Tacos de Pescado (Ensenada Fish Tacos) 🌮 are crispy, golden pieces of fish tucked into warm tortillas and topped with crunchy cabbage, creamy chipotle mayo, fresh pico de gallo, and pickled red onions. Add a squeeze of fresh lime, and you have one of my favorite Baja-style meals.
I’ve traveled throughout Baja California, where fish tacos are a way of life. The combination of fresh seafood, crispy fish, and simple toppings is hard to beat.
Like my Baja Shrimp Tacos, these fish tacos bring the flavors of Baja California right into your kitchen.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe ❤️
- Crispy and flavorful: The beer batter fries up golden and crisp while keeping the fish tender inside.
- Fresh toppings: Crunchy cabbage, pico de gallo, pickled red onions, and lime balance the crispy fish.
- Easy to customize: Use your favorite firm white fish and add as much heat as you like with salsa or hot sauce.
- A taste of Baja: These tacos are inspired by the classic fish tacos I’ve enjoyed throughout Baja California.
-Maggie
🐟 Ingredients
- Fish
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Egg
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Oregano
- Yellow mustard
- Ground pepper
- Beer
- Flour to coat the fish
For the Tacos
- Vegetable oil
- Corn Tortillas or Flour tortillas
- Shredded green cabbage
- Chipotle Mayo sauce
- Pineapple pico de gallo
- Pickled red onions
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
Making the Fish Batter
- Put all the ingredients in a blender or whisk together: the flour, baking powder, egg, garlic, pinch of salt, pinch of oregano, mustard, pinch of ground pepper and beer.
- Blend for 2 minutes until everything is well combined.
Use your favorite beer to make the batter.
Because the batter contains raw egg, keep it refrigerated if you aren’t using it right away.
- Cut the fish into strips or large chunks, whichever you prefer.
How to Choose the Right Fish
- Choose a firm and mild-flavored fish such as cod, mahi mahi, haddock, or sea bass.
- Look for fresh fish with clear eyes, firm flesh, and a pleasant ocean smell
- Avoid fish with slimy or discolored skin, or a strong fishy odor
- Ask your fish market person for their recommended fish for making fish tacos
- Coat the piece of fish with the flour in a medium bowl.
- Dip the fish strips in the batter
- Cover them completely until they are well coated.
If using frozen fish, make sure to thaw it properly and pat dry with a paper towel before cooking.
Frying the Fish
- Heat the oil on medium-high heat.
- Put the fish strips in the pan of hot oil and fry them for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Consider the thickness of the fish, as thicker cuts will take longer to cook.
- Also, only add a few pieces at a time to the pan. You don’t want to overcrowd the fish, or they will not cook properly
- Drain the excess oil by placing them on paper towels.
- Cover with aluminum foil while the rest of the fish is cooking.
- Warm corn tortillas on a hot griddle.
Corn tortillas are traditional for Baja-style fish tacos, but you can use flour tortillas if you prefer.
How to Assemble Tacos
- Spread some chipotle mayo on a warm tortilla and place two or three pieces of fried fish in the center.
- Top with some shredded cabbage, fresh pico de gallo, and pickled onions.
These Ensenada fish tacos are just not the same without a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Feel free to add your favorite toppings or sauces. Sour cream, crema mexicana, Valentina, or Tapatío are all good options.
Serve these tacos with an ice-cold beer or a glass of Authentic Horchata Recipe.
🙋🏻♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Use a firm, mild-flavored white fish that holds together well when fried. Cod, mahi mahi, haddock, or sea bass are all good choices. Fresh or properly thawed frozen fish can be used.
Ensenada fish tacos are a Baja California specialty made with battered and fried fish served in tortillas with toppings such as cabbage, creamy sauce, salsa, and lime. They are especially associated with the coastal city of Ensenada.
Yes. Thaw the fish completely and pat it very dry with paper towels before coating it. Removing excess moisture helps the batter stick to the fish and keeps the oil from splattering.
You can use your favorite beer to make the batter. A mild beer works well without overpowering the flavor of the fish.
Yes. You can bake the coated fish at 400°F for about 15–20 minutes. Keep in mind that baked fish won’t have the same crisp texture as traditionally fried fish.
🍴 More Mexican Fish Recipes
- Caldo de Pescado
- Tostadas de Atún
- Fish Ceviche
- Baked Salmon Avocado Pico de Gallo
- Pescado a la Veracruzana
- Caldo Siete Mares
These Tacos de Pescado are one of those meals that make dinner feel like a trip to Baja California. The crispy fish, crunchy cabbage, creamy chipotle mayo, and fresh toppings come together in every bite.
If you love fish tacos, this is an easy recipe to keep on hand for taco night. Don’t forget the lime!
Tacos de Pescado (Ensenada Fish Tacos)
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground oregano (pinch)
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (pinch)
- 1 cup beer
Also Need:
For the Tacos:
- 2 cups vegetable oil (or corn oil) for frying
- 15 corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (topping)
- ½ cup chipotle mayo sauce (topping)
- ½ cup pico de gallo (topping)
- ¼ cup pickled red onion (topping)
Instructions
For the Batter:
- Put all the batter ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth. About 2 minutes.
How to Cook the Fish:
- Cut the fish into strips or into small pieces.
- Rinse and pat dry the fish with a kitchen paper towel.
- Use a firm, white fish like cod, bass, halibut.
- On a plate, add 1 cup flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix to combine.
- Coat the fish pieces with the flour + salt mixture.
- Shake to remove the excess.
- Place the flour-coated fish in the batter.
- Coat the fish completely with the batter. Set aside.
- Continue coating the rest of the fish.
- Heat the oil in a deep saucepan or fryer.
- Once the oil is hot, place some of the coated fish strips in the pan.
- Fry for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
- Remove from the pan.
- Drain any excess of oil by placing on a plate with a paper kitchen towel.
- Repeat until all the fish are cooked.
How to Assemble the Tacos:
- Heat the tortillas on a hot griddle.
- Spread some of the mayo on a warm tortilla.
- To the center, add a few pieces of the fried fish.
- Add desired toppings – shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and pickled onions.
- Serve with salsa and a cold beer!
Notes
- Choose a firm and mild-flavored fish such as fresh cod, haddock, or mahi mahi
- Look for fresh fish with clear eyes, firm flesh, and a pleasant ocean smell
- Avoid fish with slimy or discolored skin, or a strong fishy odor
- Ask your fish market person for their recommended fish for making fish tacos
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it with cooking spray. Arrange the coated fish fillets (per instructions).
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes on the baking sheet.
There’s no recipe or ingredients for the “creamy sauce” BOO!
Hi. If you click where it says “chipotle mayo sauce” on the recipe card, you’ll find the recipe. It’s also under the ingredients photo too. If you still can’t find it, here’s the link to Chipotle Mayo Sauce.
I love tacos so much!
It is so easy and delicious! I can actually eat this any time of the day!
I couldn’t agree more! Tacos are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed at any time of the day. Enjoy your Tacos de Pescado!
These are soooo juicy and quick to make.
Glad to hear you liked this recipe! Whether you’re preparing them for a weeknight dinner or a casual gathering, these Tacos de Pescado are sure to please everyone’s taste buds. Enjoy the juicy goodness!
Looks like an amazing tacos recipe for everyone to enjoy! This Tacos de Pescado looks amazingly delicious and very yummy! A great upgrade to our normal taco. I’ll definitely make this at home! Thanks!
You’re absolutely right! Tacos de Pescado, are indeed an amazing and delicious upgrade to the traditional taco. Enjoy making this recipe at home!