Baja Fish Tacos

These Baja Fish Tacos are made with beer battered fried fish, then topped with a creamy cilantro lime slaw and chipotle mayo – delicious street food made at home! Perfect for Cinco de Mayo and all summer long.

Fried fish tacos

I absolutely adore fish tacos. They are, undoubtedly, one of my favorite summer meals to make for my family. Now truth be told, I don’t always take the time to deep fry the fish. I will often make oven fried fish or even just air fry some frozen fish sticks… Ahem.

But whenever I do beer batter my fish, I’m reminded of just how good it is. Air fried or oven fried fish is nice (and the perfect lighter alternative for those everyday meals), but nothing compares to battered and deep fried fish. Pair it with a tangy slaw and creamy chipotle mayo… And you’ve got a meal for warm summer nights everyone is going to rave about.

Please note: I updated this recipe on 04/12/2021 from the previous version posted on 04/15/2016. The old recipe wasn’t really what you would call Baja Style Fish Tacos. If you’ve made it before because it wasn’t deep fried, I highly recommend making my Oven Fried Fish to use with my Cilantro Lime Slaw in soft taco shells. If you still want to make the old recipe, print it here.

Jump to:

• Fried fish tacos
• Ingredients you’ll need
• How to make Baja fish tacos
• Recipe tips
• Serving suggestions
• Printable recipe
• More taco recipes
• Comments

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

For the fish

For assembling the tacos

Ingredient notes

• Cod loin: If cod loin is unavailable, use cod fillet. It will be thinner and less juicy, but still delicious. You can also use a different firm, white fish fillet if you don’t have any cod.
• Beer: A Mexican-style beer works best, although if you can’t find any at your store, a regular light/blonde beer works great in its place.
• Baking powder: Do not use baking soda in place of the baking powder, they are not the same.
• Spices: If you don’t have the individual spices on hand, you can easily substitute store-bought or homemade Taco seasoning.
• Taco shells: I used soft taco shells made from white corn. They are my favorite for these fish tacos, but feel free to use whatever taco shells you have on hand.
• Slaw/mayo: I always make my Cilantro Lime Slaw and my Homemade Chipotle Mayo when I make this recipe. Feel free to use store-bought mayo/slaw, or use your favorite recipe.

How to make Baja fish tacos

1. Start by cutting your fish into bite-sized pieces (around 1 inch or a little less). You do really want to go for bite-sized here, else the fish pieces will be too thick and won’t cook in time when the batter is already done.

Also, remember that they will get battered and will somewhat puff up in the hot oil; you still want them small enough to fit 2-3 pieces into a taco once they are battered and fried. If you’re not sure how large to cut your fish, start by cutting 4-5 pieces and do a test fry with them first before cutting the rest.

Note: You can also just slice the cod into sticks, sized 3 inches by ½ inch. I personally prefer the bite sized pieces, but sticks work great, too (and are less work).

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2. Next, make the batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl first, then gradually whisk in the beer (careful, it will foam – hence the need to add it gradually). Whisk until you have a smooth batter.

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3. Deep fry: Add 3 inches of oil to a deep fat fryer or a mid-sized, deep Dutch oven. Slowly heat to 350°F (175°C), or a wooden spoon sizzles when carefully dipped into the hot oil.

Dip the fish pieces in the batter, one by one, allowing excess batter to drip off before placing the fish in hot oil (do make sure there is enough batter on the fish; do not let everything drip off – it may take a few pieces to get the hang of it).

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Deep fry the fish for 2-4 minutes (depending on the exact size you cut and the accuracy of your thermometer), turning once with the help of two forks or metal kitchen tongs. The batter should be crispy and deep golden in color; the fish has to reach an internal temperature of 145°F.

Remove and sit on a plate or a cooling rack lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.

The fish stays hot and crispy really well if it’s been correctly deep fried (eg not taken out too early). I can usually deep fry all of the fish without the first pieces turning soggy or cold.

4. Serve the fish with taco shells and toppings so everyone can assemble their own dinner!

Recipe tips

• The batter is very easy to make and it’s not difficult to fry the fish, it’s just a little tedious and time-consuming because you need to batter the fish one piece at a time and can’t overcrowd your fryer when cooking the battered fish. Plan for about 20-30 minutes of deep frying, depending on the size of your fryer and if you cut the fish into nuggets or into sticks (sticks are easier/faster).
• Be very careful with the hot oil. Hot oil is dangerous to pets, children and, well, pretty much anyone. If you are deep frying in a Dutch oven on the stove, I strongly recommend using a back burner to minimize the risk of a spill. The same goes for electric deep fryers – set them in a. safe spot and constantly supervise/never ever leave the hot oil and frying goods unattended!
• Do not overheat the oil, or heat it too quickly. Overheated oil will cause the batter to burn quickly. Equally, oil that is not hot enough will leave your fish soggy and greasy.
• You may need to test batter amount and frying time for a few pieces before you get the hang of it. That’s another reason why I prefer nuggets over sticks, more time to get it right 😉
• I have never needed to reheat the fish, it always stays hot and crisp until I have fried all of the pieces. If you need to reheat it, I recommend using an air fryer or the oven. I do not recommend making the fish ahead of time on purpose, though.
• Keep leftovers in the fridge in a covered container with paper towels. Reheat in the oven on a rack or in an air fryer until crisp and heated through.

Serving suggestions

We often have these without any additional sides, but here are some ideas if you’re hosting a larger Taco Tuesday party or just need to round out the meal for big eaters:

I can highly recommend both my Mexican Bean Salad or my Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad (or a chunky Avocado Salsa). A simple homemade guacamole or fresh salsa with chips for dipping is also a delicious addition!

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