A little or a lot of spicy salmon tacos is what’s on the Taco Tuesday menu today!
This recipe for spicy salmon tacos is one I consider a “never-fail” recipe. They taste great, turn out fabulous every time I make them, and it’s a family favorite.
Healthy Salmon Tacos
When you want tacos but want to keep the meal healthy, these salmon tacos are baked to perfection and provide lots of nutrition.
Unlike battered fish tacos, the salmon is baked in the oven just long enough to yield perfectly flaky salmon filled with flavor from the chili lime seasoning.
Rich in omega-3, lots of protein, and healthy fats, salmon is a great choice for making healthy fish tacos at home.
Spicy Salmon Taco Ingredients
Whether you use fresh or frozen salmon that’s been thawed, the ingredients for these spicy salmon tacos are fresh and delish. Make sure to grab the full recipe details from the recipe card below.
But first, check your fridge, freezer, and pantry to make sure you have the following:
- Salmon: fresh or frozen, fillets or a large piece. If you enjoy the skin, by all means, keep it. Otherwise, you don’t need it.
- Olive oil: adds flavor, and helps the seasoning stick.
- Limes: for seasoning before baking and extra for fresh flavor after.
- Jalapeño: add more and keep the seeds if you want it extra spicyyyy.
- Salt: for seasoning.
- Mango: fresh or frozen (thawed) to balance out the spicy.
- Pico de gallo: make a full batch and keep the chips handy. It’s fresh and so good on top of these tacos.
- Butter lettuce: add volume to this taco and it’s sweet and delicious.
- Tortillas: corn tortillas, flour tortillas, or grain-free tortillas work here!
- Avocado: it won’t cost extra and you’ll be glad you did!
How to Bake Chili Lime Salmon for Tacos
Making chili lime salmon tacos in the oven is easy! The best part is that in the time they’re cooking, you can make the pico de gallo super fresh and fast! Essentially, here is how to bake these tacos:
- Get ready
Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easier cleanup. - Season the salmon
Place the salmon on the baking sheet and drizzle the olive oil and juice of 1 lime. Top with jalapeño -as little or as much as you want- and season with salt. - Bake
Bake it in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes, until the salmon easily separates with a fork. If you see a little white stuff on the salmon, don’t worry, it’s normal! - Make the mango salsa
Combine the mango pieces with the pico de gallo and set it aside. You’ll love it on top. - Assemble!
Once the salmon is ready, give it a coarse chop to separate the pieces into smaller flakes. Load up your tortillas with butter lettuce, cooked salmon and roasted jalapeño pieces, and top it with the mango salsa. Finish it off by adding a few avocado slices on top.
Intimidated by cooking salmon? Don’t worry! Watch this YouTube video to see how these tacos are made.
How Spicy Are These Salmon Tacos?
These salmon tacos are in the medium spice level since the heat comes from the finely chopped, roasted jalapeño pieces. For more heat, make sure to add more to your taco, for less, omit.
Roasting the jalapeños caramelizes their spice and the end result is much different and even more delicious than raw.
It’s also a terrific family-friendly recipe because you can omit the jalapeños when serving.
Salmon Taco Toppings
Love loaded tacos? These salmon tacos are a great base for so many things! Try adding:
- Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Fish Taco Sauce
- Pineapple Salsa
- Easy Guacamole
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Sour cream
Once you’ve loaded them up, try making one of these epic sides for fish tacos!
Spicy Chili Lime Salmon Tacos
Ingredients
- 16 oz salmon, skin removed, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 limes, 1 zested and juiced, and 1 cut into wedges
- 2 jalapeños, seeded (or not) and minced
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 cups chopped mango
- Pico de Gallo
- 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated
- 8 to 12 corn or flour tortillas, store-bought or homemade
- 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the salmon pieces on the preheated baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and the zest and juice of 1 lime. Sprinkle as much jalapeño over the fish as desired for your preferred heat level, and then sprinkle with the coarse salt as well.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon until it flakes easily with a fork. Transfer the salmon to a plate and give it a rough chop into smaller pieces.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the chopped mango and pico de gallo.
- To assemble the tacos, place a butter lettuce leaf on each tortilla and top with some salmon, mango pico de gallo, and avocado slices. Serve with additional lime wedges.
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