The best fish taco sauce recipe for your fish tacos, hands down! Perfectly spiced, and so easy to whip up – one bowl, less than 5 minutes. You’ll love how this white sauce complements the flavors in your fish tacos. Also delicious as a vegetable dip! (with video)
Years and years ago, I came across a recipe for San Diego fish tacos and fish taco sauce. So delicious. I’ve since lost the memory of how to prepare the fish, but the sauce included in the recipe, however, burned a little hole in my brain.
That fish taco sauce … omg, so good. Forget salsa. Forget sour cream. Forget tartar sauce. Once you try it for yourself, you’ll never want anything on your fish tacos except this sauce, ever again.
No doubt my fading memory and stubborn inability to leave well enough alone has inserted itself on the original recipe. But that’s the beauty of a spice-heavy concoction: You can tweak the sauce seasonings to your own tastes.
So, don’t worry if you’re missing an ingredient from the list, and you’re in the middle of a taco craving emergency. It will all be a-okay!
It’s the unique combination of herbs and spices that make it so special, including cumin, coriander, smoky chipotle chili powder, dill, and oregano.
Plus, it features the perfect hit of heat: not enough to say, whoooaa, tongue on fire! But just enough to be all like, hello, I’m alive, and it’s great to be eating tacos!
It was SO good! My family loved it! ~ Kerry
This sauce is so good, I’ll eat it on everything. ~ Marly
Absolutely awesome, was even better than the sauce we got with our fish tacos in Mexico ~ Werner
What Makes this Fish Taco Sauce the Best and So Tasty?
We all like “easy,” right? But sometimes just a few extra ingredients make a difference far beyond their numbers. Let’s go through the list!
- Sour cream and mayonnaise: Start with a nice, creamy foundation of sweet and sour notes that the combo of sour cream and mayo provide. You can choose to go full fat or low fat. And if you don’t like mayo, feel free to substitute plain yogurt. In fact, truth be told, nowadays, I usually skip both the sour cream and mayo and go right for 2% Greek yogurt, which has plenty of creamy richness.
- Lime: Thinning the creamy base with lime juice instead of water adds a lovely acid tang. You can definitely substitute lemon juice, although lime juice is slightly sweeter and more traditional in Mexican-inspired sauces.
- Cumin and Coriander: These classic Mexican spices are a must-have in this sauce, with their deep, earthy notes. Note that in America, coriander is the dried seed of the cilantro plant. In other countries, “coriander” often refers to both the green leaves and the seeds. Spice tip: keep a stock of cumin seed and coriander seed in your pantry, and grind them fresh. So much tastier!
- Dill: What are you doing in here, Dill? Lol. You don’t often expect dill in a fish taco, but it goes so well with seafood that it actually tastes right at home in the final sauce. I love the bright, verdant green flavor!
- Oregano: A beautiful herb, oregano adds a peppery, astringent, pungent note that we love so well in American cuisine.
- Chili powder: Most fish taco sauces barely separate themselves from regular tartar sauce and land in ho-hum territory. Chipotle chili powder livens the works right up with its smoky goodness. You can use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, yes, but, personally, it annoys me to use just a small portion out of the can. I’m afraid to know how many bags of leftover peppers in sauce have worked their way to the back of fridge! It’s much easier to keep chili powder on hand. Also, if you want a more mild kick, use New Mexico chili powder instead.
- Capers: The secret ingredient in my homemade fish taco sauce! Capers have a unique tang that’s a cross between bitter and briny. But when you combine them with other assertive flavors, like the spice blend above, it somehow turbo-charges everything else, while hanging out quietly in the background. They also go great with seafood. Use non-pareil capers if you can find them (they’re smaller with a more delicate flavor), and mince them well with a knife, or smash them with a fork.
- Hot chile pepper: In addition to the chile powder, I like to include a bit of fresh chile, such as a jalapeno or serrano, for a fresh burst of spicy heat.
- Cilantro leaves: Finally, a nice, hearty hit of minced cilantro leaves cap off the herby flavors of this sauce.
A nice rest in the fridge will let all of the flavors meld and develop into a fully flavored white sauce!
