Fish Tacos are the perfect summer dinner! Served with mango salsa, cabbage slaw and a fresh tangy lime crema. Each component is so easy to make.
Fish Tacos – Mango Salsa, Cabbage Slaw and Lime Crema Recipe
Fish tacos are an impressive dinner that the whole family will love! The fish is seasoned with a flavor packed blackening seasoning and air fried or baked for a crispy exterior with light flakey interior.
If you have never had mango salsa it is a must try! Fresh sweet mangos pair perfectly with crunchy red peppers, red onions, lime juice and cilantro (or parsley).
A quick cabbage slaw is made with crunchy cabbage, cilantro and lime juice. The lime juice softens the cabbage and lightly pickles it. The longer it rests the softer it gets but I like mine with a bit of crunch!
Lime crema sounds fancy but it is simply sour cream mixed with lime zest and juice. It is the perfect tangy sauce of these fish tacos!
What is in Fish Tacos?
- Fish tacos are traditionally made with white flakey fish. I like using basa which is a thicker fish, but sole, code, haddock or halibut work great also. The fish is seasoned with a blackening spice blend of chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. The fish stays incredibly moist during cooking and gets a nice crispy crust from the spice blend!
- The lime crema is as simple as mixing sour cream, lime zest and lime juice. The perfect tangy topping for your tacos!
What is in Mango Salsa?
- Fresh sweet mangos pair perfectly with crunchy and sweet red peppers. Red onion and cilantro (or parsley) is finely diced and mixed into the salsa. Lime juice is used to soften the red onions and peppers and makes the flavor of the onion milder as it gets slightly pickled.
What is in Cabbage Slaw?
- I love a mix of purple and green cabbage to create a colorful slaw. However, you can use 100% purple or green cabbage or a store bought coleslaw mix. The slaw is as simple as shredding your cabbage (or using store bought mix), adding in some diced green onion and cilantro (or parsley). Squeeze fresh lime juice over the slaw and use your hands to massage it all together. The lime juice will soften the cabbage and by mixing by hand it will break down the cabbage a bit and soften it up.
How to Make Fish Tacos
Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of Page
Prepare the Fish
1 Pat fish dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. If using frozen fish ensure the fish is fully thawed and press out any excess water with a paper towel.
2 Mix the spices and oil together and pour over the fish. Use your hands or a spoon to evenly spread the seasoning over the fish. Place in the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes.
Prepare the Mango Salsa
3 Prepare your mango salsa by mixing the mango, red pepper, red onion, cilantro or parsley and lime juice until evenly combined. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
Prepare the Lime Crema
4 Prepare the lime crema by adding the zest of 1 lime and the juice of ½ a lime to the sour cream. Mix until combined. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
This mango salsa is delicious on grilled chicken as well!
Prepare the Cabbage Slaw
5 Use a food processor, knife or mandolin to shred the cabbage. In a large bowl mix the shredded cabbage, juice of 1 and ½ limes, cilantro or parsley, green onion and salt until evenly combined. I recommend using your hands to mix the cabbage and gently press/massage the cabbage to soften it. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
This cabbage slaw is great on pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches too!
Cook the Fish
AIR FRYER COOKING METHOD
Preheat Air Fryer to 400°F. Add your fish in a single layer to the Air Fryer basket or tray. Air Fry for 10 minutes, flipping the fish halfway through, or until cooked through.
STOVE TOP COOKING METHOD
In a large frying pan heat a small amount of cooking oil on medium heat. Pan fry the fish for 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through.
OVEN BAKING COOKING METHOD
Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add your fish to the tray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
Serve your tacos family style on a platter with warm corn tortillas (or flour).
Food Processor Recommendation
New digital MagicCos 14 cup 7-in-1 Food Processor (linked here)
Some of favorite things to make:
- Sorbet – simply blend a bag of frozen fruit!
- Pizza Dough – processor comes with a dough hook!
