Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos

Perfect for summer dining, these Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos are a fresher, healthier, and more vibrant version of their popular fried counterparts.  Disclaimer: We developed this recipe in a paid partnership with Nobilo Wines and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) who, together, bring the best of land and sea home so we can celebrate life’s simple pleasures, sustainably.  All opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting our paid work; it helps to keep this site alive so that we can continue to bring you fresh recipes and inspiring and relevant content.

We do some savoury and a lot of sweet recipes on BAKED, but we rarely share posts that are fully meal-appropriate. (I can think of a few exceptions, like this Tomato Sage Yogurt Quiche with Buckwheat Cheddar Crust, this hearty veggie couscous dish, and this summer chili cornbread cobbler.) So when my partner said to me that he’s never had a good taco in Toronto, except mine, I was (of course) very flattered. Tacos are my jam. But I also felt compelled to share a restaurant-quality taco recipe that you can easily make at home. These incredibly delicious, crispy baked Baja fish taco are perfect for weekend dining with friends, family-style meals, or a night when you want to make a bottle of wine the focus. 

What is Baja Style?

Originating in the Baja California Peninsula in Northwestern Mexico, a traditional fish taco is a holy trinity of deep fried white fish, crunchy, shredded cabbage, and a creamy white sauce.

What Is The Best Fish To Use For Baja Fish Tacos?

Any mild, firm white fish is best for fish tacos, but in our Key Steps to Making and Enjoying Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos (below), we get into more specific recommendations.

What is Baja sauce made of?

Baja sauce is a white sauce typically made of equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise, Mexican spices, lime juice, and fresh cilantro. It’s the go-to sauce for traditional Baja fish tacos. But for our version we opted for a little kick and developed a recipe for chipotle mayo.

Crispy Baked Baja Fish Taco Sauce: Chipotle Mayo

Your sauce will make or break your fish taco. It should have a bit of heat and bit of tang. We give it tang with the addition of both lime zest and a sploosh of the sauv blanc. The combination is electric and gives the fish tacos loads of flavour. If you want a bit more heat, feel free to add more chipotle chilis.

Crispy BAKED Baja Fish Tacos

Here at BAKED, we like things that are, well, baked. And we couldn’t be more excited to share our crispiest baked batter recipe/technique for our Baja fish tacos. Still crispy, crunchy, and supremely flavourful, the fish gets it’s perfectly crisp exterior from a 3-step dunking system and a secret ingredient.

Key Steps to Making and Enjoying Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos

1. Choose sustainable seafood

As you are well aware, every move we make when it comes to our food choices has an impact on the environment–both positive and negative.  In particular, the types of fish and seafood we choose and how they are caught and bred can have a detrimental impact on the ecosystem and the long-term vitality of marine life.  But making the right choice is easy. By choosing sustainably fished or farmed seafood, we can support and prolong the marine life and the ocean’s ecosystem.

The Marine Stewardship Council has made shopping for the right seafood a breeze. MSC-certified sustainable seafood can be found in hundreds of grocery stores across Canada (e.g., Loblaws, Whole Foods, Costco, Walmart, Sobeys, etc.), on hundreds of products (fresh, frozen, and canned), and on all your favourite types of seafood.  It’s also easy to identify! Simply look for the MSC Blue Fish Label on products.

2. Use the Right Fish

A mild, firm white fish is your best bet when it comes to making the best Baja fish tacos. But I’m truly smitten with the way the wild pacific cod stood out in this recipe (I tested it 3 times to be sure!). It takes on the flavour of its coating really well, doesn’t dry out when cooked, and fully retains its shape after being cut up and dredged through all of the dunking. If you can’t get your hands on wild pacific cod, then choose your favourite mild, firm white fish.

3. Don’t Skip the 3-Step Dunk

Each coat plays an important role in terms of creating the perfect flavour and texture. And while this recipe is a bit more work to prepare, the resulting fish tacos are unequivocally worth it!

4. The Toppings Make or Break Your Baja Fish Tacos

Traditional shredded cabbage gets a makeover. Transformed into a slaw with serrano chilli, mango, and cilantro, it adds a tangy and vibrant additional crunch to the already crispy fish tacos.

The Chipotle Mayo is a must-have (emphasis on the must) for making the very best Baja fish tacos. It’s subtle back heat and zesty forward flavour provide balance, bringing everything together. Oh, and you’ll want to put it on everything. (I personally recommend dunking baked sweet potato fries into any leftovers you might have.)

5. Pair Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos with Sauvignon Blanc

One of the most practically helpful lessons I learned in culinary school was a basic understanding of how to pair wine and food, knowledge I love sharing whenever I get the chance. Nobilo’s Sustainably Grown Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is fresh, crisp, and refreshing, making it shoo-in for al fresco summer dining. And with notes of citrus and tropical fruit, it also pairs perfectly with fish tacos.

For those who consider the price point of a bottle of wine (um, us!), Nobilo also provides great value for money. In fact, if you’re in Ontario, it’s an additional $3.00 off until June 23 at the LCBO. For all of our Canadian readers, you can find it in the New Zealand section at retailers across Canada, including the LCBO, Sobeys and Loblaws (Ontario), BC Liquor Stores and private retailers (BC). For readers outside of Canada, you can use the store locator, here.

Crispy Baked Baja Fish Taco Sauce: Chipotle Mayo

Your sauce will make or break your fish taco. It should have a bit of heat and bit of tang. We give it tang with the addition of both lime zest and a sploosh of the sauv blanc. The combination is electric and gives the fish tacos loads of flavour. If you want a bit more heat, feel free to add more chipotle chilis.

Can I Make Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos Gluten-Free?

We haven’t tested these options in the recipe, but think that these could make fine substitutes: For the flour, you could try subbing tapioca starch, white rice flour, or possibly even cornstarch. For the panko, you can sub gluten-free panko. Corn tortillas are already gluten-free!

How Can I Make Baja Fish Tacos Kid-Friendly?

It’s not hard, at all. “I looooove these fishy sticks”, my daughter (2.5) said as she gobbled down 4 of them.  Serve it as a deconstructed taco with the fish and tortilla separated it out. The sauce is a bit spicy, but depending on how your kid does with heat, you can serve a dollop on the side for dunking. The fish was obliterated without any sauce each time we made it. My daughter eats coleslaw on occasion, but if you want to set aside some mango slices and a few cucumber slices (this is extra), you can call it a meal.  

What Part of This Recipe Can I Make Ahead?

• The chipotle mayo can be made a couple of days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
• The slaw can be made several hours ahead and stored in the fridge. But, if you’re wanting to optimize your time, it will also hold up quite well for a day or two in the fridge, again, stored in an airtight container; it just won’t be quite as crunchy.
• The fish is best eaten immediately after it’s cooked. But the day I shot this, it was earlier in the afternoon and I rewarmed the fish later for dinner in a 350°F oven for approximately 10 minutes and it was great.

What Are Some Additional Time Savers for Making Baja Fish Tacos?

This recipe does require more work on the preparation end, but to speed things up a little you can use a prepared shredded coleslaw mix in place of freshly shredded cabbage.

If you like fish tacos, or tacos in general, don’t let the summer go by without making these. They will not disappoint!

Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos With Chipotle Mayo

• Author: Kris Osborne
• Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 80 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Savoury
• Method: Easy
• Cuisine: Mexican

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Description

Perfect for summer dining, these Crispy Baked Baja Fish Tacos are a fresher, healthier, and more vibrant version of the popular fried fish tacos. In this case, the holy fish taco trinity of deep fried white fish, crunchy, shredded cabbage, and a creamy white sauce is replaced with a crispy baked fish, a tangy mango cilantro slaw, and a creamy chipotle mayo. It’s a magical summer meal.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Mango Cilantro Slaw

• 6 cups finely shredded cabbage*
• ⅓ cup chopped cilantro (small stems ok)
• ¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced*
• 1 serrano chili, very thinly sliced*
• 1 large ripe, but firm, mango, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
• 1 ½ tbsp (22 mL) white vinegar
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed)
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) veganaise or mayonnaise (the secret ingredient I learned about from Foolproof Living)
• ½ tsp (2 mL) kosher or sea salt
• ½ tsp (2 mL) sugar

Crispy Baked Fish

• 600g MSC-certified cod, defrosted and patted dry
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp veganaise or mayonnaise
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
• ¾ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Chipotle Mayo

• ¼ cup veganaise or mayonnaise
• ¼ cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (drink the rest!)
• 2 tsp lime zest, from approximately 1 lime
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 canned chipotle pepper, very finely chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Assembly:

• 12 soft corn tortillas, warmed
• Thinly sliced radishes*, for serving

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Instructions

For the Mango Cilantro Slaw

1. Add the cabbage, cilantro, onion, serrano, and mago to a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, veganaise or mayonnaise, salt, and sugar, until combined.  Pour over slaw ingredients and toss together. Refrigerate while preparing the fish and chipotle mayo.

For the Crispy Baked Fish

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut fish into approximately 12 pieces, around 3/4- 1” x 3”  in size. They should look like “fish sticks”. Set aside. You should have approximately 1½ pieces of fish per taco.
3. In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour and cumin. Set aside.
4. In a second shallow bowl, whisk together eggs, veganaise or mayonnaise, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Set aside.
5. In a third shallow bowl, whisk together panko, salt, and cilantro. Line the bowls up in the order they were prepared.
6. Spray a wire rack with non-stick cooking spray or oil and set it atop a baking sheet.
7. Working with one piece of fish at a time, lightly coat the fish in flour (shaking off any excess). Then, dip the floured fish into the egg mixture. Finally coat it in the panko crumbs. Place fish on the wire rack and repeat the process for the remaining pieces of fish.
8. Bake fish for 15-20 minutes, or until the exterior is crispy and golden the interior is flaky.

For the Chipotle Mayo

1. In a small bowl, stir together all of the chipotle mayo ingredients until combined.

For Assembly

1. In the centre of a  warmed tortilla, spread out a generous dollop of chipotle mayo. Top with a piece or two of the crispy fish and top with the mango cilantro slaw and a few slices of radish. Eat immediately!

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Notes

• *For best results, I recommend a mandolin for thinly slicing your veggies.
• Depending on the size and shape of your fish fillets, you may have to adjust how many pieces of fish you cut them into
• Make Ahead: The chipotle mayo can be made a couple of days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The slaw can be made several hours ahead and stored in the fridge. But, if you’re wanting to optimize your time, it will also hold up quite well for a day or two in the fridge, again, stored in an airtight container; it just won’t be quite as crunchy. The fish is best eaten immediately after it’s cooked. But the day I shot this, it was earlier in the afternoon and I rewarmed the fish later for dinner in a 350°F oven for approximately 10 minutes and it was great.
• Time Savers: This recipe is a bit heavier in the preparation, but to speed things up a little, you can use a prepared shredded coleslaw mix in place of the freshly shredded cabbage.
• The best way to warm corn tortillas is to heat them on both sides for 30-ish seconds in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. They will become more pliable and get just a little bit of char. Keep covered in a clean dish towel as you warm the rest.

Keywords: Baked, Baja, Crispy, Fish, Tacos, Coleslaw, Slaw, Mango, Cilantro, Panko, Gluten-Free, Chipotle, Mayo