Fish tacos are all about bold, complementary flavors. Tilapia is a popular choice for its flaky texture and mild flavor that's agreeable to almost any seasoning.
This recipe pairs blackened tilapia with a tropical salsa for a taco that is flavorful, light, and fresh. Tilapia gets coated in Cajun seasonings - some sweet paprika, a little cayenne, along with thyme and oregano.
The pineapple salsa adds some sweet and acidic flavors. Meanwhile, the creamy, cilantro lime sauce tames the heat and brings all of it together.
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Recipe
Ingredients
Tilapia fish tacos
- 2 tilapia fillets 6 oz each
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil see note about butter
- 4-6 tortillas flour or corn
Blackening seasoning
- 3 tablespoon sweet paprika see note for sweet vs smoked
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cilantro lime sauce
- 1 container plain Greek yogurt 5.3 ounce container (or sub ⅔ cup sour cream)
- 2 limes zest & juice
- 1 small clove garlic sub: 1 teaspoon garlic oil
- ¼ cup cilantro, packed
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Pineapple salsa
- ½ fresh pineapple 2 cups
- ¼ medium red onion
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 lime juice
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
Make blackening seasoning
- Mix together all spices - add more or less cayenne depending on how spicy you like tacos. It makes about 6 tablespoons. I use about 1½ tablespoons per side per fillet.3 tablespoon sweet paprika, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt
Make cilantro lime sauce
- Zest lime into a bowl then add juice from limes. Grate the garlic on the zester (or finely mince) and add to bowl. Add finely chopped cilantro. Mix in yogurt (or sub ⅔ sour cream). Add salt. Set aside to let flavors meld. Then taste and add more salt if needed.2 limes, 1 small clove garlic, ¼ cup cilantro, packed, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 1 container plain Greek yogurt
Make pineapple salsa
- First, dice the red onion and add to a small bowl of water and let sit for 5-10 minutes (this mellows out the sharp bite). Then cut the pineapple into small bite-sized pieces. Slice or dice the jalapenos (take a bite to see how hot they are - it can vary dramatically).
- Drain the onions and add to a medium bowl along with pineapple and jalapeno. Add lime juice and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat and set aside.
Blackened tilapia
- Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of oil until very hot. Meanwhile, coat the tilapia fillets in the blackening spice mix. Use about 1½ tablespoons per side.
- When the pan is hot, add the seasoned tilapia fillets and cook until the bottoms are browned, about 3-5 minutes. When ready to flip, first add another tablespoon of oil (to help brown the other side). Flip the fish ONCE and finish cooking. This should take about 3-5 minutes.
- Cook the tilapia until it reaches 145℉ in the center. If you don't have an instant read thermometer, the center will be opaque and flaky.
Assemble the fish tacos
- Break up the tilapia into pieces. Add to tortillas. Top with pineapple salsa and cilantro-lime sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Tilapia
Blackened tilapia fish tacos are so popular because the fish's mild flavor takes on the personality of any spice you add to it.
Most fish tacos are made with a flaky fish like tilapia or cod. I prefer tilapia for fish tacos because the fillets are thinner and cook up faster. The flesh is flakier, falling apart easier than cod - perfect for tacos. That said, cod can be substituted.
Tilapia is also more forgiving if overcooked. It has stayed tender and flaky even when I've accidentally cooked it to 165ºF (the target temperature is 145ºF).
One reason it's more forgiving is because it has more fat than other lean fish. Often times fattier fish taste more 'fishy' - but tilapia actually has a milder flavor than almost any other fish.
Buy frozen
Fish are typically flash frozen when they are caught and then transported frozen to stores. So it's best to buy it frozen unless you are cooking it that night. You can get tilapia from the freezer aisle or even frozen from the meat counter.
Thaw the tilapia fillets before pan-frying. Since they are thin, they thaw relatively quickly. I place mine (sealed in plastic) in a bowl of cold water and they are thawed in under an hour.
Servings
I like to use one 5-6 ounce tilapia filet per person for fish tacos. This is enough for 5 street size tacos or 2 medium sized tortillas.
Blackened fish
Blackened fish originated in New Orleans with Chef Prudhomme at his restaurant K Paul's. He dipped redfish in butter then coated it in Cajun and Creole spices, then pan-fried it in cast iron.
The fish takes on a blackened color, but it isn't burnt or charred. Instead, it gets the blackened color from the spices turning brown along with the milk solids in the butter.
Blackening spice is generally not spicy since sweet paprika is really mild. The heat comes from cayenne pepper, which you can adjust up or down. Onion powder, garlic powder, thyme and oregano round out the Cajun and Creole flavors (they have a lot of overlap).
Sweet vs smoked paprika
Sweet paprika is sometimes called Hungarian paprika in the US, or even just 'paprika.' It's made from mild red peppers and typically only uses the flesh, omitting the seeds. When peppers are spicy, it's from capsaicin, which is concentrated in the seeds and veins.
Smoked paprika can be made using mild or hot pepper varieties. It's sometimes called Spanish paprika. The peppers are smoked, creating a deep, earthy flavor. It's usually not very spicy, unless specified.
If you use a hot paprika, you might want to use less cayenne or black pepper.
Other spice blend options
Some recipes add cumin or basil, which aren't traditional, but tasty nonetheless. Others add a bit of brown sugar, which helps caramelize the crust. I don't really like that sweeter flavor on fish, but I do think it's delicious on blackened chicken.
