Crispy Vegan Fish Tacos (Easy Baja Style Recipe)
Your Taco Tuesday just got a scrumptious makeover. Say adios to ordinary vegan tacos and hello to crispy vegan fish tacos! Made with battered and fried crispy tofu strips, served on warm corn tortillas and topped with pico de gallo, creamy and spicy chipotle mayo, and crunchy Mexican coleslaw.
You don’t want to miss this vegan Baja fish tacos recipe.
What Are Baja-Style Tacos?
Baja-style tacos hail from the Baja California region of Mexico, where fresh seafood is king. These tacos are known for their signature beer-battered fish, which is fried to crispy perfection, then loaded into warm corn tortillas and topped with shredded cabbage, creamy mayo, fresh salsa, and a squeeze of lime. The combination of crunch, creaminess, and zest is what makes them absolutely irresistible.
Before going on a plant-based diet these were my absolute favorite tacos only after tacos al pastor. There’s just something so scrumptious about the flaky texture of the fish paired with the crispy beer batter and creamy mayo, and fresh flavors of the salsa and red cabbage.
Amazing Vegan Fish Tacos
So we, of course, we won’t be using fish because we’ll be making delicious vegan fish tacos but in the same Baja style.
The condiments are the same, we’ll just be swapping out the fish for a plant-based alternative. More details on this in the “Ingredients” section.
Amigos, these easy to make, budget friendly, tacos are a great addition to your taco recipes for any taco night of the week or for special occasions.
They are the ultimate plant-based taco experience and specially if you want to impress some dinner guests – even meat eaters will devour these tacos.
Why You’ll Love These Vegan Fish Tacos
• They taste so close to the real thing that your whole family will love them.
• They’ll become one of your favorite dishes for special occasions and celebrations or ordinary Taco Tuesday.
• The ingredients are all accessible and are relatively budget friendly.
• You can make the fillets to serve as tacos or even make a vegan fish tacos bowl.
Ingredients
“Fish”: For vegan fish I choose pressed firm tofu and it works perfectly every time. Check out the ingredient alternatives below for other options, there’s something for everyone.
Nori Sheets: This is what I love to use in all of my recipes that I’m looking to give that fishy flavor. If you don’t have the sheets you can use nori flakes or even kelp granules to achieve the same taste.
Salt and Pepper: To season the fishless filets.
Oil: For frying, please use your favorite cooking oil.
Batter: The traditional batter for Baja-style tacos is made with flour, beer, baking powder, and spices. We will be using the same basic recipe except swapping out the beer for sparkling water. Here’s what you’ll need need to make the batter for this recipe:
All purpose flour
Corn starch
Baking Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Topo Chico sparkling water
To Serve: You will need corn tortillas, plain vegan mayonnaise or my vegan chipotle mayo, avocado slices, fresh tomato salsa, either shredded purple cabbage or Mexican coleslaw, and fresh lime juice.
Ingredient Alternatives
The ingredients I listed above are what I’ve always used for my tofu vegan fish tacos, but below are some alternatives that you could use in a pinch.
If you don’t like tofu you can make it super easy on yourself and use the Gardein F’sh Fillets that come already battered, so you’d just need to heat the fillets and assemble the tacos.
Other swaps I’ve seen for the tofu, but haven’t tried myself, are cauliflower, eggplant, hearts of palm, banana blossoms, and even artichoke hearts.
You can use your favorite light beer instead of the sparkling water, if you’d like. Instead of the corn starch you can use chickpea flour if you’d like but you may need to add a little more liquid to the batter.
Corn tortillas work best for these tacos but if you prefer you can use flour tortillas, just make sure to assemble each taco right before you eat it so the tortilla holds up better.
If you’d like you can make the vegan fish taco sauce by mixing half vegan mayo with half vegan crema or vegan sour cream instead.
Traditionally fresh pico de gallo salsa is used but if you prefer you can swap it out for your favorite spicy salsa.
I love my fish tacos with my Mexican coleslaw that I make with red and green cabbage, carrots, jalapeno, green onion, fresh cilantro, and the dressing is made with vegan mayo and vegan sour cream. It’s creamy and crisp and the perfect condiment on vegan fish tacos.
If you don’t have any red cabbage or slaw then you can simply use some salad cut red onion.
Instructions
This recipe comes together rather quickly, so make sure that you have the condiments ready to go before preparing these perfect vegan fish tacos.
Step 1: Make the Tofu Fillets
Drain the tofu and press it for 15-20 minutes. Then slice into even-sized tofu fillets. Season both sides of the fillets with salt and ground black pepper, if you’re using nori flakes or kelp granules you can sprinkle it over the fillets.
