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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.
Delicious recipe! Next time we make this, I’d add more spice to the salmon.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Rachel,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for your comment and making this recipe. So glad it hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this last night and the entire family (even my not-salmon-loving son) enjoyed it. The jalapeno cream cheese was the star of the show – my husband ate almost all of it before the salmon even came out of the oven!
Hey Josette,
Happy Monday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback!! Have the best week:) xx
My new favorite recipe!! A couple of things I slightly modified: I added queso fresco on top which was amazing. I bought store bought crunchy taco shells to save a little time, and I also baked the salmon whole and then just cut it into chunks with a fork once it was baked. This was such an easy recipe for being so delicious and healthy!
Hey Julianne,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try and your comment, love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Outstanding recipe!
Hi Mary,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed. Have the best weekend! ?xxT
This is a great recipe but for some reason I can’t save it to my recipe box. I have signed in multiple times, but when I go to save the recipe it doesn’t give me the option of which collection to put it in. Help! Thanks so much. I love your food!
Hi there,
So sorry you are having issues! Can you send an email to contact@halfbakedharvest.com so someone from my team can help you? xT
We made this the other night and they were delicious! The only thing I changed was subbing the cream cheese for sour cream – yum 🙂
One thing I struggled with was getting crispy taco shells. I used store-bought flour tortillas and tried to do this on the BBQ. Tieghan, do you think I’d have better results if I used corn instead? I used the BBQ because it was too hot to turn on the oven. Let me know what you think!
Your food is incredible – thank you as always 🙂
Hey Megan,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! Yes, corn tortillas would have a much better crisp for you! Let me know if you give them a try:) xT
These were excellent!
Hi Raquel,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! Thanks for making it and sharing your feedback:) xx
I made these last night for dinner used jumbo shrimp instead of salmon only because I didn’t have fresh salmon on hand. Omg these were so delicious!! My husband loved them and said definitely have to make them again!!
He loves hot sauce and said it had a great bite to it no need to add anything!! It’s a keeper and I will try with salmon next time! Thank you!
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
I made these GF/DF and completely stuck to the recipe. There is nothing “half baked” about this deliciousness! I’m very picky when it comes to fish tacos. This recipe was hands down the best one I’ve had. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Valli,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
So incredibly flavorful and so incredibly easy! My husband is a hot sauce lover and he put none on these because even he said they were so packed with flavor they didn’t need it. (Huge win in my house!)
This is on my make again list for sure!
Hey Kristen,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
OMG!! Made this tonight and it was amazing!! I made the taco shells too!! Never ever will I buy the shells already done!! I am thinking this would make the best tortilla chips too!! Going to make some of those tomorrow!! Served with a fabulous Mexico Street Corn Salad!! Thank you for having the best recipes!! ❤️❤️❤️
Hey Sheila,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious! My husband and I loveeed these and were glad we made enough mango salsa to save some for later. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Hey Angela,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Ahh! My daughter made these for Memorial Day. I avoid fish and I hesitated on the mango salsa and what I really wanted (or so I thought) was a traditional taco, but let me tell you these tacos were awesome. I ended up eating ONLY these -no Italians, hot dogs or cheddarwursts! The cream cheese mixture and the salsa was the absolute best. I ate the leftover salsa for breakfast the next morning! Ah… Heaven.
Hey Linda,
Thanks so much for your comment! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Wow. This is such a flavorful and colorful recipe! Light but filling, so it’s perfect for summer. The jalapeño cream and mango salsa compliments the salmon perfectly!!
Hi Alyssa,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
This recipe was THE BOMB! I’m currently enjoying my tacos as I type. Thank you so much for sharing your kitchen creations they are thoroughly enjoyed.
Hey Chassidy,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT