If you love Mexican food recipes, Mexican Fish is perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner! This easy fish recipe is bursting with robust flavors, but quickly comes together in 30 minutes and uses only one pot.
Love Mexican Food? Healthy Mexican Fish Served!
Authentic Mexican food swimming in flavorful sauces and blanketed with warm, bubbling cheese brings me to my knees. I crave indulgent Mexican food often. Possibly too often.
Mexican Fish recipe is how to keep it all in check. Classic mexican flavors are blended with your choice of seafood, such as tilapia, cod, or grouper, to make a quick, healthy Mexican dinner.
Using jarred salsa and canned fire roasted tomatoes builds flavor, but streamlines ingredients and prepwork. This easy fish recipe is made in one pot and takes 30 minutes start to finish.
We serve Mexican Fish over rice and the kids love adding their favorite toppings such as cheese, crushed tortilla chips, and sour cream on top. If you can’t get enough Mexican food, also try recipes like Mexican Tater Tot Casserole and Mexican Stuffed Peppers.
If healthy Mexican food is your thing, give Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas or Slow Cooker Carne Asada a try!
What Type of Fish Can Be Used for Mexican Fish?
Below are different types of seafood that can be used. Keep in mind a thinner filet, such as tilapia, will cook faster than something more dense, such as cod.
- Tilapia
- Cod
- Grouper
- Swai
- Shrimp
- Pollock
- Orange Roughy
- Snapper
Tips for Cooking Fish
The versatility of cooking fish is right up there with chicken. It can take on a variety of flavors and the mild taste makes it the perfect family meal.
Use the pointers below to help you confidently tackle any seafood recipe!
- Most recipes describe fish as being done when it “flakes easily with a fork.” For more reliability use an instant read thermometer to make sure it’s at 145ºF in the thickness part of the filet. Also look for the color inside changing from translucent to opaque.
- Fresh fish isn’t readily available where I live, so I often use frozen fish. Allow 24 hours in the refrigerator to thaw a 1 pound package. If you need to speed up the process, leave fish in vacuumed sealed pouches and run under cool water. Directly rinsing fish will change the texture and add too much moisture.
- Whether I’m baking, frying, or poaching fish, I always pat it dry first to remove excess moisture and prevent it from becoming mushy.
- A general rule of thumb is to cook 10 minutes per inch thickness of fish, flipping halfway through. Add 5 minutes if cooked in foil or in a sauce, such as in this recipe.
How To Make Mexican Fish
- Saute peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil.
- Add salsa, fire roasted tomatoes, and seasonings.
- Stir in black beans and corn.
- Add fish to sauce, pushing down into sauce. Cover and simmer until fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
More Ideas for Making Mexican Fish Recipe
- Generally we serve Mexican Fish over rice, but for a more low carb option spoon fish, peppers, onions, beans, and sauce in corn tortillas.
- Adapt the recipe to personal preference. Substitute hot or mild salsa, use your favorite type of beans, omit the beans, or add other veggies such as zucchini and mushrooms.
- We are all about the toppings when eating Mexican Fish. Serve with lime wedges, fresh cilantro, lettuce, crusted tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream. The kids love making up their own bowls.
- If you are undecided about what to serve with it, find many options in this Fish Taco Side Dishes resource!
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step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
Love seafood? Here are Some Other Great Recipes to Try!
Below are some of my favorite seafood recipes, but if you are looking for side dishes for fish, go to this free resource!
- Oven Fried Fish – Enjoy crispy, crunchy, baked fish without the extra calories
- Creamy Coconut Shrimp – A 15 minute Thai-inspired curry the whole family loves!
- Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia – Prepare quick and easy Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia recipe in less than 15 minutes!
- Blackened Fish Tacos – Gluten-Free Spicy Fish Tacos recipe with honey lime slaw makes an easy, healthy, and affordable dinner fast!
SAVE MEXICAN FISH TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!
Let’s be friends on Pinterest! I’m always sharing great recipes!
Mexican Fish
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 bell pepper, any color, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup salsa, mild, medium, or hot
- 14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 14 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn, frozen or canned
- 1 pound white fish, such as tilapia, flounder, cod, pollock
- 1/2 lime
For serving: cooked rice, tortilla chips, cheese (queso fresco or cheddar), cilantro, sour cream, and additional lime wedges
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add peppers, onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds more.
- Reduce heat to medium low, add salsa, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add beans and corn, stir, and bring back to a simmer.
- Add fish, pushing down slightly so it sits mostly in the sauce. Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Cooking time will depend on thickness of fish. For more reliability use an instant read thermometer to make sure it’s at 145ºF in the thickness part of the filet. Also look for color inside changing from translucent to opaque. TIP: If the sauce needs to thicken slightly, remove fish, cover loosely with foil, and simmer sauce UNCOVERED 5 minutes or until it’s reduced and thickened.
- Squeeze lime juice over fish. Serve over rice. Top fish with tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, sour cream, and additional lime wedges.
❉❉DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?? DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE FEEDBACK AND/OR CLICK A STAR RATING ON THE RECIPE CARD❉
Recipe Notes
- Generally we serve Mexican Fish over rice, but for a more low carb option spoon fish, peppers, onions, beans, and sauce in corn tortillas.
- Adapt the recipe to personal preference. Substitute hot or mild salsa, use your favorite type of beans, omit the beans, or add other veggies such as zucchini and mushrooms.
- We are all about the toppings when eating Mexican Fish. Serve with lime wedges, fresh cilantro, lettuce, crusted tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream.
- Most recipes describe fish as being done when it “flakes easily with a fork.” For more reliability use an instant read thermometer to make sure it’s at 145ºF in the thickness part of the filet. Also look for the color inside changing from translucent to opaque.
- Fresh fish isn’t readily available where I live, so I often use frozen fish. Allow 24 hours in the refrigerator to thaw a 1 pound package. If you need to speed up the process, leave fish in vacuumed sealed pouches and run under cool water. Directly rinsing fish will change the texture and add too much moisture.
- Whether I’m baking, frying, or poaching fish, I always pat it dry first to remove excess moisture and prevent it from becoming mushy.
- A general rule of thumb is to cook 10 minutes per inch thickness of fish, flipping halfway through. Add 5 minutes if cooked in foil or in a sauce, such as in this recipe.
Nutrition
❊SHOP THE RECIPE❊
Items used to make this recipe:
Rice Cooker Stainless Steel Skillet Santoku Knife
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Mickey McBratney says
Outstanding receipe. I have used it as main dish, or all of the ingredients in tacos with a whole array of side additions.
Melissa Erdelac says
Thank you, Mickey! I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
Chef&co says
This recipe was much better and easier than I anticipated, to be honest, my 4 year old loves to help and he was able to assist in a few ways, which was great! It was a big hit for our family, we had it more as nachos since I didn’t have tortillas but it worked out great! We also had a bit to much talipia out but ended up just air frying the last couple pieces with the same seasons so we could stir them in after, it worked great! Thanks for the tasty, quick meal that everyone(even me) a person who typically doesn’t eat fish unless fried or cover with a good amount of some kind of sauce, salsa or something to basically cover the taste! LOL!
Melissa Erdelac says
It’s always good to hear when your kids enjoy the meal as much as you! Thank you so much for writing and the great ideas!
Best,
Melissa
Diane says
Great recipe. Everyone loved it. Will be filing it with my collection. Thanks!
Melissa says
Thanks, Diane! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Best,
Melissa
Dan says
This base is so simple and so tasty, it works with any protein. We had it as tacos, while that was a bit liquid, it really did work well. We used Alaskan cod and it turned out beautifully.
Well done and many thanks for sharing!
Melissa says
Hi Dan,
That’s a great idea! I love fish tacos, but so many recipes use battered fish. This would be a great alternative. Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Melissa
Mari Carmen says
Cooked this last night…. WONDERFUL and simple to make! We all enjoyed it and agreed that it could easily be made with chicken, tofu, or as suggested other white fish. It was flavorful. I looked at all the suggested proportions, but sincerely added loosely as much as we wanted — so, this dish is very flexible! I added more garlic (we love garlic), I added more beans, I did not have ‘fire roasted tomatoes’ so used regular can of tomatoes (plus salsa) and added a bit of hot paprika… the cilantro and lemon as topping was a hit! Make it as spicy as you like! THANKS for adding a wonderful dish to my repertoire. HAPPY holidays all! Dec. 2020
Melissa says
Hi Mari,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write and let me know how much you enjoyed this recipe. I’m so glad it was such a hit and all those additions sound absolutely amazing! Merry Christmas to you!
Best,
Melissa
SAFIYYAH A says
So much flavour and was easy to make! My parents enjoyed it too. Served it with tortilla chips crumbled on top for some crunch, cheddar cheese, sour cream and guacamole. So much yum. Will make this again for sure. May even try it as a way to use up leftover chicken. Thanks for sharing!
Melissa says
Hello Safiyyah!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish, and yes, I agree, using leftover chicken would be a great idea. Thank you so much for taking a moment to write!
Best,
Melissa
Angelica says
Yummy! And 9 year old approved!
Melissa says
That’s the best compliment ever! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, Angelica. You’re the best!
Melissa
Stefani says
Excellent recipe! Amazing flavors and super simple to make. Doesn’t look the most appealing haha but the taste makes up for that! I served it with tortilla chips, salsa, and guac!
Melissa says
LOL, well at least it tastes good! I love how you can load up all the toppings on this dish so people customize it however they like. I find that when my kids can crush up tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream on anything they devour it!
Best,
Melissa
Dan says
Always wanted to make fish tacos, but couldn’t cause wife thinks Mexican is beef and cheese period. No exceptions. Made this and she loved it. Wants it again. Followed recipe exactly. Next time might add more Vegas, (broccoli?) but will leave the basic recipe unchanged. Thank you!!
Melissa says
Hi Dan,
This is a big win in my book. My kids love this dish too. I like how it’s easily adaptable to adding different veggies or spice based on your preference. Thank you for taking the time to let me know how much you and your wife enjoyed it. That means a lot!
Best,
Melissa
Anonymous says
This was awesome!
Melissa says
Thank you! It’s so quick to throw together too. I’m glad you enjoyed it.🤗