Baja Fish Tacos
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Crispy beer-battered cod tucked into corn tortillas and topped with slaw and a smoky chipotle sauce, Baja fish tacos are the perfect summer meal.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Many years ago, Michael and I rented a convertible and drove up the California coast. One of our favorite stops was La Jolla, where we strolled around town and stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant with great food and breathtaking views of the Pacific ocean. I don’t know if it was the scenery, the margaritas, or the fact that we were on vacation, but the Baja fish tacos were out of this world. To recreate them at home, I came up with this version made with crispy beer-battered cod tucked into corn tortillas with a cabbage slaw and smoky chipotle sauce. I’m happy to say they come pretty darn close. To complete the meal, pair the tacos with chips, salsa, and guacamole.
“I have made these so many times – now my friends a family are all making them as well. The chipotle sauce is the star!”
What You’ll Need To Make Baja Fish Tacos
Most of the ingredients are pretty straightforward, except maybe the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you’ve never had them, get ready to add a new staple to your pantry! They’re small peppers (usually red jalapeños) that have been dried and smoked, and they come in a spicy tomato sauce that has a smoky flavor. You can find them in the Latin section of most supermarkets, and I have many recipes that incorporate them.
How To Make Baja Fish Tacos
Begin by making the slaw, which is a combination of shredded red cabbage, chopped red onions, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, oil and salt.
Next, make the chipotle sauce by combining the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, mayonnaise, lime juice and garlic in a mini food processor or blender. I use three peppers for a spicy sauce; of course, use less if you prefer a milder sauce.
When you’re ready to fry the fish, prepare the beer batter by whisking together the flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Slowly pour in the beer, whisking all the while.
Cut the cod into 1-inch wide x 4-inch long strips.
Then dip the fish into the beer batter.
Pan-fry the fish until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. As you can see, there’s no need to deep fry the fish. I use about a 1/2 inch of oil, which is plenty as long as you flip the fish midway through.
If you’re wondering if you can skip the beer batter and frying altogether and just grill or pan-sear the fish, the answer is yes but the tacos won’t be nearly as good. Fried fish has a wonderfully crispy texture and depth of flavor that really can’t be achieved any other way. It’s worth it! Plus, even with the fried fish, these tacos are still amazingly light and fresh.
When the fish is golden brown, drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
Warm up the corn tortillas (I do it in the microwave), then assemble the tacos with a generous amount of chipotle sauce, a heap of cabbage slaw and a piece of crispy cod. Serve with lime wedges, lots of napkins and enjoy!
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Baja Fish Tacos
Crispy beer-battered cod tucked into corn tortillas and topped with slaw and a smoky chipotle sauce, Baja fish tacos are the perfect summer meal.
Ingredients
For the Cabbage Slaw
- 5 cups (or one 10-ounce bag) shredded red cabbage
- 3 tablespoons minced red onion
- ½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Chipotle Sauce
- ¾ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, from one lime
- 2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (canned), roughly chopped, plus 1-2 teaspoons sauce (see note below)
- 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
For the Beer Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup beer
For the Fish and Tortillas
- 1½ pounds skinless cod, cut into 1-inch wide x 4-inch long strips
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas, warmed
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Toss the cabbage, red onion, cilantro, vinegar, oil and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, chipotle chiles with sauce and garlic in a blender or mini food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Gradually add the beer, whisking until the batter is smooth with no lumps. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet, over medium heat, add enough oil to reach a depth of ½-inch. Heat the oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F, or when the end of a wooden spoon sizzles when dipped into the oil.
- Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, dip the fish strips in the beer batter and coat on both sides. Let the excess batter drip off, then fry the fish in the hot oil until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
- Smear each tortilla with a generous amount of the chipotle sauce, then top with the cabbage slaw. Lay one piece of fish inside each tortilla and serve with lime wedges.
- Note: 3 chipotle peppers and 2 teaspoons sauce will give you a spicy sauce. Use less for a milder sauce. You can freeze any leftover chipotle peppers from the can.
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming that approximately 3 tablespoons of oil are absorbed into the fish when fried.
