If you’re looking for a recipe for fresh and tasty fish tacos, look no further! These Mahi-mahi tacos with Baja sauce brings the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, with flaky fish encased in a crispy outer layer.
I absolutely love a good fish taco recipe (see my most popular pescatarian taco recipe, Salmon Tacos with Greek Yogurt, next!), and this one uses a super delicious sauce to elevate it!
The blackened mahi-mahi boasts the perfect texture and is complimented by the creamy homemade Baja sauce. Plus, you’ll whip up a super-simple 2 ingredient red cabbage slaw with the Baja sauce to give you extra freshness, color, and crunch.
This fish taco recipe with mahi-mahi is paired back to enhance the goodness of each ingredient and leaving room to make this your own with optional additional toppings.
Mahi-Mahi Tacos Ingredient Highlights
You can use fresh or frozen mahi-mahi, just make sure to thaw the fish completely before starting to make this recipe.
You can do so by transferring it from the freezer to the refrigerator at least 12 hours before or adding it to a sealed storage bag and submerging it in lukewarm water for about 45 minutes.
I like to use taco seasoning couple with the blackening cooking technique to blacken my mahi-mahi for these tacos, because we are already using taco seasoning in the Baja sauce, and I’m all for reducing the number of ingredients!
If you’d prefer, you can use blackened seasoning on the fish and taco seasoning in the sauce.
I like using coconut oil because of the subtle sweetness of flavor it lends, but if you prefer another cooking oil, that will totally work, too!
Fish Tacos with Mahi-Mahi Tips and Tricks
How I Make Sweet and Spicy Baja Sauce
Start by prepping your red bell and jalapeno peppers. Discard the stem, pith (the white part inside), and seeds.
Drain your canned pineapple. You can save the juice. I love using it to make this Love Potion Cocktail! We will only need the chunks for this recipe.
Quick note: I chose to use a whole pepper and full can of pineapple in this recipe, which will leave you with plenty of leftover sauce to use later. If you’d rather not have leftover sauce, you can half the sauce recipe and still have enough for your tacos.
Add the chunks of pineapple, red bell pepper, and jalapeno to a blender with the Greek Yogurt, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning to a high-powered blender or food processor.
Blend on high until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Some small chunks are okay!
Whip Up a Quick Cabbage Slaw Next
You can use any cabbage. I chose red for a little color and a slightly stronger, more peppery flavor, but you can use green if you prefer. You can also throw in some shredded carrots if you’d like. I kept it super simple and used cabbage only.
Roughly chop your cabbage until you have about 2 cups. Add it to a bowl with about ½ cup of the homemade Baja sauce you just whipped up. Toss it together and set it aside.
How I Blacken Mahi-Mahi for Tacos
Slice your mahi-mahi into 6 thin, long, roughly equal-sized pieces. I used 3 pre-portioned fillets and just sliced them in half longways.
Grab a paper towel and pat the mahi-mahi dry on both sides. Reducing excess moisture will help the seasoning stick and also give you a better texture on your fish once it’s cooked.
Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning to a shallow bowl and lower the mahi-mahi into the seasoning. Press it into the seasoning on both sides until it is completely coated in a thin layer of seasoning.
Blackening fish is a great way to get tons of flavor and nice texture. The idea is that the seasoning coating the fish “blackens” in the pan and creates a crispy outer crust on the fish.
You can blacken your fish in either a cast iron skillet (preferred) or in any other frying pan.
Get the oil hot in the pan over medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes first, before adding the fish.
Carefully lower your fish in the hot oil, leaving about an inch of space in between each fillet (I usually just fry 3 at a time).
Cover to avoid oil splatter and cook the fish for about 3-5 minutes on each side. If the fish is stuck to the pan, it is not ready to flip.
When the fish is blackened and that crispy outer layer has formed, it will easily peel off the pan for you to flip. The internal temperature of the pan-fried mahi-mahi should reach 145°F.
Assembling Your Sweet and Spicy Mahi-Mahi Tacos
If you’d like, you can warm your tortillas by throwing them on the grill or grill pan, heat them on a frying pan or cast iron (without any oil or butter), or at 200°F in the oven.
