Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Dust the fish fillets evenly on both sides with lemon pepper seasoning and salt.
- Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
- Once the oil is shimmering, carefully place fish fillets in the skillet.
- Cook the fish for 6-8 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is cooked through.
- Remove cooked fish from the skillet and set aside on a cutting board.
- Cut the cooked fish into 3-inch pieces appropriate for taco filling.
- Warm the corn tortillas in a dry skillet or tortilla warmer according to package directions (approximately 30 seconds per side).
- Fill each warm tortilla with pieces of the lemon pepper fish.
- Top each taco with coleslaw mix, sliced green onions, and your favorite hot sauce.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing additional fresh lemon juice over the tacos.
Nutrition
Notes
- Don't crowd the skillet — cook in batches if you're making more than a pound of fish. Crowding drops the pan temp and steams the fish instead of searing it. You want color on the outside, not a poached texture.
- Season both sides fully — lemon pepper is doing all the flavor work here. A light dusting won't cut it. Press the seasoning in so it adheres before the fish hits the oil.
- Wait for the oil to shimmer — the oil needs to be fully hot before the fish goes in. If it doesn't sizzle on contact, pull it back and wait another 30 seconds. A weak sear means the fish will stick.
- Warm the tortillas in the same skillet — after the fish comes out, wipe the skillet and use the residual heat to char the tortillas for 20–30 seconds per side. Better than a dry skillet and better than a microwave.
- Add cumin and garlic powder to the seasoning — a pinch of each deepens the lemon pepper without changing what the dish is. Mix into the seasoning before you coat the fish.
- Make a quick lime crema — mix sour cream with lime juice, garlic powder, and chopped cilantro. Spoon it over the fish before the coleslaw. Adds richness without drowning the lemon pepper flavor.
- Serve these tacos right away. Fish tacos don't hold — set everything up before the fish goes in the skillet so assembly takes 60 seconds.
- Cilantro-lime rice and black beans on the side turn this into a full plate. If you're keeping it tight, skip the rice and add diced avocado to each taco instead — the fat from the avocado does the same work without the carbs.
- For a spread, put out three or four hot sauces and let people build their own. A smoky chipotle sauce next to a bright habanero changes how the lemon pepper reads on each taco.
- Store the cooked fish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Keep tortillas and toppings separate — assembled tacos don't hold.
- Reheat the fish gently. A 300°F oven for 8–10 minutes brings it back without drying it out. A skillet over medium-low heat works too. Avoid the microwave — it steams the fish soft and you'll lose whatever crust you built.
- Tortillas, coleslaw mix, and green onion can all be prepped ahead and stored separately. Assemble fresh every time.