Baja Fish Tacos Recipe
Published June 12, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Bring taco Tuesday to a whole new level with this beer-battered fish taco recipe that is served up with cabbage, salsa, and chipotle mayonnaise.
No joke, we eat tacos at least once a week. We love all the different flavors and combinations of toppings, so we often eat these tacos and Chicken Tinga and Flank steak tacos.
Baja Fish Tacos
These classic tacos originated in the Baja region of Mexico and are commonly grilled up or fried and served with a spicy sauce and cabbage. There are obviously some variations with toppings and type of fish depending on the region of the Baja you are in. Regardless, they are delicious and incredibly easy to make.
If you get the opportunity to travel to the Baja of Mexico or even very Southern California, I recommend you pick up some of these tasty traditions!
What is the Best Fish to Use?
There are several different fishes you can choose from, but I suggest you keep it as close to its classical nature as possible, and that includes the first white fish. I absolutely encourage you to buy fresh fish as it will taste much better. Here are some great options:
- Halibut
- Sea Bass
- Cod
- Snapper
- Catfish
- Tilapia
- Mahi Mahi
Baja Fish Taco Sauce
The traditional sauce for the tacos is spicy mayonnaise or crema. It complements the fish and all of the toppings perfectly. I’ve also seen a variation that uses crema and avocado for a cooler finish to the taco. I only recommend using this if you have jalapeños or other spicy peppers in your salsa. Here’s how to make it:
- In a food processor, process chipotle pepper in adobo sauce with mayonnaise and lime juice until smooth.
- Keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
How to Make Them
Follow these simple instructions to make these Baja fish tacos:
Make a simple salsa consisting of diced tomatoes, diced onions, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and keep cool until ready to use.
Thinly slice some green cabbage and set it to the side.
Make a batter by whisking together flour, cornstarch, beer, salt, and pepper, and dip the small fillets of fish into the batter, completely coating it.
Fry the battered fish in hot cooking oil at 350° for 5-6 minutes or until browned and cooked throughout. Drain on paper towels to get rid of any excess oil.
Serve the beer-battered fried fish on corn tortillas with cabbage, salsa, and chipotle mayonnaise.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These fish tacos are meant to be eaten right away, but you can keep the fish warm on a sheet tray lined with a rack in the oven at 250°. You can also prep all of the toppings, salsa, and sauce up to 1 day ahead of time.
How to Reheat: Place the desired amount of fish onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until hit.
How to Store: Place the cooked fish in a container with a lid and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The fish will not freeze well if they are battered and fried. All of the toppings will last up to 3 days covered in the refrigerator.
chef notes + tips
- Mayonnaise is similar to crema accept crema has a higher acidity since it has more buttermilk fat in it. It’s delicious and much thinner than mayonnaise, but both will work well.
- I like to use sunflower oil when frying the fish, but you can use whatever you’d like.
- The battered fish will unfortunately not cook in an air-fryer or oven.
- Plenty of leftover salsa for you to eat with chips or serve with another recipe.
- Please feel free to use either green or red cabbage or a combination.
- The batter will look very similar to a tempura batter.
- You can fry 5-7 battered fillets of fish at a time.
More Amazing Latin Recipes
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Video
Baja Fish Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
For the Mayonnaise:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- juice of 1 lime
For the Tacos:
- 8 seeded and medium diced Roma tomatoes
- 1 peeled and small diced sweet onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ head of green or red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- 2 pounds fresh halibut cut into smaller fillets
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces Mexican beer
- 16 corn tortillas, heated
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- oil for cooking
Instructions
- Mayonnaise: Add the mayo, garlic, chipotle pepper, and lime juice to a food processor and process on high speed until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator and keep it cool.
- Preheat oil into a medium-size saucepot and heat until it reaches 350° and holds that temperature. There should be enough oil to fill up about 4” into the pot.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, flour, beer and salt, and pepper until combined.
- Dip the fish one at a time into the batter, completely coating it and add it to the hot oil and cook for 5-6 minutes or until browned and cooked throughout.
- Fry the fish into batches so as to not overcrowd, and drain on a paper towel to get rid of any excess oil.
- To Plate: place some of the fried fish on a double layer of heated corn tortillas and top off with sliced cabbage, salsa, and chipotle mayonnaise and serve.
Our son said “this is seriously good. Better than anything I have had in a restaurant!” He liked the contrast between in the flavors. This is favorite! Thank you, Chef Parisi!
Loved the recipe. Would make it again. Thank you for the recipe.
Tasty ChefBilly thankyou 😋😁🤩👋
Made these awesome tacos last night! OH MY GOD I still can’t believe I made them in my own kitchen! The flavor is wonderful and the leftovers were even better!! Will be making them a lot over the summer!
I am gluten free due to arthritis and tendinitis precipitated by gluten. What could you sub for flour?
Sorry, that’s nor really my area of expertise.
I can’t believe I made them! Or how great they were very easy to follow your instructions and video and I’m so glad I have it in my arsenal now!! You are the best
many thanks!
I love a little chopped jalapeños in my salsa. Love a little heat.
Nice
Super simple & packed with flavor! The beer batter is light & crisps up the halibut to a beautiful golden brown. I made the chipotle mayo & cabbage that topped the fish. With a little lime juice drizzle, perfection! This recipe comes together quick & makes an easy weekday dinner. This is a family favorite.
so good!!
this is the same exact sauce my favorite taco shop is using. its been a mystery for so long. now i can make fish tacos on my own anytime!! thank you so much for sharing free recipes! cant wait to try more of your recipes!!
awesome
Love these tacos and the sauce is incredible!!
One of my favorites!
We sat up for chef Paris’s Baja Tacos tonight! My son who spent two years in culinary school and a couple more in restaurants said “these are ten out of ten!” We used Halibut for the fish. Thank you for making our everyday meals better!
Will be making these again at our summer retreat to the ocean! Thank you chef Parisi!
This is amazing, thank you!
This is exactly how I make them! I learned from a lady from Baja. I had never had a fish taco before then and I’m part Hispanic. It’s one of my favorite meals now.
Awesome
Fantastic recipe!
I’ve made this recipe four times now and realize I never reviewed. It’s awesome! I follow everything to the T except I use lime in the pico to be more traditional. I usually use halibut since I’m already treating myself and whoever is dining with me when I’m cooking. Always comes out awesome.
Excellent recipe. Used swai since the store was out of cod. Didn’t have the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce but used green chilis and added some hot sauce as well as some avocado to make it thicker. Definitely a staple recipe for us going forward.
Thank you, thank you chif Billy!
So yummy! So good!!
Love fish tacos will definitely make this