Fish Taco Sauce

Fish tacos get even better with this easy-to-make, homemade Fish Taco Sauce. It’s creamy, spicy, tangy, smooth, and perfect for any fish!

jar of fish taco sauce with text overlay for facebook


 

This easy fish taco sauce comes together with a handful of pantry staple ingredients in under 5 minutes!

Level up your Taco Tuesdays with this creamy restaurant-quality sauce that pairs perfectly with my recipe for shrimp tacos, fish sticks, and more!

bowl of fish taco sauce with a whisk

Fish Taco Sauce Recipe

Who knew simple ingredients tossed together could taste so good … and make the best fish taco sauce in town?!

Every Mexican restaurant needs to stand back because this is better than restaurant quality!

Whether you are making fish tacos on warm corn tortillas, a simple shrimp dish, fish sticks for the kids, or looking to top off a fish dish with a tasty sauce, this quick sauce goes on everything!

Bonus! This recipe comes together in 5 minutes or less, depending on how fast you whisk and can be kept in the fridge to drizzle on other recipes throughout the week.

Missing an ingredient? All these ingredients are easy to find in any local grocery store making this easy recipe, even easier to prep for.

overhead shot of open face fish taco

Ingredients

The simple ingredient combine to make an excellent creamy white sauce perfect for Taco Tuesday (who am I kidding, I eat it everyday of the week on any tacos.

  • The base of the sauce. The base of the sauce comes together with mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. I enjoy a 50/50 combination. However, you can play with the ratios based on personal taste and preference.
  • Blend of spices. You will need onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, cilantro, and kosher salt to load in all those bold flavors!
  • Wet ingredients. To get that perfect consistency, you are going to need white vinegar, light olive oil, and fresh lime juice. Depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce you can add more lime juice or thin it out with water.
fish taco sauce in a jar with fish tacos

How to Make Fish Taco Sauce

  1. Combine seasoning. In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and kosher salt.
  2. Prepare the sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the seasoning mixed together with the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, white vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro until well combined.
  3. Refrigerate. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
  4. Serve. To serve you can simply drizzle onto taco, taco salad or any other dish you’d like or put it in a squeeze bottle and give an artistic flare.
collage of how to make fish taco sauce

Variations

  • Mayonnaise. Using mayo as the base for a sauce gives it that perfect creaminess we all know and love. However, if you are looking to save yourself some calories and make the sauce a little leaner, you can substitute regular mayo for light mayo or use straight Greek yogurt as your base.
  • Thinning out the sauce. If you aren’t a fan of thick or super creamy sauces, you can thin out your fish sauce by adding more lime juice or water.
  • Turn up the heat. If you are looking to crank up the spice factor on the fish taco sauce, you can add more cayenne pepper and/or chili powder and taste test as you go to get the sauce to the level of heat you are looking for. However, if you are really looking to turn up the heat, I recommend adding in some of your favorite hot sauce, chipotle adobo sauce, and/or chipotle peppers!
three fish tacos

Fish for Fish Tacos

The best fish tacos is debatable. I’d say there are several ways to make a great taco.

Whether you like them fried, baked, or grilled, you can make fish tacos or Baja fish tacos with shrimp, cod, Mahi Mahi, grouper, sea bass, halibut, tilapia, snapper, bass, rockfish tacos and catfish.

Typically, fish tacos call for flaky fish or lean white fish. However, if you are looking to take a walk on the wild side, you can also make salmon fish tacos!

These toppings included tropical fruit, shredded purple cabbage (or some other crunchy slaw), cilantro and crumbled cheese. I also love jalapeno, green onion and red onion. Fresh ingredients, like things you need to use up in the vegetable crisper, are a great way to build your own special taco. Fresh flavor + creamy sauce = awesome fish tacos.

angled shot of three fish tacos

Storage

This sauce recipe makes about 1 cup of sauce. Depending on how much you need, you may need to double accordingly.

Remember, with this fish taco sauce, a little bit goes a long way, so if or when you have leftovers, grab an airtight container! Leftover sauce will keep in the fridge if stored properly for a week.

collage of fish taco sauce for pinterest

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jar of fish taco sauce with text overlay for pinterest
angled shot of three fish tacos

Fish Taco Sauce

4.52 from 41 votes
Fish tacos get even better with this easy-to-make, homemade Fish Taco Sauce. It's creamy, spicy, tangy, smooth, and perfect for any fish!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a small mixing bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and kosher salt.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the seasoning mixture together with the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, white vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro until well combined.
  • Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
  • If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.

Nutrition

Calories: 93 kcal, Carbohydrates: 1 g, Protein: 1 g, Fat: 9 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g, Trans Fat: 0.02 g, Cholesterol: 4 mg, Sodium: 112 mg, Potassium: 30 mg, Fiber: 0.1 g, Sugar: 0.4 g, Vitamin A: 69 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 14 mg, Iron: 0.2 mg
Author: Jessica Formicola
Calories: 93
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: fish taco sauce
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!
Jessica Formicola in her ktichen

About the Author

Chef Jessica Anne Formicola

Jessica the mom, wife and chef behind Savory Experiments. You might see her on the Emmy- nominated TV show Plate It! or on bookshelves as a cookbook author. Jessica is a Le Cordon Bleu certified recipe developer and regularly contributed to Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal, Mashed and more!

Read More About Jessica

4.52 from 41 votes (32 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Questions and Reviews

  1. 4 stars
    Hello, we have enjoyed this recipe for when we have fish tacos except for one thing. The ingredients listed include lime juice but without a measurement. The other day I made the sauce and thought perhaps you mean the juice of one lime, but that turned out to be far too strong in the sauce. Do you have a preferred measurement? Thanks so much.

    1. Hi! Thank you for bringing that to our attention. We needed to consult with our contributor who submitted this recipe and it was the juice of 1 lime, but that varies greatly from lime-to-lime. We changed it to 1-2 teaspoons. Thank you for coming back to let us know!

  2. 5 stars
    Amazing for fish tacos! Because it is what I had on hand, I used 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup light our cream instead of the Greek yogurt, and used 1 Tbsp of regular EVOO. This will be my new go-to sauce for fish tacos. Thank you!

  3. 5 stars
    I’m making fish tacos for dinner tonight with sea bass and shrimps. I’ve just made this sauce which BTW tastes amazing! It’s in the fridge now. Can’t wait for dinner time!

  4. 5 stars
    I adore so many of your sauces, I can’t even count them. This is another winning recipe! We absolutely love it with tacos, but occasionally serve them with a simple baked or crispy fish too! Yummy!

  5. 5 stars
    Thanks for such a rich and creamy and perfect Fish Taco Sauce recipe. Bursting with flavors and perfect as a dip or as a spread too.

  6. 5 stars
    I am obsessed with this fish sauce. It’s so creamy and perfect for my blackened fish tacos. I will be making it when I make tacos again.