Next Post
Crumbled Feta and Tomato Basil Vinaigrette Dip.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
Absolutely delicious! And worth the extra effort to make your own hard taco shells – a very special recipe.
Love to hear that!! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! xT
Love it ! So good, we had fun with my son an enjoy it until the end.
Hi Cynthia,
So glad to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great Saturday! xT
Phenomenally delicious!!! I have never left a comment on any recipes I’ve ever made, even the ones I love, but these deserve a positive review! New family favorite! Thank you!
Hi Cassie,
Happy Monday!!☀️🌊 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xT
These were amazing…The jalapeno cream cheese is a must! I pickled my own jalpeno earlier in the day to use with the cream cheese and in the mango salsa. Using some frozen wild caught salmon filets from Costco made pulling out enough salmon for two, skining them while frozen then thawing a proceeding a breeze. I can even see this as a dip…the jalapeño cream cheese as the first layer, shredded cooked salmon next with the salsa on top and served with corn tortilla chips.
Hey Laura,
Happy Friday!!🍉🥭 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! xT
These taco shells blew my mind! I never buy corn tortillas because they all just fall apart on you when they are kept soft, and I can’t stand the store-bought hard shell ones. These were so good and will change taco night from now on!
Hi Genevieve,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xx
In the blog post you mention roasting the jalapeños with the salmon but the recipe doesn’t include that step and says to use pickled jalapeños. I’d prefer to use regular jalapeños instead of pickled so what would be the instructions for that?
Hey Christy,
You can just pop them on the sheet pan with the salmon and roast them:) Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I’m curious also about Christy’s question, recipe says to use the roasted jalapenos in the cream cheese mixture but the instructions say to use the pickled. What are we doing with the roasted jalapenos? (Reposted Christy’s question below):
In the blog post you mention roasting the jalapeños with the salmon but the recipe doesn’t include that step and says to use pickled jalapeños. I’d prefer to use regular jalapeños instead of pickled so what would be the instructions for that?
I made these last night and making your own shells really made a difference! I also cooked salmon and haddock (separately) for two options and enjoyed both. *For me* I didn’t love the thick cream cheese at the bottom, but next time might thin it out with juice from the jalapeño jar or use sour cream instead. A great fish taco recipe!
Hey Eliza,
Amazing!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Delicious! Perfect taco for summer. I did not have any jalapenos, so I added a little chipotle to the cream cheese. My husband even commented the next day how good they were. Will be making again soon! Thanks
Hi Carrie,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xx
Do you peel the skin off the fish after cooking?
Hi Patrice,
It’s really up to you! You can have your butcher remove the skin when you purchase the salmon, you could remove it after cooking, some people also prefer to eat the skin. I hope this helps! xT
This was delicious! The best salmon tacos I’ve had. My daughter, who only likes salmon one way really liked this this recipr and asked me to put it on our weekly roster !! So it’s a win!
P.s I added a tablespoon of cilantro pesto to the cream sauce and the mango salsa.
Hi Norma,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try!🥑🥝 xT
Just made the Crispy BBQ Salmon Salmon Tacos with Mango Salsa and Jalapeno Cream. Loved the flavour combination! Made the taco shells but with flour tortillas as they didn’t have any corn in stock. Held together nicely and was as easy as you said. I will be making this again. Thank you!
Hey Debbie,
Happy Wednesday!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was delish! xT
You talk way too fast!
Delicious!! The flavors all came together great- I really loved the mango salsa. I was too lazy to bake the shells, these make great soft tacos too!
Hey Cailyn,
Fantastic!! 🌴🍌 I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Usually we don’t do salmon tacos (usually white fish), but we made these for our weekend taco night and they were a hit! The jalapeño cream gave it a little heat and we loved it.
We will definitely be making these again.
Hey Meag,
Happy Sunday!! 🍉🍓🫐 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
Super yummy! I totally forgot the broiling step, but they were still fantastic.
Hey Djienne,
Happy Wednesday!❄️ I appreciate you making this recipe and I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT