These Whole30 fish taco bowls with mango salsa and chipotle aioli make an absolutely wonderful Whole30 dinner. Loaded with guacamole, mango salsa, red cabbage slaw, coconut-lime cauliflower rice, and spicy chipotle aioli, I promise this will become your favorite paleo fish recipe or Whole30 fish recipe. Pinky promise! This Whole30 fish taco bowls recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and sugar-free. Nothin’ fishy about it (SORRY!).
Whole30 Fish Taco Bowls (Paleo)
Ever since this Whole30 fish taco bowl recipe popped into my head, I have been unbearably excited to share it with you. Why? Well, let me describe this recipe to you; just the ingredients.
- pan-seared chili-rubbed tilapia loins over
- coconut-lime cauliflower rice, topped with
- red cabbage slaw,
- fresh mango salsa,
- guacamole, and
- a spicy chipotle aioli.
I’m pretty sure this is the most appropriate use of this expression ever: holy guacamole. What I very truly did was combine everything good I could think of for a fish taco bowl, leaving no stone unturned. My internal dialogue went a little like this:
“Do we need this in here?”
“Yes.”
“Would adding that be too much?”
“NO.”
And so, you’re welcome. I think you just might want to Whole30 forever with this Whole30 fish taco bowl recipe, because y’all. I can’t even explain how beautifully the spiced, tender fish mingles with the creamy avocado, the oh-so-sweet mango, the rich coconut-lime cauliflower rice, the crunchy red cabbage.
It could be sleeting outside, and one bite? You’re automatically transferred to a sandy beach in Mexico, waiting patiently on that salty margarita you just ordered.
This Whole30 fish taco bowl is absolutely gluten free, grain free, sugar free, and dairy free. All of its deliciousness comes from wholesome ingredients you can feel good amazing about, and it’ll make you feel fantastic, too. No bloating, no overfullness, no tummy aches, nada. Just plenty of energy to plan that trip to a sandy beach in Mexico, where they serve salty margaritas, that you suddenly need to take.
Whole30 Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Salsa, Chipotle Aioli, Coconut-Lime Cauliflower Rice (Paleo)
Ingredients
For the Blackened Fish
- 2 tilapia or cod filets about 1 pound
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
For the Guacamole
- 2 avocados , peeled, seeded, and diced
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped
- 1/2 lime , juice of, plus more to taste
- 1 pinch Salt , to taste
Chipotle aioli
- 1/4 cup Whole30-compliant mayonnaise (preferably my garlic mayonnaise recipe)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 lime , juice of, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp chipotle pepper in adoboe sauce
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- 1 tsp Salt
Mango Salsa
- 1 mango , peeled, seeded, and diced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro , chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion , chopped
- 1/4 lime , juice of
- 1 pinch Pinch of salt
Red Cabbage Slaw
- 1/4 head red cabbage , 2 cups, sliced thin or shaved
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 1 tsp Salt
Coconut-Lime Cauliflour Rice
- 1 head cauliflower , stemmed and loosely chopped, about 3 cups
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 lime , juice of
- 1 pinch Salt , to taste
Instructions
- Prepare each item for your Whole30 fish taco bowls:
Blackened Fish:
- Combine all spices in a small bowl and rub generously over top and bottom of fish filets. Heat coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and add fish. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily. Do not overcook.
Guacamole:
- Combine all ingredients and mash until desired consistency. Add more salt or lime juice to taste.
Chipotle Aioli:
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt or lime juice to taste.
Mango Salsa:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Red Cabbage Slaw:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. With your hands, massage lime juice and salt into cabbage to tenderize, until purple juices are released.
Coconut-Lime Cauliflower Rice:
- Fit your foot processor with the shredding blade or regular blade and feed chopped cauliflower in. Process until cauliflower resembles rice or couscous. Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook until liquid is mostly evaporated and cauliflower is tender, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.
Assemble Your Whole30 Fish Taco Bowls:
- Spoon coconut-lime cauliflower rice into individual serving bowl. Spoon red cabbage slaw next to cauliflower rice. Top with fish filet, guacamole, then mango salsa. Finally, top with chipotle aioli. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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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Sue says
Wow wow wow! I made this tonight (excluding the cauliflower) and it was outstanding! That Chipotle aioli is life changing!!
Cheryl Malik says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Terri says
I was looking up anti-inflammatory recipes and came across this. Not doingthe Whole 30 thing, but trying to eat better for my health. Look, I HATE fish! But THIS! was absolutely DELICIOUS! I am going to use this recipe a couple times a month to help get my omega 3’s. Nice tropical twist! Thank you!
Cheryl Malik says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Gretta says
I was really hesitant to make this dish because it’s so many ingredients and lots of chopping. I finally made it and I’m overwhelmed by how delicious it was. That sauce is amazing! I thought the cauliflower rice would be boring but the mango salsa really took it over the top.
Seline B says
I bought all of the ingredients and now that I’m looking at the recipe again, there is no break down to where each ingredient belongs. Can you break up the ingredients and make it clear which component of the bowl they belong to? Right now, it appears as though they all belong to the fish. Please?!
