Fish tacos are one of my all-time favorite meals! These Blackened Fish Tacos are SUPER delicious and made simply with a little avocado and a quick cabbage slaw. 

I’m a totaly fish taco junkie and hadn’t had blackened fish tacos before I started developing this fish taco recipe. 

Wow. I mean… wow.

I really love the beer battered Baja-style fish tacos, but deep frying things is a pain.

Blackened Fish Tacos are pan fried in a little coconut oil and PACKED with flavor. I wanted them to be simple enough for a weeknight meal so I topped them with a simple slice of avocado and lime-dressed cabbage. 

This Blackened Fish Tacos Recipe was a game changer

There’s no marinades, no fancy ingredients or toppings, no fancy techniques. And you only need a handful of ingredients including the blackening seasoning. We’re talking zero to tacos in like… 20 minutes.

Dressing them simply with some cabbage slaw and avocados lets the blackening seasoning do the heavy flavor lifting.

Not eating tortillas? Toss the fish and avocados on some salad greens and add your favorite lime vinaigrette or maxi-ranch dressing.

Ingredients For Blackened Fish Tacos

• Blackening Seasoning
• White fish
• Coconut oil
• Cabbage (about 1/2 small head)
• Limes
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Small tortillas
• Avocado
• Cilantro

For the Blackened Fish Taco Seasoning

The ingredients for blackening seasoning are all easy to find and you might have them in your spice cupboard already!

• Smoked paprika
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Dried thyme
• Dried oregano

This particular spice blend would be great on blackened chicken, too! 

TIP: Make 2-3x the fish taco spices blend and store it for later use!

Best Fish For Blackened Fish Tacos

I like to use a thicker white fish for this recipe – like cod, halibut, or rockfish. Thinner whitefish would work OK, but you’d have to pull back on the seasoning so it doesn’t end up too salty.

How to Make Blackened Fish Tacos

I used cod for this recipe, but you can use any firm white fish you like! Rockfish, halibut, and mahi mahi would work well. I don’t love tilapia, but you could use it here, too.

First, pat the fish dry and coat it in the blackened seasoning blend. Then pan fry it in a nonstick skillet in some coconut oil. If you’re handy with a cast iron skillet that would work, too!

While the fish is cooking, start prepping the cabbage slaw. It’s a simplified version of my Southwest Cabbage Slaw (which is magical and goes with almost everything. Truly.) Just shred the slaw, sprinkle with salt and drizzle it with a little lime juice and olive oil.

Assembling the Perfect Blackened Fish Taco

Here’s what you’ll need for these tacos:

• Warm corn tortillas (I like the little street taco size. Or I put everything on a bed of salad greens.)
• Avocado slices
• Cabbage Slaw
• Fresh cilantro
• Pickled onions (optional, but highly recommended)

If you’re looking for a pickled onion recipe here’s mine — it’s really great! Pickled Red Onions with Garlic & Jalapeno.

Variations for serving this fish taco recipe

Ditch the tortillas all together and make some fish taco bowls out of these over a bed of rice! You can adapt my Chile-Lime Fish Taco Bowls and use Blackened Fish instead!

If you’re cutting carbs or avoiding grains for some reason, add the taco filling to a bed of salad greens instead.

The Best Blackened Fish Tacos Recipe Tips

• Use fresh fish! This is probably the best tip I can give you. If you’re buying fresh (not frozen) fish at the store, smell it. If it has a strong fishy smell it’s not as fresh as it needs to be. Frozen fish is fine, but use it within 12-18 hours after it thaws so it doesn’t start getting overly fishy.
• Make the blackening seasoning ahead of time. This will save you a few minutes of prep time.
• Make sure the pan is hot before you put the fish in. Like, it should sizzle loudly when you flick water into the hot oil.
• Once you put the fish in the pan, LEAVE IT ALONE. Seriously. Don’t push it around or mess with it for at least a minute so the spices can form a crust on the fish. It will release fine once this happens. (Also see the tip above… if the pan is hot enough the fish won’t stick.)
• Don’t overcook the fish. It should flake easily with a fork when it’s cooked through. I’ll get rubbery if you leave it in the pan too long.

What to serve with these blackened fish tacos

Honestly… these stand well on their own for me. Because there’s a veggie component I consider these a solid dinner option. 

But if you’re entertaining or want something else to go with them, here are some suggestions!

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans

My Favorite Homemade Guacamole

My Favorite Pico de Gallo

Chipotle Vegan Queso

How to Store Blackened Fish Tacos

I highly recommend eating the fish tacos right after you make them. The fish has the best flavor immediately after cooking.

If you happen to have leftovers, store the fish and the toppings separately in air-tight containers and eat within 48 hours for best results.

More Ways to Serve Blackened Fish Tacos

If you like these tacos, try one of my other easy taco recipes!

Smoky Grilled Chicken Tacos with Pineapple

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Corn & Zucchini (Vegetarian)

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple & Avocado Salsa

10-Minute Smoked Salmon Tacos

Crispy Shredded Chicken Tacos

My favorite taco fillings:

The Best Shredded Chicken for Tacos

Shredded Green Chile Chicken

Green Chile Shredded Beef

Slow Cooker Chipotle Barbacoa Beef

Shredded Chipotle Beef

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