Blackened Fish Tacos with Cucumber Salsa

Well, hello there, fish taco. You are such a delicious spring and summer meal that leaves me feeling light, refreshed, and oh so satisfied. Let’s be friends forever and make winter never come so that it’s always warm and we can hang out every day. Cold weather food is comfy and cozy, and I will say that it’s probably my favorite type of food, but meals like this make me question that statement!

When I get that tasty bite of corn tortilla, tangy cole slaw, flavor-bomb blackened Mahi, and crunchy, spicy, delicious cucumber salsa, all is right in the world, and I forget all about my love of Crock Pots and chicken pot pie 😍. It’s a good thing that cold weather food is my favorite type of food, because I despise the cold weather itself. So if I disliked the food and the weather, it would be a bleak few months, people! The yummy food balances things out.

But then again…these tacos, doe. These taccooosssss.

Tacos don’t just belong on Tuesday, friends. I am rejecting that philosophy and starting a revolution of Taco Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Tacos erryday, yo.

The goal of tacos = getting that perfect bite. It can’t just be one note…you have to have a few delicious things going on that combine together and create perfection. In these tacos, we have three elements that come together to create that delicious moment.

1. The coleslaw. Easiest coleslaw in the world…it literally takes two seconds to make. You combine coleslaw mix, a little bit of mayo, lime juice, and honey in a medium bowl, stir, and pop it in the fridge.
2. The cucumber salsa. Also easy – it just takes a bit of chopping. We’ve got cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, avocado, and lime juice goin’ on in there. Just chop it, stir it together, and throw it in the fridge to hang out with your coleslaw until your fishies are ready to go!
3. The fish. Also super easy! Season it with salt and your homemade blackening seasoning (an even mix of cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder), sear it on both sides in a pan with coconut oil, and you’re done! Flake it with a fork, portion it into five little piles, and you’re ready to assemble.

To assemble, you start with your corn tortilla, add a little bit of coleslaw, one pile of your fish, and a few spoonfulls of cucumber salsa! The trick here is to not overload on your three ingredients (despite how tempting it is to pile it all in there) or else your tacos will be a mess and will be hard to eat…and hard to close. HAVE SOME TACO SELF CONTROL, PEOPLE. And once you master that self control, come find me and teach me, because I have not yet gotten there…

Okay, internet friends. I have approximately six weeks to get six billion things done that I need to get done before baby Chesson arrives in the world. But that’s a good thing, right? Lots to keep me busy? The problem is that I am kept busy pretty much all day with the blog, so by the time Seth gets home from work, I have barely had any extra time to work on baby stuff. And when he gets home, I just want to hang out and have fun with him, not do house work stuff, nahmean??

The main things I need to get done:

• Finish the nursery. Which basically is just hanging stuff on the walls. And then I think I’ll be done…maybe? I think.
• Stock the nursery. Diapers, wipes, all the stuff like that. I have done zero of this.
• Wash all of his clothes and blankets and things. I have also done zero of this…
• See how many newborn clothes we have and make exchanges at Target for bigger sizes. Because HOLY LORD we have enough newborn clothes to stock a super Walmart…no joke. So we need to take about half of them and exchange them at Target for 3 month and up clothes. I literally don’t think he could go through all his newborn clothes even if we changed him five times a day…
• Buy the rest of the stuff we need. Now that my big family shower is over and we have received all the baby gifts that we will probably get, we need to look through our registry and buy all the remaining items that we want/need to get.

Side note…you know those SUPER fancy swings called Mamaroos? They are ultra expensive, and I never would have bought one for myself, BUT – hold the phone, my friend found one at her church’s garage sale, barely used, in perfect condition, that was selling for $110 bucks…say whhaaaatt? Purchased immediately. It made me feel very productive and frugal 😏.

Anyway, those are my big things. WISH ME LUCK and make me tacos 😀.

Here is the recipe for these tasty goodies!

Blackened Fish Tacos with Cucumber Salsa

★★★★★

4.5 from 2 reviews

These fish tacos are the perfect, refreshing dish for spring and summer! The coleslaw, blackened fish, and cucumber salsa combine to create the perfect bite.

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 5 tacos 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• Five white corn tortillas

For the coleslaw:

• 1 cup coleslaw mix (the kind with carrots)
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon honey

For the cucumber salsa:

• 1 hot house cucumber, sliced in half, seeds scooped out, finely diced (2 cups diced)
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 avocado, diced into small cubes

For the fish:

• 2 Mahi-Mahi fillets
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1–2 teaspoons coconut oil for pan

Instructions

For the coleslaw:

1. Combine the coleslaw mix, mayo, lime juice, and honey in a medium bowl. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let sit in the fridge until ready to assemble tacos.

For the cucumber salsa:

1. Combine the cucumber, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Stir to combine, season with salt and pepper, and then lightly fold in the avocado last to avoid mashing it. Let sit in the fridge until ready to assemble tacos.

For the fish:

1. Combine all spices in a small bowl and stir together (cumin, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder).
2. Lay your Mahi fillets out and season both sides with salt and the blackening seasoning. You should use all the seasoning between both sides of both fillets.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a skillet over medium – medium/high heat. When hot, add your Mahi fillets. Cook the fish until both sides are deeply seared. By this point, the fish should be cooked through. Add your second teaspoon of coconut oil if the pan gets dry.
4. When the fish is done, remove it from the skillet, flake it, and separate it into 5 small piles.

To assemble:

1. Start with one corn tortilla, top with a small pile of coleslaw, one portion of your blackened fish, and a few spoonfuls of cucumber salsa (I like to load the salsa on!)

Notes

This recipe makes more salsa than you’ll probably need for the tacos, but I like to have extra laying around to eat on the side and continue to pile on as I eat the tacos. However, if you don’t want extra, you can half the salsa recipe.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 taco
• Calories: 176
• Sugar: 2 g
• Sodium: 70 mg
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbohydrates: 16 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Protein: 10 g
• Cholesterol: 32 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy taco recipes? Check these out:

Banh Mi Tacos [21 Day Fix]

Healthy, Cheesy Taco Skillet

Flank Steak Tacos with Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce