Personally I think that fish tacos are the perfect summer meal. Don’t get me wrong, they are delicious year round, but even better in the summer on a patio… which by the way, where I live (just outside of Toronto) outdoor dining is open and you better believe I’ve been making the rounds safely with friends.
Recently, on a whim, I decided to purchase a big bag of frozen tilapia from Walmart for $10. Later that week I started to brainstorm what to do with my little stash of frozen fish, and then it hit me… fish tacos.
As I started to scour Pinterest I realized that a lot of fish taco recipes are really unhealthy, often fried and loaded with heavy sauces. So I decided to start pulling from different healthy recipes to see what I could come up with. Thus… my healthy tacos were born.
These fish tacos are so simple, quick and easy to make, plus they are super healthy and because they are baked, you can easily make larger quantities for guests. Ready to give them a whirl?
Makes 2 tacos | Prep time 10 minutes | Cook time 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tilapia fillet (fresh or defrosted)
- 1 cup of washed fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 sliced avocado (optional)
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- coconut oil cooking spray
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 lime
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204C)
- Cut tilapia in half down the centre
- prepare spice mixture by adding paprika, onion powder, oregano, dried thyme, garlic powder, fresh ground pepper and cayenne pepper into a bowl and stir until mixed.
- spray pan with coconut oil cooking spray.
- spray both sides of each piece of tilapia.
- spoon spice mixture onto both sides of each piece of tilapia, rubbing in with your hands until well coated.
- Place tilapia onto pan and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Do not turn tilapia, this will make it crispier.
- While tilapia is baking, prepare sauce and toppings. Scoop 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt into a bowl and grate the skin of 1 lime into the yogurt. Then quarter the lime and squeeze the juice of half of the lime into the yogurt mixture. Place the other two lime wedges aside to top the fish taco with. Mix the yogurt and lime sauce well. Set aside.
- To prepare the iceberg lettuce so that the leaves can be used as the taco shells, make a shallow cut at the base of the leaf, then carefully pull the intact, entire leaf away from the head of lettuce. Wash gently and set aside to dry. Repeat 2 to four times (I like to double up my iceberg lettuce leaves to create stronger shells).
- Once the tilapia is finished baking, place the fillet into the lettuce shell, top with yogurt lime sauce, cilantro (and avocado – optional and not pictured) and enjoy guilt-free!