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A close-up of beer-battered fish tacos topped with pickled red onions, salsa, and a drizzle of crema, served with a slice of lime on a white plate.

Crispy Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

Get ready to upgrade your taco night with these crispy beer-battered fish tacos! With a bright cabbage slaw, warm tortillas, and fish fillets fried in beer batter until perfectly crisp, these will become your new favorite tacos.
5 from 7 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican, Tex-Mex
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Total Time: 31 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 597kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos

  • 16 ounces flaky white fish cut into 2–2.5-ounce strips
  • kosher salt as needed
  • zest of one lime
  • .66 cups cornstarch
  • .66 cups cake flour
  • .25 teaspoons baking powder
  • .5 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • .5 tablespoons paprika
  • 1.25 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup light beer cold
  • 2 cups neutral oil canola, peanut, rice bran, etc.
  • 8 warmed corn tortillas

Cabbage Slaw

  • 1 cup shredded green cabbage
  • 1 cup shredded red cabbage
  • .5 cups pico de gallo
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • kosher salt as needed

Other Toppings

Instructions

  • Make the cabbage slaw. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl, mix well, and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and lime if needed.
  • Pat fish dry on both sides and season with salt and lime zest. Reserve in the fridge.
  • Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl until well-incorporated.
  • Add the beer slowly, stirring with a spoon or chopsticks just until the batter comes together. The batter should be thinner than pancake batter, but thicker than crêpe batter (about the consistency of heavy cream.) It will also have some lumps. Do not over mix.
  • Heat 1 inch of oil and a frying pan to 350°F.
  • Once oil is hot, dip the fish one at a time in the batter and shallow fry in the oil. Fry in small batches to avoid crowding.
  • Fry until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
  • Place on a wire rack to drain.
  • Build the tacos. To one warm tortilla add ⅛ cup cabbage, the fried fish, drizzle with cilantro lime crema, add 2 teaspoons spicy pickled onions and a spoonful of pico de gallo and garnish with a sprig of cilantro, if desired.

Notes

General
  1. Use any white fish you'd like, including halibut, cod, or haddock.
  2. Get your batter to the right consistency. Aim for a thin batter, but not too thin. It should be thinner than pancake batter, but thicker than crêpe batter, which is like the consistency of heavy cream.
  3. Keep the batter cold. If you're making several batches, you can keep it cold by putting the bowl in an ice bath or adding ice cubes to the batter. But you need to use the batter almost immediately. Keeping the batter cold stops gluten from forming, which would make the batter thicker and less crispy.
Storage & Reheating
  1. Fridge: I recommend only cooking as much fish as you intend to eat. If you do have leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days, but the texture will not remain crispy. All other components of the dish should be stored in their own airtight containers in the fridge. 
  2. Freezer: I do not recommend freezing leftovers.
  3. Reheating: To revive some of the texture of the fish, you can place it in an air fryer at 325°F for 4-5 minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition

Calories: 597kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 1721mg | Potassium: 780mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1344IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 2mg