Fish taco bowls are one of our favorite summer meals to make on a busy weeknight! Quick cooking fish pairs with an easy cabbage salad and a creamy citrus dressing to give you all the great flavors of fish tacos without the tortillas.
Fish Taco Bowl
Want to know a secret? Sometimes this can be a clean out the fridge dinner.
If you have some white fish and some limes on hand, you can riff on this in a lot of different ways! Use cabbage slaw, salad greens, or even rice as the base. Add any salsa, avocados, crumbly cheese, and use some Mexican ranch instead of the cream if you want!
And if you’re really wanting traditional tacos, pull out the tortillas (or tortilla chips!) and starting assembling tacos!
Fish Taco Salad Ingredients
For the fish:
- Firm white fish, like cod, rockfish, or halibut
- Lime juice (from 2-3 limes)
- Dried chipotle powder
- Sea salt
For the crema:
- Paleo-friendly mayonnaise
- Lime juice
- Orange juice
- Sea salt
- Dried chipotle powder
For the salad
- Cabbage (red or green or half of each)
- Guacamole or diced avocados
- Limes
- Toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), optional
- Pico de gallo or either of the pineapple salsa recipes linked in the post
What Kind of Fish Should I use for Fish Taco Bowls?
For the fish, I used wild-caught rockfish because they carry it all the time at our Costco and it's relatively inexpensive. Compared to halibut.
Cod is great for this, too, or thin dover sole fillets. And yeah, you could even use salmon. Mmm. salmon.
I seasoned these fillets with dried chipotle powder and a lot of fresh lime juice, but feel free to use taco seasoning (I have a homemade gluten free taco seasoning that's the BOMB.)
If I don't grill the fish, I sear the fish in a skillet with some avocado oil (I don't use olive oil -- especially extra-virgin because the oil will oxidize really quickly. That's not a good thing.)
How to Make Fish Taco Bowls
- Place the fish in a large shallow dish or ziptop bag.
- Combine the lime juice, dried chipotle powder (more if you'd like it spicier), and sea salt. Pour it over the fish. Chill the fish and let it marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the crema and chill until ready to serve.
- Shred the cabbage and prep the guac and salsa (if needed).
- Cook the fish by grilling it over medium-high heat in a greased grill pan or in a skillet over medium-high heat in a little coconut oil.
- To assemble bowls, put a bed of shredded cabbage in each bowl. Top with a couple pieces of fish, a couple scoops of salsa, guac, and a sprinkle of pepitas. Serve with lime wedges and a drizzle of crema.
For The Crema
Making your own citrus crema is super easy! Simply combine all of the ingredients for the crema and chill until ready to serve.
Fish Taco Salad Topping Ideas
- Don't forget the citrus crema! I threw in some freshly squeezed orange juice to give it a little sweetness, and it adds a nice, creamy coating to the slaw underneath.
- For the slaw, I like a combination of green and red cabbage, but you can use one or the other. Or even a coleslaw mix (without the dressing, obv).
- Those little orange carrot flecks are pretty, too. So are radishes. (Quite often I add things purely for color.) My Southwest Cabbage Slaw is one I often make for these bowls.
- And you can't leave out the guac either. Because, #guacallthethings. Or at the very least, sliced avocados. And have more fresh lime juice.
- If you're really wanting to make this awesome, make the Loaded Roasted Chile Guacamole. Or my Lazy Guacamole. Either will do. Or even some Wholly Guacamole from the grocery store. OR the Hatch Chile Guacamole from Sprouts -- that's definitely my favorite store-bought guac. YUM.
OR. OR. OR.
You could swap out the fish for SHRIMP. (I just thought of that. And I'm wondering why I've never tried this at home.)
And it's just a few ingredients and a quick sear in a skillet. Fish and seafood are so nice that way.
If seafood isn't your thing at all, throw some taco seasoned ground beef in here. Or a batch of my Copycat Chipotle Chorizo. Or some Slow Cooker Green Chile Chicken (also good in an Instant Pot!)
I'd love to hear how you like these fish taco bowls! Drop me a comment or leave a review on the recipe card and tell me what you think!
How to Store
I highly recommend eating this the day you make it. If that doesn’t happen, just transfer the fish in an airtight container, chilled, for up to 3 days.
To reheat fish: I like to put the fish in a small skillet along with a couple tablespoons of water and cover it. Cook it over medium heat until the fish is warm. Don’t overcook it or your fish will be tough.
Fish Salad Recipe FAQs
Everything you would add to a “Normal” taco, can be added to a fish taco bowl! Think salsa, slaw, crema, guacamole!
These tacos are filled with veggies and use grilled fish to keep this recipe healthy!
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Chile-Lime Fish Taco Bowls
Ingredients
For the fish:
- 1 ½-2 pounds firm white fish, like cod, rockfish, or halibut
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 2-3 limes)
- ½-1 teaspoon dried chipotle chowder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
For the crema:
- ½ cup paleo-friendly mayonnaise
- 1-2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (½ lime)
- 2-3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (½ orange)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛-1/4 teaspoon dried chipotle powder
For the salad
- 1 small head of cabbage (red or green or half of each)
- Guacamole or diced avocados
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- Toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), optional
- Pico de gallo or either of the pineapple salsa recipes linked in the post
Instructions
- Place the fish in a large shallow dish or ziptop bag.
- Combine the lime juice, dried chipotle powder (more if you'd like it spicier), and sea salt. Pour it over the fish. Chill the fish and let it marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the crema and chill until ready to serve.
- Shred the cabbage and prep the guac and salsa (if needed).
- Cook the fish by grilling it over medium-high heat in a greased grill pan or in a skillet over medium-high heat in a little coconut oil.
- To assemble bowls, put a bed of shredded cabbage in each bowl. Top with a couple pieces of fish, a couple scoops of salsa, guac, and a sprinkle of pepitas. Serve with lime wedges and a drizzle of crema.
Notes
- I highly recommend serving this with Grilled Pineapple Salsa (with tomatoes) or Grilled Pineapple & Jalapeno Salsa(without tomatoes).
- If you want to take this a step further you could put it under a bed of Southwest Cabbage Slaw. You can make it a few days ahead of time, too.
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