Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa is a perfect recipe for a quick and tasty weeknight dinner. Hello Taco Tuesday! Pan-fried fish (like crappie or tilapia) with an easy homemade mango salsa for a delicious combo of sweet and savory flavors.
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This is one of my absolute favorite crappie recipes! (Pronounced krawp'-e)
You can also use any thin mild fish like tilapia, small catfish fillets or bream.
When I want fish tacos, I'm almost always making this quick and easy fried fish recipe with sweet and savory mango salsa.
My brother is an avid fisherman, and sometimes gifts us enough fish for a small fish fry! We almost always make these fried crappie fish tacos.
These tacos are great on their own, but you can also serve them with a side dish like my Fried Green Tomatoes or Corn Avocado Tomato Salad to make it a festive feast!
Shortcuts
- Cajun and Creole seasoning combines many seasonings so you only have to buy one!
- In some markets, you can purchase peeled, cubed fresh mango, then dice it. Frozen, thawed mango can be used but it will be much softer.
- See my shortcut method to peel and dice a mango below.
- An even shorter shortcut would be to buy some fresh mango salsa from the produce department of the grocery store and serve with these crispy fish tacos.
- In a pinch, you could substitute baked or air-fried frozen breaded fish.
Ingredients for fish tacos
What you will need to pan-fry fish for tacos:
Scroll down to printable recipe for exact ingredient quantities.
- Fish fillets - I make these as crappie tacos, but tilapia and catfish are other common options.
- All purpose flour
- Cornmeal
- Salt
- Oil - Vegetable oil works great, but you could also fry your fish in bacon drippings.
- Seasoning - Cajun or Creole seasoning gives your fish a nice Southern flavor.
- Soft flour tortillas - 12 street-size flour tortillas (3-inches) or fajita size (5 inches) or 6 soft taco-size tortillas (7-inches). Corn tortillas can also be used.
Ingredients for Mango Salsa
This salsa de mango recipe can be made up in advance.
Scroll down for detailed, printable recipe.
How to make mango salsa for fish (tacos)
Make the salsa first, so the flavors have time to meld together.
- Slice a mango vertically on both sides of the large seed in the middle to give you two halves. Score the mango horizontally with a sharp knife, to-but-not through, the skin. Then, cut it the same way vertically.
- Now, you can slice off the pieces for perfectly diced mango.
- Combine all the ingredients for the mango salsa in a bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the fish tacos.
Salsa con Mango (Salsa with Mango) can also be served on top of grilled salmon or cod. I sometimes serve it with my Air Fryer Parmesan Crusted Tilapia.
How to make these easy fish tacos
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe with detailed instructions.
I'm making fried crappie for these fish tacos. Feel free to use your favorite fish grilled, air-fried, or blackened.
- Combine the flour with cornmeal, seasonings, and salt in a shallow dish. Press the fish fillets into the mixture and coat well.
- To a skillet of hot oil (I use a cast iron skillet), add the coated fillets in a single layer and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. You want to cook them just until lightly browned. Thin fillets cook fast!
- Let the fish drain on paper towels.
- Add the fish to flour or corn tortillas, then top the mango salsa on fish and sprinkle with cilantro, if you like!
Make them with street taco tortillas for appetizers or lunch and soft taco-size tortillas for a larger meal.
Don't forget the napkins! These mango fish tacos can get messy!
I bought this cute chihuahua taco holder at a thrift store but here is another ceramic taco holder. I also own some metal taco holders similar these.
Pro Tips
To get the same charred look on your tortillas, you can easily cook them over the flame of any gas stove or grill. Just use tongs to carefully rotate the tortillas over the flame until they're nice and charred!
Substitutions & Variations
Trade "this" for "that" in this fish tacos with mango salsa recipe.
- Cornmeal dredge - Instead of making your own mixture for the dredge, you could also use a store bought fish fry mix like Zatarain's.
- No cornmeal - I love the crunch of cornmeal, but it also works with just doubling the flour!
- More subtle seasoning - If you prefer a less spicy result, replace the seasoning in the cornmeal mixture with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon onion or garlic salt.
- Store bought mango salsa - I prefer to make my own mango salsa for the freshness factor, but you can also find pre-made mango salsa in the produce section of your local grocery store.
- Chopped tomato can be added to the Mango Salsa, if you like!
These fish tacos are not just for Tuesdays! Enjoy any day of the week. "Deliciosa!"
Pro Tips
You'll know your fish is cooked through when you test it with a fork and it flakes easily.
Helpful Information
I love using crappie to make crappie fish tacos, but other popular options are tilapia, snapper, flounder, halibut, catfish, or mahi-mahi.
If your tortillas are cold, I definitely recommend heating them up so they are more flexible. A great way to do this is to cover them with a slightly damp paper towel and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. This will make the tortillas easier to work with and they won't fall apart as easily, especially corn tortillas.
What to Serve with Fish Tacos
Here are some toppings suggestions if you want to gild the lily in addition to mango salsa!
- Jalapeno or habanero pepper
- Pickled chiles or pickled jalapeno
- Pickled Red Onion
- Diced onion (sweet onion and purple onion work well)
- Sour cream, crema or creamy jalapeno or avocado sauce
- Guacamole or diced avocado
- Sliced radishes
- Shredded cabbage--Use slaw mix for a shortcut.
What else to serve with Mango Salsa?
Make a double batch of this easy Mango salsa recipe to serve on game day!
- Scoop up mango salsa with crispy tortilla chips or pita chips.
- Spoon it over grilled salmon, tuna or mahi mahi.
- Add chopped pineapple for a tropical salsa to serve with chicken.
Storage Tips
- To Store. Keep leftover fish fillets and mango salsa in separate airtight containers in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Add a little bit of oil to a pan and reheat the fish fillets over the stove. Air fry them for 1 to 2 minutes or bake them at 425 for 5 minutes. They'll get soggy if you heat them in the microwave.
- To Freeze. You can also store the fried fish in the freezer in a resealable freezer bag or freezer container for up to 4 months.
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Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
Equipment
- 10 inch cast iron skillet or other 10 to 12 inch skillet
Ingredients
Mango Salsa
- 1 large or 2 small ripe mangoes, peeled and diced* (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 tbsp chopped green onion (optional)
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion (or my Pickled Red Onions)
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil or vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cilantro (optional)
Fish Tacos
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt optional
- 1 pound crappie or other thin white fish (Tilapia, flounder, snapper, bream)
- 8 street taco-size flour tortillas (3-inches) or fajita size (5 inches) or 4 to 6 soft taco-size tortillas (7.5-inches)
Instructions
- Make Mango Salsa first so the flavors can be melding together.
Mango Salsa
- Combine all the ingredients together in a small bowl. See in NOTES how to peel and dice a mango.For a softer salsa, use a potato masher to mash the ingredients together or pulse in a blender or food processor a few times.
Fish Tacos
- While dredging the fish, let the oil heat up in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Combine flour, cornmeal, seasoning, and salt (if using) in a rimmed plate or shallow bowl.
- To dredge, press each fish fillet into the cornmeal mixture with your fingertips. Then, turn them over and press the other side into the mixture.
- When the oil is hot, arrange enough of the fillets to fill the pan but not too close together so they will all evenly brown.After about 3 minutes they should be lightly brown on one side, turn the fillets over with tongs or a spatula. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
- Divide fried fish among desired size and number of tortillas. Top with Mango Salsa.
Notes
- One serving is 3 street taco-size tortillas or 2 soft taco-size tortillas.
- To test for doneness, the fish should flake easily when tested with a fork.
- For a less spicy seasoning, just use 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon onion or garlic salt.
- You can replace the flour, cornmeal, salt and seasoning with a seasoned fish fry mix such as Louisiana fish fry products or Zatarain’s.
- You can purchase store bought mango salsa in the produce section of a grocery store.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
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