Fish Tacos with Lime Crema

A recipe for fish tacos with lime crema: flaky tilapia, crunchy cabbage slaw, sweet mango, and creamy avocado all drizzled with a tart lime crema and served with soft tortillas.I’ve been making these fish tacos for years – fish tacos are one of my favorite meal prep recipes because they’re filled with simple and fresh ingredients but have so many distinctive flavors.  Sometimes I’ll even skip the tortillas and just serve these as fish taco bowls.  My favorite part of the recipe is the mango. I spent many years of childhood living in Papua New Guinea and eating fresh mangoes are one of my most vivid memories of the time.  Whenever I eat mangoes now I’m brought back to my childhood years.  These fish tacos allow the sweetness of the mango to shine through and the tart lime crema complements the flavoring of the fish and the crunchy cabbage slaw.

Ingredient Substitutions

If you don’t have any tilapia on hand, feel free to substitute what you do have on hand.  Cod, halibut, and salmon would all work well.  You could also substitute shrimp, chicken, or even tofu.  If you’re cooking other fish, adjust the bake time accordingly.  For chicken or tofu you could also roast them and then toss with the taco seasoning after baking, bake according to package directions.  If you’re substituting shrimp it would probably be easiest to pan fry the shrimp rather than baking.
Taco seasoning is a staple in my house.  I love Penzey’s Bold Taco Seasoning, but I’ve also used the varieties available in my regular grocery store.  If you don’t have any taco seasoning, you could just combine chili powder, cumin, and salt to create your own.

How to Make Fish Tacos with Lime Crema

Start out with the cabbage slaw.  You can either thinly slice cabbage yourself or just use a shredded cabbage & carrot coleslaw mix.  In a large bowl with a cover, you’ll combine apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Swirl around to combine, add the cabbage, cover the bowl, and flip over to let the liquid mix through the cabbage.

The next step is to bake the tilapia.  I usually buy frozen tilapia and just bake from frozen. While the fish is baking, cut the mango (for mango cutting instructions, check out this post here – just cut into slices instead of cubes).  Then cut the avocado and mix together the ingredients for the lime crema.

When the fish is cooked, move it to a bowl, add the taco seasoning, and mix together with a spatula, breaking up the fish into small pieces while you do it.  I like to set the table with all of the taco fixings and let people make their own tacos.

Helpful Tools

This post may contain affiliate links.  See my disclosure policy here.

Silicone Spatula/Turner – This is my favorite spatula to use with my nonstick skillets and pans
Nonstick Half Sheet Pan – Using a nonstick sheet pan for this recipe means that you don’t even have to grease the pan first.  It’s so easy to clean up!
Penzey’s Bold Taco Seasoning – Any store-bought taco seasoning can work well in this recipe, you could even mix up your own taco seasoning.  This is the one I’ve been using.

If you try these fish tacos with lime crema, please leave a comment and review below to let me know how you liked them!

Print Recipe

5 from 11 votes

Fish Tacos with Lime Crema

Flaky tilapia, crunchy cabbage slaw, sweet mango, and creamy avocado all drizzled with a tart lime crema and served with soft tortillas.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Cardamom & Coconut

Ingredients

• 1/2 head of cabbage thinly sliced (or about 8 oz of coleslaw mix)
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
• 16 to 24 oz frozen tilapia
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 2 ripe mangoes
• 1 ripe avocado
• 8 oz sour cream
• Juice of 1 lime or 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Flour or corn tortillas for serving
• Fresh cilantro for serving optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Put the apple cider vinegar, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with a cover (large enough to fit all of the cabbage). Swirl the vinegar mixture around till combined.
• Add the cabbage or coleslaw mix to the bowl. Cover and flip the bowl over to let the vinegar mixture mix in with the cabbage. Flip the bowl a couple more times between other steps.
• Arrange the tilapia on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes if baking from frozen, 9 to 11 if the tilapia is already thawed.
• While the tilapia is cooking, slice the mango and avocado into thin strips. Set aside.
• In a small bowl mix together the sour cream, lime juice, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to make the lime crema. Set aside.
• When the fish is done baking, use a large spatula to move all the fish to a medium bowl. Add the taco seasoning and use the spatula to combine the fish with the seasoning, breaking up the tilapia into small pieces in the process.
• Serve the tacos with the cabbage slaw, taco flavored tilapia, mango, and avocado. Spoon the lime crema on top and serve with cilantro.