Joy the Baker

Baked Coconut Crusted Fish Tacos

by 20 Comments

Tacos; everyday. 

Because corn tortillas last an astonishingly long time in the refrigerator and taste just as good toasted as they do fried.  

Because eggs go in tortillas. Because, sure kale can go in tortillas. Because, yea toss those lentils in there.  Or that smear of peanut butter, or that quarter of an avocado from the other day, or maybe just a swipe of butter and a sprinkling of salt.  

Whatcha got besides a tortilla?  Fold it up. Call it a taco.  It’ll all be ok.  

Now… when you have a plan and a piece of fish… things start to get much more interesting. 

Coconut-baked.  Topped with fresh avocado, sliced jalapeños, cilantro and salsa.  Lots of fresh lime. 

Crunchy, spicy and admittedly way better than lentils and leftover cheese in a tortilla. 

Here’s where we start.  Fish first.  

Tilapia is a really affordable fish option.  Wild grouper or cod, snapper or mahi mahi are great white fish options.  

I sliced the boneless fish into too-big-for-a-single-bite pieces and drizzled the chunks with olive oil, fresh lime juice, lots of sea salt and black pepper.  This will sit still and chill while the breading comes together. 

In a shallow dish I tossed together unsweetened shredded coconut, panko bread crumbs, lots of ground cumin, ground garlic, chili, salt and pepper.  Earthy, spicy, grounding flavors for our fish. Coated generously.  

Fish pieces meet a greased baking pan.  

I’ll be honest here, greased parchment paper on top of the baking pan in best.  Living and learning. 

The fish is cooked at high heat until cooked through and lightly golden.  The coconut and panko brown happily and smell pretty dang delicious.  

Toasted corn tortillas.  Don’t be scared.  Brown them well.  Pleasepleaseplease don’t leave them raw. That’s a rude taco move. 

Now for the layering.  

What do you feel/ what’s in the fridge? 

Fresh avocados. 

Thinly sliced red onion, fresh jalapeno slices, and loads of spicy salsa.  I used mango salsa because mango + coconut felt like the right thing to do. Cilantro, too! 

If we’re counting, I ate four… very quickly. Layer your tacos with whatever feels fresh, bright and summer satisfying.  The remaining stack of tortillas will last in the fridge for a long long long time and make for deeply delicious breakfast tacos.  

Photos with my dear friend and uber talent Jon Melendez.  

Print

Baked Coconut Crusted Fish Tacos

  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Total Time: 32 minutes

Ingredients

For the Fish

  • 3 tilapia or any white fish filets, but into large bitesize chunks
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • juice of 1 lime
  • sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, crushed finer
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

For the Tacos

  • 12 corn tortillas, toasted on a stovetop
  • 1 ripe avocado, sliced
  • any mango or pineapple salsa you love
  • sliced jalapeno
  • thinly sliced red onion
  • fresh cilantro leaves
  • lime wedges

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Place fish pieces in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with olive oil, lime juice, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
  3. In a separate medium bowl, toss together coconut, bread crumbs, spices, salt and pepper. Add the moistened fish pieces to the bowl to generously coat in the spiced coconut topping. Place the well coated pieces on the prepared baking sheet and continue until all the pieces are coated and placed on the pan.
  4. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes. You shouldn’t have to flip the fish pieces, but take a peek in the oven at about 8 minutes to see if you’d like to flip.
  5. While the fish is baking, toast the tortillas over a gas stovetop. Gather all of your taco toppings.
  6. Remove the fish from the oven once browned and cooked through. To assemble the tacos, pile a few pieces of coconut fish into a toasted tortilla. Top with salsa, avocado, jalapeno, onion and cilantro. Drizzle with lime juice and enjoy!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I would just like to say that “because corn tortillas last an astonishingly long time in the refrigerator” is the truest statement I’ve heard all week. Tacos forever!

    Reply

  2. This looks so good! I need to try a baked recipe like this one. Every time I pan sear fish for tacos, my kitchen stinks for days!!! If you have tips for this, I’m all ears haha

    Reply

  3. These look so good! As always, your photos are BEAUTIFUL….but I have to ask a question that crosses my mind frequently. Do food bloggers have to slice through half a dozen or so avocados to get that “perfect to photograph” one or do they (you) have some sort of sixth sense when standing in the produce section picking them out!??! I get a perfect avocado about one out of every five….!

    Reply

  6. Delicious!! Can’t wait to try them!! How are you storing your corn tortillas in the fridge? Moisture collects in the plastic package every time I leave them in there and I was wondering if you had a better way. Thanks!

    Reply

  7. I love that a stack of tortillas lasts so long in the fridge. Even when they get a bit stale you can fry them and make tostadas!

    Reply

  9. Wow, cannot wait to try out this dish. This looks amazing, especially the fresh avocado! I may have to substitute something for the coconut, as no one in my family is a fan of anything coconut. Looks great though! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  10. I hate to be annoying asking for a substitution, but my husband won’t get anywhere near these if I use coconut. You think it would work if I just left the coconut out and used more panko crumbs? I loooove fish tacos!

    Reply

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