An easy and flavorful Tilapia Fish Tacos recipe that’s ready in only 20 minutes! Pan-seared and drizzled with a delicious chipotle lime sauce, these tacos are filled with flaky and tender tilapia and are perfect for weeknight meals.
Tilapia fish tacos are one of my go-to weeknight meals! Ready in only 20 minutes, they’re easy to make, super flavorful, filling, and healthy!
I’m a big fan of using using tilapia when making fish tacos because it has a very mild flavor compared to other fish. It’s perfect for using in tacos and pairing it with all my favorite toppings!
How to Make Tilapia Fish Tacos
First, pat the tilapia fillets with a paper towel on both sides to remove any excess moisture.
Then, season the fish on both sides with a mixture of ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.
It may sound like a very simple mix of seasonings, but it compliments the fish beautifully and doesn’t overpower any of the flavors in the tacos. Trust me, these simple spices are totally enough and add a TON of flavor!
Next, pan-fry the fillets in a large hot skillet with a little olive oil. Tilapia fillets are typically on the thin side and the fish cooks very quickly, so about 3-5 minutes per side should do it!
Once the fish is cooked, transfer it to a plate and flake the fish with a fork into large bite-sized pieces. Serve it in tortillas with a drizzle of this chipotle lime sauce!
Don’t forget the sauce!
Though it may be tempting to skip making the chipotle lime sauce, don’t do it!
It takes the tacos to a whole new level and really completes the whole fish taco experience by adding a creamy and tangy element to every single bite.
And it’s super easy to make! Simply add some plain greek yogurt, a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, a little extra adobo sauce, lime juice, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth and it’s ready to serve!
Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- To add a little extra crunch, serve each taco with shredded cabbage, lettuce, or this easy jicama slaw.
- Don’t have tilapia? You can use cod, flounder, or sole instead.
- To make the chipotle lime sauce spicy, add an extra chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. The yogurt really tames the heat of the pepper, so you may need to add more if you like it hot!
- These tacos are great served in corn and flour tortillas! You can use your favorite store-bought tortillas or make your own using these corn tortilla or flour tortilla recipes.
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Ingredients
For the tacos
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 pound tilapia fillets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 warm tortillas (corn or flour)
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Suggested toppings
- chopped cilantro
- sliced radishes
- shredded lettuce or cabbage
- lime wedges
Instructions
For the tacos
- In a small bowl, add the ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Pat the tilapia fillets with a paper towel on both sides to remove any excess moisture.
- Season both sides of the fillets with the seasoning mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay the fish in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through.
- Transfer fish to a plate and flake it into big bite-sized pieces with a fork.
- Serve in warm corn tortillas and top with chipotle lime sauce, sliced radishes, shredded lettuce or cabbage, chopped cilantro, and lime wedges.
For the sauce
- Add all ingredients to a small blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until ready to eat.
Isabel’s Tips:
- To add a little extra crunch, serve each taco with shredded cabbage, lettuce, or this easy jicama slaw.
- Don’t have tilapia? You can use cod, flounder, or sole instead.
- To make the chipotle lime sauce spicy, add an extra chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. The yogurt really tames the heat of the pepper, so you may need to add more if you like it hot!
- These tacos are great served in corn and flour tortillas! You can use your favorite store-bought tortillas or make your own using these corn tortilla or flour tortilla recipes.
Nutrition Information
If you’ve been a long time reader of Isabel Eats, this recipe might look a little familiar! This recipe is an update from an old post that I published back in 2016. I’ve updated the photos, recipe instructions, and recipe to be as helpful as possible.
These were very good, but the sauce was fiery to my taste, and I like heat better than anyone else in my family. We wound up throwing the sauce out and using bottled salsa instead. If I were making these again I’d increase the yogurt and use just a dab of chipotle sauce.
Hi Don! We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for your feedback!
I have followed you and all your recipes are wonderful. They recipes remained me my mom cooking those recipes
I have followed you and all your recipes are wonderful
Fantastic recipe! We’re always looking for ways to jazz up tilapia, and these tacos were terrific. I’ve never bought chipotle peppers in adobo sauce before, but they were easy to find on the international isle of the grocery store! The sauce was delicious and I could not believe it was made with Greek yogurt. This was also easy enough for a weeknight meal. We’re adding this to our regular roation!
Hi Leah! Thank you so much. We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I was looking for tilapia recipes, and this was the first recipe I saw. I had everything but jicama, but it’s had plenty of cabbage. It was a big hit with everyone. Thanks for the great recipe!
Really enjoyed this recipe! It was easy to make. I made this along with the jicama slaw which added a nice crunch to these tacos. Will definitely make this again.
This was delicious and super easy! I ended up making a sort chipotle lime ranch instead because we did not have any adobo on hand and I was worried there wouldn’t be enough flavor without it in the yogurt. It was fantastic!! I can’t wait to make the sauce the way it’s supposed to be made!
Loved this recipe! Super nice and easy! The sauce really does bring all the flavors together! I added some shredded lettuce and made fresh homemade corn tortillas (followed your recipe btw) and it was amazing! Soo impressed! My new fave dinner!
We really enjoyed these tacos. I was looking for a use for the tilapia in my freezer and the chipotle cream was the perfect finishing touch. I will definitely find other uses to put that on! I made your Mexican Quinoa Salad to go with it which was a great accompaniment.
Yeah, these were awesome and my husband loved them! The spices were simple, but they came together fantastically! This was SO easy to make and I will totally make it again! I doubled the sauce recipe for a beef bowl tomorrow!
Very good and so quick and easy! I usually think of fish tacos as something that takes more effort than I can muster on many weeknights but this was perfect! I was a little afraid of the sauce being too spicy but it was much more mild than expected but such good chipotle flavor!
Delicious and flavourful. I was very surprised how quickly it came together, easy to assemble. The sauce adds a kick that I am usually missing on other tacos that I have tried.
Definitely makes for a great dinner.
So so easy for a quick week night meal! The sauce was seriously the bomb, I will be making that for all our tacos to come.
Quick, delicious and healthy perfect weeknight meal!
I forgot to make the sauce 🤦🏻♀️ but the fish in a warm tortilla, radish, and lots of lime were still delicious! I will be making these again as even my non-fish family ate them up!
My husband and I loved the tilapia tacos! The sauce that goes with it has just enough heat, though I added 2 chipotle peppers!
Such an easy yet flavorful recipe! The sauce took this tacos to the next level. My husband loved this tacos 💗