These Pickled Pineapple Baja Fish Tacos are my latest love! Easy to make with homemade pickled pineapple relish, cabbage slaw with avocado cream, and Baja style fried fish all wrapped in a warm gluten free tortilla! So much flavor but also SO simple and healthy to make.
Apparently I am on a seafood kick. Shrimp, Salmon, Fish tacos, oh my!
Real talk. I’m from Texas and don’t really eat many tacos. Gasp! Well not entirely true. I love to eat tacos with a cuban flare or any tacos that involve my crock-pot!
But while we are on the subject of popular food. Here are are a few more confessions. I rarely eat avocado toast or froyo. Basically sins in the food blogging world. I do, however, have a very handsome and patient husband who considers tacos a food group. He also ADORES FROYO and avocado toast. Too funny right? We switched roles. That being said, I like to nurture his needs with his favorite foods! How can I not? The man has put up with me for 10 years! And y’all, I’ve had my crazy cotter moments. Especially these past 3 months while o finished the cookbook. Crazy wife syndrome in FULL EFFECT with mercury retrograde. Whoops!
That’s a story for another day. Today we talk tacos! Not just any tacos! Tacos I actually LOVE TO EAT And almost didn’t share. Almost.
Pickled pineapple fish tacos! Fish tacos with a sweet pickled pineapple relish and Baja flare! Goodness gracious these are a delight!
Why I love them so? Pickled relish! Pineapple! Both uber good for the gut and digestion!
Come on, you knew I was going to sneak that in there somehow, right?
Yep, pickling foods helps preserves nutrients and flavor! Vitamins, such as A, D, E and K, are also kept during the pickling process For preboitc vegetables that are naturally fermented (such as garlic, onion, cabbage, and artichokes), pickling can help retain B Vitamins and good bacteria! And pineapple? What’s not to love?
Fresh Pineapple and pineapple juice contains the enzyme bromelain; an enzyme which actually helps you digest protein and absorb nutrients better. Plus it has some major anti-inflammatory properties! Yep, reducing inflammation in joints and muscles!
But here’s thing, um… we’re not gonna fully “pickle” this pineapple relish. This is the quick version! Kind of like my quick kimchi. Although you can totally pickle it longer if you want. In fact, I ended up letting the extra I had “pickle” a few more days. Ohhh so tangy and great on all things, even chicken!
Now, to make this you must add red cabbage slaw. It will help add crunch and absorb that tang! You can leave it as is or toss in a little avocado cream (crema)sauce. Both ways are delish! Both ways are super quick and easy to make.
So you see, there really are a ton of nutrients in these fish tacos! Here is “highlight reel.”
- Vitamin C – Pineapple and cabbage
- Omegas and healthy fats – Avocado and Cod or Haddock (wild caught white fish)
- Fiber – Purple cabbage and Pineapple
- Lean protein – White fish is super light yet packed with protein!
- Folate – Pineapple and Cabbage
- Potassium – Pineapple
- Vitamin k – Purple Cabbage
Superfood fish tacos if you ask me. ??
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Pickled Pineapple Baja Fish Tacos
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 tacos 1x
Description
These Pickled Pineapple Baja Fish Tacos are easy to make with homemade pickled pineapple relish, cabbage slaw with avocado cream, and Baja style fried fish all wrapped in a warm gluten free tortilla! So much flavor but also SO simple and healthy.
