Here is the fish taco recipe I promised after making mango salsa last weekend! And let me just say… wow. This stuff is goooooood. Fish tacos are a super easy, quick meal that’s very versatile. You can use fried fish, baked fish, or, in this case, blackened fish.
I have two great memories involving blackened fish (I know, it’s weird, but what can I say, I love food).
The first is from when I lived in New Orleans, and at every single festival or farmer’s market, there was a vendor selling AH-MAZING blackened fish tacos with crunchy red cabbage and a cool creamy dill sauce. I could not leave without eating at least one of them!
The second is from my first visit with Zach to see his homeland, when we went down to South Padre Island from Austin to see the Rio Grande Valley, where he began his teaching career. We had a blackened fish po’ boy from Dirty Al’s restaurant with some kind of secret amazing hot sauce that blew my mind. Good Lord, it was delicious.
Blackening fish is easy to do- just mix a bunch of spices you likely already have together, and after adding a coat of olive oil on the fish, press the seasoning in a thick layer onto the fish. I used what I had in my pantry (see below) but I have seen other recipes that add brown sugar, onion powder, cumin, and other seasonings into the mix! You really can’t go wrong here.
After seasoning the fish, I let it sit for a while to come to room temperature while I prepared the rest of the ingredients for the tacos. I had already made mango salsa a few days ago, and in my humble opinion you cannot have tacos without avocados, so I mashed some with some lime juice and salt to make a quick guacamole. The one thing I didn’t have was cabbage for something crunchy, so I sliced some carrots very thin to add some crunch (this was good in a pinch, but next time I will definitely make sure to buy some red cabbage for this). Finally, I toasted the corn tortillas right on top of the gas burner of my stove. Just be careful if you do this- I may or may not have caught one on fire by accident. Oops.
The fish will cook up in less than 5 minutes, and you are done! I HIGHLY recommend using a well-seasoned cast iron skillet for this. It’s my most used kitchen tool- it cooks everything so evenly because the heat gets distributed very well due to its weight, and over time it’s developed the most awesome non-stick surface. Love it.
Hope you enjoy!
Blackened Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1.5 pounds cod or tilapia, haddock, or other mild tasting fish
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 cup mango salsa
- 1 cup finely shredded cabbage crunchy lettuce, or carrots
- 2 avocados
- Extra cilantro for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl to make blackening seasoning
- Rinse fish an pat dry; coat in olive oil with your hands on both sides.
- Press blackening seasoning into fish with hands on both sides.
- Allow fish to sit for a few minutes to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare fixings (chop cabbage, slice or mash avocado, etc.).
- Toast corn tortillas by placing directly on a gas burner on your oven and monitoring carefully, flipping with tongs, or by baking in the oven for a few minutes.
- Cook fish by heating a cast iron skillet to a high temperature with olive oil. Place fish in skillet and allow to cook for about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for another two minutes, or until fish flakes apart easily (this will take very little time).
- Serve in a corn tortilla by layering cabbage, fish, avocado, salsa, cilantro, and a squeeze of extra lime on top.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Renee
Better than a majority of fish tacos I’ve ordered in restaurants!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!
Maria
This was by far easy, simple and delicious! Al we heard at the table was mmmmmmmm!!! Thank you for the recipe.
Elizabeth
Yay, so glad you liked it! I think the mark of a good meal is by how little conversation there is at the table- including lots of “mmmmmm”s :-)