These gluten-free fried fish tacos have a tangy sweet orange cabbage slaw and spicy chipotle cream sauce. Rice flour tempura batter makes a crispy golden fried fish! Plus, learn what kind of fish makes the best baja fish tacos.
A baja fish taco typically consists of battered fried fish, a thick cream sauce, and crisp tangy orange cabbage slaw all folded up in a corn tortilla. Flavorful baja fish tacos need some heat and lots of lime juice. Simple and fresh!
They're incredibly simple to make in just 30 minutes. And satisfy all those gluten-free fried fish cravings!
Gluten-Free Fried Fish is so easy to make
Crispy, Light Batter – The golden, crispy gluten-free fried fish recipe is foolproof, made with white rice flour (just like tempura!). The batter fries up perfectly golden and shatteringly crisp without feeling heavy or greasy.
Flaky Tender Fish: The crisp outside gives way to tender, flaky white fish.
For the gluten-free fish breading, I first dredge the fish in flour before dipping it into the batter. This makes sure you get a thick even layer of batter that will actually stick to the slick fish.
Since the fish is so mild, I gave the batter a little extra flair with some spices to make sure the fried fish was super flavorful on its own.
Choosing the right fish
There are several of fish species you can select, but my top choice is wild alaskan cod. I'm looking for a fish that is both sustainable in my area (California) and the perfect texture for fish tacos. You want the outside of your fish crispy and golden while the inside, buttery and smooth. Other sustainable fish for baja fish tacos: mahi mahi, rockfish, or snapper.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I tested half a batch of this gluten-free fried fish with tilapia filets and, let me tell you, it doesn't hold a candle to the cod.
Baja Fish Taco Sauce: Chipotle Cream Sauce
The cream sauce will make or break your baja fish tacos. It should be tangy with a bit of a kick. Adding in some chipotle chiles in adobo to the make a chipotle cream sauce gives these tacos loads of flavor with a little heat. If you like things a little spicier, feel free to add more chiles.
Recipe
Crispy Gluten-Free Fried Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 batch gluten-free fried fish
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise, *see note
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
- ½ teaspoon chopped garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups shredded or thinly shaved green cabbage, about 1 small green cabbage
- Zest from 1 orange
- 6 tablespoons fresh orange juice, from 1-2 oranges
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10-12 corn tortillas
- 5 small radishes, halved and thinly sliced (optionally quick pickled, below)
- Optional: cilantro, lime and orange wedges
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Begin by making the chipotle baja cream. Mix all the ingredients for the chipotle baja cream to a food processor or blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to serve.
- Prepare the orange slaw. Toss all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and chill until ready to serve. Note: The longer the slaw marinates, the softer it will become as the cabbage will release some liquid. If you like it on the crunchier side, make it only up to an hour in advance. In my opinion, the citrus flavors get even stronger as it sits, so it will still be delicious up to a day as leftovers.
- If you're pickling the radishes, stir the salt and sugar into the boiling water in a jar until dissolved. Stir in the rice vinegar, then add your sliced radishes and let sit for at least 20 minutes while you fry the fish. Pickled radishes keep for a few days in the fridge. The longer the radishes sit, the more pickled they'll become.
- Cut the fish into strips about 3-4 inches long by ¾-1½ inch(es) wide. Put ½ cup of rice flour on a plate and dredge the each piece of fish in the flour. Set aside while you prepare the batter.
- Heat 1 to 1½ inches of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. Adjust the heat to keep the oil at 350°F (I clip a candy thermometer to the pot while I fry). Set a paper towel-lined wire rack near the stove.
- Whisk together the remaining 2 cups white rice flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together egg yolk and seltzer water until smooth and fizzy. Pour the egg and water into the flour and mix gently with a fork until just combined. Don't over mix - It is okay if there are still some dry clumps, but just make sure to mix in the flour from the bottom of the bowl. If your batter seems too thick and clumpy, add 1-2 tablespoons more seltzer water as needed and gently mix. You want the batter to be thick enough that it sticks to the fish in a thin layer.
- Working three at a time (more or less depending on the size of your pot), dip a piece of dredged fish into the batter, making sure to coat the fish in batter. Gently shake off any excess batter. Drop the fish in the oil (being careful not to burn yourself) and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning gently with a spoon until crispy and golden. Use a slotted spoon to transfer each piece of fish to the paper-towel lined wire rack. Repeat with remaining fish.
- Lightly char the tortillas directly over a medium-low flame, flipping once, or warm each tortilla in a dry pan until just pliable, about one minute on each side.
- Fill the tacos! Place a piece or two of fish in each tortilla. Top with a drizzle of chipotle baja cream, a small handful of orange cabbage slaw, and pickled (or raw) radishes. Garnish with cilantro, if you desire.
Marisa -
Any subs for the egg?
Kelley -
Made this last night for dinner. substituted mahi mahi and Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour 1 to 1 and it turned out perfect! Also, sensitive to dairy so I used both vegan mayo and sour cream and chipotle cream turned out great too. Will definitely be making again. Thank you for this great recipe!
Lily Baker -
Fantastic recipe that was so flexible we were able to make a few changes based on what was on hand and they were still rave and crave-worthy! I'm the celiac and my hubs has historically hated anything I made gluten free (he's been known to take one look at dinner and leave for Weinerschnitzel - dbag move but I forgive him) but begged for a repeat so they're now on my rotation list!
I didn't have lime, but always have Tajin which is really lime-y, so I used that in place of.
And thank you for linking to the Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood watch list. We checked our fish and thankfully it was on the list, but from now on I'll check before buying. That was a nice touch.
Kelly -
Do you have any suggestions for making this using an air fryer?
Mary Ann Lynch -
Thanks for this recipe. We were tired of the panko or corn meal coated pan fry and gave your tempura batter a try. Turned out great. We are saving this recipe!!
Lisa K Hutchinson -
Thank You for actually making this recipe, your review was very helpful!
Sara @ Cake Over Steak -
Honestly I'm not the biggest fan of fish tacos ... BUT: these sound sooo good that I might actually make this recipe to use up the cod I have in my freezer. With your GF batter and the orange slaw ... yes. I think you can convert me with this one.
Veronica Hernandez-Mena -
Oh I love fish tacos and that orange slaw sounds perfect! Love love love your recipes!
Veronica Hernandez-Mena -
Oh I love fish tacos and that orange slaw sounds perfect!