that fish nice and tender and flaky and full of spicy flavor, and then you’re going to tuck it into little flour tortillas and top it with garlic lime slaw (omg), avocado, cilantro, and whatever else your fish taco heart desires.

The textures, the colors, the satisfying and crunchy I-might-be-on-vacation vibe? It’s all there.

We have plenty of other methods of making fish tacos on Pinch of Yum but these are hands-down the best easy fish tacos. They are just right for the Everyperson, which is why I love them and make them all the time.

They are:

  • super fast
  • super easy
  • fresh and crispy
  • full of flavor
  • peppy and fun
  • one of my favorite back-pocket weeknight meals!
Fish tacos with sauce and diced avocados in them.

TYPES OF FISH TO USE IN TACOS

We’re using cod for this recipe, but any white fish will do. You could also use:

  • Mahi mahi (yum!)
  • Snapper
  • Flounder
  • Halibut
  • Grouper

And if you you’re not a big fan of the above, shrimp is always an option! In that case, these Spicy Shrimp Tacos will be your best friend.

Tacos with fish and avocados.

What To Serve with Fish Tacos

Slaw, avocado, cilantro, repeat!

But also: you could serve these tacos with some yummy Mexican rice, a simple salad tossed with cilantro vinaigrette, or a Mexican street corn salad. And maybe some margaritas for good measure? Definitely margaritas.

More avocado, more garlic lime slaw, and more of that yummy, buttery, spicy, seriously-easy-to-make fish, please. MORE.

The best easy fish tacos are yours for the taking!


More weeknight tacos, please! For our easiest, most mindless chicken tacos, you need this recipe – my whole family is OBSESSED with these tacos.

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Fish tacos with avocados and a wedge of lime next to them.

Best Easy Fish Tacos


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.4 from 25 reviews

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 23 servings 1x

Description

The Best Easy Fish Tacos! Tender and flaky fish full of spicy flavor tucked into flour tortillas and topped with garlic cilantro lime slaw. YUM!


Ingredients

Scale

Fish Tacos:

  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1015 oz. cod or other white fish, thawed
  • tortillas and avocados for serving
  • slaw for serving (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix butter, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt in a small bowl. Pour mixture over the fish. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  2. Flake apart the fish and coat with the extra sauce in the pan.
  3. Make your dressing and pour it on the cabbage. See more in notes section.
  4. Prep your toppings (mashed avocado, slaw, red onion, mango salsa, whatever you like). Serve fish in tortillas with toppings!

Notes

Slaw: Make a sauce by blending 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup chopped green onions, 1/2 cup cilantro, 1-2 cloves garlic, juice of 2 limes, 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt, and a pinch of salt. Pour sauce over shredded cabbage to make a slaw!

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Keywords: easy fish tacos, fish taco recipe, best fish tacos

Frequently Asked Questions For These Fish Tacos

What could I substitute for butter?

Ghee or dairy-free butter would be a good substitute here!

How long does leftover sauce for the slaw last in the fridge?

The sauce will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.

How do you know when the cod is cooked?

If the fish flakes easily with a fork, it’s done! If you want to be sure, you could use a thermometer to check. Fish should be cooked to 145 degrees F.

What other types of fish could you use?

Mahi-mahi, grouper, flounder, or halibut would also work. If you want to use salmon, these Salmon Tacos are also very delicious!

How could I grill the fish?

I love these tips from Weber Grills! In short – bring your fish closer to room temperature, use high heat, and let the fish release from the grill on it’s own so it doesn’t flake off.

Could I batter the fish and make crispy fish tacos?

I’d recommend using this recipe for Crispy Fish Tacos!

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78 Comments

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      I made the fish tacos, the grilled corn salad and the Mexican rice, all 3 were delicious!! Thanks for the recipes!

    2. Pinch of Yum Logo

      These tacos are delicious! I added a pinch of cayenne to both the fish sauce and the green sauce and I also only used one lime on the green sauce, which made it very tasty. I think next time I’d try using less butter in the fish sauce as suggested in one of the comments to try it as a paste, but it was also good as a runny sauce too. Will definitely be making this again!