Add the red cabbage slaw to the tortillas. Then, place the blackened fish on top.
Finish your tacos off with a little bit of extra Baja sauce, and enjoy!
I kept these super simple, but if you want to add more toppings, you absolutely can.
Here are some of my favorite optional add-ons:
- Shredded Mexican blend cheese or cotija cheese
- Crema or sour cream
- Avocado or guacamole
- Chopped red or white onion
- Diced tomato or pico de gallo
- Pineapple pico de gallo
- Chopped cilantro
Serving Your Mahi-Mahi Tacos
These fish tacos are totally filling on their own, but if you want some apps and sides ideas to serve up with them, here are some of my favorites:
How I Properly Store and Reheat Leftovers
If you have leftover tacos, it’s best to disassemble them and store the cabbage slaw, cooked mahi-mahi, and Baja sauce separately.
Cooked Mahi-Mahi is safe to eat for 3-4 days after preparation when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
My favorite way to reheat blackened mahi-mahi is to place it in your preheated oven at 275 °F, for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
You can also opt to freeze your blackened Mahi-Mahi for up to 3 months. Just make sure to allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before following the reheating directions above.
The Baja coleslaw will last in a sealed container in the fridge for 5 days.
As for the Baja sauce, it will last for about 5-7 days sealed in the fridge. Use it to make more fish tacos, pour over a rice bowl, dress a salad, etc.
Blackened Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Baja Sauce
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
- High-Powered Blender * or *
- Cast Iron Skillet * or *
- Bamboo Paper Towels (optional)
- Citrus Squeezer (optional)
Ingredients
Sweet and Spicy Baja Sauce (see notes)
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 small jalapeno
- 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks (without the liquid)
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt (or mayonnaise)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (1 lime = 2 tbsp juice)
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
Mahi Mahi Tacos
- 2 cups chopped red cabbage
- 1 pound mahi-mahi (or 3 pre-portioned fillets)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or other oil of choice)
- 6 small tortillas (flour or corn, I used flour)
Instructions
Baja Taco Sauce
- Clean and slice the stem off of the red bell pepper and jalapeno. Roughly slice them into small chunks, discarding the white pith and seeds. Strain the canned pineapple and set the juice aside. We only need the chunks for this recipe.1 small red bell pepper, 1 small jalapeno, 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks
- Add the prepped red pepper, jalapeno, and pineapple to a blender or food processor with the Greek yogurt, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon taco seasoning.1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 cup Greek Yogurt, 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- Blend on high until smooth.
Mahi-Mahi Tacos
- Roughly chop cabbage until you are left with roughly 2 cups and add it to a bowl. Cover it with about ½ cup of Baja sauce and toss to coat. Set aside.2 cups chopped red cabbage
- Slice your mahi-mahi into 6 thin, roughly even pieces. Use a paper towel to pat them dry to reduce excess moisture.1 pound mahi-mahi
- Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning into a shallow bowl. One at a time, lower the pieces of mahi-mahi into the bowl, pressing them into the seasoning to coat in an even layer on both sides.2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- Get the coconut oil hot over a cast-iron skillet (preferred) or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add your seasoned mahi-mahi to the oil and cover to avoid splatter. Cook the fish for 3-5 minutes on each side. When the fish is ready to flip, it will easily lift off your pan. The internal temperature of the fish should reach 145°F.2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Assemble your tacos by adding the dressed cabbage and fish to your tortillas. Finish with a little bit of extra sauce and enjoy!6 small tortillas
Pro Tips
- I decided to use a whole pepper and full can of pineapple in this recipe to use all the ingredients purchased for this recipe. This will leave you with leftover Baja sauce to use throughout the week. If you don’t want leftover sauce, you can half the recipe for the Baja sauce and still have more than enough sauce for your slaw and tacos.
- Traditionally, blackening fish requires blackened seasoning. I used taco seasoning here to reduce the number of ingredients required and just used a blackening technique. However, if you prefer, you can use blackened seasoning on your fish and taco seasoning in your sauce.
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1 thought on “Blackened Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Baja Sauce”
What a tempting recipe – can’t wait to try that one!
(Review provided by a family/friend of marleysmenu.com)