Chili Lime Fish Tacos
Light fresh and deliciously spicy, Chili Lime Fish Tacos are a breeze to make and a great family meal as everybody can tailor them to suit their likes and dislikes. This recipe makes enough for two, so simply scale up as needed.
The sun is shining, the beer is cold and it is DEFINITELY the season for some spicy and delicious Chili Lime Fish Tacos. With fresh fish and soft tacos, loaded up with a sweet and spicy mango salsa, these tasty morsels are perfect for summer entertaining.
Soft tacos are so good!
I grew up in New Zealand where taco night definitely meant hard shell tacos with ground beef. Delicious they may be, the moment I first tasted wonderfully chewy soft tacos of Baja California, loaded up with spicy fish, fresh herbs and lime I was absolutely hooked.
Bonus points for not falling apart when you bite into them – am I right?
An easy, healthy weeknight dinner
For these Chili Lime Fish Tacos, the fish is rubbed in a flavoursome spice mix and then roasted, not fried. This means the fish stays beautiful and moist, and needs absolutely no attention, so you can get on with the other prep.
Let everybody build their own
While you could present an Instagram-worthy platter of pre-made tacos at the table, I think it’s far better to bring all the ingredients to the table and let everyone create their own.
This way the fish stays hot, the chef stays relaxed and everybody gets exactly what they want.
Don’t like fish? Use chicken instead!
Speaking of everybody getting what they want, if you or your family aren’t fans of fish, swap it out for chicken instead. You can use the same spice mix, though I’d recommend grilling the chicken for the most flavoursome results.
Or you could cheat and use a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.
This is the easiest way to cook fish, it’s super quick and the fish stays beautifully moist.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How can I tell when the fish is cooked?
Use two forks to gently pull the fish apart, if it flakes easily it is cooked through. A standard thickness of fish will take 10-12 minutes, a thicker fillet of firmer fish such as barramundi (yum!) or swordfish will need a bit longer.
I’M CALORIE COUNTING! CAN I REPLACE THE SOUR CREAM?
Sure! Use natural yoghurt instead.
Mango isn’t in season at the moment! What can I substitute?
Any sweet fruit is good here, I like peaches, but you could even use a mango chutney or similar.
What sort of fish should I use in tacos?
Any firm fleshed white fish will do. Tilapia or cod are perfect. Snapper (if you can get your hands on any) carries Mexican flavours particularly well.
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY MEXICAN INSPIRED RECIPES?
Try my Mexican Tortilla Lasagne or my recipe for Easy Spicy Beef Enchiladas!
I like to bring all the ingredients for chili lime fish tacos to the table and let everyone help themselves.
I always serve these tacos with a jar of homemade Spicy Red Pepper Jelly on the side, so good!
Chili Lime Fish Tacos
Light, bright and fresh, Chili Lime Fish Tacos are a breeze to make and a great family meal as everybody can tailor them to suit their likes and dislikes. The recipe makes enough for two, so simply scale up as needed.
Ingredients
for the fish
- 350 g white fish fillets, approx. 175g each
- 1 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp spicy paprika
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
for the tacos
- 12 small flour tortillas, see note
- 2 small baby gem lettuces, shredded
- ¼ small red cabbage, shredded
- 1 ripe mango, cut into small cubes
- small bunch fresh coriander / cilantro, leaves only
- pickled jalapeños, to taste
- 200 ml sour cream
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- ½ tsp sea salt
- fresh lime slices
Instructions
- ROAST THE FISH: Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F / Gas 7. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Lay the fish fillets on the baking paper and season with the salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Sift over the cumin and paprika and sprinkle over the chilli flakes. Drizzle with the olive oil, rubbing it into the fillets to cover. Roast in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- PREPARE THE FILLINGS: Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in tin foil and place in the oven with the fish to warm. Prepare all your vegetables, stir the sour cream, garlic and salt together to make the sauce, and arrange on a nice platter with the coriander and jalapeños.
- STUFF AND SERVE: When the fish has cooked, flake into large chunks and serve immediately with the tortillas and fillings. Spread each tortilla with a spoonful of the yoghurt sauce, then top with lettuce, cabbage, fish, coriander and mango. Add jalapeños to taste and spoon over a little of the mango. I prefer to let everyone fill their own tacos, that way everything stays nice and hot.
Notes
I like to use small tortillas for fish tacos as they are easier to handle If you buy large tortillas, cut 2 smaller circles out of them using a small bowl or plate as a guide.
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Nutrition
Serving: 6tacos | Calories: 818kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 2612mg | Potassium: 1389mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 6994IU | Vitamin C: 120mg | Calcium: 350mg | Iron: 7mg
Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.
Hi! This looks so good but how in the world do these add up to almost a thousand calories for two? It doesn’t seem to add up to that much which the only fat being a tablespoon of oil and some sour cream? And of course the tortillas but still?
Hi Sandi, thanks for visiting me here 🙂 I think you are quite right, as the calories in these recipes are calculated my Nutronix automatically, sometimes the mixture of metric and imperial measurements sends the calculation a bit haywire! I’ve manually put it through the system and it seems to have come up with a more reasonable sounding estimate! Thanks for alerting me to this. J.