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I love the new way of showing the recipe steps with the videos! Also, I can’t wait to make this!!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hi, Jo! We haven’t tried this without butter, but you could try using oil instead. We’d suggest using just maybe 1 tablespoon of butter to make it more into a paste instead that you spread on the fish. Enjoy!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Hi there! We’d actually really recommend chili powder here. We would say this these tacos have flavor but aren’t overly spicy. You could try cutting the amount of chili powder in half though if you’d prefer. 🙂

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Super disappointing recipe for me. I usually love your recipes, but this one did nothing for me. The fish was good by itself, but not as a taco. Maybe others will like it.

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        I actually agree. I have probably made over 75% of the recipes on this blog ON REPEAT…I love them all so much. The fish was good, but the sauce for the slaw was flavorless and dull.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      What kind of oil for the slaw dressing? My go-to is olive oil, but not sure that flavor works?

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Loved this recipe, the slaw in particular. It turned out great. QQ: I had a lot of leftover slaw sauce so I have it saved in the fridge. How long do you think it’s good for?
    Thanks!

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Do you have any recommendations for telling when the cod is done? This is my first time baking fish and I’m nervous, haha.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      I made these fish tacos for dinner tonight. So good! The slaw was amazing and tasted so good on the tacos! Very easy to make., especially on a weeknight!

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I just made this for dinner tonight and my whole family loved it!!! (4yr old and 15mo old included) We made everything, the fish and slaw, and it tasted delicious. Thanks Lindsay, great recipe!!

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    The recipe title says it all. This was super easy to pull together and will definitely be made again. Note to self…easy on the garlic as it stays raw in the dressing.

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I was wondering if there is a substitute for the cilantro or should I just make without it? We’re not cilantro fans 🙂

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made this tonight but used shrimp instead of fish because that’s what I had. So amazing. I made your creamy avocado green sauce to go with it. Will repeat this in a heartbeat as my husband and all of our kids loved it as well. Thank you! I always know my family will be happy when I make your recipes!

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made these last week following the recipe exactly as outlined . . I don’t always.
    It was perfect! My family loved it. A definite fav!

    Thank you

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    The marinade for the fish was good, the teaspoon of chili powder was barely noticeable which was a plus because I needed my kids to be able to eat the food. The fish came out good, however, the slaw dressing was way too limey and unpalatable.

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made these last night and they are super close in flavor to Wahoos fish tacos, which I LOVE!! So good! Next time I’ll add a tiny bit of Cayenne to give it a little kick. But, this will be on our rotation from now on!

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hi, this recipe looks amazing I was wondering if for the slaw I can use coconut milk instead of sour cream or yogurt I don’t like dairy.
    Thanks !

  13. Pinch of Yum Logo

    These are so good – my entire family loves them! The bonus is how easy they are!

  14. Pinch of Yum Logo

    We LOVED this recipe! It was the perfect summer meal. Thanks for always giving us great recipe ideas!

  15. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Can we use frozen fish that goes directly in the oven? Could i put the sauce on top of the frozen fish? Thanks!

  16. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hi! Just found your website and I love your recipes! Is there a dairy free substitute I could use in the slaw? I can’t have dairy. Maybe a dairy free yogurt? Thanks!

  17. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wow these tacos were so so good!! I added the the magic green sauce. They’re just as good as brewery fish tacos in California that I gorge on every time I visit.

  18. Pinch of Yum Logo

    These tacos are delicious, my family loved them! I did use a little too much lime in the slaw but balanced out the flavors by using mango as a topping. I definitely will be making these again!

  19. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Absolutely loveddd this!! Living on the coast, this will be on the monthly rotation- thank you!

  20. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Another winner! I love this green sauce for the slaw! I used Mahi this time but can’t wait to try this with Shrimp! 🙂