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Easy Tilapia Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa and Slaw

Easy Tilapia Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa and Slaw

These delicious and easy tilapia fish tacos are made with crispy, spicy, pan-fried tilapia and topped with mango salsa, cabbage slaw, and creamy chipotle sauce. So yum.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 medium-sized tilapia filets
  • ~20 corn tortillas
  • vegetable, canola, or avocado oil for frying

Chipotle sauce for fish tacos

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • half to a whole lime depending on how juicy the lime is -start with half

Cabbage Slaw

  • 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
  • white vinegar enough to cover
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Mango salsa

  • 4 tbsp chopped cilantro plus more to serve
  • 2 chopped mangos
  • 4 tbsp chopped red onions
  • the juice of 1 lime
  • pinch of kosher salt

Tilapia seasoning

  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions
 

Cabbage Slaw

  • Combine thinly sliced cabbage in a bowl with enough white vinegar to cover, plus kosher salt. Let sit while the other fixings are prepared. When it's time to serve, drain the excess vinegar.

Mango Salsa

  • Combine chopped mango, cilantro, red onion, lime juice and a pinch of kosher salt. Set aside for serving.

Creamy Chipotle Sauce

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together mayo, sour cream, chipotle spice, salt and lime juice until smooth and well combined. Set aside for serving.

Pan-Fried Tilapia

  • In a small bowl, combine cumin, chili, onion powder, cayenne, flour, and salt.
  • Using paper towels, pat tilapia filets to remove any excess moisture and place them on a large baking sheet.
  • Sprinkle roughly a teaspoon of the seasoning mixture onto each tilapia filet and rub it in using your fingers. Flip filets over and repeat with the other side.
  • Preheat your frying pans (use two pans for four filets, so not to crowd the fish) dry, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. At this point, add in the oil and let it heat up for a minute before adding the fish.
  • Gently place the fish into the hot pans and cook for 4-5 minutes per side (depending on their thickness) over medium-high heat. *Adjust the heat if the pan begins smoking, or the fish appears to be burning.* Flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes until cooked through. The fish should be white and flaky. Gently break apart into small chunks. Set aside for serving.

Tortillas

  • In a dry pan, over medium-high heat, add corn tortillas. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until hot.

Taco Building

  • Load up warm tortillas with fish, mango salsa, cabbage slaw, and chipotle sauce. Serve with with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

Notes

See my tips in the post above on how to chop mango and how to pan-fry fish.
Keyword fish, fish tacos, tacos, tilapia