- Note: Nutritional Information does not include the chipotle sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 577
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 66 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 39 g
- Sodium: 1025 mg
- Cholesterol: 73 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Love this recipe. Always make fish tacos when I’m craving it with my husband.
SUPER DELICIOUS!
My family loves tacos and now we have another style of fish tacos to enjoy. Loved the batter and the crispiness it brings to the fish. I think I made the cabbage slaw too far ahead as it was a bit limp and lacked much crunch. Those who thought the Chipotle sauce was too spicy diluted some with more mayo.
Thank you!
Hi Jenn, this was fantastic! I used half cod and half chicken tenders. Per your suggestion I marinated the chicken in buttermilk. The slaw and chipotle mayo are perfect with both chicken an cod. I had no problem with the batter falling off until I put it on paper towels, then it stuck to the towels, won’t do that again. And your tip with the wooden spoon to check oil temp was spot on. Thanks for another great recipe. Your recipes never disappoint. Karin
What was the tip on checking the oil temp with a wooden spoon? and maybe place cooked fish on a wire cooling rack over paper towels so they don’t stick to the paper? I want to make this for a party, without having made it before …so any suggestions would be great!
Hi Amy, here’s a link to the wooden spoon tip. And regarding putting the cooked fish on paper towels, I’ve never had a problem with them sticking, but if you feel more comfortable, feel free to put them on a rack over paper towels.
Loved the beer batter!!
Love all your recipes and plan to make this soon. Just an FYI that you have a typo in the first line of your description. “This Baja fish tacos are made from crispy . . . ” should be “These Baja fish tacos . . .”
Thanks for all the delicious recipes!
Thank you for catching that, Marianne!
Hey! I absolutely love your recipes and just recently bought your book. I have a question about this recipe – is there any way to make this without any alcohol?? Let me know. Thanks!
Rafia, thanks for buying the cookbook! ❤️ You can replace the beer in these with club soda. Enjoy!
I agree. I make this with club soda and it turns out great every time. It’s one of my favorite dishes to serve guests. Thanks Jenn for the great recipe.
Hi Jenn,
I love all your recipes and your cookbook! I even bought a few as gifts. I’m wondering if you have any suggestions for the perfect tortilla recipe. I’ve a tried a few but haven’t found the one yet.
So glad you like the recipes (and thanks so much for purchasing the cookbook)! Unfortunately, I don’t have a proven recipe for tortillas, but I will add it to my list — stay tuned!
Jenn,
You might check out this recipe, which I have had good luck with: https://www.mexicanplease.com/homemade-corn-tortillas/#comments
It uses only three ingredients: Maseca (instant corn masa flour), salt, and water. The key is getting the proportion of flour to water correct. It’s also helpful to have a tortilla press, which you can order on-line or buy at stores that carry ingredients for Mexican food.
Thanks for sharing the link, Ray – I’ll have to check it out!
Made these wonderful tacos twice now and my whole family loves them! They are easy to put together and the sauce and cabbage slaw can be made ahead of time – which I like!
We use a cast iron skillet and fry the fish outside on the barbecue so no fish smell in the kitchen. Fantastic taste!! Will be making these again and again. Thanks Jenn – love your recipes!
This may be a silly question, but how do you fry the fish on the barbeque? Do you just heat the oil in the pan using the grill heat? Or is there something further I should know? I like the thought of keeping the splatter out of the kitchen.
I read all the reviews and at the very bottom found an answer but need to ask you what you think. I have non fish lovers in my house and was wondering if I could use the same recipe and also make up some chicken to go along with the fish? A reviewer said they used chicken tenders, marinated in buttermilk and salt. Do you think the marinating is a necessary step? Can I just batter and fry the chicken? Thank you in advance for your reply. PS I have your book and have made many recipes, just love everything.
Hi Karin, Chicken tenders should work well. Marinating is not absolutely necessary, but a little soak in buttermilk (even for just a few hours) will make the chicken extra tender. Hope that helps and so glad you enjoy the recipes!
Ever since we had amazing fish tacos on Sunset Island in Key West, we’ve been looking for a recipe that was close to those amazing bites. These were a close second. Not hard to make the chipotle mayo..just slather that on everything! Total yum!