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Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing

Baked Fish Tacos are an easy, healthy taco recipe that’s ready in less than 20 minutes. They’re baked, not fried, and topped with coleslaw veggies and a creamy homemade cilantro dressing.

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Three prepared Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing on a serving platter

Fish tacos are one of my favorite Mexican foods. It’s an easy way to get more fish into your diet. However, fish tacos aren’t so healthy if breaded and fried. I’ve done a few tweaks to make these more wholesome, including skipping the breading and baking the fish.

They’re also topped with a homemade cilantro dressing that includes yogurt instead of sour cream.

The best fish tacos I’ve ever had were in Belize. They were fried and topped with a creamy mango sauce. I wanted to make something similar at home, but healthier. These Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing are lightened up yet loaded with flavor.

Angled shot of three Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing

Why You’ll Like These Healthy Fish Tacos

  • Skip the breading: While breaded fish has nice texture and flavor, it’s still just as enjoyable with some simple seasonings.
  • Baked not fried: This significantly reduces calories and fat content. It’s also much less messy and makes cleanup easy.
  • Corn tortillas: These are the perfect size for fish tacos and gluten-free.
  • Topped with a homemade cilantro dressing: The creamy dressing is easy to make and adds tons of rich, tangy flavors.

Ingredients to make homemade Cilantro Dressing on a marble countertop

Ingredients for Baked Fish Tacos

Fish: You can use a wide variety of fish, including tilapia, cod, sole, salmon or tuna. For this recipe, I used tilapia since it’s a versatile fish with a mild flavor.

Veggies: Coleslaw mix (without the dressing) is perfect for fish tacos. It usually includes carrots and green and purple cabbage. It’s pre-shredded for an easy topping.

Tortillas: Use any tortilla you prefer, such as corn, small flour tortillas or low-carb tortillas.

Dressing: Fish tacos include some sort of dressing. Usually, it’s a creamy sour-cream based dressing.

If you’re a fan of fish tacos and want to try more, give these Beer Battered Fish Tacos a shot! 

Process shot of ingredients to make Cilantro Dressing in a food processor

Cilantro Dressing Ingredients

  • Fresh cilantro
  • Yogurt or sour cream
  • Oil
  • Lime juice
  • Pickled jalapeno
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cumin

Just blended Cilantro Lime Dressing in a food processor

These ingredients blend into a creamy dressing that’s great in salads or as a topping. Corn oil is used to thin the yogurt or sour cream and create an ideal creamy consistency. 

Mazola Corn Oil is an all-purpose, cholesterol-free cooking oil that has a variety of uses include baking, grilling, sautéing, stir-frying, or mixing up a marinade or dressing.

Mazola has a high smoke point of 450°F and performs well in a variety of cooking applications, including grilling and stir-frying. These fish tacos use baked fish, but you could also pan-sear them in a bit of corn oil. 

How to Make the Dressing

Simply add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until creamy and cilantro is broken into tiny bits.

Tips for Making Fish Tacos

How Long to Bake Fish

Bake fish fillets in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes at 400° F on a baking sheet or pan.

Baked Tilapia fish on a baking pan

Safe fish temp: Be sure to cook fish to a safe internal temperature of 145° F when tested with a thermometer. 

Note: The thickness of the fish affects baking time. This is for a roughly ⅓-inch thick fillet. Add more or less time if needed.

Warm the Tortillas

Heat tortillas in a pan or in the oven before assembling the tacos. A pan will brown them a bit and enhance the flavor. Baking can dry out and crisp up tortillas, so heat just until warm.

Try Extra Toppings

Besides the coleslaw veggie mix and cilantro dressing, add items such as freshly squeezed lime juice, avocado, red onion, cilantro leaves, jalapenos, or hot sauce

Closeup of three prepared Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing

Make Just Enough for One Meal

Fish tastes best when freshly cooked and is not recommended for leftovers. Cook just enough fish for however many people you are serving. It won’t taste as good leftover and only lasts 1 to 2 days in the fridge.

This recipe is best served with your favorite side dishes to complete the meal. Whether it’s a fresh Bean and Rice Salad, grilled veggies like grilled stuffed poblano peppers, or a simple rice dish pairs perfectly with these baked fish tacos.

You may end up with extra dressing. If you want leftovers later in the week, simply cook more fish and assemble the tacos. 

More Taco Recipes You Might Like

Other fish recipes you must try:

Three prepared Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing on a serving platter

Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing

Written by Matt | Plating Pixels
Baked Fish Tacos are an easy, healthy taco recipe that's ready in less than 20 minutes. Made with baked fish, coleslaw veggies and a homemade cilantro lime dressing.
5 from 5 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Taco
Cuisine Mexican, Seafood
Servings 8 tacos
Calories 186 kcal

Ingredients
  

Cilantro Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
  • cup Mazola Corn Oil
  • 1 medium lime juiced
  • 2 tablespoons pickled jalapenos
  • 1 small garlic clove chopped
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin

Fish Taco Ingredients

  • 1 pound Tilapia fish fillets
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 small corn tortillas
  • 1 cup coleslaw veggies mix without dressing
  • 1 large avocado sliced
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves as a garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add all dressing ingredients to a food processor and pulse until creamy and cilantro is broken into tiny bits. Set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and pepper.
  • Bake fish fillets in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until flaky and the internal temp reaches 145 degrees. Remove from the oven and set aside.
  • Heat corn tortillas and top each evenly with cooked fish.
  • Top with coleslaw veggies, avocado, and cilantro leaves. Drizzle with cilantro dressing and serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Baked Fish Tacos with Cilantro Dressing
Serving Size
 
1 taco
Amount per Serving
Calories
186
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
8
g
12
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Cholesterol
 
29
mg
10
%
Sodium
 
94
mg
4
%
Potassium
 
379
mg
11
%
Carbohydrates
 
16
g
5
%
Fiber
 
4
g
17
%
Sugar
 
1
g
1
%
Protein
 
14
g
28
%
Vitamin A
 
121
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
 
9
mg
11
%
Calcium
 
43
mg
4
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword baked fish tacos, fish tacos, healthy fish tacos
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Entrees and Dinner Recipes | Gluten-Free Recipes | Recipes | Seafood Recipes

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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is my kind of recipe; definitely adding this to my dinner line up for the week! Looks too good to pass up!

  2. 5 stars
    That cilantro lime dressing is everything! It adds so much flavor to the tacos and I can imagine so many other uses for it, too!

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