These Rubio’s knock-off beer battered fish tacos are tender and crunchy and worth every speck of oil! The pickled onions! The coleslaw! The crispy fish! Originally published July 22, 2014.
Beer battered Baja fish tacos
So have you guys been to Rubio’s? They’re known for their fish tacos, and with good reason. I’ve only been once (thanks Natalie!) but I can attest: those tacos are legit. I was reading a magazine a while back and saw a fish taco recipe that claimed to be like the ones at Rubio’s. Homemade beer-battered fish tacos became my new life mission.
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“We made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe to the T!” – Kirsten
By the way, I totally don’t drink beer. I bought a 24 oz can of Tecate for this recipe and dumped the rest down the drain. Crazy, I know. (Except not really for me. I thought it smelled like barf.) I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and don’t drink. I do cook with alcohol though, when I can’t find a decent substitution. Beer is cheap so I went for it this time. Plus, what would you sub for beer in beer-battered tacos? I don’t even know.
I still felt pretty awkward buying it though. I’m this blonde 20-something getting my thousand pounds of produce, whole milk, flour, and a giant can of beer. Do you remember your first time buying alcohol? I held back from saying anything to the cashier, but I was so ready to talk about how this was my first time. Besides cooking wine. Do you want to see my ID? Because I totally have it.
I almost stopped this lady in the beer aisle to ask her what to get, but thought I might freak her out. “Hi, I’m really sheltered and don’t know anything about alcohol, can you pick out my beer please? It’s only for tacos I swear.” Yeah, no.
Speaking of alcohol, I bet most of you would be surprised at how little peer pressure I’ve had to deal with over the years. It’s actually kind of refreshing. Even in high school. I bet I’ve been offered alcohol less than 5 times in my life. And once people find out I’m a member of the church they back off and are totally respectful. Go humans.
So these are probably some of the best homemade tacos I’ve ever had. The pickled onions! The coleslaw! The crispy fish! It’s pretty much the best crunchy combination ever.
What you need to make beer battered Baja fish tacos
Here’s a quick list of everything you need to make these tacos. Jump to the recipe card for complete details!
For the fish:
- Flour
- Cornstarch
- Chili powder
- Baking powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Eggs
- Beer (Corona, Tecate or another lighter beer)
- Canola oil (for frying)
- Tilapia fillets
- Corn tortillas
- Avocado and lime (to garnish)
For the coleslaw and pickled onions:
- Sour cream
- Cabbage (or grab coleslaw mix!)
- Jalapeños
- Cilantro
- Limes
- Red onion
- Kosher salt and pepper
How to make Baja fish tacos
- Make those pickled onions. This is super fast, just slice your onions and mix them up with some lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Make your slaw. I like adding lime juice, jalapeños, and cilantro, regular coleslaw just isn’t gonna cut it for me.
- Make your flour mixture and beer batter. Now you’re preparing for battle. Set out your flour mixture, your beer batter, and then your oil heating up on the stove in a row, with the fish on the other side of the flour. It’s like the world’s best production line in a factory…a factory that makes hot and crispy fish tacos just for you!
- Fry your fish. Remove children and pets from the kitchen. Put on an apron. Make sure that your oil is hot enough! If it’s not all the way up to 350 degrees, you’ll end up with soggy fish. Once it’s hot enough that a drop of water sizzles when you carefully plop it in, carefully dip fish one piece at a time in flour, then batter, then lay it gently in the oil. Make sure not to crowd them, or they’ll stick together!
- Assemble your tacos. These are best fresh, so once your fish is fried, you’re ready for fine dining (fish tacos is my ideas of fine dining, yours too right??). Warm your tortillas, add fish, slaw, and pickled onions, and die happy.
What to serve with Baja fish tacos
If you’re making a whole meal of it, here are more of my favorite Mexican-inspired recipes that could round out the meal.
- Virgin Pina Coladas >> you’ll immediately be transported somewhere warm and sunny when you have a sip of this next right after a bite of taco, HEAVEN
- Chile Rellenos Casserole >> is it a meal, a side dish, the best breakfast ever? Yes.
- Mexican Street Corn Dip >> I don’t even need chips for this, just a spoon and my open mouth
- Mexican Cucumber Salad with Cilantro and Lime >> so refreshing and cool, especially nice on a hot summer day
- Traditional Tejano Pinto Beans >> I would eat these for my last meal, no question
- Best Tres Leches Cake >> soaking cake in milk sounds weird until you’ve had a bite of this stuff, I promise you’ll be hooked! So creamy and dreamy
Storing and reheating fish tacos
These are obviously best served right away, but if you have leftovers, store each element (fish, slaw, pickled onions) separately in the fridge. When you’re ready for a taco, heat the fish at about 400 F for 5-10 minutes and they it crisp up again. You could also use the air fryer! I also used the leftover frying oil to fry up a few corn tortillas (you could use flour too). Warming them up in the microwave (covered) would work too. These would go fabulously with some homemade Horchata.
