Fish Taco Sauce

Well-made fish tacos will have you daydreaming of sandy beaches, cold cerveza and surfside shacks. Luckily, you don’t have to travel to Mexico for tasty fish tacos. You can make them at home with a few basic staples: fish, cabbage or slaw, tortillas and this excellent fish taco sauce.

Fish tacos have always been a favorite in our house. We like to beer-batter pieces of flaky white fish, dredge them, then serve them in corn tortillas with shredded cabbage and zesty crema. Our fish taco sauce recipe is made with sour cream, mayonnaise, lime, garlic and hot pepper sauce, and takes just five minutes to whip up. It’s the best sauce for any fish taco, whether the fish is fried, grilled, baked or blackened. One dollop of this crema will take your fish taco from basic to brilliant.

Ingredients for Fish Taco Sauce

• Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise is the perfect creamy base for any fish taco sauce. Any of the best mayo brands will do.
• Sour cream: The sour cream adds a tangy, creamy component.
• Lime: Fresh lime juice is essential when it comes to balancing the richness in the sauce (save some for the fish on your tacos, too!). Lime zest adds even more citrus flavor without thinning out the sauce.
• Garlic: Minced garlic adds depth to this sauce for fish tacos. Fresh garlic will taste better than jarred.
• Hot pepper sauce: For a little kick and color, use your favorite hot sauce. Think sriracha or even a homemade spicy hot sauce.
• Salt: A pinch of salt helps all the flavors come together.

Directions

Step 1: Make the sauce

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, garlic, hot pepper sauce and salt until they’re well combined. Cover and chill the fish taco sauce until you’re ready to serve it.

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Fish Taco Sauce Variations

• Add seasonings: You can add many different spices to fish taco sauce. Try sweet or smoked paprika, a pinch of cumin or cayenne, or garlic and onion powder.
• Use Greek yogurt: For a lighter sauce, use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

How to Store Fish Taco Sauce

Store your fish taco sauce separately from the other ingredients in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last up to a week.

Fish Taco Sauce Tips

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

How else can you use fish taco sauce?

You can use this fish taco sauce on other tacos that aren’t made with fish, including shrimp, steak or blackened chicken tacos. It would also make a great dipping sauce for fried calamari and crab legs or drizzled over roasted potatoes.

What can you serve with fish tacos?

I love serving fish tacos with Mexican street corn and a cabbage slaw. They also pair well with a classic side of Mexican rice and beans or, to change things up, with some cilantro-lime rice.