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!).
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
Blackened Fish
- 2 tilapia loins or 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
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
- Salt , to taste
Chipotle Aioli
- 1/4 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 chipotle pepper in adoboe sauce
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- Salt
Mango Salsa
- 1 mango , peeled, seeded, and diced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro , chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion , chopped
- 1/4 lime , juice of
- Pinch of salt
Red Cabbage Slaw:
- 1/4 head red cabbage , 2 cups, sliced thin or shaved
- 1/2 lime juiced
- Salt
Coconut-Lime Cauliflower Rice:
- 1 head cauliflower , stemmed and loosely chopped, about 3 cups
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 lime , juice of
- 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.
Recipe Notes
You can combine the steps for the guacamole and the mango salsa: just mix all ingredients for both steps in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
To save even more time, you can combine the guacamole and mango salsa ingredients with the red cabbage slaw: follow the directions for the red cabbage slaw first, since massaging the cabbage is important, and then combine the ingredients for the guacamole and the mango salsa. Stir to combine.
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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.
Is it supposed to read 1/4 cup mayo?
Yes. 🙂
Hello! Can I use other type of fish? Maybe cod?
Thanks!
Yes, you can substitute any fish!
Wondering if you can use frozen cauliflower rice, just thawed, for fresh?
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!
So delicious and easy! Husband said this should be a weekly meal. Make this. Tonight.
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!
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
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!
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. 🙂
That’s a great suggestion! And it sounds delish with rice and beans. So glad you both liked it!!
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. 🙂
Uh YUM! That sounds so good! So glad you like it 😉
This is by far THE best ttilapia recipe!! Family favorite 🙂
I’m soooo glad you love it!
My new favorite recipe!! Delicious. I used arborio rice since I am gluten free but not paleo. So good.
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 🙂
Hi Cheryl, I cannot find whole 30 compliant adoboe?? do you have a suggestion or brand or substitute?
Yes! You can just swap out the adobo for chipotle chili powder. Start with about 2 teaspoons and add more to taste 🙂