Then cut the nori sheets into pieces that are the same size as the fillets. Dab a little water on on side of the tofu then press the nori sheet into it. Set aside.
Step 2: Heat The Oil
Pour the oil into a medium-sized frying pan and allow to heat over medium heat while you make the batter. Line a large plate with paper towels and set it aside.
Step 3: Make The Batter
In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and all of the spices until well combined. Gradually start pouring in the sparkling water and mixing until you have a thick pancake style batter.
Step 4: Dip and Fry
Check that the oil is hot enough by dunking a wooden spoon into it. If it’s hot enough bubbles will appear on the edge of the spoon.
Next, dip one tofu fillet into the batter making sure that it’s evenly coated on all sides. Then carefully place it into the hot oil. Repeat until you have several tofu fillets in the hot oil but without overcrowding. Fry for about 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown then flip over and fry another 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown on both sides.
Step 5: Drain Excess Oil
Place the crispy fried vegan fish fillets on the paper towel lined plate to allow the excess oil to drain off. Continue until all of the fillets have been fried.
Step 6: Serve
Serve on warm tortillas, I do one tofu strip per tortilla, then drizzle with the chipotle mayo, and top with avocado slices, and either pico de gallo or Mexican coleslaw. Serve right away.
Taste
These are the best vegan fish tacos you’ll eat! Seriously.
These wholesome vegan fish tacos are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, they have the slight seafood flavor from the nori sheets, the creaminess from the chipotle mayo, and the fresh pop of flavor from salsa and coleslaw.
They are truly a heavenly taco in every bite.
How to Serve
Traditionally these tacos are serve with the condiments and that’s it, no other side dishes. However if you’d like a side you can do some Mexican white rice and add some veggies to it when cooking. You can serve some guacamole and chips as an appetizer. For a spicier touch you can drizzle with your favorite hot sauce. For dessert something light like a carlota de limon or fresas con crema would be great.
As for drinks any flavor agua fresca would go well, I particularly like watermelon agua fresca or cucumber agua fresca. If you want an adult drink you could do a chela beer cocktail or a mango margarita.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover tofu fish fillets in an airtight container for up to 4 days before they’ll start to go soggy. I do not recommend freezing.
Never store assembled tacos because the tortilla will fall apart, instead store everything separately.
To reheat you can place in the air fryer basket at a temperature of 375F heat for 3 minutes then flip over and heat another 2 to 3 minutes or until warmed through. Keep an eye so they don’t burn.
You can also microwave for a couple minutes but the thick batter may become soggy.
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
More Vegan Taco Recipes to Try
- Air Fryer Shredded Tofu Flautas
- Vegan Birria Tacos
- Crispy Potato Tacos
- Cochinita Pibil Tacos
- Vegan Steak Tacos
Vegan Fish Tacos Recipe
Ok amigos, below is the recipe card and the guided video but as always feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.
I hope you enjoy these tacos as much as I do, and if this is your first time make a battered tofu taco then you’re in for a real treat!
Easy and Crispy Vegan Fish Tacos
Ingredients
- 12 oz extra firm tofu drained and pressed*
- 1-2 nori sheets
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Batter Mixture
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ Tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ Tablespoon onion powder
- large pinch salt
- large pinch ground black pepper
- 1 ¼ cups sparkling water or less depending on consistency
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
- 10-12 corn tortillas
Instructions
- Drain and press the tofu for 15 minutes. Next slice into even-sized pieces. Mix the salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powder then sprinkle it over both sides of the tofu slices.
- Cut the nori sheets into pieces that are the same length as the tofu slices. Press one piece of nori onto each tofu slice side.
- Heat the oil in a medium to large frying pan.
- In a medium sized bowl combine all of the ingredients from the batter mixture list, except the sparkling water and the vegetable oil. Mix until well combined then gradually mix in the sparkling water until you have a thick batter slightly thicker than pancake batter.
- Once the oil is hot enough** dip one prepared tofu slice into the batter then carefully place it into the hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes then flip over and fry another 4 minutes. Fry until both sides are golden brown and crispy.
- Place the fried tofu “fish” on a paper towel lined plate and repeat until all of the tofu slices are fried – make sure not to crowd the pan.
- Serve one fried tofu “fish” on a warm corn tortilla and top with Mexican coleslaw, chipotle or regular mayo, and fresh pico de gallo salsa. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes & Pro Tips
Nutrition
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Nancy Lopez is a Mexican-born food writer and author of Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Raised in the U.S. and now living in Southern Mexico, she creates authentic vegan and vegetarian Mexican recipes rooted in tradition and tested for real home kitchens.Read more…
