Grilled Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Sauce

Let’s grill! These grilled fish tacos are topped with avocado and a tangy cilantro lime sauce for a healthy light summer meal!

I grew up on the West Coast where seafood is available just about everywhere, and while I was not a huge fan of it when I was a kid I absolutely love it now.  It’s generally pretty healthy and there are so many different options depending on your taste and mood.  A lot of people tell me they shy away from cooking seafood at home because they are worried it’s going to be difficult.  While some seafood dishes can certainly be a bit complicated, many are much easier than you think.  Fish tacos are one of those easy options.

Tips for making fish tacos

For this recipe, I wanted to create a quick, flavorful taco that could be made just about anytime.  You could easily make these for a weeknight meal, but they are also great for casual summer entertaining.  

Cooking fish on the grill

Grilling is one of my favorite ways to cook fish. Grilled fish is healthy and delicious however it has a reputation for being difficult to cook. It’s easy to do and fish generally cooks pretty quickly on the grill.

With the right preparation and tips, grilling fish can be easy.

• Make sure your grill grates are clean and then preheat your grill on high. This helps to keep the fish from sticking to the grill and also gives you nice grill marks. You are looking for a grill temperature of at least 400°F (a bit higher is fine too).
• Once the grill is hot, give the grates and additional scrub with your grill brush to make sure any leftover cooking bits have been removed.
• Like you do with any other meat, you want to bring your fish up to room temperature before grilling. This means take it out of the refrigerator about 5 minutes before you are ready to start prepping it for the grill.
• Be sure to generously oil both sides of the fish before adding any seasoning.
• When removing fish from the grill, a fish spatula is an ideal tool to have. If you don’t have one, use the largest spatula you have. Using a back and forth motion, carefully slide the spatula between the fish and the grill grates.

Additional notes from the kitchen

Since fish cooks pretty quickly on the grill I recommend getting everything else ready in advance. You want to be able to assemble the tacos as soon as the fish and tortillas come off of the grill.

A note about the ingredients

• Fish: For the fish, I generally use tilapia, which is pretty easy to find, however, you could substitute cod or any mild white fish.
• Queso Fresco: This is my first choice for these tacos as it crumbles nicely and can be found in most major grocery stores. You can substitute cotija, which will be a little saltier.
• Spices: Be sure to use the freshest spices possible. Since the store is very close to my house, I’ve been getting all of my spices from Savory Spice Shop. They have a great selection and you can also order online.

How to serve fish tacos

You can leave these just as is, but I like to top them with some grilled corn salsa for a little more substance!

One of the best things about tacos is they don’t really require any additional sides, I’m pretty happy to eat these fish tacos on their own, with a nice glass of dry Rosé.

Or if you are more of a cocktail fan, they go well with this Grapefruit Margarita.

More grilled seafood recipes

• Grilled Margarita Shrimp
• Grilled Salmon with Mustard Sauce
• Grilled Sea Bass with Watermelon Mango Salsa

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This recipe post was originally published in August 2014. It has been updated with some new helpful information in June 2020. No changes have been made to the original recipe.