Easy-to-make spicy fish tacos with pan-fried white fish, slaw, and chipotle mayo. A healthier alternative to fried fish tacos ready in just 15 minutes!
A few years ago, there was a Mexican restaurant in Miami that had the BEST estilo baja tacos! Beer-battered deep fried fish, Mexican slaw, and chipotle aioli. YUM! Literally was my favorite lunch spot. Until they closed. (hello darkness, my old friend) So bummed. But hey, that just means I had to learn to make them at home.
But here’s the catch, I HATE frying at home. If you’ve been a reader for a while (thank you!), I’m sure you’ve read about my hatred for frying. These spicy fish tacos are BOMB and they are pan fried, not fried fried. Does that make sense? Ha!
They are tender, flavorful, juicy and the creamy, spicy chipotle mayo just makes them extra DELISH! I mean, who doesn’t love a kick in their tacos?! You can totally adjust the spice levels in the recipe. If you want more chili powder, go for it! Maybe just add in 1 teaspoon at a time. Just to be safe. If you want more chipotle mayo, by all means, help yourself!
I used this chipotle mayo but you can use any brand you’d like, or even make your own! I added simple recipe in the notes section below. Best part of this recipe? Uh, everything. Duh. No wait, there’s more! It all comes together in just 15 minutes!
YASSSSS.
What are you waiting for?!
I hope you make these and LOVE them!
15-Minute Spicy Fish Tacos with Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 fish fillets (any white fish like cod, mahi mahi, halibut)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 corn tortillas , warm
- 2 tablespoons chipotle mayo (store-bought or simple recipe in notes)
- Fresh lime juice
- Tomato , chopped
- Red cabbage , thinly sliced
- Cilantro , roughly chopped
- Lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Lay the fish fillets on a clean work surface and sprinkle the spice mix evenly over each filet, rubbing it on all sides.
- In a non-stick skillet set over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add 2 of the fish fillets and cook, undisturbed, about 4 minutes. Flip the fillets and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Repeat the cooking process with the remaining 2 filets. Set aside.
- Make chipotle mayo using the recipe in notes. If using store-bought chipotle mayo, mix two tablespoons of the chipotle mayo with 1 tablespoon of lime juice to slightly thin it out for drizzling over tacos.
- Using a fork, shred the fish fillets. Divide into 12 corn tortillas, top with red cabbage, tomato, cilantro, and chipotle mayo. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
SHOP THE RECIPE
Looking for other sauce ideas?
- Avocado Chimichurri
- Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce
- Cilantro Garlic Sauce
- Homemade Lightened Up Chipotle Mayo
- Lemon Yogurt Sauce
- Avocado Sauce
- Cilantro Garlic Chimichurri
- Avocado Crema
- Mango Rum Sauce
- Lightened Up Big Mac Sauce
- Arugula Pesto
- Homemade Lightened Up Caesar Dressing
- Mango Mojito Dressing
- Avocado Dill Dressing
- Homemade Honey Whiskey BBQ Sauce
- Guava BBQ Sauce
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Shaquira Bonilla says
April 23, 2017 at 8:31 amThese look delicious!!
Jamie Silva says
April 24, 2017 at 11:50 amThank you so much!
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration says
April 26, 2017 at 4:24 pmLove how quick and easy this dish is. It looks delicious!
Jamie Silva says
April 26, 2017 at 4:28 pmThanks Alyssa!
Erica says
April 28, 2017 at 1:48 pmSuper love that these come together in 15 minutes! Chipotle mayo is one of my favs, can’t wait to try out this recipe!
Jamie Silva says
April 28, 2017 at 1:49 pmThanks Erica!!!
Riva says
April 29, 2017 at 5:08 pmOh man, I have been looking for a good fish taco recipe! This one looks amazing, and I love how fast it comes together. Definitely pinning this one to try!
Jamie Silva says
April 29, 2017 at 5:16 pmHope you LOVE it, Riva! :)
Senior says
October 13, 2017 at 9:51 amIt looks delicious! thank you!
Jamie Silva says
October 13, 2017 at 10:53 amThank you!
v8web says
January 18, 2018 at 10:54 pmIt looks delicious!
Karen says
April 27, 2018 at 2:02 pmI have made these twice now, and they are for dinner tonight. These tacos are SO SO good! We made the fish just as directed. I like that there is NO breaded coating. The chipotle mayo was actually chipotle yougurt here, with lots of the adobo sauce, we like things spicy! We skipped the veggies listed and topped it with cabbage and jicama slaw (from Epicurious.com). Delicious! A favorite for us, and it will be served often here! Thanks for sharing!
Leah Vachani says
May 18, 2018 at 2:15 pmHi Jamie! I love your recipes! Just wanted to drop you a line that I love this recipe so much that I linked to it (https://lunchwithleah.com/9-easy-quick-healthy-weeknight-meals/) in a recent recipe round-up post I wrote about healthy weeknight meals for busy families.
This recipe is in constant rotation at our home, sometimes with variations but always yummy. Thanks for creating delicious recipes!
Leah @ LunchwithLeah.com
Jamie Silva says
May 18, 2018 at 2:32 pmHi Leah! Thanks so much. Glad you liked it! :)
Shayna says
August 7, 2018 at 11:50 pmThis was amazing! I can’t wait to make it again. I was surprised at how easy it was – it really was 15 minutes!
Jamie Silva says
August 8, 2018 at 1:55 pmSo happy you LOVED it! :)
Sam says
January 9, 2019 at 10:27 pmExcellent recipe! So easy, healthy and flavourful
Jamie Silva says
January 10, 2019 at 12:32 pmSo happy you loved it, Sam!
Allie says
April 25, 2019 at 12:25 pmSo excited to try this! But is it really 93g of protein per serving? Obviously it depends on the type of fish! Thank you for the recipe!!
Jamie Silva says
April 25, 2019 at 1:51 pmHi Allie! Oops that’s not right. I went ahead and updated the nutritional info. Sorry! Hope you love this recipe as much as I do! :)