Don’t freeze the fish, the slaw, or the pickled onions. Call your neighbor over instead and make a friend for life.
More taco recipes you will love!
- Traditional Carne Guisada Tacos >> the smell of this cooking all day will send you reeling, it’s absolutely amazing
- How to Make Carne Asada Tacos >> even better than the restaurant (it’s the mojo marinade, magical!)
- Best Chicken Tacos >> make these on the stovetop or in the crockpot, the homemade taco seasoning on these is seriously the best
- Beer-Battered-Fish Burrito Bowl with Orange Avocado Salsa >> this recipe uses pre-made fish tenders, and it makes prep even easier!
- Slow Cooker Pork Tacos with Mexican Slaw >> I’m obsessed with these
- Seriously the Best Taco Salad >> most crave-worthy salad of all time
- Greek Chicken Tacos with Whipped Feta from The Creative Bite
- Crispy Shrimp Tacos from Cherry on my Sundae
Beer-Battered Baja Fish Tacos
Ingredients
For the pickled onions:
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh, 1 lime
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
For the coleslaw:
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 3 tablespoons lime juice, fresh, 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 small cabbage, about 1 pound green cabbage, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped or sliced thin
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
For the fish:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup beer, such as Corona, Tecate or another lighter beer
- Canola oil, for frying
- 1 pound tilapia fillets*, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick strips
- 8 corn tortillas, flour works too
- avocado, to garnish
- limes, to squeeze
Instructions
- Squeeze 2 tablespoons of lime juice into a small bowl. Stir in the salt and pepper, then add the sliced onions and stir to coat. Set aside. Toss it every now and then as you prepare everything else.
- Combine the sour cream and 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice in a large bowl. Stir in the salt and pepper. Add the sliced cabbage, jalapeño, ad cilantro. Toss and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, chili powder, baking powder, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of this mixture to a large plate. Whisk the egg and beer into the remaining flour mixture until smooth.
- Add a 1/2 inch canola oil to a cast iron or deep skillet. Turn the heat to medium and wait about 5 minutes. It should get to about 350 F. You will know it is hot when a small sprinkle of water jumps. Place a cooling rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet and set it next to the heated oil.
- Work in batches to coat each piece of fish with the dry flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour. Dip each piece in the beer batter. Let the excess drip off, then carefully add each piece to the hot oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the batter is golden brown, then use metal tongs to flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. The fish should be opaque throughout. Remove to the prepared cooling rack.
- If you have leftover oil, use it to fry the tortillas for about 30 seconds per side, setting them on paper towels to cool. If you want to skip this step, just warm the tortillas covered in the microwave.
- To assemble the tacos, add fish, slaw, pickled onions, and avocado to a tortilla. Squeeze some lime juice over the top, and some sour cream or Mexican crema. This would be fabulous served with some Horchata!
We made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe to the T!
Start with 1 cup flour; so how much goes with the spices and with goes with the beer?
Hi June! The flour mixture, which also includes cornstarch and spices, is made with 1 cup of flour. 1/4 of this mixture should be set aside for dredging the dry fish in. So: 1/4 cup of the flour mixture set aside on a plate for dredging dry tilapia filets in, 3/4 of the mixture combined with beer and egg to make a batter for coating dredged filets in. Hope this helps, enjoy!
i know this is an old post but these look so good, i’m putting them on the menu for next week.
also… i totally remember my first time buying alcohol. i have a late birthday and started school “early” so i’m used to always being the youngest, so i was also never the one buying the booze. when i turned 21, my boyfriend and i stopped at the liquor store to get some beer for a party he was having with the bonus of me finally being able to do the buying. but, used to a routine & without thinking, he bought all the beer and we got back in the car and he was like, “wait. you didn’t get to use your ID!”
and he made me go back in the store by myself to buy something. but i didn’t want anything else! so i picked out…a giant bottle of smirnoff ice. and the cashier didn’t even card me. and i don’t even like smirnoff ice. like your beer, most of it went down the drain. gross. the end :p
Stephanie!! This story made me laugh so hard. I’m glad I’m not the only one pouring alcohol down the drain. Haha!! I can’t believe she didn’t even card you. What is the point of even being 21???
If these tacos taste half as good as they look, we’re all in for a treat! That batter!
Love fish tacos! It is the taste of the westcoast! I have never tried beer battered ones though. I no longer eat fish, but I will be making these for my husband!