This creamy fish taco sauce recipe brings just the right amount of zing to your fish tacos, made with sour cream and mayonnaise, hot sauce, lime juice and more. It's so easy to make!
This recipe is perfect for any fish or seafood tacos, like these recipes - Fish Tacos, Baja Fish Tacos, Shrimp Tacos, Salmon Tacos!
Who's in the mood for fish tacos? I also enjoy cooking the fish in different ways. Think grilled fish tacos, but also sautéed or battered and fried. Fish tacos are SO GOOD when they're crispy and fried with a coating of seasoned beer batter.
No matter how you're making your fish tacos, it is extremely important to make yourself the best fish taco sauce. Fish taco sauce is key! There are many different types of sauce you can either buy or make, but I love a good homemade creamy white sauce for my fish tacos.
Why You'll Love This Fish Taco Sauce
You'll love this recipe because it's not only easy to make with simple pantry ingredients, but you can spice it up as much as you'd like. And, it's very customizable!
Adjust the ingredients and add others to make it your own favorite way, and you can have it ready for serving in only 5 minutes. That's a huge win for me.
Let's talk about how to make fish taco sauce, shall we?
Fish Taco Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Mexican Crema - Or use Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Hot Sauce - Sriracha is great here, or use your favorite
- Garlic Powder or Fresh Garlic - use half 1/2 teaspoon or more to your preference
- Pinch of Sea Salt
How to Make Creamy Fish Taco Sauce - the Recipe Method
First, whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl - crema or sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, sriracha, garlic, and salt.
Make sure everything is nicely incorporated, like so.
Transfer the fish taco sauce to a small container or squeeze bottle and chill slightly in the refrigerator to let the flavors mingle. You can enjoy it right away if timing is an issue.
When your tacos are ready, spoon or squeeze some over your tacos and enjoy!
Simple enough, right? As I said, it's crazy easy to make, and you can whip this together in practically no time. It's perfect with any fish taco recipe you're making, whether it's pan seared, grilled, baked or fried fish. Blackened! Doesn't matter, it's perfect every time.
I absolutely love this recipe. You may need to make some extra.
Recipe Tips & Notes
Use This is a Base Recipe. Think of this recipe as a starter sauce that you can play with. Vary up the ratios to your own personal preference. For example, I like to include a bit more hot sauce when I make mine. I also switch up the hot sauce I'm using - sriracha one day, ghost pepper hot sauce the next time, or whatever else I'm in the mood for.
Adjust Your Fish Taco Sauce to Taste. Try adding some of these other ingredients for a different version:
- Chipotles in Adobo - Use a blender to blend the chipotle peppers, or use chipotle sauce. The chipotles offer a touch of smoky goodness, and the adobo sauce is rich with lots of flavor.
- Spicy Chili Powder - A dash or two could bring the extra zing you're looking for. Be careful going too spicy for some palates, as overly spicy chili powder, like ghost powder, might overwhelm the delicate flavor of your chosen fish. Of course a spicier fish taco sauce would be perfect for stronger tasting fish like catfish.
- Greek Yogurt - I use Mexican crema for mine, but a creamy yogurt or even sour cream works for this recipe as well. You can realistically go with your favorite of these.
- Extras - A quarter teaspoon of cumin will go a long way for a touch of Mexican flare. Try fresh herbs. I love a nice cilantro-lime combo.
Make it Ahead and Storage Info
This fish taco sauce recipe will last at least 1 week or longer in the refrigerator. Store in the fridge in a sealed container and use anytime you'd like. You can easily make it ahead and enjoy it all week long.
Best Fish for Fish Tacos
I get the best results with a firm whitefish for fish tacos, like red snapper, mahi mahi, cod, halibut. Salmon is a great choice as well.
Serving Fish Taco Sauce
As the name suggests, this is meant for serving with fish tacos, but you can also serve it over any whitefish, with vegetables as a flavor boost, or with grilled meats. It's a wonderful dipper, perfect for fried foods, like fried chicken and French fries.
Use this fish taco sauce with my favorite fish tacos recipe, which is white fish that is seasoned and pan seared in a bit of olive oil, then served with a crunchy slaw made with lots of shredded cabbage, roasted jalapeno, lime juice and more.
Or serve it alongside iconic pico de gallo. Perfect tacos!
So good! I also enjoy it over pulled pork, sort of like an Alabama White Sauce.
That's it, my friends! I hope you enjoy my fish taco sauce recipe. Time to make some fish tacos! Let me know how you change it up to make it your own. It's a family loved recipe.
Try it Out On Some of These Recipes
Also, Try Some of My Other Popular Sauce Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Creamy Fish Taco Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ cup Mexican crema or use sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lime juice about ½ a small lime
- 1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce sriracha is great here
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1-2 fresh cloves, minced
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.
- Chill slightly, and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 9/3/21 to include new information. It was originally published on 9/4/20.
Lia says
So good! Added some carrot pepper/Serrano flakes from last summer’s harvest. Perfect with salmon tacos
Mike Hultquist says
I love to hear it!
jacqui roberts says
I loved this sauce brilliant with Thai Fishcakes
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Thanks, Jacqui!
Kent Feldsted says
The fish taco sauce is OUTSTANDING! Thank you for that. I had to add some chopped cilantro & a bit of cayenne & extra garlic (can't have too much garlic).
Tried it on blackened shrimp using your blackening spice mix.
WOW! I can't say enough. Great stuff, & thanks again!
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Kent, and really made it your own! I love it!
JoJo Elliott says
This sauce was wonderful and really added a good flavor to our fish tacos with cabbage slaw. I will keep this in my repertoire of go-to sauce recipes!!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, JoJo! Very happy you enjoyed it! We love this stuff. YUM.
Alisha says
This sauce is awesome! The whole family loved it on our fish tacos! My boys even poured on some extra to make it extra creamy! Great blend of spices!
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Alisha! I love it! Thanks for sharing.
Robert W Abell says
Loved this recipe, I used the Chipotle pepper variation with a heaping tablespoon of the adobo and my own homemade pepper sauce. I also added Chipotle Meco powder and smoked paprika to kick it up a notch. We had it on soft tacos that night and it was even better a week later on salmon fillets.
Mike Hultquist says
Perfection right there, Robert! I love it! Thanks for sharing!
Jérémie says
Great recipe, Mike! I love when you eat the result of your recipes ... you look so content and delighted, that I'm jealous and wanna have the same pleasure right away!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Jérémie! I always appreciate your comments.
Cheri says
I love your recipes so I bought both your books
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks so much, Cheri! I hope you enjoy them!