These Baja Fried Fish Tacos feature crispy beer-battered fish paired with zesty cilantro lime slaw, smoky Chipotle sauce and juicy pico de gallo, served in a tender tortilla!
These are one of our favorite summer meals: packed with flavor, bold, fun, and easy to make, they're sure to be a hit with your family too!
Fried Fish Tacos
I wish you guys could take a bite of these Baja Fried Fish Tacos because no words come close to how AMAZING these are!
We love these with a big glass of ice-cold Passion Fruit Juice but beer is a close second, if you’re into it!
These Fried Fish Tacos are:
- Baja-style with light, crispy beer-battered fish with a soft tender center!
- With zesty, refreshing cilantro lime slaw.
- Lots of creamy, smoky Chipotle cream!
- Fresh, juicy pico de gallo.
- Easy to make!
- Perfect for leftovers: we make our Favorite Taco Bowl the next day!
- Great for summer, Taco Tuesday and get-togethers!
- Customizable!
Ingredients for Fried Fish Tacos
Oil or lard. So in Baja they fry the fish in hot lard hehe it adds lots of flavor and fries beautifully but you can still fry these in sunflower, vegetable or canola oil and they’ll turn out delicious!
Tilapia or Cod. We like Tilapia for these tacos (fresh or frozen, if using frozen, thaw before using) but you can also do Cod. You want a white fish with mild flavor for these!
Flour, for the batter.
Beer or mineral water. We like beer for this batter because it gives you that light, airy, golden crisp you’d eat in Baja, use a light beer like Modelo or Corona or any light beer of your choice. If you don’t want to use beer, stick to mineral water.
Salt, for flavor.
Sour cream or mayonnaise or a blend of both, for the Chipotle sauce.
Chipotles in Adobo or Salsa de Chipotles in Adobo, both work. We use the canned “salsa de chipotles” so it’s already smooth but the canned whole chipotles also work, you just have to blend a bit more. We use “La Costeña” brand (not sponsored). I know you need little product for this sauce and it comes in a big can but we like using the leftover sauce for our Creamy Chipotle Chicken (it’s a dream!!!).
Lime, for the sauce and cilantro lime slaw.
Cabbage, we like using a mix of green and purple cabbage for fun but you can also do just one. In Baja, they mostly use green cabbage.
Carrot, for the slaw. You can also do a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix!
Cilantro, fresh, for the slaw and pico de gallo (if making).
Tomato, white onion, jalapeño, optional, for the pico de gallo. This is optional! If you want to keep the tacos just fish, slaw, and Chipotle cream, they’re still gonna be delicious, adding pico de gallo is for the when you wanna go all out!
Tortillas, white corn or flour tortillas. We like the small 4-inch (10 cm) ones. If you’re feeling from scratch-y, try our Homemade Mexican Flour Tortillas hehe!
How to make Fried Fish Tacos
STEP ONE: Prepare the slaw. In a large bowl, add the cabbage, carrot, cilantro, lime juice, and salt, toss until combined, cover and chill until ready to assemble.
STEP TWO: Make the Chipotle cream. In a blender, add the sour cream and Chipotle sauce (or Chipotle in Adobo with some of the sauce), lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. Add a splash of water for a thinner consistency. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.
STEP THREE: Make the Pico de Gallo (optional). Add the tomato, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and salt to a small bowl and mix until combined. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.
STEP FOUR: Preheat the oil. In a saucepan or skillet, add enough oil for the fish to be fully covered and allow to reach 350F-365F (175C-185C) over medium-low heat. This will take a few minutes so, meanwhile, go to step 5.
STEP FIVE: Prepare the coating and batter bowls. In a large plate or shallow bowl, add flour and salt for the coating, mix, then toss with the fish. In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt and beer (or water) and mix until smooth: the batter will be a bit runny, it’s okay, you’re supposed to dip the coated fish and fry.
STEP SIX: Fry. Quickly dip each fish stick into the batter then add to the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden, flip then fry for another 3-4 minutes or until golden.
Transfer to a plate lined with a few paper towels to absorb any extra grease. Repeat with all the fish. While frying, heat the tortillas.
STEP SEVEN: Heat the tortillas in a hot skillet (best if cast-iron), griddle or microwave. For the skillet or griddle (do not grease): heat over high heat for about 15 seconds per side then place onto a clean plate. For the microwave: wrap a stack of 5-6 tortillas into a wet paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds or up to a minute.
STEP EIGHT: Assemble the tacos! For each tortilla, add 2 sticks of fried fish, a spoonful of slaw, then drizzle with the Chipotle cream and top with Pico de Gallo (optional). Enjoy!