Amelia Camurati says
So sorry about the confusion! We have some recipe cards with lost ingredients headers, but this one should be fixed now!
Carolyn says
Made this a few months ago and LOVED it! I want to make it again but it looks like the formatting has changed. The only category for ingredients is Blackened fish so all items are combined together. Can anyone help a girl out?
Cynthia Crise says
I’ve made this recipe at least five times. The flavor combinations are amazing!
Melissa says
It doesn’t differentiate between the ingredients of one aspect of the dish versus the other aspects in my view. Is this an issue with my browser or is it really set up that way? I wanted to make the dish but have no clue what goes in the aioli versus something else.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
We fixed that issue, so sorry about that! Here are the aioli ingredients:
-1/4 tbsp Whole30-compliant mayonnaise (preferably my garlic mayonnaise recipe)
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/4 lime , juice of, plus more to taste
-1 tablespoon full-fat coconut milk
-1 tsp chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
-1 teaspoon adobo sauce
-1 tsp Salt
Nanette says
This recipe was bomb! I used cod and because I could not find adobo Chile’s without sugar I used 1.5 teaspoons of chipotle chili powder. That was the perfect spice more would have been two spicy for me. I used whole 30 approved mayo made with atacado oil in the aioli. This is a keeper!
Nikki says
This recipe was AMAZING. A new favorite. The boyfriend and I are on a Whole30, and we both LOVED this recipe. I actually have never been a huge fish eater, but have been trying to branch out. We used tilapia from Costco we had in the freezer – thawed in cold water for 30 minutes – super easy. All the components of this recipe just blend perfectly together. Can’t rave enough!!
Totally agree though the estimated time is if you have everything already prepped – it takes awhile to chop and mix all ingredients, even with 2 people. LOVE 40 Aprons recipes – have yet to let me down.
Jackie says
Is it supposed to read 1/4 cup mayo?
Cheryl Malik says
Yes. 🙂
Jennifer says
This sounds very good!
How much mayo should be used? The recipe currently reads “1/4 Whole30-compliant mayonnaise (preferably my garlic mayonnaise recipe)”; is that 1/4 cup?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
1/4 cup is correct 🙂
Su says
Hello! Can I use other type of fish? Maybe cod?
Thanks!
Cheryl Malik says
Yes, you can substitute any fish!
Hanna says
Wondering if you can use frozen cauliflower rice, just thawed, for fresh?
BetsyH says
Really tasty! Lots of great flavors give it a real tropical summery feel. Be aware that the prep time given is if you’ve got all the ingredients cut and measured. It took me about twice as long to prep this meal but if you’ve got the time it is so worth it!
Ed Leder says
The recipe for Chipotle Aioli calls for 1/4 mayonnaise. I am assuming it’s 1/4 of a cup?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Yes, 1/4 cup 🙂
Caitlin says
So delicious and easy! Husband said this should be a weekly meal. Make this. Tonight.
Lee Ann McAllister says
This was fabulous! I used Whole 30 compliant avocado oil mayo. In the directions for the Fish Taco Bowl it says 1/4 Whole 30 mayo. I assumed you meant 1/4 “cup” so that’s what I used. I also didn’t have Whole 30 compliant chipotle pepper in adobo sauce so I used 2 teaspoons of Ancho Chile pepper instead. I also put 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper in the mango salsa. I think next time I’ll put it in the aioli. I am a fish taco snob and this was the absolute best!
Alex says
I loved this meal, absolutely delicious. I swapped the tilapia for wild swordfish ( grilled) only because I could not find quality tilapia. Awesome, will make again. ?Thanks
Bryce says
This recipe was excellent! I just started the Whole30 on Monday (today is Thursday) and am already so tired of chicken, so this change was so welcome! Thank you!
Celeste S Curtis says
This looks great! I was wondering if you knew how many calories per serving this meal is!?
Amelia Camurati says
If made as directed, it’s about 689 calories.
Ashley says
Made this meal last night with the addition of rice and beans (because I’m not doing Whole30). We loved it so much that my husband wants to make it in a large quantity next time so he can take it to work for lunch every day!
One modification I made that I highly recommend is the addition of a bit of cayenne pepper to the mango salsa. 🙂
Cheryl Malik says
That’s a great suggestion! And it sounds delish with rice and beans. So glad you both liked it!!
Jane says
Made this last night and it was fantastic! I used pineapple and strawberries for the salsa since that’s what I had. Making it again tonight upon request. 🙂
Cheryl Malik says
Uh YUM! That sounds so good! So glad you like it 😉
Lauren Rossi says
This is by far THE best ttilapia recipe!! Family favorite 🙂
Cheryl Malik says
I’m soooo glad you love it!
Paige says
My new favorite recipe!! Delicious. I used arborio rice since I am gluten free but not paleo. So good.
Cheryl Malik says
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it, Paige. And arborio rice for the cauliflower rice is a great substitution! Thank you so much for coming back to share 🙂
Casey says
Hi Cheryl, I cannot find whole 30 compliant adoboe?? do you have a suggestion or brand or substitute?
Cheryl Malik says
Yes! You can just swap out the adobo for chipotle chili powder. Start with about 2 teaspoons and add more to taste 🙂