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The firm texture and mild flavor of mahi mahi makes it a delicious option for these healthy mahi mahi fish tacos that are layered with a simple but flavorful cilantro lime slaw. A 30-minute recipe that is perfect for your next taco night!
If you are looking for a fresh new recipe to enjoy this summer or a random taco Tuesday, look no further than these healthy mahi-mahi tacos. Mahi mahi is a lean white fish with firm flesh and mild flavor that is found in the warm waters off of Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico.
It is the perfect option for serving in fish taco recipes like this one.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A Healthy, Homemade Fish Taco: mahi mahi is a lean fish that does not need to be fried to be tender and flavorful.
- Quick Cooking Time: The cook time for these fish tacos is less than 30 minutes. You can easily meal prep the slaw in advance to reduce the cooking time when you plan to serve up these tacos.
- Diet and Allergen Friendly: these healthy fish tacos are dairy-free and gluten-free if prepared according to the recipe in this post.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Mahi mahi: this lean, white fleshed fish makes a great option for fish tacos. If you can’t find mahi mahi, you can substitute with cod, tilapia, or grouper.
- Fish taco seasoning: add flavor by rubbing the mahi mahi in a homemade fish taco seasoning with chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. If you like spice, you can also add a bit of cayenne pepper to your taco seasoning.
- Cabbage: before cooking your fish, make a quick slaw out of cabbage. You can use either green or red cabbage for the slaw. For more color, we used a mixture of both.
- Lime & Cilantro: lime and cilantro add flavor to both the fish and the slaw in these delicious tacos.
- Olive Oil: use olive oil for cooking your fish. We like to use olive oil since it is a great source of heart healthy monounsaturated fat.
- Tortillas: wrap up your tacos with corn or flour tortillas. Warm up your tortillas by placing them on a hot pan like a skillet (no oil needed) for 20-30 seconds on each side.
Variations
- Make a creamy slaw: if you prefer a creamy slaw, use the recipe from this post but stir in ⅓ cup mayo or plain Greek yogurt. If you don’t like cabbage slaw, these tacos would also be delicious topped with a mango salsa!
- Swap out the fish: if you don’t like fish, you can easily make these tacos with boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead.
- Add a sauce: make a quick chipotle crema by combining some greek yogurt (½ cup) with 1 ½ tablespoons of the adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers in adobo. Add ½ tablespoon lime juice and salt to taste. You could also make this creamy avocado salsa!
How to Make Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
To make these delicious fish tacos, you’ll want to purchase fresh mahi mahi filets with the skin removed. If using frozen mahi mahi from the grocery store, make sure to thaw it before preparing this recipe. Mix together the fish taco seasoning in a small bowl and then sprinkle generously over both sides of the fish pieces.
Next, cook up your mahi mahi using one of these methods:
- Stovetop: add 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add mahi-mahi fillets to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes on the other side or until golden brown and the internal temperature is at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Oven: place seasoned mahi mahi filets on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-17 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit and fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Grill: place mahi mahi filets on a clean grill on medium-high heat and grill mahi mahi for at least 3-5 minutes on each side and internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the fish is cooked, transfer to a plate and break into bite sized pieces. Assemble tacos adding the fish, slaw, and desired toppings to your warm tortillas.
How to Make Slaw for Fish Tacos
A quick cabbage slaw is a delicious way to add color, flavor, and texture to this mahi mahi tacos recipe. For this healthy fish taco recipe we made a quick no-mayo lime and cilantro cabbage slaw using a mixture of purple and green cabbage. Here’s how to make it:
- Thinly slice cabbage or use a mandoline to slice. You can also purchase a bag of prepared cabbage slaw mix if you want to reduce prep time.
- Add cabbage to a large bowl with the vinegar, lime juice, sugar, oil, and salt. Toss to coat cabbage in dressing. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or more for cabbage to soften in the vinegar dressing.
- Add chopped cilantro leaves and toss to mix again. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve!
Are Fish Tacos Healthy?
Yes, fish tacos can be a great healthy dinner option! Instead of frying, we are pan searing these mahi mahi tacos and loading them up with healthy toppings like a cilantro lime slaw and sliced avocado.
What Kind of Fish Works Best for Fish Tacos?
We like to use mahi mahi for these fish tacos since it has great flavor and is considered a sustainable seafood from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list. Other types of white fish that often work well in fish tacos include: tilapia, halibut, or snapper.
What to Serve with Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
Here are a few of our favorite toppings for these mahi mahi fish tacos: avocado slices, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), hot sauce, fresh cilantro, chopped red onion, fresh squeezed lime juice.
Need a drink to serve with this meal? We love these skinny margaritas on the rocks or a tequila soda!
Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
Ingredients
For the Cilantro Lime Slaw
- 5 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Juice from 2 limes
- Zest from 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, or honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
For the Fish
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 lb skinless mahi mahi fish, about 3 filets, thawed if frozen
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
For the Tacos
- 8 6 to 8 inch corn tortillas
Optional Toppings
- Sliced avocado, hot sauce, fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Add slaw ingredients (cabbage, vinegar, lime juice and zest, sugar, and oil) to a large bowl. Toss to coat cabbage in dressing and add the cilantro. Toss again and then set aside to marinate while cooking the fish.
- In a small bowl, mix together the fish taco seasoning (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt). Generously coat each side of the fish with the seasoning mixture.
- Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook on one side for 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook another 3-5 minutes on the other side or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit and fish flakes easily with a fork. (Cooking time will vary slightly depending on the thickness of the filet pieces.)
- Wipe out the skillet and warm your corn tortillas.
- Assemble tacos by adding cooked mahi mahi and cabbage slaw to a warmed tortilla. Add other toppings as desired such as avocado slices, sour cream, hot sauce, fresh cilantro and fresh squeezed lime juice.