I recommend assembling only the tacos you think you’ll eat so you can store any leftover ingredient separately!
What to put on fried fish tacos
We like our tacos with Chipotle cream and Pico de Gallo but here are more topping ideas for you to try!
- Lime Pickled Onions
- Avocado Hot Sauce (this isn’t Baja style but it’s good hehe)
- Plain sour cream
- Habanero sauce
- Lime pickled cucumbers
- Radish
What to serve with Fried Fish Tacos
In Mexico, you’d eat these with… more tacos hehe! But for a more varied meal, here are some of our favorite options!
- Mexican Street Corn Salad (fun, fresh, quick)
- Black beans or refried beans (filling, protein)
- Sweet Potato Fries (delicious and fun)
- Corn on the cob (summery, customizable)
- Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican Rice (light but filling, pair with beans)
And don’t forget a good drink for your tacos! We love Passion Fruit Juice but Mango Juice, your favorite Agua Fresca, Limeade, Margaritas or cold beers are all delicious!
How to Reheat Fried Fish Tacos
💡 TIP: Instead of doing tacos again, we love turning all the leftover fried fish, slaw, sauce, and pico into a delicious Baja Fish Taco Bowl.
Reheating Instructions: Reheat the fried fish on a hot skillet (best if cast-iron) over high heat until hot and crisp again, add a light splash of oil, if desired!
HAPPY COOKING!! I hope you'll love this Baja Fried Fish Tacos recipe as much as we do!
PS: Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you make it! Your comments make my day!! You can also tag me on Instagram @itsdamnspicy 🌈💘
More Taco Recipes you’ll love:
Fried Fish Tacos
Ingredients
For The Slaw
- 2 cups (140 g) shredded green cabbage (or half a 16 oz coleslaw mix)
- 2 cups (140 g) shredded purple cabbage (optional)
- 1 cup (70 g) shredded carrot
- 1 cup (10 g) cilantro (minced)
- 2 limes (juiced)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For The Chipotle Cream
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream or mayonnaise (or a blend of both)
- 3 teaspoon canned salsa de chipotles in adobo (or chipotles in adobo, we use La Costeña brand – not sponsored-, use any leftover sauce for our Creamy Chipotle Chicken next, it's so good!!!)
- 1 teaspoon lime (juiced)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For The Pico De Gallo (Optional)
- 1 small tomato (finely diced)
- 1/4 small white onion (finely diced)
- 1/4 medium jalapeño (finely diced)
- 1 small lime (juiced)
- Salt (to taste)
For The Fried Fish
- Oil (sunflower, vegetable, canola, peanut or lard)
- 1/2 cup (60 g) all-purpose flour (for the coating)
- 1 lb (450 g) tilapia (or cod, fresh or frozen and thawed)
- 1 and 1/2 cup (185 g) all-purpose flour (for the batter)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 10 oz (300 ml) light beer (like Corona)
For The Tacos
- 10 small flour or white corn tortillas (we like the 4-inch or 10 cm ones, or try our Homemade Flour Tortillas)
Instructions
- Prepare the slaw. In a large bowl, add the cabbage, carrot, cilantro, lime juice, and salt, toss until combined, cover and chill until ready to assemble.
- Make the Chipotle cream. In a blender, add the sour cream and Chipotle sauce (or Chipotle in Adobo with some of the sauce), lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. Add a splash of water for a thinner consistency. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.
- Make the Pico de Gallo (optional). Add the tomato, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and salt to a small bowl and mix until combined. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.
- Preheat the oil. In a saucepan or skillet, add enough oil for the fish to be fully covered and allow to reach 350F-365F (175C-185C) over medium-low heat. This will take a few minutes so, meanwhile, go to step 5.
- Prepare the coating and batter. In a large plate or shallow bowl, add flour and salt for the coating, mix, then toss with the fish. In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt and beer (or water) and mix until smooth: the batter will be a bit runny, it's okay, you're supposed to dip the coated fish and fry.
- Fry. Quickly dip each fish stick into the batter then add to the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden, flip then fry for another 3-4 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with a few paper towels to absorb any extra grease. Repeat until with all the coated fish. While frying, heat the tortillas.
- Heat the tortillas in a hot skillet (best if cast-iron), griddle or microwave. For the skillet or griddle (do not grease): heat over high heat for about 15 seconds per side then place onto a clean plate. For the microwave: wrap a stack of 5-6 tortillas into a wet paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds or up to a minute.
- Assemble the tacos! For each tortilla, add 2 sticks of fried fish, a spoonful of slaw, then drizzle with the Chipotle cream and top with Pico de Gallo (optional). Enjoy! I recommend assembling only the tacos you think you'll eat so you can store any leftover ingredient separately!
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