This coleslaw has all the flavors and ingredients that you love in fish tacos, making it the perfect thing to put right in those taco shells with the fish, or to serve on the side.
If you’re making fish tacos, this coleslaw recipe is just what you need. It includes lots of flavors you want in your taco, like sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, and a little heat, and it works well with all kinds of fish, and shrimp too. For the best fish tacos, add my perfectly paired coleslaw!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
![White serving bowl of creamy coleslaw with fish tacos in background.](https://cookthestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Coleslaw-For-Fish-Tacos-DSC_3856-portrait-1200x1800-1-660x990.jpg)
Ingredients
My basic coleslaw recipe is great as a side dish, and my coleslaw for pulled pork is BBQ inspired and uses brown sugar to pair with the pork flavors. But, this slaw here is all about what we want from fish tacos!
We’re using mayonnaise, like many creamy coleslaw dressings, but we’re also using sour cream since that’s a more common taco topping. We’re building on the complimentary taco flavors with plenty of lime juice and chipotles in adobo. Sugar, salt, and garlic powder rounds out the delicious dressing.
In addition to the cabbage, I like to include fresh cilantro and green onion because, again, these are ingredients that I enjoy on my tacos.
Because this slaw has so many great fish taco flavors already, the only other things you need to make your tacos are the fish and taco shells and they’ll be delicious!
What Is Chipotle In Adobo?
This is the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, usually found in the international section of the grocery store. They’re hot peppers that have been smoked and then packed in a sauce and canned.
For this recipe, you’ll use 1 of the peppers from the can, minced up. Also add in 1/2 teaspoon of the liquid from the can since it’s full of flavor. Store the remaining peppers and sauce from the can in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for 1 month.
Instead of the canned chipotle, you can use either 1/2 of a minced, seeded jalapeno along with 1/4 teaspoon of hot sauce, or 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder and some cayenne to taste.
How Much Cabbage Do I Need?
I use half a head of cabbage for this coleslaw recipe. You can use green cabbage or red cabbage, or a mixture of the two.
That is equivalent to about 6-7 cups of sliced cabbage or one 14-16 ounce bag of shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix. The bagged cabbage slaw mix is a great time saver, especially if you like a mix of green and red cabbage as well as carrots in your slaw.
Why Is This Perfect For Fish Tacos?
This is the perfect fish taco slaw because it has a lot of flavors and ingredients that we add to tacos normally, like sour cream, lime, chipotle, cilantro, and green onion. That means that when you make your fish tacos, you can just pile in this slaw and not need to add much of anything else. They’ll be full of flavor just from this!
You can, of course, also add some avocado, tomato, or cheese to your tacos if you want, but this will work on its own!
If you want to add something extra, this bean and corn salsa is perfect, or this tropical salsa recipe too!
Tips For Coleslaw
I think this is best made shortly before it’s time to eat tacos. But if you’re making it in advance or are pulling out the leftovers to enjoy the next day, here’s some advice.
If you’re making this more than 30 minutes before serving, some liquid might come out of the veggies, making the dressing a little watery. If this has happened, stir the coleslaw and then let it sit for 5 minutes. Then, use a slotted spoon to scoop the coleslaw into a fresh bowl, leaving some of the excess liquid behind.
If the slaw seems under-dressed at this point, add 2-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise or sour cream and give it a good toss. Whether you added more or not, taste the coleslaw and add more salt, garlic powder, and lime juice if needed, since some of the seasoning may have been washed away in the liquid.
What Kind Of Fish For Tacos?
Honestly, any type of fish will work with this slaw in tacos. But, I think my favorite fish tacos are with a quick tilapia in the air fryer. A crispy skin broiled salmon also has tons of flavor and the skin adds some nice crunch.
If you’re using fillets, here’s my guide on how to cook fish fillets perfectly. You could also do some crispy fish in the air fryer, air fryer crispy skinned salmon, and you can even make fish in the air fryer straight from frozen!
And I should say, when it comes to the tortillas for fish tacos, flour tortillas are great but I love the corn ones. And here’s my best way for heating corn tortillas quickly and perfectly.
And if you want an even quicker fish taco with quick and easy slaw, have a look at our easy tilapia tacos here or use this great coleslaw in your shrimp tacos.
More Great Summer Recipes
If you love summer salads like this coleslaw recipe, you will also like all of my other Summer Salad Recipes. I’m linking to a few of my favorites here for you too.
Podcast Episode: Making Coleslaw For Fish Tacos
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this coleslaw, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print![White serving bowl of creamy coleslaw with fish tacos in background.](https://cookthestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Coleslaw-for-Fish-Tacos-DSC_3857-square-1200-150x150.jpg)
Coleslaw for Fish Tacos Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1/2 teaspoon liquid from the can*
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 head cabbage, finely sliced**
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the mayo, sour cream, lime juice, chipotle pepper and liquid, sugar, salt, and garlic powder.
- Add the cabbage and stir to combine. Add in the cilantro and green onion.
- Stir and serve, or cover and refrigerate for later.
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Notes
*This is canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. For this recipe, you will use 1 of the peppers from the can, chopped up. Also add in 1/2 teaspoon of the liquid from the can since it is full of flavor.
Instead of the canned chipotle, you can use either 1/2 of a minced, seeded jalapeno along with 1/4 teaspoon of hot sauce, or 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder and some cayenne to taste.
**This is equivalent to about 6-7 cups of sliced cabbage, or to one 14-16 ounce bag of shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix.
![The Perfect Coleslaw for Fish Tacos](https://cookthestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Coleslaw-For-Fish-Tacos-DSC_3856-portrait-1200x1800-1.jpg)
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