Catfish Tacos The Unexpected Easy Meal (Almost) Everyone Will Love!
Catfish tacos are actually super easy to make, and they are widely appealing, as they are so delicious! Try these and see for yourself. Image: Liza Graves
While tilapia and mahi seem to be the fish of choice at most Mexican restaurants, I really love making catfish tacos at home. (Is this Mexican-Southern fusion cuisine?!) Catfish are typically fried at restaurants in the South, but I make mine blackened at home. It’s easy, super tasty, and my whole family enjoys it. Check out this catfish taco recipe below!
How to Serve Catfish Tacos
One thing I have learned to do to make these really pop is to serve them with a tartar sauce made with capers instead of pickles. Then, diced pickles are served as a topping, which works for my very divided family when it comes to #teampickles vs. #teamNOpickles. And, for all you pickle lovers, Grillo’s Pickles are soooooo very good on these tacos. If you know, you know. And, I know.
I highly suggest serving these fried catfish tacos with a Caesar salad, some sliced tomatoes, and this butter bean and corn salad for a meal that showcases a late summer bounty!
Catfish Taco Toppings Ideas
- Grilled onions
- Fresh cabbage
- Red onion
- Green bell peppers
- Corn
- Cilantro
- Cotija cheese
- Pickles
- Avocado
- Herdez guacamole salsa
- Pico de gallo
- Lime
How to Make Catfish Tacos
- Rinse the filets and pat them dry.
- Cover both sides of the filet with blackened seasoning.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook fillets for 3 minutes per side.
- While fish cooks, warm tortillas in a skillet for 90 seconds per side.
- Let fish rest, then slice and place on tortillas. Add toppings of your choice — like Caper Tartar Sauce!
How to Make No-Pickle Tartar Sauce
- Combine mayonnaise, capers, caper juice, onion, black pepper, green onions, and lemon juice and add black pepper and salt to taste.
Other Ways to Prepare the Fish
- Grilled catfish: Brush your fillets with oil and sprinkle with seasoning, then grill over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes per side. You’ll get a smoky flavor that pairs beautifully with cool toppings like avocado or pico de gallo.
- Oven-fried catfish: For a crispier take without deep frying, coat your fillets in seasoned cornmeal or panko, place on a wire rack over a baking sheet, and bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. You’ll get that satisfying crunch with less mess.
- Air-fried catfish: Spray fillets lightly with oil and season as you like. Air fry at 400°F for about 10-12 minutes, flipping once. It’s fast, hands-off, and delivers great texture — ideal for a weeknight win.
Back to the catfish tacos … you’ll want to have a few things to top these tacos with. As already mentioned, diced pickles and caper tartar sauce (again, that’s a no-pickle tartar sauce) are great. Other toppings we always have on hand for our tacos include shredded cabbage, sliced red onion, pico de gallo, and fresh cilantro. If you happen to keep pickled onions in your refrigerator, have those available as well. Sometimes I add corn to the tartar sauce. Green pepper is good, also.
Serve catfish tacos on corn tortillas — I prefer white corn tortillas with fish and yellow corn tortillas for meat. But that’s a personal preference, and both will work nicely.
Again, this is a really quick and easy dinner. You can make it midweek in a flash!
Catfish Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound catfish most catfish filets are about half a pound each, so for one pound, you'll likely need two fillets
- 1 tbsp blackening seasoning use your favorite blend
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 8 small white corn tortillas
Caper tartar sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp caper juice from the bottle the capers are in
- 1 tbsp chopped capers
- 1 tbsp chopped green onions
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice typically this is the juice from one half lemon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Toppings
- handful cilantro
- thinly sliced onions
- shredded cabbage
- pickled onions
- lemon slices
Instructions
- Rinse the fillets and pat them dry.
- Sprinkle the blackened seasoning evenly on both sides of the filets, covering the entire filet.
- Add oil to a frying pan (cast iron works well) and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot, place your fillets in the pan and cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side. If you prefer to cut the filets into strips, you can do that as well.
- In a large skillet, heat the tortillas over medium-high heat while the fish cooks, which is about 90 seconds per side. I like to place about 4 tortillas at a time in a large skillet to heat them up.
- Remove fish from the skillet and let sit for a couple minutes. Then cut and place a small section on each of your 8 tortillas and top with the toppings of your choice. For the photo above, I used Herdez guacamole salsa because I had some on hand and was feeling it! Be creative with your toppings — it will likely taste great!
No-Pickle Tartar Sauce (Caper Tartar Sauce)
- Place mayonnaise, capers, caper juice, onion, black pepper, green onions, and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix. Taste to adjust black pepper or add salt.
Nutrition
Love tacos? Us, too. Here are a few other taco recipes to enjoy:
Enjoy!
**********
We’d love to start each morning with you! Sign up for our daily emails, which bring a Life of Style + Substance straight to your inbox.
Liza Graves
As CEO of StyleBlueprint, Liza also regularly writes for SB. Most of her writing is now found in the recipe archives as cooking is her stress relief!