Grilled Tilapia Fish Tacos

Make the perfect Mexican-style Tilapia Fish Tacos with this easy and delicious recipe. Fresh white fish seasoned with fajita mix and grilled to perfection, served in a warm toasted corn tortilla with coleslaw and cilantro lime sauce. It makes for an unforgettable 30 minute meal for the family. 

If you love seafood recipes the be sure and also make my Honey Garlic Shrimp. 

Grilled Tilapia Fish Tacos Recipe

These flakey & grilled tilapia fish tacos are actually so simple to make and an easy short-cut recipe to a restaurant worthy fish taco! I love this recipe because it uses convenient store-bought ingredients, like coleslaw mix, prepared cilantro lime sauce, and fajita seasoning that pack a punch of flavor and make it a simple meal to prepare for your family. 

Make the grilled indoors, on your stove top, by using a grill pan. Serve it over a double layer of softened corn tortillas and finish it off with all the toppings. Toppings are the best part of any taco so read below for all my suggestions. 

Ingredients Needed

• Fresh Tilapia – This recipe calls for 1 pound of fish that is cut into 5 smaller filets. If you want to serve each taco with more fish then either buy more fish or just get fewer servings from the recipe and cut the filets larger. Ensure that the fish you are buying is skinned and deboned. Unless of course you know how to skin and debone a fish (I don’t!).
• Lime – Zest the lime first and then squeeze the juice out of it. 
• Fajita Seasoning Mix Packet
• Oil – Use an oil with a high smoke point like canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil. Butter and olive oil is more likely to burn as the grill pan heats up. 
• Corn Tortillas – Traditionally, fish tacos are served inside a double tortilla wrap, which is why the recipe calls for 10 tortillas, but you can serve the tacos with only 1 corn tortilla if that’s what you want. 
• Tri-Color Coleslaw – This is a bagged mix found by the other salad mixes at the store. 
• Cilantro Lime Sauce – This is the sauce/dressing that covers the coleslaw mix. Anything can be used here like salad dressings, salsa, salsa verde, creamy salsa verde sauce, taco sauce, green enchilada sauce, etc. 

How To Make Fish Tacos with Tilapia

1. Prepare The Fish : Cut the fish into 5 smaller filets and pat them dry with a paper towel. Each fish on both sides. Sprinkle each filet with the lime zest and lime juice on both sides. Pat the fajita seasoning mix into both sides of the fish. 
2. Grill : Heat a grill pan, over medium high heat, making sure to grease it well with oil. Once the grill is fully heated, place the fish on it and cook for 5-8 minutes each side or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees F. When you flip the fish make sure to do it gently and add additional oil to ensure the fish does not stick. 
3. Coleslaw + Toppings : Mix together the coleslaw and cilantro lime sauce. Prepare your toppings for the tacos. 
4. Serve : Place one fillet of fish on each corn tortillas (grill or soften the tortillas in the microwave) along with a scoop of coleslaw and then your preferred toppings. 

Grilled Fish Tacos FAQ’s

• How Should I Store Leftover Tilapia Tacos?

  • These grilled fish tacos are best served freshly assembled, as the coleslaw and toppings don’t reheat well. I recommend only assembling the tacos as needed and storing any extra fish , tortillas, coleslaw, and toppings separately. 
  • The cooked tilapia should be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 3 days. 
  • To reheat the fish, place it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. You can also heat it up in the microwave if wanted. 

• Can I Make Any Changes To This Recipe?

  • Yes! There are several ways that you can change up this recipe. Here are some ideas to get started. 
    • Tortillas : Corn tortillas (yellow or white) are typically used for fish tacos. However, feel free to use soft flour tortillas (like the street taco size) if you prefer flour tortillas over corn tortillas. You can even use those flour tortilla ‘taco boats’ as well for a fun variation. 
    • Tri-Color Coleslaw : This is easily found by the other bagged salad mixes at the grocery store. You can also use a bag of shredded coleslaw instead of the tri-color mix. If you can’t find the bagged stuff or just want to make your own, then finely shred some green cabbage and purple cabbage to use in the recipe. 
    • Fish : Although these are called ’tilapia fish tacos’ you can use any white fish like cod or halibut. Make sure that it is skinned and deboned before grilling it. I prefer tilapia because it’s a flakier and softer fish that is really delicious in tacos and cooks easily. 
    • Cilantro Lime Sauce : For the pictures a cilantro lime taco sauce was used (by Herdez brand) but there are lots of other options if wanted. Best Foods makes a creamy cilantro lime sauce, there are cilantro salad dressings (Briannas brand), and you can even use the Herdez brand cilantro lime creamy salsa or salsa verde. 

• What Should I Serve With Grilled Fish Tacos?

  • These grilled tilapia fish tacos can be served with a variety of sides and toppings to complement the flavors. Here are some popular options. 
    • Rice : Mexican rice, cilantro lime rice, or brown rice can be served on the side to soak up the sauce. 
    • Beans : Refried beans, black beans, or pinto beans make a great addition to tacos. 
    • Salad : A simple side salad of mixed greens, avocado slices, and cherry tomatoes can add a nice fresh & healthy crunch to the meal. 
    • Salsa : Serve an assortment of salsas on the side for dipping or as a topping. 
    • Topping Ideas : Sliced avocado, crumbled queso fresco, Mexican crema, chopped cilantro, pico de Gallo are all great options. 

Recipe Tips

Here are a few of my helpful tips so that you can have success recreating this recipe in your own kitchen ♥

• Tilapia Fish : Most grocery stores sell this as already deboned and skinned, so there is no worry about having to know how to do that. If you bought one big filet then you will need to cut into smaller filets (depending on how many tacos you want to make) before cooking it. Tilapia fish is a flakier white fish which means that it needs to be handled with care when grilling it and especially turning it. I don’t recommend using an outdoor type grill to make this fish because it’s more likely to fall apart through the grill racks.
• Use a Grill Pan : I recommend cooking the fish on a grill pan on the stove top. This is a fabulous year-round recipe where an outdoor grill is not needed. I have linked to the grill pan that I love and use, so make sure you have a grill pan. 
• Oil : An oil with a high smoke point is recommended like canola oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, and avocado oil. Butter and olive oil are likely to burn as the grill heats. Make sure you use plenty of oil to make sure the grill pan is well oiled before adding the fish. Once the fish sticks to the pan, you’ll have a hard time cooking it in one piece and turning it over. 
• Coleslaw Tip : The recipe calls for the coleslaw + cilantro lime sauce to be mixed right before serving the tacos. This will yield a firmer, crisper coleslaw so if you prefer a softer coleslaw then make it ahead of time and refrigerate it for 1-3 hours before serving. 

More Taco Recipes To Try

• Easy Fish Tacos
• Baked Ground Chicken Tacos
• Black Bean, Rice, and Vegetable Tacos
• Baked Double Decker Tacos
• Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
• Green Chili Turkey Tacos
• BBQ Beef Tacos
• Ground Turkey Taco Meat