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These salmon tacos are my go-to when I want something fast, fresh, and a little healthy without a lot of fuss. The salmon gets a quick chili spice rub, pan-sears in one skillet, and the whole thing comes together in 20 minutes.
5-Star Review ★★★★★
“Love these tacos! Perfect for dinners! So easy and not to many dishes to clean up after! The fish slaw really puts the cherry on top! Super delish!” -Yoselyn
These have become my easy weeknight salmon tacos that always turn out amazing, and everything’s ready in just 20 minutes. The salmon fillets get an easy chili spice rub (don’t worry, it’s not spicy), then they’re pan-fried and flaked into fresh corn tortillas. Pile on some creamy fish taco slaw for crunch, sliced radishes, fresh cilantro, and a big squeeze of lime. Yum!
These are truly foolproof. Even my husband, who has a tendency to overcook salmon in a skillet, nails it when he follows this recipe. The slaw is crunchy and comes together really fast since all you need is a bag of coleslaw mix. It’s so good I make it for other seafood dishes too, not just these tacos.
Serve them with a side of cilantro lime rice and some black beans, and you’ve got a full taco night.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Salmon: Fresh, buttery, flaky salmon is naturally mild tasting, meaning it pairs well with the savory and smoky seasonings in this fish taco recipe. I prefer using fresh salmon fillets, but you can also use frozen. Just make sure the fillets are completely thawed and patted dry before cooking.
- Seasonings: A simple mix of chili powder, ancho chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder gives the pan fried salmon a slightly spicy, smoky, and aromatic flavor profile.
- Tortillas: You can use either corn tortillas or flour tortillas for these salmon tacos. Homemade tortillas are easy to make but you can always use store bought to speed things up.
- Toppings: Salmon tacos are refreshing and bright in summer, so I like to top them with crunchy and creamy fish taco slaw, then finish them off with fresh cilantro, sliced radishes, and lime wedges for extra brightness.
How To Make Salmon Tacos
First, make the salmon dry rub by combining salt, pepper, chili powder, ancho chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Generously rub this mixture into the flesh side of each salmon fillet.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Cook the salmon skin side down until it’s crispy and browned. Flip the fillets and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes or until the flesh looks opaque and flaky.
Transfer the cooked salmon to a plate and let it cool for a few minutes before using two forks to flake the meat into large chunks. I like eating the crispy salmon skin, but if you prefer not to eat it, you can remove it and discard it before flaking the salmon.
Then spoon it into your warm tortillas and top with slaw, chopped cilantro, sliced radishes, and lime wedges.
What to Serve With Salmon Tacos
The mild, classic Mexican-inspired flavors of the salmon fillets make them the perfect base for a wide variety of taco toppings. I really like my creamy fish taco slaw on these tacos, but you can top them with any of these fresh and zesty toppings:
- Something creamy like cilantro lime crema, avocado crema, creamy chipotle ranch dressing, or fish taco sauce
- Salsas like a mango salsa, pineapple salsa, or black bean and corn salsa
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make the salmon in the oven or air fryer? Yep, both work great if you’d rather not stand at the stove. For the oven, bake the seasoned fillets at 400°F for about 12 to 15 minutes, until the salmon flakes easily. For the air fryer, cook at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes. Either way, just watch for that flaky texture and you’re good.
- How do I know when the salmon is done? The salmon is cooked when it flakes easily with a fork and looks opaque all the way through. If you want to be exact, pull it off the heat at 145°F on an instant-read thermometer. I usually take mine off right around 140 and let it rest a couple minutes, since it keeps cooking a little after it leaves the pan.
- Can I use frozen salmon? For sure. Just thaw it all the way in the fridge first, then pat it really dry before seasoning. If there’s extra water on the fillets they’ll steam instead of getting that nice crispy skin.
- Corn or flour tortillas? Totally your call. I love corn tortillas here for that classic taco flavor, but flour works too if that’s what you’ve got. Warm them up first either way, it makes a big difference.
Salmon Tacos
Ingredients
For the salmon
- 1 pound salmon fillets, fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder (or regular chili powder if you can’t find ancho)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
For the slaw
- 5 ½ cups tri-color shredded coleslaw mix
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 lime, zested and juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
For serving
- Small tortillas (corn or flour)
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced radishes
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Prepare the slaw. Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and toss together to combine. Cover and set aside.
- Make the salmon. Pat the salmon dry. In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, chili powder, ancho chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Season the flesh side of the salmon only with the seasoning mixture.
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-heat. Add the salmon skin side down and cook until the skin is crispy and browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes depending on the thickness, until the flesh is opaque and flaky.
- Transfer salmon to a plate and let it rest and cool slightly for 3 minutes. Flake the salmon into large pieces using a fork, discarding the skin if desired.
- Assemble. Serve the flaked salmon in warm corn or flour tortillas with a good amount of slaw and garnish with chopped cilantro, sliced radishes, and lime wedges.
Video
Notes
- Don’t feel like making the slaw? These are still great with just a handful of thinly shredded cabbage tossed with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt. I also like a little creaminess in there from sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, or avocado. A scoop of mango salsa or a little pico de gallo all work, too!
- Storage. Store leftover salmon and slaw in separate airtight containers in the fridge. The salmon keeps up to 2 days and the slaw up to 3 days.
- Reheating. To reheat, the microwave is totally fine; just do it in short 20- to 30-second bursts on medium power so the fish doesn’t dry out or get rubbery. A quick minute in a warm skillet works well too if you want the edges a little crisp again.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Super recipe! Greetings from Northern Germany
Let me preface this by saying we are not big fish fans—I usually make it simply because it’s good for us. We had a giant piece of salmon from Costco, which was enough for two meals. We typically grill our fish, but for the second meal, I decided to try this recipe instead. It did not disappoint. My son, who normally doesn’t like fish at all, ended up eating three tacos. I enjoyed it as well, and we will definitely be making this recipe again.
Can’t believe how good this was! Didn’t have the adobo so just used stone apple cider vinegar. Amazing!
5 ☆ tacos and fish taco slaw. Deliciosos!!
I made these and the slaw for my friend and I and we both loved it
Very good Recipe and a fun meal! Super easy to make (I put a few slices of red onion in the slaw) and was a great way touse up our salmon!
We used this recipe but we cooked it in the oven fore 20 minutes on 400.
We mixed all the dry and wet ingredients and had the filets marinade for 1 hour while the filets thawed in the refrigerator. We also adde fresh tiny diced mango and replaced the dry onion powder with tiny diced fresh white onion.
So good.
These were fabulous! I used crema instead of sour cream, and added avocado. I also didn’t have red cabbage so just used the bagged tricolor cabbage. I air fried the salmon and fried flour tortillas for a bit in avocado oil to add flavor and WOW these were delicious! Thanks and I definitely will make them again!
I thought it would be good, but it was way better than that. Thanks
So quick and EASY!!!! SO YUMMY!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!