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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This is a good recipe except for the frying part. Too much oil, too much splattering everywhere, and not worth the trouble. I highly recommend a deep non stick pan, or deep fryer for beer batter. I will continue to use a light breading, pan fry in way less oil, and it still comes out very crispy.
Hi Jen,
Just made these tacos for a Superbowl Sunday meal while watching the game. We also used tilapia, as we had it on hand. The tilapia is usually a firm fleshed fish, but we were amazed at how the fish seemed so light, fluffy and tender. Tacos were delish, with no left overs! Actually, I over ate bc they were so good! Also, I used a dutch oven on a induction burner, which kept the oil spay to a bare minimum. This recipe will definitely be in the rotation.
Thanks!
These are the best fish tacos! We use shrimp with the batter too. My daughter makes these for our family when she is home. This has become our Christmas Eve meal served along with warm tortilla chips and salsa, mango salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, and cherry lime margaritas. This meal is a celebration feast!
This taco recipe is amazinggggg. The beer batter goes so well with the fish. (My favorite fish to use is Tilapia). I try to keep the heat on the lower side (level 2-3) to minimize splatter. The sauce really takes it to the next level. I had never made fish tacos before coming across this recipe, now it’s a family hit!
What a delightful flavor combination! Due to my time constraints, I made the sauce and slaw a few hours earlier in the day. I can’t recommend this recipe enough!
These tasted great, but my goodness, it was messy to prepare. The oil splattered so much and the batter got stuck to my skillet, even with the oil getting too hot and needing to reduce the heat. It definitely took me more than 2 minutes per side. I feel owning a deep fryer would’ve made preparing these easier.
Loved it!! Great recipe…I made it for 2 people…and reducing the ingredients by half made it perfectly proportioned. Thank you!
Made these tonight for the first time. I had another fish taco recipe that I’ve been making for a couple of years. This recipe blew that one out of the water!! We loved these so much! This is probably not quite as healthy because of the batter and frying but TOTALLY worth it. I will make these over and over. And they were really quite quick and easy. I could have made it even easier for a week night if I had made the sauce and slaw ahead of time. Thanks for another great recipe Jenn!! We’re huge fans in this house!
Jenn, I’ve made these for so many dinner parties I’ve almost claimed the recipe as my own ha, ha, ha. When they ask I always give you the credit though, well deserved! I also made the green sauce from the Peruvian chicken to go with these. SO much flavour packed in such a small package! I recently had a young lady from Ukraine that had never had Mexican food. I insisted she come for dinner, and made these. She couldn’t stop raving about it.
Thanks for the recipes Jenn. I’ve made LOTS of recipes from your site, and I’ve never had one that we disliked. A rare occurrence for me, I’m pretty picky.
So glad you like the recipes, Gary — thanks for taking the time to write and let me know! 🙂
Absolutely top-notch recipe!! Thank you Jen for sharing your knowledge, time and talent. I run to your website most of the time:)