You can also buy Chef Paul Prudhomme's blackened redfish magic spice blend on Amazon. These 2-ounce jars* are a standard-sized spice jar and will have about 6-8 tablespoons of spice mix per jar. I use 3 tablespoons of seasoning for each 6 ounce fillet, which would be one full jar.
* This is an affiliate link, which lets me earn a small commission if you make a purchase. I like to be up front and in most cases only recommend products I have personally tried and would recommend to friends and family. However, I have not tried the blackening spice blend on Amazon, but the reviews are positive.
Pan-frying
The traditional method of blackening fish is to cook it in a white-hot cast iron skillet with no oil. It creates a lot of smoke so this is usually reserved for restaurants with monster ventilation systems.
I almost always pan fry tilapia in a stainless steel pan because it's so convenient. It cooks in just a few minutes per side and I can easily monitor the internal temperature so I don't overcook it.
Cook fish until the internal temperature reaches 145ºF, or the center is opaque and easily flakes with a fork.
Stainless steel pan
The blackened tilapia fillets cook up perfectly in my all-clad stainless steel pan. I coat the bottom in a very thin layer of olive oil and heat it up. Then I place the fish in the pan and watch for the bottom to brown.
Once the undersides are cooked, I add some more olive oil to the pan and flip the tilapia fillets to finish cooking. They never stick to the pan with this method.
Cast iron and non-stick pans
If you prefer to use a cast-iron skillet, the process is the same. Chili Pepper Madness has instructions for blackened tilapia in a cast iron skillet.
Some people have trouble with fish sticking to pans. It could be the differences in pans, amount of oil, heat, or even the cooktop. I use induction which heats pans very evenly.
If you tend to have trouble with the fish sticking to the pan, try using a non-stick pan and follow the instructions from Little Sunny Kitchen.
Pineapple salsa
Pineapples grow in tropical regions like Hawaii and Costa Rica. The majority of our pineapples are imported from Costa Rica, which produces them year-round thanks to their climate.
Most grocery stores stock fresh pineapples year-round. If you have trouble finding them, they are better stocked from spring through summer.
Cutting pineapples
There are 3 popular methods to cut pineapples:
- Trim while standing up, then core & slice - see instructions on Bon Appetit
- Core & slice, then trim while lying flat - see written instructions on The Mediterranean Dish or a video from Clean & Delicious.
- Use a pineapple core tool (affiliate link)
I started out trimming the top and bottom off, then trimming the sides off, following by slicing around the core. The method works, but seems to take the most effort.
I then started using the other method that slices the pineapple in half first. Removes the core, then slices the pineapple into pieces while it's still attached to the outer skin. The last step is sliding a knife under the cut pieces to detach them from the skin. Once I got the hang of it, it was much faster and seemed to create less waste.
Finally, if you are willing to spend $8-10 (and have room to store it), you can get a pineapple corer. The tool cores the center out while you screw it deeper into the pineapple. As it screws in, it slices the pineapple in a spiral and cuts the outer edge away from the skin.
This core tool has a video to show one in action. I haven't used one of these, but it has over 16k reviews with 4.5 stars.
Jalapenos
Jalapenos are in season starting later in summer and lasting through most of fall. Peppers ship well and are one of the few fruits or vegetables that you can buy year round with good quality.
If you don't like your food too hot, remove the seeds and veins, which is where the heat is concentrated. I also strongly urge you to taste a small bite of each pepper, since their spiciness levels can vary dramatically.
Another option is to add the jalapenos as a garnish. This works great if other people don't like their food too spicy. These tacos really shouldn't end up very spicy, but if someone's mouth is burning, offer them milk.
Milk has a specific protein that binds to capsaicin (the spicy molecule). Any milk works, from skim to whole, since the benefit is a protein and not linked to fat content.
Making the salsa
Once you have the pineapples cut, the rest is incredibly easy. It can be made 1-2 days in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
The one step you shouldn't skip is soaking the red onions in water. This mellows them out. The sharp onion bite is from pyruvic acid, which is water soluble. A quick soak removes some of that sharp flavor so they don't overpower the salsa.
Cilantro lime sauce
This lime yogurt sauce really ties the flavors of the tacos together. It can also be made with sour cream, depending on your preferences.
I love sour cream on top of enchiladas or tacos loaded with beans and cheese. However, I personally think Greek yogurt works better for these fish tacos. The choice is yours! For reference, a regular sized yogurt container is 5.3 ounces and equals about ⅔ cup.
Mix the yogurt (or sour cream) with lime zest and juice, salt, and cilantro. Taste it and then adjust it as needed. Add more lime juice if it doesn't have enough of an acidic punch. Add more cilantro for a more herbal flavor.
If you don't like cilantro, you can substitute parsley, basil, or tarragon.
- Parsley: peppery and earthy
- Basil: sweet, spicy, anise-y, and earthy
- Tarragon: anise (black licorice) flavor
More recipes & resources
There are so many amazing fish taco recipes out there, I wanted to share a few that might interest you.
- Baja fish tacos by Once Upon a Chef - beer battered with a chipotle sauce
- Grilled fish tacos with citrus carrot slaw by Downshiftology - perfect for winter's citrus season
- Fish tacos with Mango salsa from Bites with Bri
- Jamaican jerk fish tacos with plantain fried rice by Half Baked Harvest
My recipes focus on eating seasonally. Get some ideas for what to make this month.
If you're wondering what else is in season, check out my seasonal calendars to see what's currently in season and coming up soon.
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