Fish Taco Salad with Spicy Mahi, Chipotle Aioli, and Mango Salsa Recipe
Enjoy all the fresh flavors of a fish taco in this fish taco salad recipe, topped with spicy seared mahi mahi, chipotle aioli and a quick and easy mango salsa! Super easy and perfect for summer!
This fish taco salad recipe is a celebration of the fact that I can finally eat mahi mahi again without getting flashbacks to the time I got food poisoning from it. Years ago when I was working my first job as a clinical dietitian, all of us dietitians at the hospital went out for happy hour together at Gordon Biersch. Being basic dietitians, we all ordered a salad topped with grilled mahi mahi. In our defense, it was a really dope salad, and we probably wanted to get seafood since our boss was paying for it.
The next morning, I work up not feeling too hot, but chalked it up to reaching that age where two beers equals a hangover. Once I got to work, I quickly realized my queasiness was a bit more serious. I barely made it to the front door before I decided, “NOPE. This ain’t happening.” As I made my way back to my car, all of a sudden a major wave of nausea hit and I barfed in the middle of the parking lot.
Once I made it to my car, I called my boss. She picked up the phone and immediately said, “You’re calling out, aren’t you.”
“Ummm, yeah,” I replied, confused. “I think I have food poisoning”
“Yeah I know. I’m sitting in my car debating if I can make it in and I think I saw you throw up in the parking lot.”
Whoops. At least she knew I wasn’t faking it! Anyway, all four of us all felt like death and were really regretting not getting nachos!
I couldn’t eat mahi mahi until a couple months ago when I was in Fort Lauderdale for a friends bachelorette. We got tacos for lunch at Taco Grill, where they’re famous for fish tacos. I had to get it, but only realized after it was served that mahi was the fish of choice. At that point, I was so hungry and it smelled and looked so good that there was no way I was missing out. One bite and I knew my mahi phobia was over.
So yay! Mahi is back on the menu and we’re making this fish taco salad to celebrate! And didn’t that story of me barfing totally get you in the mood to make this for dinner tonight?
How to Make This Fish Taco Salad
Instead of using lettuce, this fish taco salad uses a bag of coleslaw mix as a base. I like to get one that has a mix of red and green cabbage with carrot, as the different colors look really pretty on the plate. The slaw is then topped with a filet of spicy mahi, seasoned with your favorite spice mix and quickly seared in a skillet. It’s drizzled with a chipotle aioli, made by blending canned chipotle chiles in adobo with mayonnaise, or feel free to swap a store bought chili mayonnaise. Finally, the salad is topped with a mango salad, made by tossing diced fresh mango with jalapeno, red onion, bell pepper and lime. The salad is rounded out with diced avocado and plantain croutons or chips.
Fish Taco Salad Ingredient Notes
- Mahi mahi - While I used mahi mahi to make this fish taco salad, feel free to swap any other type of white fish that you enjoy. Cod, halibut, snapper and grouper all work well here.
- Spice mix - To season the mahi for this fish taco salad, I used my favorite Rub With Love Seafood Rub, but feel free to use other seasonings you enjoy. I’ve made this with cajun seasoning, blackening seasoning and jerk spice rub before too.
- Mango - To pick out a ripe mango, squeeze it lightly and make sure it gives just a little bit. Sometimes I’ll look at color, as usually a ripe mango has more red and orange with just a bit of green, but feel is the best indicator. If you can’t find ripe mango, feel free to use frozen mango to make the salsa. Or, you can always use a jarred fruit salsa.
- Canned chipotles - Canned chipotles in adobo is an ingredient I always have on hand for making things like chili, veggie burgers, and sauces. Since you only need one or two at a time, I keep the rest of the can frozen in a glass container and defrost it a bit whenever I need some.
- Plantain croutons/chips - To keep the tropical feel, I used plantain croutons, which I found at Trader Joe’s. They are SO good! Since it can be hard to find, feel free to swap plantain chips.
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Fish Taco Salad with Spicy Mahi and Mango Salsa Recipe
Serves 4
Ingredients
Fish:
4 6-ounce mahi mahi filets (or swap another white fish, like cod, halibut, snapper or grouper)
2 tablespoons spicy seafood rub
1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil
Mango Salsa:
2 large mangos, peeled, pitted and diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, peeled and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Chipotle aioli:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1-2 finely chopped chiles from a can of chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
Salad:
12 ounce bag slaw mix
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
Plantain croutons or lightly crushed plantain chips
Instructions
First, season the fish. Rub the fish filets all over the the seasoning. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
Next, prepare the mango salsa and chipotle aioli. Mix all salsa ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt to taste. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise with chiles and adobo sauce. Set both aside until ready to use.
Before cooking the fish, prepare the salad so you can top it off with the freshly cooked fish before serving. Divide the slaw among 4 plates. Top with avocado and plantain croutons.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish and cook 3-4 minutes per side. Serve fish over the salad. Drizzle with chipotle aioli and serve topped with a big scoop of mango salsa, plus more on the side for serving.
If you like this fish taco salad, you might also like these recipes:
Grilled Peach & Vidalia Onion Salsa
Sheet Pan Chicken and Mango Stir Fry
Barbecue Salmon Tacos
