Fish Taco Salads with Sriracha Lime Dressing

In food, as in life, sometimes you don’t get it right the first time. These Fish Taco Salad Bowls took a few times to get just right, but trust me when I tell you they were worth the wait!

Fish Taco Salad Bowls with a Creamy Sriracha Lime Dressing!

I remember the first timeย I heard about fish tacos. I was in college (I know, I know, I was late to the fish taco game) and the Mr. was telling meย about one of his favorite foods, the crunchy fish tacos at Del Taco. At the mention of a fish taco, I’m pretty sure my nose curled up in disgust. A fish…taco?ย I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea. We didn’t have Del Taco in Ohio, and I wasn’t particularly adventurous in my pre-college days so the whole fish taco thing was completely foreign to me.

It was probably another year before I actually tried one. The Mr. and I were out on a date at a fun little Mexican restaurant, and he convinced me to try a bite of his beloved fish tacos. It was love at first bite. I probably ended up eating more of his tacos than my own meal. The combination of crispy fish, crunchy cabbage, and spicy creamy dressing was addicting.ย From that night on, I was sold.

All the best parts of a fish taco packed in a healthy salad!

I’ve had these Fish Taco Salad Bowls on the brain for awhile now. I wanted to recreate my favorite tacos, but in a form that was healthy enough to enjoy every night of the week. It took me a few tries to get this just right. The first time was good, but the Mr. and I both agreed it was missing something. I originally tried this with a cilantro lime vinaigrette, but the dressing just wasn’t enough to pull the salad together. The Mr. and I both decided a creamier dressing was in order.

The second time around, I amped up the flavor of the fish and whipped up a quickย creamy dressing featuring the sweet heat of Sriracha, tangy lime, and cilantro. The dressing made all the difference. This salad went from good to AH-mazingย with just that simple swap.

All the fixings for a crunchy, colorful Fish Taco Salad Bowl!

To call this salad LOADED would be an understatement. I made these when the garden was overflowing with produce, so I threw just about everything in there- cabbage, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, tomato, and avocado. The second time around I also added a sprinkle of queso fresco and a few crunchy tortilla strips. You can feel free to mix it up with your own favorites, or set out bowls of toppings and let everyone create their own ultimate fish taco salad.

A quick note about the fish. Fish is, after all, kind of the star of this dish. I used mahi mahi fillets for this, but any firm white fish would be great. I like to let the fish marinate for 15 minutes or so while I chop and prep the other ingredients, but it’s not completely necessary. Lately, I’ve started broiling fish, and I love this method for getting a nice browned exterior and keeping the interior nice and flaky. The fish is perfectly done in about 8 minutes, which means you can have these big ol’ salad bowls on your table in less than 30 minutes. That’s what I call winning the weeknight.

Fish Taco Salad Bowls with a creamy Sriracha Lime Dressing!

P.S. If you make this recipe (which I really, really hope you do!), just note the dressing won’t look like these photos. The dressing in the picture is the original lime vinaigrette. I photographed these before changing the dressing, soย what you see isย the lime vinaigrette in all it’s green glory.

Fish Taco Salads with Sriracha Lime Dressing

Fish Taco Salads with Sriracha Lime Dressing

Yield: 4-6
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

All the fresh zesty flavors that you love about fish tacos, in a salad bowl drizzled with a punchy Sriracha Lime Dressing.

Ingredients

  • For the fish:
  • 4 white fish filets (I used mahi mahi)
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • Juice of 1 large lime or 2 small limes
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • Kosher salt and pepper

For the salad:

  • 5 cups shredded romaine lettuce
  • 3 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 avocados, sliced
  • 4 ounces queso fresco, crumbled (optional)
  • Tortilla strips

For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2-4 Tablespoons milk
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

For the fish:

  1. Place the fish filets in an oven safe baking dish lined with foil. Squeeze the lime juice and olive oil over top and sprinkle both sides evenly with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. When ready to cook, preheat the broiler. Place the filets under the broiler and broil for 7-8 minutes or until fish is no longer translucent and flakes easily.

For the salad:

  1. Toss together the romaine and cabbage and divide it evenly between 4-6 bowls. Top each bowl with bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes, avocado, and queso fresco if desired.

For the dressing:

  1. Whisk together the yogurt, mayo, sriracha, cilantro, and lime. Add milk until desired consistency is reached. Salt to taste.
  2. To serve, place a filet on top of each salad and cover with dressing. Garnish with tortilla strips, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 450Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 118mgSodium: 554mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 9gSugar: 12gProtein: 34g

Please note nutritional information for my recipes is calculated by a third party service and provided as a courtesy to my readers. For the most accurate calculation, I always recommend running the numbers yourself with the specific products you use.

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6 Comments

  1. Haha yes, I can totally relate to this fish taco experience. Growing up in a small town, fish tacos didn’t really exist for me until I had never had one until my honeymoon in Hawaii, but I was on board with them right away. My parents, however, are still SUPER skeptical of them, and even saying the words “fish taco” gives them the heebie jeebies. I cannot convince them of their deliciousness ๐Ÿ™

    I’ve never thought to make a fish taco salad, so I just love this new idea! How fun. Perfect for a weeknight, because frying up tortillas it the most annoying part of the taco-making process, in my opinion. On a weeknight, I’m almost always like “screw it, let’s just just make taco salads.” haha.

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