Some extra love for one of my favorite flavor combinations: Lime and cilantro (above) are so natural together, it would not have surprised me one bit to find them growing on the same plant, had I not grown cilantro myself without producing a single lime (I knew better, of course, but was still unreasonably disappointed). There’s plenty of both of these summery flavors in my fish taco sauce!
Coriander, by the way, is the seed produced by the cilantro plant. Redundant, both leaf and seed sharing a spot in the same recipe? No, sirreee. Ground coriander tastes nothing like its leafy parent.
Gently aromatic and somehow citrusy, it adds a bright flavor to mexican dishes, and is an especially delicious companion to cumin.
So, for you unlucky ducks where cilantro leaves taste like soap, do not fear the ground coriander!
How to make fish taco sauce
This white sauce is easily whipped up with just a knife and whisk – no special equipment required:
- Whisk together mayo and sour cream until smooth.
- Thin with a little lime juice until the sauce wants to drip from the whisk.
- Add the spices and mix thoroughly.
- Let rest in the fridge for at least an hour, to let all the flavors blend into tasty goodness.
Spoon the sauce over your fish tacos — my favorites are made with grilled flaky white fish, like cod or halibut, but shrimp is scrumptious, too. For an authentic San Diego fish taco experience, try them battered and fried. Delish!
Making a big batch and need some ideas to use up the leftovers? It’s a fantastic chip dip (Fritos are my favorite!) Or, try it with these recipes:
Loaded Guacamole Vegetarian Tacos
Fish Taco Bowls
Oven Fried Shrimp and Thai Coconut Ramen Noodle Bowl
Watch the video and learn how easy it is to make!
Karen xo
Wickedly good fish taco sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream (Greek yogurt is delicious as a substitute if you're not a fan of sour cream)
- 1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise (you can use full fat, but, the spices are so delicious, you won't miss that particular flavor contribution)
- 1 lime , cut in half
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon capers , minced
- 1 hot pepper of your choice , seeded and minced (jalapeno is delicious, as are the cherry bomb poppers I used in this batch).
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro , chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and mayonnaise until well blended.
- Squeeze the juice from one lime half into the fish taco sauce mixture, then whisk thoroughly. You'll want the consistency of a pourable, creamy salad dressing. If still too thick, add more lime juice from the other half. If too runny, add sour cream.
- Add all of the spices, whisking to mix thoroughly. Add the capers, minced pepper and cilantro, and whisk thoroughly.
- Cover the bowl with wrap and refrigerate the fish taco for at least one hour — the longer the better.
- Serve chilled. Spoon white sauce over fish tacos, or add into taco salads or rice bowls.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published on June 6, 2009
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David
Tuesday 10th of November 2020
This sauce is excellent. I made the basic one that most sites push(garlic,lime,hot sauce) and found it super boring and flavourless, I jazzed it up with capers and still thought it needed more. Then I found your recipe. Just the add ons needed. Toasting and grinding that small an amount of cumin and coriander was a pain but worth it. This sauce is awesome. Bookmarked
Jasmine
Sunday 3rd of May 2020
Seriously the best sauce ever. I just use all chili powder. I substituted the cumin and coriander for chili powder. And I use alot more cilantro it's my favorite herb.
Jan
Wednesday 5th of February 2020
Just tried this fish taco sauce and used it on our fish tacos and it’s so amazing. What a great thing on a snowy night.
Angela
Sunday 17th of November 2019
I haven't tried this sauce recipe yet and it seems with all the wonder flavors added together that it will be fantastic. I just have one question, if I omit the mayonnaise will it take away from the recipe? There isn't anyone in my family that is fond of mayo, so I thought I would just use greek or plain yogurt.
SoupAddict
Sunday 17th of November 2019
Over the years, I’ve made this recipe with just about everything white that you can, lol. It’s absolutely fine with all Greek (that’s my personal preference). Mayo adds a tiny touch of non-sugary sweetness, but I don’t mourn it when it’s not there. A little blip of honey can replace the sweetness, but I don’t think you’ll need it. Hope you decide to try it!
Kempshark
Monday 22nd of July 2019
For the pepper do you use fresh pepper such as jalapeño , or do you use pickled peppers?....just curious.
SoupAddict
Friday 26th of July 2019
I use fresh! I think a little bit of pickled peppers would be delish, but I think they would shift the flavor of the sauce in tartar sauce territory.