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Summery and delicious, these Crispy BBQ Salmon Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa and Jalapeño Cream are a new warm-weather favorite. Smoky BBQ seasoned salmon, stuffed into hard shell tacos, with a roasted jalapeño cream, and a yummy mango-avocado salsa. These spicy BBQ seasoned fish tacos are made all on one sheet pan and in no time at all. They’re quick, vibrant, and so delicious!
Taco Tuesday, but seafood style. It’s no secret that we love tacos around here, but lately, I’ve really been enjoying making more fish tacos. My family is a little picky when it comes to fish, but fish tacos are always a crowd-pleaser.
Well…aside from Asher and my mom, who steer clear of fish. I guess you just can’t win them all over.
With Memorial Day weekend only a few days away, I thought it would be fun to share a few summery recipes this week. Grilled chicken wraps yesterday – seafood tacos today. Funny, I ended up roasting the fish for these tacos, but you can easily grill them up too!
Way, way back when I first started cooking, my brother, Brendan told me about a salmon taco he really enjoyed. He said it was made with a little cream cheese smeared inside a hard taco shell.
At first, the concept seemed so weird to me. But then I gave it a try. And wow, I’ve loved doing seafood tacos with a little cream cheese smear inside ever since. They’re delicious and different, and everyone always loves them.
The steps
As I mentioned, I like to roast the fish, but grilling is a wonderful option too. Season up the fish with my favorite “BBQ” style seasoning blend. It’s a mix of Tajin or chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Hopefully all spices you have in your pantry.
The next step is to roast or grill the fish, along with some jalapeños. The jalapeños are going to be used for the cream cheese.
The Jalepeño Cream is just cream cheese, pickled jalapeños, a little garlic powder, and a pinch of sea salt. Trust me, it’s better than using cheese or a crema.
While the fish is cooking, I usually mix up the salsa. It’s a fresh mix of mango, avocado, lots of lime, cilantro, and a few jalapeños.
Now for those shells, I made mine, which I do recommend, because, wow, so delicious! But of course, using store-bought works too. I will say, hard shells are the secret to these tacos. They’re really what sets them apart, and they’re a little more untraditional for fish tacos.
If you want to make the shells, it’s pretty easy. Just warm corn tortillas in the microwave, then place them on top of a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Then use some tin foil to make a “mold” for the shell to sit on. Simply mold the foil into a cylinder shape and drape the tortillas over the foil. Use my photos for reference, promise it’s not hard. Then can bake until crispy. I usually bake them at 425° for 12-15 minutes.
Again, store-bought shells work well too!
When you have everything ready, the last step is to spread the cream cheese into your shells. Then layer everything else inside.
As I like to say, nothing fancy, but totally delicious. And to be honest, better than anything you’d order out. Nothing beats a homemade taco. You can customize them more to your liking, and the spicy cream cheese is a game-changer.
Looking for other toco recipes? Here are a few…
Slow Cooker Braised Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Tacos
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado
Crispy Cauliflower Tinga Tacos with Honey Lime Avocado Crema
Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce
Sheet Pan Chipotle Salmon Tacos
Lastly, if you make these Crispy BBQ Salmon Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa and Jalapeño Cream, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy BBQ Salmon Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa and Jalapeño Cream
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 684 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 (4-6 ounce) salmon or white fish filets, cut into bite-size chunks
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoon tajin or chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt
- 12 hard shell tacos
- shredded lettuce/cabbage, for serving
Jalapeño Cream
- 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeños
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- sea salt
Mango Salsa
- 1 1/2 cups diced mango
- 1 avocado cubed
- 1-2 jalapeños seeded, if desired and chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro roughly, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lime zest, plus 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/3 cup salsa verde
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. 2. On a baking sheet, toss the fish pieces with olive oil, honey, Tajin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of salt. Arrange in a single layer. Roast 10-15 minutes or until the fish is cooked to your liking. During the last minute, switch the oven to broil and broil until lightly charred. Set the fish aside.3. To make the jalapeño cream. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt. 4. To make the salsa. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 5. Spread the cream cheese on the bottom of your shells. Layer in the lettuce, fish, and salsa.
Completely and utterly and fabulously delicious
Thanks so much Jessica:) I love to hear that this dish was enjoyed and I appreciate you making it! xT
These are so delicious!
Thanks so much Dita!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! xT
These tacos are the best damn tacos I’ve ever had. I added extra pickled jalapeños, avocado and mangoes. Don’t skip out on making the hard shell tacos, they were so easy and worth it! The cream cheese was something I was skeptical about (I don’t like cream cheese normally) until I tried it and it was such a game changer!
Lol thanks so much Nicholle! Love to hear that these were such a hit, thanks for making them! xT
My boyfriends favorite recipe. the jalapeño cream cheese is a game changer.
Thank you Kate! xT
Made these yummy fish tacos tonight with some modifications!
-Skipped the jalapeño cream cheese mixture, was honestly just feeling lazy!
-added black beans
-added some tomato and onion to the mango salsa
Turned out so good! Will def be making salmon like this on repeat for bowls and more tacos!! Thank you.
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT