10 Minute Cod Tacos | One Pot One Portion
This is maybe the best fridge-raid meal I’ve ever made! These tacos were made before a weekend away when I wanted to use up what I had in my fridge, which included a beautiful fillet of cod that I definitely didn’t want to waste. SO simple, but SO delicious, this 10 minute meals is so quick to whip up and could be adapted to use any other fish (or even chicken/tofu!). Reduce food waste and eat something totally yum- win win!
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My 10-Minute Fish Tacos: Your Ultimate Single-Serve Speedy Meal
Are you craving fresh, vibrant flavours and a meal that’s ready in a flash, perfectly portioned just for you? Look no further than my 10-Minute Fish Tacos! These aren't just any tacos; they're packed with juicy fish, creamy avocado, crisp lettuce, and a zingy kick, all designed to be your go-to for a delicious, lightning-fast meal. It's the ultimate hassle-free, utterly scrumptious meal, designed entirely for cooking for one.
About This Dish
My 10-Minute Fish Tacos are a vibrant, flavour-packed dish that brings the excitement of a taqueria right to your kitchen, in record time. It’s a beautifully balanced creation, combining tender, flaky cod fish tacos with creamy avocado, crisp lettuce, a hint of spice, and the essential zing of lime and quick-pickled onions. The secret to its speed lies in my simplified approach to the fish, which gets a seasoned, slightly crispy crust that's similar to blackened fish tacos but with my own quick seasoning mix.
This is my absolute go-to recipe when I want something quick, fresh, and bursting with flavour. The contrast of textures and temperatures – warm, seasoned fish, cool avocado, crunchy lettuce, and tangy pickles – makes every bite an adventure. It's a simple yet elegant meal that feels like a treat, without any fuss. These are truly easy fish tacos that don't compromise on taste.
Why You'll Want to Make My Recipe
My 10-Minute Fish Tacos are an absolute game-changer for anyone seeking a quick, satisfying, and utterly delicious meal designed specifically for a single serving. Whether you're a busy solo cook, a student looking for a substantial yet simple meal, an empty nester who's tired of cooking for a crowd, a single parent needing a fast and nourishing option, or simply someone who appreciates the efficiency of cooking for one, this recipe is crafted for you.
Single Serve
This recipe is inherently a single-serve sensation. Every ingredient is portioned to create two to three perfect tacos, eliminating waste and ensuring you have just the right amount for a satisfying meal without leftovers. It's truly a one portion marvel, designed for effortless enjoyment when you're cooking for one.
10-Minute Meal
The name doesn't lie! From preparing the fish to assembling your tacos, this dish genuinely comes together in approximately 10 minutes (not including the optional quick pickled onions, which can be made ahead). The fish cooks quickly, and the assembly is rapid. This makes it an ideal choice for a super speedy lunch or a lightning-fast dinner for one. No long waits, just deliciousness in a flash, making it one of my favourite 10 minute meals.
One Pan
While tacos inherently involve a few components, my approach keeps washing up to an absolute minimum. You'll primarily use one frying pan for the fish, and a quick toast over an open flame for the tortillas. This significantly minimises cleanup, ensuring you spend less time scrubbing and more time enjoying. It’s a one-pot wonder that keeps your kitchen tidy while delivering maximum flavour.
Top Tips for Perfect 10-Minute Fish Tacos
Achieving perfectly cooked fish and vibrant tacos in record time is simple with these key tips.
- Prep Your Toppings First (or Ahead): The "10-minute" magic truly happens if your toppings are ready to go. While the fish cooks, you can slice your avocado and lettuce. Even better, make your quick pickled onions ahead of time! They last for weeks in the fridge and are a fantastic secret weapon for adding zing to any meal. Having everything ready means you can assemble the moment the fish is cooked.
- Hot Pan, Quick Sear for Fish: For flaky, tender fish with a slightly crispy exterior, ensure your pan is hot over a medium-high heat before adding the olive oil and then the seasoned cod fish tacos pieces. This quick sear cooks the fish rapidly while keeping it juicy inside.
- The Right Coating for Flavour: My simple coating of plain flour (or cornflour/cornstarch) and Cajun spice mix creates a light, flavourful crust that helps the fish cook evenly and provides a delicious texture. This seasoning blend provides a similar robust flavour profile to what you'd find in blackened fish tacos, but without needing to use intense high heat.
- Toast Your Tacos Over an Open Flame (if possible): This is a game-changer for taco texture. Lightly toasting soft shell tacos directly over a gas hob flame (with tongs, carefully!) gives them a beautiful char, a slightly chewy texture, and warms them through perfectly. If you don't have a gas hob, a dry frying pan on high heat works too, just for 30 seconds per side.
- Layer with Care: The order of assembly matters for the best eating experience. Start with your creamy sriracha mayonnaise, then the crisp lettuce and creamy avocado. Next, add your perfectly cooked cod, then finish with the aromatic coriander, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, and the tangy quick pickled onions. This ensures every bite is balanced and delicious.
Ingredients and Tools
Having the right ingredients and a few basic tools makes whipping up my delicious 10-minute meals a breeze.
Essential Ingredients:
- Olive Oil: For cooking the fish.
- Cod: A fillet of cod is perfect – it's flaky, mild, and cooks quickly.
- Plain Flour or Cornflour/Cornstarch: A light dusting helps create a subtle crust on the fish and ensures the seasoning adheres well.
- Cajun Spice Mix: My go-to fish taco seasoning for a quick burst of smoky, savoury flavour with a touch of heat.
- Soft Shell Tacos: Two to three small soft tortillas are your vessel for these delicious tacos.
- Sriracha Mayonnaise: A creamy, spicy, and tangy condiment that adds a fantastic kick and binds the flavours. You can buy this pre-made or mix sriracha with plain mayonnaise.
- Avocado: Half an avocado adds a luxurious, creamy texture and healthy fats, balancing the spice and fish.
- Lettuce Leaves: Crisp lettuce provides a refreshing crunch.
- Fresh Coriander/Cilantro: Chopped fresh coriander adds a bright, herbaceous, and essential aromatic note.
- Lime Juice: A squeeze of fresh lime juice is crucial for brightness, cutting through richness, and adding zing.
- Quick Pickled Onions: My secret weapon for a fantastic tangy, sweet, and crunchy element. These can be made ahead and stored.
- Salt: To season the fish and balance the overall flavours.
- Black Pepper: Freshly ground black pepper adds a subtle warmth and aromatic finish.
Quick Pickled Onions (Ingredients):
- Red Onion: Sliced thinly, these will turn a beautiful pink as they pickle.
- Sugar: Balances the vinegar's acidity; adjust to your preferred sweetness.
- White Vinegar (e.g., Cider or White Wine Vinegar): The acidic base for pickling.
- Hot Water: Helps dissolve the sugar and speeds up the pickling process.
Versatility Note: While cod is fantastic for these easy fish tacos, you could easily use any other firm white fish fillet, including hake, pollock, or even salmon. For non-fish options, cooked chicken (sliced or shredded) or pan-fried seasoned tofu would also be delicious alternatives, maintaining the 10 minute meals concept.
Essential Tools:
- Frying Pan: A medium-sized frying pan for cooking the fish.
- Small Bowl or Jam Jar (for pickles): For making the quick pickled onions.
- Chopping Board: For preparing your onion, lettuce, avocado, and coriander.
- Sharp Knife: For slicing, chopping, and mincing ingredients.
- Tongs: Useful for flipping fish and toasting tortillas over a flame.
- Bowl/Plate: For coating the fish.
Delicious Variations: Customising My 10-Minute Fish Tacos
My 10-Minute Fish Tacos are incredibly versatile! Feel free to adapt them to your taste or dietary needs.
- Making them Gluten-Free: Ensure your soft shell tacos are gluten-free tortillas or use 100% corn tortillas. If using flour for the fish coating, opt for cornflour/cornstarch (which is naturally gluten-free). All other ingredients are typically gluten-free, but always double-check labels for spice mixes or pre-made sriracha mayonnaise.
- Making them Dairy-Free: This recipe is naturally dairy-free, assuming your sriracha mayonnaise is dairy-free (most are, as they're egg-based). Use a regular vegan mayonnaise if you can't find a sriracha version!
- Making them Vegan: This requires substituting the fish.
- Fish Substitute: Use seasoned and pan-fried firm tofu (pressed well), crispy battered avocado slices, or even seasoned and roasted cauliflower florets. The fish taco seasoning could be used on these alternatives.
- Ensure your sriracha mayonnaise is vegan mayonnaise (many brands are available).
- The rest of the ingredients are plant-based.
- Different Toppings: Feel free to get creative with your toppings! Thinly sliced red cabbage for extra crunch, a sprinkle of feta or cojita cheese, a simple salsa (pico de gallo), or a dollop of Greek yoghurt or sour cream (for dairy eaters) would all be delicious additions.
- Spice Level: Adjust the spice in your fish taco seasoning by adding more or less Cajun spice mix. You can also add finely chopped fresh chilli to the tacos directly for more heat.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What makes these "10-Minute Fish Tacos"?
A: These are truly 10-minute meals because the fish cooks very quickly (4-5 minutes), and the remaining ingredients (lettuce, avocado, sauces, pickled onions) are all ready-to-assemble. If you make the pickled onions ahead of time, the active cooking and assembly time is minimal, making this a perfect quick and easy dinner.
Q: Can I use different types of fish for these fish tacos?
A: Absolutely! While cod is excellent for these cod fish tacos, any firm white fish fillet will work wonderfully, such as hake, pollock, haddock, or tilapia. Even a heartier fish like salmon, flaked after cooking, would be delicious. The key is to cut it into 1-inch pieces so it cooks quickly and evenly.
Q: What is Cajun spice mix? Is it spicy?
A: Cajun spice mix is a blend of spices often including paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and thyme. It gives a warm, earthy, and sometimes slightly smoky flavour with a variable level of heat. The amount of cayenne dictates the spice level. My recipe uses it as a quick fish taco seasoning to mimic the flavour of blackened fish without needing to truly blacken it.
Q: Can you make the quick pickled onions ahead of time?
A: Yes, and I highly recommend it! Making the quick pickled onions ahead of time is a fantastic meal prep hack. Once made, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks, making assembly of your fish tacos even faster on busy nights.
Q: How do I warm my soft shell tacos without an open flame?
A: If you don't have a gas hob, you can warm your soft shell tacos in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds per side until they are soft and slightly pliable, with a few browned spots. You can also warm them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or wrap them in foil and heat them in a preheated oven for a few minutes.
Enjoy my incredibly easy, vibrant, and perfectly portioned 10-Minute Fish Tacos! It's the ultimate example of how simple ingredients can create something truly delicious when you're cooking for one. What other clever single-serve meal ideas are you hoping to discover next?
Ingredients
Olive Oil
1 Fillet of Cod
2 Tsp Plain Flour or Cornflour
1 tsp Cajun Spice Mix
2-3 Soft Shell Tacos
Sriracha Mayonnaise
1/2 Avocado
2-3 Lettuce Leaves
Fresh Coriander
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Quick Pickled Onions*
Salt
Black Pepper
*Quick Pickled Onions
1 red onion
2-3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar (I used cider or white wine vinegar)
1/4 cup hot water
Instructions
- Start by making your pickles. Cut your onion in half then slice thinly into semi-circles. Place in a jam jar or bowl then add in the rest of the ingredients (you can choose how much sugar you would like to add in depending on how sweet you like your pickles). Give everything a good shake/stir then leave to the side while you bake your eggs. You can keep these pickled onions in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
- Cut your fish into 1” pieces then coat in the flour and cajun spice mix. Season with salt and black pepper. Heat a pan over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. When hot, fry the fish for 4-5 minutes until the skin is slightly crispy and the fish is flaky and tender. When cooked, take off the heat and leave to the side.
- Toast your taco shells over an open flame then assemble your tacos. Start with the sriracha mayonnaise, then the lettuce and avocado. Add you cod then top with coriander, lime juice and the pickled onions.
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I buy a lot of cook books and this is genuinely one of the best l've ever bought. I've tried 6 or 7 recipes so far and they're all winners. I'm well used to scaling recipes down to one portion, but not having to calculate measurements as l go along feels like a little luxury. One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up! Highly recommended.
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This is perfect, as far as influencer chefs go, I find this book refreshing in what has become a cohort of lauded influencers who really aren't doing much more than the bog standard meals most people make anyway, or making googled recipes and adding their own "flair". This book is different as it's your normal fare you'd likely make yourself, given a little bit of a twist to speed up the process / use less utensils / ingredients / food waste, in really creative and tasty ways, all perfectly portioned for one.
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you eating!
Great present! Bought this for my sister who cooks for one. She absolutely loved it finding it inspiring! So many great recipes to motivate and keep you cooking when it's just you
Follow Eleanor on socials and knew I NEEDED this book immediately! SO glad I paid extra and had it shipped from the UK (to US). Eleanor's voice is loud and clear in every recipe. The pictures are beautiful, the instructions are perfectly clear, and I want to make EVERYTHING. I cannot recommend this book enough!
This recipe book is stunning and fulfils its role brilliantly in catering for individuals who want to eat delicious meals, but don't want to prepare family sized portions or devote their entire evening to cooking. Who'd believe you could make an entire roast for one person and only use one pan in the process! She is a genius and I couldn't recommend this book any more highly.
One of the best things about the book is that all the recipes are actually cooked in one pot - in a lot of other so-called books you still have to make your side dish in a separate pot. With these recipes, even if they include rice or pasta, it's all cooked together. No mountains of washing up!
This is the book I've been waiting for! I (very happily!) live alone, love to cook and read cookery books, but every recipe is for two people or more. This gorgeous book contains recipes perfectly proportioned for one person (and I'm always a very hungry one person!) which ensures more variety, less food waste, and pure, gluttonous joy.
It's so nice to finally have a recipe book that I can go to if I want a quick easy meal with minimal cleaning up required! Everything l've tried so far is delicious. And I salivate at the thought of everything in there!
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The fact I know I won't have loads to wash up really feels motivating and l've earmarked so many of the recipes already.
This book is like having all your favourite foods in one place with the added bonus of an old friend showing you the ropes. Congratulations Eleanor when can I pre-order the next one?