Ingredients
Pickled Pineapple Relish:
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch ground mustard
- Pinch paprika
- Pinch fennel seed
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 cup chopped pineapple or ½ cup pineapple + ½ cup other tropical fruit
- Optional – 2 to 3 Tablespoons red onion or shallot and 1 Tablespoon green onion
Baja Fish:
- 8 ounces cod, tilapia, or haddock
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons avocado oil or butter
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot starch or gluten free flour of choice
- 1 Tablespoon chili sauce or 1 to 2 teaspoons blackened seasoning mix
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Avocado Crema & Slaw
- ½ avocado
- 3 to 4 Tablespoon mayonnaise, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Pinch kosher salt, black pepper and onion powder
- 1 lime, juiced (divided)
- 2 ½ cups chopped red cabbage
Tacos
- 4 gluten free tortillas, corn tortillas or lettuce wraps
- Optional Topping – chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes, sliced spicy pepper, chopped green onion
Instructions
Pickled Pineapple Relish
- In a small sauce pan, whisk together the water, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, ground mustard, paprika, fennel seed and black pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Add in the pineapple chunks and optional red onion, coating evenly.
- Remove from the stove to cool. Once cooled, place in a bowl, cover, and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Add chopped green onion on top before refrigerating, if desired.
- Once it’s marinated, drain part of the excess juice from the bowl (keep a few tablespoons), then place in food processor and pulse a few times to create a relish texture. Set aside.
Baja Fish Tacos
- Clean the fish fillets and dice into small pieces.
- Dredge the fish pieces in oil, chili sauce, then arrowroot starch. Add extra blackened seasoning again before frying, if desired.
- Fry fish in oiled pan on medium-high heat, turning fish while cooking for 5 to 6 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Add a squeeze of fresh lime along with salt and pepper, to taste.
- After cooking the fish, quickly make the slaw with avocado crema.
Avocado Crema
- Blend together ½ an avocado with mayonnaise. Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, splash of lime juice, and mix again. Toss the cabbage in the avocado crema sauce or add it on top of the tacos. If not adding the cabbage to the avocado crema sauce, just salt and pepper the slaw to taste before adding to the tacos.
Assemble Tacos
- Warm tortillas, then layer with cabbage, Baja fish, and pineapple relish on top. Top with optional toppings and serve.
Notes
Serving Tip – This recipe makes 3 to 4 regular size tacos or 6 street size tacos. If doubling the recipe, no need to double the relish, just the fish and slaw. The pineapple relish is also great on chicken or pork!
Storage Tip – Store extra pineapple relish in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Estimated Nutrition for the Pickled Pineapple Relish per 3 Tablespoons: 45-50 calories, 0 gram of fat, 10 carbohydrates, 8 grams of sugar, .5 grams of protein. Nutrition show below is per regular sized taco without relish.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: main dish
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 2.6 g
- Sodium: 176.4 mg
- Fat: 7.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.2 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 13.1 g
- Cholesterol: 24.4 mg
Keywords: baja fish tacos, gluten free, paleo, pineapple relish
We used Siete Almond Flour Tortillas which made them paleo friendly without effort! Funny how that happens.
You can also use lettuce wraps, Gluten Free Tortillas or Corn tortillas!
Oh and other real talk. Um, my photo software crashed and deleted half these photos when I uploaded them …. and couldn’t get them back. So you’re getting all the same pic, basically. LOL! Hey, better than nothing, right? I just had to share the recipe regardless. And proof that I now LOVE tacos, specifically fish tacos!
Have you ever made your own pickled fruit relish? It’s tasty! But then again, how can it not be?
Favorite type of taco?
Baja Tacos for the win! Mainly because I love that sauce and saying Baja is just fun. Although you should probably eat a breath mint before pronouncing the name of this dish.
Cheers!
Yummy … I think this will be really delicious for me. I love fish dishes. Can you tell me, have any readymade Avocado Crema in the market?
And thanks for sharing this type of recipe.
I haven’t. But I’m sure thrive market or amazing carries some! Check out Avocado Sauce by Kumana Food
Hi just made these with a few alterations and they were awesome.. I am gluten and dairy free and cant do cabbage, onions or garlic so got a little creative.. Hubby can eat everything so he had corn while i had gluten free tortillas.. i also kept the cabbage seperate and dry.. same for the avocados.. sliced.. used mahiimahi fish chunked and pan grilled with evoo.. Made twice the amount of crema with non dairy yogurt and tarragn and dill and lemmon..yummm..The pineapple relish was awesome.. a great topping i would never have thought to use.. can see doing this with pulled pork or chicken as well.. going right in my favs recipe book.. tytyty
★★★★★
Oh thank you Sue! Love love love that! The pineapple relish is my fav too
Omg. These were great !
