Blackened Fish Tacos with Avocado Sauce
These blackened fish tacos come together in under 30 minutes and make a delicious weeknight meal. Spiced white fish is folded into warm tortillas, topped with shredded red cabbage and drizzled with a creamy avocado sauce.
You can make fish tacos with any firm white fish you prefer: tilapia, cod, mahi mahi, snapper, etc. I used Tilapia, it’s inexpensive, easy to cook and light in flavor.
To blackened the fish, rub it with spices and then sear it briefly at high heat until the outside just starts to blacken. The fish will be slightly crispy on the outside, moist, tender and flaky on the inside.
After seasoning the fish, let it sit for a while and prepare the rest of the ingredients before you start cooking it, because it cooks fast. It took only 4-5 minutes per side to cook my fish.
Feel free to add whatever toppings you’d like. I kept the toppings pretty simple. The avocado sauce is nothing more than mixing avocado with lime juice, Greek yogurt and cilantro.
For the cabbage slaw, I used a mixture of green and purple cabbage, which I lightly tossed in lime juice. You can add some mayo if you wish.
If you’ve never tried blackened fish tacos, this is a great recipe – it’s quick, easy and delicious! I’m sure you’ll love them!
How To Make It: Blackened Fish Tacos with Avocado Sauce
Ingredients
For the blackened fish tacos:
- 14 oz. (400 g) tilapia fillets
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 small corn tortillas
For the slaw:
- ¼ red cabbage thinly sliced
- ¼ green cabbage thinly sliced
- ½ medium onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup (15 g) chopped cilantro
- the juice of 1 lime
For the avocado sauce:
- ¼ cup (70 g) Greek yogurt I used 0% fat Greek yogurt
- ½ ripe avocado pitted and skinned
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- the juice of ½ lime
- 1 tablespoon water
- salt to taste
Instructions
Prepare the blackening spice mix:
- In a small bowl, combine the paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt and sugar.
Season the tilapia fillets:
- Pat the tilapia fillets dry on both sides with paper towels and liberally sprinkle on the blackening spice mix. Flip the fillets over and repeat so both sides are well coated.
- Prepare the avocado sauce:
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until your desired consistency is reached. Add a little more water if needed.
To make the cabbage slaw
- Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Cook the fish:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the outside is blackened and the fish flakes apart easily.Transfer to a serving dish.
Assemble the tacos:
- Start with 1 tortilla, layer the cabbage slaw first, then about 1/2 of a tilapia filet, some more slaw, cilantro, and drizzle with avocado sauce. Serve with a lemon wedge and your favorite beer!
- Enjoy!
I found this recipe online and had my roommate make all the blackening sauce.
When I arrived home, we assembled the rest of the ingredients and made these tacos. They were excellent. He had never had a fish taco and really enjoyed eating these.
So glad to hear that, Nancy! :)
Delicious! I sub’d stevia for the brown sugar and romaine leafs for the tortilla, skipped the yogurt sauce for a lower cal option and this recipe was still great. Will definitely make again. –Thanks for posting it.
I love your healthy version! :)
Thank you for a tasty easy recipe .!
I am glad you enjoyed it, Karine! :)
Absolutely fantastic! I shall be making these every time avocados are on sale!
I am pleased you liked it! :)
OMG I’ve literally just made these. Turned out amazing, really love the avocado sauce, so simple yet delish. Will deffo be making these regularly in the future!!
That’s great, Aisling. I am glad you like this recipe! :)
I’ve actually never tried tacos with a creamy avocado sauce before.. so thanks for the recipe. These look awesome and so flavoursome & zesty too!
My gosh I want to dig right in.