Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are a staple among California surfers but are often beer-battered and fried. Kerry Simon’s healthier, grilled version enriches the guacamole with low-fat sour cream.

For her light and satisfying tacos, chef Deborah Schneider fills warm corn tortillas with meaty charred halibut and aguachiles, a brilliant, spicy, tart salsa.

Chef Tomas Lee flavors panko-breaded fried-fish tacos with hoisin mayonnaise.

To create this Southwestern-inspired dish, Melissa Rubel Jacobson tosses shrimp with chipotle chile powder (made from dried, smoked jalapeños), grills them, then layers them on top of crunchy fried corn tortillas and crisp, citrusy slaw.

These tacos are a great way to eat heart-healthy salmon; Deborah Schneider, a huge advocate of cooking with sustainable fish, prefers wild Alaskan salmon. She tops the fish with crunchy cabbage—a traditional taco garnish that has all kinds of vitamins and minerals, like vitamins A and C and calcium. The tangy apple-cucumber salsa is juicy, crisp and full of fiber.

For this Reuben-sandwich/fish-taco hybrid, fried flounder gets wrapped in a homemade flour tortilla with Jarlsberg cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing.

“I created this dish late one night when I was hungry and tired of my menu,” Sue Torres says. “The tequila adds a little smokiness to the shrimp, and I liked the great textural difference between the creamy avocado and the crispy tostada.”

To accompany his fresh tuna tacos, chef Aarón Sanchez makes a quick, vinegary, supercrunchy red-onion pickle. It’s lovely with the warm, soft tortillas. To bump up the flavors of the tacos even more, he also adds a dash of hot sauce and a healthy squirt of fresh lime juice.

These spicy shrimp tacos are one of chef Dean Fearing’s signature dishes. “To me, anything wrapped in a flour tortilla is absolutely delicious,” he says.

Chef Michael Psilakis’s bright, fresh crab tacos incorporate traditional Latin ingredients and a hit of Asian chile sauce. Cooked shrimp would be great here as well.

For maximum flavor in minimal time, chef Jeff Smith opts for spice rubs over marinades. After experimenting with spice blends for heartier fish, he discovered that a big pinch of ground coffee lends earthiness to the rub.

These make-your-own tacos from Andrew Zimmern are deliciously spicy, tangy, sweet and garlicky.

Set out the components of this dish separately so your guests can assemble their own tacos.

The sweet and tangy slaw in these ridiculously fast tacos tastes amazing with simply seared, crispy chunks of fish.

These classic fish tacos are loaded with a tangy cabbage slaw and chunks of tender tilapia, making them incredibly fast both to make and eat.

This supereasy mango salsa gets spiked with lime juice and hot sauce.

Top these light and fresh tacos with a bright, tangy and creamy cucumber sauce for a fast and healthful meal.

Made with a fresh heirloom tomato salsa, these fish tacos are the perfect summer dish.

An easy chipotle mayo pumps up the flavor volume of these fast-fix pan-fried fish tacos.