Vegan Fish Tacos

Name: Vegan Fish Tacos
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 1 (14 ounce) package firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed; 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 teaspoons nori powder (optional, for a ‘fishy’ taste); 1/2 cup flour; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 2/3 cup water; 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/3 cup vegan mayo of choice; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 4-5 cups finely shredded cabbage

By Alexandra Caspero on May 18, 2020

A plant-based answer to fried fish tacos.

Makes 8 tacos

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Vegan Fish Tacos! If you’re looking for a new vegan taco recipe, this is it. Crispy tofu, creamy slaw and a lime dressing. A must-make!

Vegan fish tacos! Maybe if we start cooking all the warm weather recipes, summer will come? Consider this my version of the summer rain dance; if we build it, the sunshine will arrive.

It’s been a weird spring to say the very, very least. I swear that the weather has been make or break for us some days. When it’s sunny and warm, my resolve gets a lot stronger and I’m fairly confident I can do this for months more. When it’s rainy and cold, I feel like a caged animal just waiting to break free.

BL and I say almost daily that we’re very fortunate this social distancing is happening during the spring/early summer. It would be much harder with shorter, darker days during a St. Louis winter.

So– I’m cooking like it’s summer! The moment the sun peaks out of the clouds, I take my little crew outside. We play with V’s water table, take endless walks and soak up as much fresh air and vitamin D as possible. That also means lots and lots of dinners outside, or picnic meals as Vander likes to call them. Like these vegan fish tacos!

I channeled the beach when making these. As I’m fairly certain our annual pilgrimage to the east coast to see my family isn’t happening this summer, I wanted to feel like I was on vacation. Crispy vegan fish tacos to the rescue!

These tacos were inspired by a recipe I put into my upcoming Plant-Based Juniors’ cookbook. We made a version of vegan fish sticks and I knew they would be the perfect thing to tuck into pillowy flour tortillas and top with lots of creamy, bright slaw.

I ate two of these vegan fish tacos while photographing, and another as I was cleaning up the kitchen. So addictive and the perfect thing to welcome in summer.

As my toddler hates anything that looks like a salad, I usually serve these as a deconstructed version for him: crispy fish sticks and torn tortilla with a small dollop of slaw for exposure. For BL and I, we go to town: lots of fish sticks, a ton of slaw, sriracha drizzle and even some avocado slices when I have them.

These vegan fish tacos are amazing served with avocado salad and my blackberry margaritas.

If you’re looking for a new vegan taco recipe, then you’ve got to try these! I already know they will be a staple in my kitchen this year.

How to Make Vegan Fish Tacos

The key to these vegan tacos is to make the tofu as crispy as possible. For that, I use a triple dip: first in lemon juice and nori powder, then into a thick batter and finally into panko breadcrumbs.

The lemon juice mixture contains nori powder or finely chopped nori sheets which gives these tofu sticks a more fishy flavor. Of course, if you don’t have that, then you can omit it. They won’t taste exactly like fish sticks, but it really doesn’t matter. These sticks are amazing without them!

From there, you’ll create a batter with flour, cornstarch and water. The added starch makes the batter even more crispy as you bake these, so I don’t recommend omitting unless you have to. You can also use arrowroot starch, if desired.

Whenever I want extra crispy foods coming out of my oven, I use this technique: place the food on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. This allows air to go around the entire tofu fish stick so one side doesn’t get soggier than the other. You don’t have to do this, but if you’ve got a cooling rack that fits your baking sheet, I highly recommend doing this. You can see the set-up in the photo below.

If you make these vegan fish tacos, make sure to come back to comment and rate the recipe. Seeing you make my recipes makes my day! Additionally, if you want other vegan taco recipes, I think you’ll love my vegan lentil tacos, chipotle sofrito tacos, and spicy mushroom and fried avocado tacos.

Meet Alex Caspero

Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.