These Beer-Battered Fish Tacos are made by stuffing warm corn tortillas with crispy fried cod, a simple cabbage slaw, and creamy chipotle sauce. The whole recipe takes less than an hour to assemble! This is the perfect fast and easy weeknight dinner for when you’re craving authentic fish tacos but don’t want to go out to eat.
Table of contents
Super Crispy Fish Tacos with the Most Insane Beer Batter Coating
Crispy beer-battered fish tacos are my favorite tacos ever. They always remind me of living in San Diego and eating at mariscos seafood trucks. In my recipe, we dip flaky cod in a crispy beer batter and fry it up to perfection.
My favorite toppings are tangy cabbage and creamy chipotle sauce, plus all the fresh pico de gallo. Then we throw it all on a charred corn tortilla. Absolute heaven!
Believe it or not, making crispy battered fish tacos at home takes just 40 minutes. That includes making the beer batter for the fish and frying them, as well as prepping all the toppings. Win!
Looking to mix up your seafood? Try my beer battered shrimp tacos!
Key Ingredients to Note
- Fish. A flaky, firm, white fish is best here. I love using cod, but halibut, mahi-mahi, and sea bass are all substitutes.
- Beer. Beer makes the batter extra crispy! It does! The bubbles from the CO2 in the beer create a light and airy batter vs a heavy and dense one. The sugar in the beer also creates the golden-brown color of the crust. Use a lighter-bodied beer (not a stout) like a Mexican lager, pale ale, or German beer. I’m partial to Shiner Bock.
- Spices. We’re adding a couple of spices to our beer batter like chili powder, cumin, and onion powder for flavor.
- Oil. Since we’re frying our fish, you’ll need good frying oil. My favorite is canola, but peanut or vegetable will also work. Use something that’s neutral in flavor and that has a high smoke point (i.e. not olive oil!).
- Chipotle. To make our creamy chipotle sauce, you need canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. You can find them in the Hispanic aisle at any grocery store.
- Tortillas. I’m partial to corn tortillas here, but feel free to swap flour in if that’s what you prefer.
- Cabbage. I love cabbage on fish tacos and it’s traditional for Baja-style fish tacos in particular. I toss mine with a bit of lime juice, and chopped cilantro for extra flavor.
Jenny’s Tip: The beer is the star ingredient of the fish taco batter, so choose a good one! In my opinion, the best beers for making the batter are Mexican lagers, pale ales, or German beers. Opt for a pale, crisp beer and avoid heavy, dark beers like stouts and porters.
Grab These Kitchen Tools
4 Simple Steps to Frying Beer-Battered Fish for Tacos
- Make the beer batter. The beer batter for these fish tacos is a simple combo of flour, beer, and spices.
Jenny’s Tip: Chill the batter for 30 minutes before coating the fish and frying. Going straight from the cold fridge to the piping hot oil will shock the batter and make it extra crispy!
- Preheat your oil. You need just 1.5 inches of oil for this recipe, so no need to bust out a deep fryer. Use a probe thermometer to check that the oil has reached 365ºF before you start frying. (If you place the battered fish into cold oil, the batter will soak up the oil and become greasy rather than crisp up on contact.)
- Fry the fish until crispy. I suggest frying the fish in batches; every time you add fish to the pan, the temperature of the oil will drop! The beer battered fish needs to fry for 5ish minutes total. Flip it over once so it can cook evenly.
- Assemble your tacos. I like to prep the cabbage slaw, pico de gallo, and chipotle sauce while the batter chills in the fridge. This lets you quickly assemble your crispy cod fish tacos in record time after you’ve finished frying everything!
Wound Up with Leftovers? Here’s How You Can Crisp Up the Fish
I try not to make extra, but if you have some leftovers reheat it in the air fryer for a few minutes to bring back the crispy exterior. (You could also use the convection function of your oven to re-crisp the fish.)
Store any leftover fried cod, cabbage slaw, and taco fixings separately to keep everything as fresh as possible.
Side Dish Suggestions
Prepare a Mexican-inspired feast by pairing the tacos with one or more of the following sides:
- Mexican Rice or Arroz Verde
- Borracho Beans or Refried Beans
- Guacamole, Salsa Verde, and Tortilla Chips
- Coconut Margaritas or Strawberry Mango Margaritas
More Easy Taco Recipes You’ll Love
This post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.
Beer-Battered Fish Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
Beer-battered Fish:
- 1 1/2 lbs cod, cut into strips
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup beer* (Use a pale, crisp beer; I used Shiner Bock)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Cabbage Slaw:
- 4 cups finely shredded green cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
Chipotle Sauce:
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 canned chipotle chilies plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
For Serving
- Corn tortillas, warmed for serving
- Pico de Gallo, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Make your batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, beer, baking powder, chile powder, cumin, and onion powder together until smooth. Refrigerate your batter for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oil: Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a 4 qt dutch oven over medium-high heat to 365 degrees F. Use a probe thermometer to monitor the temperature.
- Make the cabbage slaw: In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the chipotle crema: In a small food processor, combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. You can mix by hand, just make sure your chipotles and garlic are really finely minced
- Fry your fish: Pat your fish very dry with paper towels and lightly season with salt and pepper. In batches of 3-4 pieces, take your fish, and coat it in your batter. Let the excess drip off. Fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain the fish on paper towels. Season lightly with salt, if desired. Repeat with the remaining fish.
- Assemble: Place the fried fish on warmed corn tortillas and top with cabbage, chipotle sauce, and pico de Gallo. Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
You might also like...
-
Sandwiches Crab Cake Sandwiches
-
30 Minute Meals Chile-Lime Shrimp Tacos
-
30 Minute Meals Shrimp Tacos with Slaw
Rate & Review This Recipe
Wonderful recipe, Jenny! This indeed reminds me of the fish and chips I enjoy in Portland! Got to make some of these for my roommate the other day and let me tell you, she is obsessed! It’s light, crispy, and delicious. I’ll be making one again with halibut and this time I’ll be experimenting on other sauces. Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much, Dakota! Fish tacos are my love language!