- Salads – the shredding blade makes it so quick and easy
- Fresh Ground Meats – for nuggets, meatballs, hamburgers
Key Features
- 14 Cup Capacity & Powerful 1000W Copper Motor
- It is versatile and large enough to handle various tasks like making ice cream, sorbet, coleslaw, and chopping meats for your own ground meats!
- 7 Multifunctional Accessories
- Comes with chopping blade, dough blade, reversible shredding/slicing/mashing blade disc and a spatula
- 7 Variable Speeds & Pulse Function
- Features 7 variable speeds and pulse function, dicing onions, mincing parsley, and uniformly slicing tomatoes in seconds. Plus, pulsing lets you incrementally chop food and control the blade to limit your risk of over-processing
- Rotary Switch & Digital Touch Panel
- Instead of the normal physical buttons, MagicCos electric food chopper is DIGITAL! Featuring a touch panel & LCD display with a timer. There are even pre-programmed settings for meat copping, smoothies, ice crush, and more!, smoothie & meat chopping & ice crush functions are surprises for you!
- Dishwasher Safe & Dual Protection
- Double safety lock on the base and lid allows for safe use. There are 4 suction cups on the feet to keep the food processor safely in place on your kitchen counter! Also, all removable parts are dishwasher safe (base can not be washed by the dishwasher). We know the last thing you wanna be do is doing the dishes.
Looking for More Easy Dinner Recipes?
Try some of my favorite easy dinners:
- Chicken Nuggets – extra crispy and better than you know where (Hint: M). Control exactly what does in your chicken nuggets. Make a batch and store in the freezer!
- Pork Carnitas Tacos – couldn’t get easier with the help of a slow cooker. A true dump and go recipe!
- Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – this dinner is on repeat in our house and always a family favorite!
Enjoy!
– Sab
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, may earn me a small commission.
Fish Tacos (Mango Salsa, Cabbage Slaw, Lime Crema)
Equipment
- Oven for pan frying or oven baking cooking method
- Air Fryer for air fried cooking method
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas, or tortillas of choice
Fish
- 1 ½ – 2 lb basa 4 large fillets, or sole, cod (or other flaky white fish)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1.5 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Mango Salsa
- 2 mangos, diced into small ½” cubes
- ½ red bell pepper, finely diced
- ¼ red onion, finely diced
- 1 tbsp cilantro, or parsley, finely chopped
- Juice of ½ lime
Lime Crema
- ½ cup sour cream
- Juice of ½ a lime
- Zest of 1 lime
Cabbage Slaw
- ½ cup purple cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup green cabbage, shredded
- Juice of 1 and 1/2 limes
- 1 tbsp cilantro, or parsley, finely chopped
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pat fish dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. If using frozen fish ensure the fish is fully thawed and press out any excess water with a paper towel.
- Mix the spices and oil together and pour over the fish. Use your hands or a spoon to evenly spread the seasoning over the fish. Place in the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes.
- Prepare your mango salsa by mixing the mango, red pepper, red onion, cilantro or parsley and lime juice until evenly combined. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Prepare the lime crema by adding the zest of 1 lime and the juice of ½ a lime to the sour cream. Mix until combined. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Prepare the cabbage slaw. Use a food processor, knife or mandolin to shred the cabbage. In a large bowl mix the shredded cabbage, juice of 1 and ½ limes, cilantro or parsley, green onion and salt until evenly combined. I recommend using your hands to mix the cabbage and gently press/massage the cabbage to soften it. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
- AIR FRYER COOKING METHODPreheat Air Fryer to 400°F. Add your fish in a single layer to the Air Fryer basket or tray. Air Fry for 10 minutes, flipping the fish halfway through, or until cooked through.STOVE TOP COOKING METHODIn a large frying pan heat a small amount of cooking oil on medium heat. Pan fry the fish for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.OVEN BAKING COOKING METHODPreheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add your fish to the tray and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
- Serve your tacos family style on a platter with warm corn tortillas.