Get this delicious recipe for fish tacos made with perfectly cooked Tilapia and a simple, tasty coleslaw. It’s perfect for your Taco Tuesday rotation!
You’re not going to believe how easy these Tilapia tacos are to make. The trick is the same one that I use for my super-easy shrimp tacos. It’s a bagged chopped salad! You can use bagged coleslaw with a dressing, or you can buy a Southwest Chopped Salad. There are a few different brands but they all have chopped cabbage and lettuce, and they come with a creamy dressing and something crunchy like pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in there as well. It’s the perfect slaw for your tacos.
Cooking Tilapia for Tacos
At restaurants, the fish in tacos is often fried. I really can’t be bothered with frying at home, plus it’s not as healthy as baking. And so, I bake the fillets. They just get seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper, and drizzled with bit of olive oil. Then they go into the oven until they’re cooked through and flaky, about 10 minutes.
Note that if you’re in a hurry, you can cook the tilapia fillets straight from frozen. Cooking fish from frozen is an easy technique and it’s totally safe. You would just put the frozen fillets on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don’t add oil because it will freeze to the fish. Then bake it for about 1.5 times as long as fresh would have needed. In this case, it will be about 15 minutes until your tilapia fillets are opaque throughout, and nice and flaky.
Note that the oven is set at 400F for this recipe, but most taco shells call for you to heat them at 325F. They will be perfectly fine at 400F though, they just won’t need as long. Put them on a baking sheet and bake for about 4 minutes.
The Slaw
As I mentioned above, the coleslaw for these tacos can be as simple as using a bagged chopped salad. Several brands do a Tex Mex or Southwest one that works perfectly.
If you want a more classic slaw, get a bag of shredded cabbage (or shred your own) and then mix it with a a creamy Southwest or Tex Mex dressing. Several brands carry things that will work. Or, you can buy or make up some Ranch dressing and then add chili powder to it.
If you’d like to make your own slaw, this is my favorite Homemade Coleslaw Recipe.
Assembling Your Tacos
Once the fish is cooked, chop it roughly and put it into the heated taco shells.
Then, you’d just scoop that slaw or chopped salad into the taco shells over the fish.
And then, you can add other toppings or garnishes if you like. Last time I made these I had some fresh basil so that’s what’s on top there. But avocado slices, tomato, green onion, or cilantro would all be really great. I hope you love these easy tacos! -Christine xo
More Amazing Taco Recipes:
- The BEST Shrimp Tacos
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos
- Banh Mi Grilled Tacos
- Easy Carne Asada Tacos
Podcast Episode: Making Fish Tacos
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this easy dish, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintThe Easiest Tilapia Fish Tacos Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 4 tacos 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
DESCRIPTION
Get this delicious recipe for fish tacos made with perfectly cooked Tilapia and a simple coleslaw. It’s perfect for your Taco Tuesday rotation!
Ingredients
- 4 tilapia fillets
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (or use cooking spray)
- 12 taco shells (hard, soft, or corn)
- 1 bag (12.6 oz.) Southwest Chopped Salad Kit*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Season tilapia on both sides with salt and pepper. Brush on both sides with olive oil. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake tilapia until cooked through and flaky, about 10 minutes.
- Arrange taco shells on baking sheet and bake for last 4 minutes of fish cooking time.
- Mix up the salad kit.
- Cut up tilapia and divide among taco shells. Top with salad mixture.
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