Blackened Mahi Mahi Tacos With Mango Slaw and Creamy Cilantro Sauce

These tacos were inspired by a blackened fish taco recipe I came across from Kingsford. I headed to the grocery store planning to make it pretty close to the original, but between no cod, underripe avocados and discovering I was out of garlic, my version took a few detours.

I used what I could from the mango, skipped the avocado, grabbed the roasted garlic aioli from the refrigerator and made a creamy cilantro sauce with Greek yogurt, lime and serrano pepper.

The result?

10/10.

So rather than going back and making the tacos the way I originally intended, I’m writing down the version we actually ate.

What Makes These Fish Tacos So Good

There are three parts that really work together:

• Spicy, heavily seasoned mahi mahi
• Cool, creamy mango slaw with a little serrano heat
• Bright cilantro-lime sauce

The mahi mahi is baked rather than grilled, which also makes these surprisingly easy to make indoors.

I served ours with a cold glass of my Pineapple Pop juice, and the sweet pineapple was especially good with the spicy blackened fish.

Ingredients

For the Blackened Mahi Mahi

• Mahi mahi fillets
• Blackened seasoning
• Olive oil or avocado oil
• Flour tortillas
• Fresh lime for serving

For the Mango Slaw

• Bagged coleslaw mix
• Fresh mango, diced
• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Serrano pepper, finely diced
• Mayonnaise
• Fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Using bagged coleslaw mix was partly a shortcut and partly because I didn’t need two mostly-full heads of cabbage living in my refrigerator after taco night.

For the Creamy Cilantro Sauce

• Plain Greek yogurt
• Roasted garlic aioli
• Fresh cilantro
• Serrano pepper
• Fresh lime juice
• Water, as needed to thin
• Salt and pepper to taste

This sauce was originally supposed to contain avocado and fresh garlic.

It contains neither.

My avocado wasn’t ripe and I had apparently used all the garlic without telling my future taco-making self. Roasted garlic aioli came to the rescue, and I liked the finished sauce so much that I’m keeping it this way.

How to Make Blackened Mahi Mahi in the Oven

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Pat the mahi mahi dry and lightly coat it with oil. Season it generously with blackened seasoning. This isn’t the time for a timid sprinkle. You want a good coating over the top of the fish.

Place the mahi mahi on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for approximately 12–15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets. Fish should reach an internal temperature of 145°F and flake easily when it’s finished.

If you’d like a little more color on top, broil it briefly at the end, watching it closely.

Let the fish rest for a couple of minutes, then break it into large pieces for the tacos.

Assemble the Tacos

Warm the flour tortillas.

Add a generous spoonful of mango slaw, followed by pieces of blackened mahi mahi.

Drizzle the creamy cilantro sauce over the fish and finish with an extra squeeze of lime.

That’s it.

You get smoky and spicy mahi mahi, creamy crunchy slaw, little bites of mango and that cool cilantro sauce all in one taco.

What I’d Serve With Them

For us, it was Pineapple Pop juice.

The pineapple is sweet and tart enough to balance the spicy blackened seasoning and serrano peppers, and it turned out to be a really good pairing.

You could also serve these with rice, black beans, grilled corn or tortilla chips if you want to turn taco night into a bigger meal.

A Few Things I Learned Making These

You don’t need cod for great fish tacos.
Mahi mahi worked beautifully and was sturdy enough to hold together when I broke it into taco-sized pieces.

An underripe mango isn’t necessarily a disaster.
For slaw, a slightly firmer mango can actually be useful because it doesn’t disappear into the dressing.

Roasted garlic aioli is a very respectable emergency ingredient.
I used it because I didn’t have fresh garlic. Now it’s staying in the recipe.

Sometimes it’s worth abandoning the original plan.
I started out trying to make somebody else’s fish tacos. Somewhere between unavailable cod, underripe produce and missing garlic, I ended up making our version instead.

Considering we gave them a 10/10, I’m calling that a successful detour.