I LOVE tacos in any way, shape, or form!! This pickled pineapple would be my jam for sure!
I love how you and your hubby switched roles on the fro yo and avocado toast. 🙂 I also love your tastes too, because there’s always so much color and nutrition info going on here. These look absolutely delightful. We don’t have fish tacos usually, but we do love tacos.
Cannot wait to try that relish!
I loooooove tacos. LOVE! This pineapple version has totally won me over too. Sounds so delicious! Gorgeous pics, as usual too <3
thanks friend. I’m still waiting on you to deliver dessert. 😉
Oh my gosh, these tacos look amazing!! Great recipe! I love pineapple – but have never had pickled pineapple before. I can’t wait to make this!!
let me know if you do Deborah!!
OH
MY
GOD
This is sorcery
i’m crafty. 😉
I did’t know you were from Texas 🙂 Epic tacos btw!
I would LOVE these! Pineapple + fish is my all time favorite taco combo. Yes, please!
These have got to be the prettiest tacos I’ve ever seen!
OMG that pineapple!! These tacos sound delicious!
it’s soooo good! I am bias a wee bit.
Love these colorful tacos!
That pickled pineapple relish on top sounds AMAZING!
it truly is!
I had the BEST mahi mahi fish tacos at the beach and now all I’m craving is fish tacos. Another huge craving of mine has been pineapple so they literally sound like the perfect way to satisfy all my cravings. I totally can’t wait to try these out! A
xxMeah
ohhh what beach?
these pictures are so bright and amazing and I just KNOW how awesome these tacos are because pickled pineapple is the ISH!
OMG these look so incredible!! I bet that pickled pineapple is soooo good!
It is! I want it on everything!!
This is healthy Taco Tuesday perfection! I cannot wait to make these!! The pineapple relish looks SO good!
Hi there
These look incredible. I am trying to avoid sugar. Will be pickled fruit turn out OK do you think without sugar.
Actually, I think it might be sweet enough with just fruit if you leave in some of the natural juice. I haven’t tried though. I say go for it!!
SO vibrant and beautiful!!! LOVE!
Those look absolutely INCREDIBLE! Fish tacos are one of my favorite things, but I never think to make them at home. I think that needs to change ASAP!
I would deliver to you if i could. Or have you over! It’s SOOO good to hear from you. <3
You’re such a good wife! Vegas actually likes avocado toast. At least she eats it when I make it… I figure it’s better for her than a super buttery slice slathered with jelly. LOL!
I love these tacos! I’m a good SoCal resident – I could eat tacos basically every day of the week. My favorite are scallop or carne asada… but I don’t discriminate.
(P.S. I didn’t even notice the pics; I was just looking at the pretty food.)
You’re a good wifey too. I think we deserve an award or a spa day. right?
Fish tacos are literally my favorite thing in the whole entire world <3
I love fish tacos, but I rarely eat them. I wonder why that is! I also love avo toast, but I rarely eat it as well. Hahaha. Your bright, beautiful photos are nice to look at on this dreary Monday morning!!
I LOVE fish tacos Lindsay, and these sound incredible! And they have to be the prettiest tacos ever too!
I’ve been craving fish tacos like WHOA. These look amazing!
This looks like a healthy alternative to traditional tacos, but I’m not sure what makes these ‘Baja’. Can you explain a bit?
Sure thing! And i just added a new picture with the avocado cream sauce. Baja tacos usually involve a blackened fish or chicken, cabbage slaw, and a cream sauce of some sort. It’s totally different flavors than other mexican tacos. If that makes sense? Really light, fresh, and fruit/lime sweetened.
This is something I could eat every day!