Give your Taco Tuesday a tropical twist with these Gluten Free Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce. Charred tortillas give these tacos an even smokier flavor.
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
I’m the mom who clipped a chunk of fake purple hair into my kindergartner’s ponytail this morning just because that’s what she wanted. And today wasn’t the first time either. There was a full on week a few months ago where she requested a chunk of colored hair every single morning, and I obliged.
I used to care, but now I don’t. Not at all.
Some mornings my girls look full on crazy with the outfits they pick: floral patterned pants with some clashing patterned top, followed up with the most convenient shoes they can slip on and the first bow they lay sight on. Most mornings they’re a sight for sore eyes.
I tell myself I’m fostering creativity and a sense of independence by allowing them to choose their own clothes. This may just be my justification for not wanting to fight a losing battle.
Oh, and on top of this hot mess that is my children, Braelyn has decided that she’d like to do her own hair. While I appreciate the extra free-time in the morning to arrange lunches and backpacks, her disheveled ponytail coupled with her crazy outfits really makes it look like this child has no mother at home. I may need to step up my volunteer game at school just so the teachers know she’s not actually living under a rock with no adult supervision.
Although Emry still allows me to do her own hair, which makes her look somewhat presentable, she is borderline obsessed with makeup and insists on giving herself mini makeovers most mornings. Surprisingly she does a relatively decent job with her application. In fact, the kiddo can apply mascara better than I can.
I really don’t mind my girls wearing make up even though they’re only in elementary school. First of all, I wear very minimal make-up, so it’s not like they have a lot to choose from. They can’t go too overboard if there aren’t a lot of options. Plus, I figure if they wear it every once in a while now, they completely avoid that awkward preteen make up stage where you can totally tell they are just beginning to experiment because their “face coloring” is way of out the lines.
Basically my only rule with make up right now is this: don’t look like a clown.
As long as Bozo, the Joker, or Ronald McDonald aren’t leaving my house, I’m okay with a touch of blush and lip gloss. There just has to be a limit to the amount of color used.
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
But you know where it’s perfectly acceptable to have ALL the color??? In fact, the more color the better??? Your food! Colorful face = disturbing. Colorful food = delicious.
I think I’ll focus my kids’ artistic skills on decorating their plates rather than decorating their faces. And what better practice than with these Gluten Free Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce?!
In my mind, tortillas are the perfect canvas for adding all kinds of colorful food and a variety of fresh flavors. It’s a welcome mat for varying textures and an array of toppings. Basically every taco is your own personal masterpiece.
CREATING YOUR OWN TACOS
My kids love making tacos because it’s one meal where they have complete control as to what goes on their plate. We set out all the ingredients and allow them to pick and choose what to put inside. I do require they choose at least one vegetable and protein, but they can either put it inside their taco or eat it as a side.
Kids will get more adventurous with toppings the more you have to offer and the less amount of pressure there is to put specific ingredients inside. Sit back and relax as your kids fill their own tacos. I was surprised last week to see Emry eat her first taco pretty plain and then load her second taco with all kids of toppings. She said immediately upon her first bite of loaded taco, “This taco is better!!!”
MAKING GLUTEN FREE FISH TACOS
My kiddos favorite protein to put inside tacos is hands down fish. We rotate between salmon, tilapia, and cod for our gluten free fish tacos, salmon being our favorite. The best thing about fish tacos is they marinate quickly, they cook quickly, and they are high in nutrients such as omega 3, vitamin B, and potassium. Fish is a perfect low fat, high protein option.
When making gluten free fish tacos, I either pan fry the fish for a few minutes on each side to create a golden crust, or I put the fish under the broiler. Both methods are fairly quick and take little to no effort. Just make sure to have all of your taco elements ready before you cook the fish since it cooks so quickly and you want it to still be warm in your tacos.
LET’S TALK CILANTRO LIME SAUCE
You guys, this cilantro lime sauce is what dreams are made of. I stumbled upon making this sauce when I was trying to get rid of an entire bunch of cilantro. I ended up throwing the whole thing in the blender along with some seasonings, honey, jalapeno, and lime juice. I then added some avocado oil to make it velvety smooth like a pesto and OH. MY. GOODNESS.
LICK-ABLE!!!
This sauce is the perfect drizzle for your gluten free fish tacos. It has some tang from the lime, a touch of sweetness from the honey, and a slight spice from the jalapeno. You can make this sauce completely mild by removing all the jalapeno seeds, or spice it up by leaving a few seeds in the blender. I’m more of a mild girl because I quite enjoy having feeling in my tongue while I’m eating.
This sauce lasts in the fridge for at least a week and is delicious on sandwiches, breakfast hashes, fried eggs, salads, and nachos. I’ve even been eating it plain as a dip for chips. I told you, it’s lick-able.
OTHER ELEMENTS FOR PERFECT GLUTEN FREE FISH TACOS
For perfect gluten free fish tacos, make sure your tortillas are cooked crispy. Nobody likes a limp tortilla that breaks after filling it. I turn my griddle on high heat and get both sides pretty crispy. They tend to soften as you fill them. Another trick I learned is to char my tortillas over the open flame of my stove top. I love the slightly blackened flavor of the corn tortillas. YUM!
You must have some sort of fresh salsa for perfect gluten free fish tacos. I love this honey lime tropical cucumber salsa and this pineapple lime cilantro salsa. For a twist on your traditional fruit salsas, try this cantaloupe cucumber salsa. Oh, and when mangoes are in season, this mango pico de gallo is one of my favorites.
Okay, all this gluten free fish tacos talk is getting me all giddy for tonight’s menu. Seriously, we are all about the tacos over here. You should see my kids’ faces when I mention tacos or nachos. Pure joy. I just need to learn to focus more on seeing the joy in their faces rather than seeing the crazy clothes they are wearing. In the end, it’s only their happiness that matters, right? Right???
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
- Gluten Free Chicken Fajita Tacos
- Gluten Free Mango Adobe Steak Tacos
- Gluten Free Asian Ahi Fish Tacos
- Gluten Free Southwest Steak Tacos
- Gluten Free Sloppy Joe Tacos
- For the salmon:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, cooking oil, or butter
- 1 lb. salmon cut into 4 oz. portions (4 fillets total)
- salt and pepper
- 1½ teaspoons lime juice
- For the Cilantro Lime Sauce:
- 1 bunch of cilantro (stems included)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped onion
- ⅛-1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2-3 teaspoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup avocado oil
- Other taco ingredients:
- 8 corn tortillas
- toppings such as: chopped lettuce or cabbage, mango salsa, cilantro leaves, sour cream, guacamole, lime wedges, cotija cheese, etc.
- Pat fish completely dry with paper towels. Place fish in a bowl or plastic bag. Set aside.
- Begin making cilantro lime sauce. Place cilantro, salt, honey, chopped garlic, chopped onion, pepper, lime juice, and chopped jalapeno in blender. Blend until no large chunks appear, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. While blender is on low, slowly stream avocado oil in. Blend until smooth and incorporated. Season to taste with additional pepper and lime juice.
- Drizzle about 3-4 tablespoons sauce over the fish. Reserve the rest for topping the tacos. Massage with hands to cover fish with sauce. Add more sauce if needed. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.*
- Once fish has marinated, heat skillet to medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil, cooking oil, or butter. While skillet is heating, take fish out of bag and generously season both sides with salt and pepper. Once pan is hot, add fillets to skillet and cook for 4 minutes until bottom of fish is golden brown. Flip and cook 3-4 minutes more (depending on thickness) until salmon is cooked through, flakes easily, and middle is slightly glossy pink. Remove from pan and set on serving plate. Gently flake salmon and squeeze top of salmon with lime juice.
- While salmon is cooking, prepare toppings and heat tortillas. I like to char my tortillas on a low flame on our gas stove.
- Prepare tacos by topping cooked tortillas with flaked salmon, remaining cilantro lime sauce, chopped lettuce or cabbage, mango salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro leaves, a squeeze of lime juice, and crumbled cotija cheese.
