The EASIEST fish tacos ever, made in just 15 minutes thanks to… fish sticks! Loaded with toppings, these fish stick tacos are surprisingly delicious, with breaded fish, a simple citrusy slaw, and a smoky, creamy fish taco sauce. Your new favorite weeknight meal!
What Makes These Fish Stick Tacos So Good
- I love fish tacos, but fish stick tacos are delicious, too! The crispiness of the fish stick breading adds this beautiful crunch to the tacos that you don’t get with grilled fish.
- Since we’re using frozen fish sticks here, most of the work is already done for you, making this recipe unbelievably simple. MUCH easier than battering and frying your own fish.
- All of the prep for this recipe happens while the fish sticks are cooking! That means as soon as the fish sticks are done, you’ve got everything you need all ready to eat. You’ll have dinner on the table in just 15 minutes!
- There’s a LOT of flavor packed in these little tacos! The breaded fish sticks with lime juice and chili powder; the fresh, crisp cabbage; the incredibly creamy, smoky taco sauce… You’ll be surprised just how good this recipe is!
Key Ingredients for Fish Stick Tacos
Fish Sticks – Any brand and type of frozen fish sticks will work in these fish stick tacos! If you’re gluten free, look for gluten free fish sticks at your grocery store. For the best quality, use fish sticks made from fish fillets and skip the ones made from “minced fish pieces”. To cook your fish sticks, just follow the directions on the package, or use our air fryer method for cooking fish sticks.
Tortillas – You can use corn or flour tortillas here! I like to use 6-inch tortillas but you could use 8-inch tortillas for larger tacos or 4.5-inch tortillas for fish stick street tacos.
Red Cabbage – Not only does red cabbage add a gorgeous purple color to your tacos, but it also adds a great flavor and crunch, too! I really love the texture you get from cabbage – it’s a great way to mix things up when lettuce is a regular part of your rotation. If you want to make this recipe a little easier, use prepackaged, pre-shredded slaw.
Chef’s Tips
- For a little extra heat, add one of the chipotle peppers from the can of adobo sauce to the blender with the other sauce ingredients!
- It’s not a must, but I really enjoy these fish stick tacos with warmed tortillas. If you’re using corn tortillas, you can heat them in a skillet. Spray a little spray oil, heat the skillet over medium-high heat, and then when it’s hot, add the tortilla. Warm it for about 30 seconds, then flip it and warm it on the other side for 30 seconds. Alternately, you can char your corn tortillas over an open flame. For flour tortillas, you can warm them in the microwave one-at-a-time or all at once! Place a flour tortilla on a microwave-safe plate, then dampen 1-2 paper towels (enough to fully cover all the edges of the tortilla) and lay them flat on top of the tortilla. Stack remaining tortillas on top, alternating each tortilla with a damp paper towel. Microwave the tortillas 30 seconds (for one tortilla) up to 60 seconds (for multiple tortillas). This should be just enough to steam the tortillas. If you microwave them too long, they’ll become dry and crispy, especially around the edges.
- Feel free to use any toppings and/or sauces you like on your fish stick tacos! Swap out our fish taco sauce for tartar sauce. Add avocado slices and pico de gallo and lettuce and onion. Jalapeños and green onion, guacamole, whatever! Serve them with a little Mexican street corn salad or cilantro lime cauliflower rice to tie it all together.
Other Easy & Delicious Recipes
- Easy Chicken Burritos
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Grilled Mahi Mahi
- Easy Watermelon Juice Recipe (No Juicer!)
- Taco Pie
- Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Sausage
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15-Minute Fish Tacos (Made with Fish Sticks!)
Equipment
- Medium bowls (2)
- blender
Ingredients
For the Tacos
- 12 fish sticks about 16 ounces
- spray oil as needed to cook fish sticks
- 1 lime quartered, divided
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups red cabbage approximately ½ head of cabbage, shredded
- salt to taste
- 6 tortillas 6-inch or 8-inch, corn or flour
- cilantro chopped, optional, for topping
- feta or queso fresco, crumbled, for topping
For the Fish Taco Sauce
- ¼ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 2-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, see Notes
- 1 small clove garlic peeled
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- juice of ¼ of one lime as desired
Instructions
- Cook fish sticks as directed on package, or use our air fryer method for cooking frozen fish sticks.
- While fish sticks cook, place shredded cabbage, juice from ¼-½ lime, and salt in medium bowl. Toss to combine. Set aside.
- Add all ingredients for fish taco sauce to blender. Blend until smooth and well combined. Set aside.
- When fish sticks are cooked, transfer them to medium bowl. Squeeze juice from ¼ lime over fish sticks, add chili powder, and toss to coat.
- Place 2 fish sticks in each tortilla. Top fish sticks with slaw. Drizzle sauce over slaw and garnish tacos with cilantro and feta or queso fresco. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Adobo Sauce: If you don’t have adobo sauce, use ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or skip this ingredient altogether. If skipping it, add a little more lime juice.
- Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten free fish sticks and corn tortillas or gluten free flour tortillas. Make sure the adobo sauce you use is gluten free.
- Make it Dairy Free: Use plain, dairy free yogurt, and a brand of fish sticks that doesn’t use dairy. Skip the feta or use a vegan feta (like Violife’s Just Like Feta). Make sure your tortillas don’t include dairy products.
Nutrition
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Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.
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