These Salmon Tacos are healthy and delicious and fun to make! Perfect for your Cinco de Mayo Celebration!
Happy Cinco De Mayo! Here’s a mouth-watering recipe for salmon tacos that I think you will love! The salmon is blackened in a skillet with Cajun Spice and folded into warm tortillas with smashed avocado, a citrus-infused fennel-cabbage slaw, pickled red onions and a creamy taco sauce. So much goodness happening here!
Salmon Taco Ingredients
Salmon tacos combine the best of spring & summer flavors- citrus and spice, and everything nice!
Ingredient Notes
- Salmon– opt for skin-off, wild salmon or sustainably raised farmed salmon, king, sockeye, etc.
- Cajun Spice– We use cajun spice to “blacken” the salmon, but your favorite taco seasoning works too.
- Cabbage and fennel– to mix things up a bit we add fresh fennel bulb to the taco slaw. This is optional, you can use all cabbage, or add radish, jicama, or cucumbers.
- Citrus – an orange and several limes
- Mashed Avocado– mixed with garlic salt and lime juice is the base of the taco, holding it all together.
- Pickled onions – adds a lovely punch of flavor- can be made ahead!
- Taco Sauce – adds a creamy component that works well here. Either make Chipotle Mayo or Peruvian Green Sauce, both are outstanding on these tacos, and can be made ahead!
How to make Salmon Tacos
Tip: Pre-make the Pickled Onions and Chipotle Mayo, up to 5 days ahead! I usually make a double batch to use on everything.
Step one: Make the Cabbage Fennel Slaw and let it marinate while you make the rest.
Step two. Season the salmon with cajun spice, then blacken the salmon in a skillet.
Squeeze the salmon with lime and flake the salmon apart.
Step three: Make the avocado mash, mixing avocado with garlic salt and lime juice.
Step Four: Assemble. Spread a little avocado mash on warm tortillas. Then add the blackened salmon and top with the slaw. Then add the pickled onions and the taco sauce! So much goodness happening here!
Drizzle with a creamy taco sauce – which pairs incredibly well with the blackened cajun spice. Both our Chipotle mayo and our Peruvian Green sauce– are tasty here and either can be made without dairy.
Enhance Salmon Tacos with…
What makes a taco truly shine are the little things- pickled onions and a tasty taco sauce- both can be made ahead and you’ll find more ways to use them during the week.
Salmon Taco Faqs
We love serving tacos with Cilantro-lime rice and Mexican Pinto Beans, and of course margaritas. 🙂
Flour tortillas are typically served with fish tacos, but we love using a blend of flour and corn tortillas for the best texture and flavor. When serving fish tacos topped with a juicy slaw, corn tortillas can fall apart, so if intent on using corn, double them up!
Absolutely! Grill the cajun-rubbed salmon on a well-greased grill 3-4 minutes on each side over medium heat or until it easily flakes apart with a fork. Squeeze with lime juice.
The slaw can be made ahead, although it is best served the day of, as it will get juicy over time. The pickled onions and creamy taco sauce can be made several days ahead. The avocado mash is best made right before serving as well as the salmon.
The leftover salmon can be repurposed into a tasty bowl with beans and rice, or tossed into a green salad! Leftover salmon will keep up to 3 days in the fridge
More Mexican recipes!
Enjoy these Salmon Tacos and let us know in the comments below! Have a happy Cinco De Mayo!
xoxo
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Salmon Tacos Recipe
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8–12 tacos 1x
- Category: main
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
These blackened Salmon Tacos with citrus-infused taco slaw, mashed avocado, pickled onions and creamy chipotle taco sauce are healthy & yummy!
Ingredients
Cabbage-Fennel Slaw
- 3 cups shredded cabbage- purple or green
- 1 cup shredded fennel – or sub more cabbage, jicama, or sliced cucumber
- 1/4 cup cilantro or dill (or some of both)
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno, finely chopped, more to taste.
- Orange zest of one orange (1-2 tablespoons)
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1/8 cup lime juice (1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar ( or apple cider, red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar or alternative
Mashed Avocado
- 2 large avocados, mashed
- garlic salt to taste
- squeeze of lime to taste
Blackened Salmon
- 16 ounces salmon- skinless (see notes)
- salt
- Cajun seasoning (or sub taco seasoning)
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil.
Tacos
- 3 limes, divided, some for garnish
- 8–12 small tortillas (flour or flour-corn blend is nice), warmed, toasted or grilled.
- Pickled red onions
- Chipotle mayo or Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde)
Instructions
- Make the toppings. Make the Pickled Red Onions and Chipotle Mayo (or Peruvian Green Sauce) and refrigerate. You can do this several days ahead!
- Make the Slaw. Shred the cabbage and fennel and place in a medium bowl. Add cilantro, jalapeno, orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, salt and sugar. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt, heat and acid to your liking.
- Mash 2 avocados with garlic salt to taste. Add a squeeze of lime. Mix to combine.
- Cook the salmon. Season both sides of the salmon with a little salt. Generously season both sides with cajun seasoning. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the salmon until deeply golden- 3-4 minutes. Flip, sear the other side and cook until it easily flakes apart with a fork, 3-4 minutes- time will depend on the thickness of the filets. Flake apart, and squeeze with half a lime. Taste for salt and lime, add more if needed.
- Tortillas. Warm or toast the tortillas until soft and pliable, and slightly toasty. Wrap in a kitchen town.
- Assemble. Spread a little of the avocado mash on the tortilla ( which will hold everything together) add some blackened salmon, and top with slaw, pickled onions, a drizzle of chipotle mayo and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
- These are best eaten immediately after assembling! Leftovers can be repurposed into salmon bowls.
Notes
Salmon: I experimented with leaving the salmon skin on and making crispy salmon skin tacos, but once assembled in the tacos, the skin got soggy and really unpleasant. I recommend taking the skin off.
Slaw: The slaw is best on the day of. The slaw tastes great the next day, but the tacos need a fresh crisp texture.
If you want to skip the pickled red onions, add red onions to the slaw (or green onions).
The mashed avocado helps hold the tacos together.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taco
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 3.1 g
- Sodium: 416.6 mg
- Fat: 13.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.4 g
- Fiber: 4.6 g
- Protein: 13.4 g
- Cholesterol: 23.2 mg
I made these today for a luncheon and they were fantastic! Followed the recipe and wouldn’t change a thing!
Great to hear Judy!
I made this tonight without the slaw, and it was still superb. That Peruvian sauce was amazing!
Oh good! Great to hear!
These tacos are absolutely delicious. I made them last night and everyone loved them. The pickled onions and Peruvian green sauce really take them to the next level. Thanks for another winner, Sylvia!
Thanks Angie- so happy you gave them a go!
DELICIOUS!!! Another 5 star recipe!
So happy you enjoyed these!
DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks Robin! Glad you liked them!
I made this for Sunday dinner and it’s fantastic. I added olive oil to the slaw dressing and made the Peruvian green sauce to add as well. My family loved every bite.
Great to hear Kate!