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This creamy fish taco sauce comes together in 5 minutes with a handful of ingredients. It’s tangy, a little spicy, and perfect on flaky white fish!
Making fish tacos? Have I got the sauce for you! This fish taco sauce is creamy, tangy, savory and a little spicy all at once!
This is my favorite way to top flaky fish tacos, and it takes only minutes to whip up with a few ingredients: no blender required! With a quick cabbage slaw and squeeze of lime, it makes any taco taste better. I’ve made this so many times and it tastes incredible!
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The BEST fish taco sauce ever. I come back to this recipe time and time again. I could eat it straight out of the mixing bowl with a spoon it’s so fantastic. Don’t mess around. THIS is the sauce you’ve been missing all your life.” -Mina
Ingredients You’ll Need
This fish taco sauce is easy because let’s face it: if you’re making tacos, you want to focus your energy on the main event! There’s nothing worse than spending lots of time on the fish…only to realize that the sauce takes lots of time and dirties a blender in the process. Not so with this fish taco sauce! You can make it in 5 minutes and whisk it up in a bowl. Here’s what you’ll need (see the recipe below for quantities):
- Sour cream, or a combination of Greek yogurt + mayonnaise: The latter is my favorite combination to make a creamy sauce. You can also use sour cream for a richer sauce. See my notes below!
- Lime juice and zest: This adds zingy bright flavor.
- Hot sauce: I like Cholula brand for my taco sauces: it adds a nice tangy flavor along with a hint of heat.
- Garlic powder: This brings just the right savory nuance to the flavor.
All you have to do is mix them together in a bowl: no chopping or blending required! That’s my idea of an easy sauce.
Sour Cream Or Greek Yogurt Plus Mayo
This fish taco sauce has two variations: you can make it with sour cream, or use Greek yogurt + mayo. Here’s what to know about these variations:
- Sour cream sauce: This sauce comes out rich and creamy. It’s a little more cream-forward than the below option, which has more savory flavor from the mayo.
- Equal parts Greek yogurt + mayo: This is our favorite way to make a mayo-based sauce with less calories! It makes for a super creamy and savory sauce, that’s not as rich as using straight mayonnaise. (I use this philosophy in my homemade Ranch Dressing and Caesar Dressing.)
How To Make Fish Taco Sauce
Here’s what you need to do to make this sauce:
- Step 1: Zest and juice the lime. I like using a press juicer and a microplane. Always zest the lime first!
- Step 2: Whisk everything together. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk.
- Step 3: Taste and adjust. Adjust according to your tastes, adding more salt or hot sauce if desired.
Pro tip: Let the sauce rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes if you have time: the flavors get even better.
How To Make It Dairy-Free
Need a dairy-free fish taco sauce? No problem. You can substitute the ½ cup sour cream in this recipe for:
- Vegan mayo: it’s easy to find purchased vegan mayo in grocery stores and online
- Cashew cream: Make up a batch of cashew cream and use it instead.
- Vegan sour cream: Another option is this vegan sour cream, also made from cashews.
What To Serve With Fish Taco Sauce
Here’s how I like to serve this sauce:
- In a fish taco: Combine it with our Fish Taco Seasoning and Fish Taco Slaw!
- In other tacos: Quick Shrimp Tacos, Avocado Tacos, or Cauliflower Tacos with Yum Yum Sauce.
- Grain bowls: Add it to a grain bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice, black beans, and avocado.
- As a dip: Use it for sweet potato fries or raw vegetables.
- On simple fish: You can also use it with pan fried cod or blackened tilapia or more of my 30 Easy Fish Recipes.
Leftover Storage
Store leftovers refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, if made with fresh sour cream or Greek yogurt, or the best by date on the container. I don’t recommend freezing the sauce as the texture can separate after frozen.
Dietary Notes
This fish taco sauce recipe is gluten-free. Of course without the fish, it’s also vegetarian (and you can use it on vegetarian tacos).
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Baja sauce has more mayonnaise and usually includes chipotle or a smoky chile, but this one is brighter and more lime-forward.
A mild, flaky white fish is best, like cod, halibut, mahi mahi, tilapia, or snapper. See my Fish Tacos recipe.
Creamy Fish Taco Sauce
This creamy fish taco sauce comes together in 5 minutes with a handful of ingredients. It’s tangy, a little spicy, and perfect on flaky white fish!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: About ½ cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons lime juice + zest of ½ lime (½ teaspoon)
- ½ cup sour cream OR ¼ cup Greek yogurt and ¼ cup mayonnaise*
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Cholula hot sauce, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Zest the lime, then juice it.
- Mix together the lime juice and zest with Greek yogurt and mayo or sour cream, hot sauce, garlic powder, and salt. Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
*For dairy-free, you can use vegan mayo, cashew cream or vegan sour cream.
First of all, this website is my favorite for reliably delicious food. Your shrimp fajitas got me hooked and your Dutch oven artisan bread made me a forever fan. When I found some red snapper on sale, I came here and found your fish taco recipe. This sauce was perfection on the tacos. All 9 family members, including children from toddler age to teens, unanimously voted this recipe (along with the epic fish taco recipe) into the family cookbook. My six year old had five tacos! And my nine year old, who hates fish, even went back for seconds. I’m stuffed, but already dreaming about lunch tomorrow so I can finish off the leftovers!
The BEST fish taco sauce ever. I come back to this recipe time and time again. I could eat it straight out of the mixing bowl with a spoon it’s so fantastic. Don’t mess around. THIS is the sauce you’ve been missing all your life.