Expect these keto fish tacos to be nice and crisp, ultra flaky and incredibly flavorful… all paired up with my (2g net carb!) tortillas!
Gluten Free & Keto Fish Tacos 🐟
Nice ‘N Crisp
Being Mexican (Paola here!) and choosing a favorite taco, is probably the equivalent of choosing a favorite child. It simply can’t be done. Having said that, proper seaside fish tacos have always held a special place in my heart.
Their crispy exterior and perfectly flaky interior hits the spot… every. single. time!
And, as recently discovered, making them grain free and keto really couldn’t be easier- yielding equally crispy and tasty results. Plus, they’re an awesome pairing with my staple keto tortillas and classic pico de gallo salsa.
Oh, and whatever you do, don’t forget the limes (and, perhaps, a frozen margarita!)
(Crisp 'N Flaky!) Keto Fish Tacos
Ingredients
For the gluten free & keto fish tacos
- 250 g firm white-flesh fish such as flounder or cod
- 1/3 cup sour cream or coconut cream + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic ran through a press
- kosher salt to taste
- 1/2 cup whey protein isolate
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder *see notes
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon sour cream or coconut cream
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- coconut oil or cooking oil of choice
Serving suggestions
- 1 batch 15-minute keto & grain free tortillas 8 tortillas
- 1 batch pico de gallo salsa
- guacamole
- limes
Instructions
- Mix sour (or coconut) cream, vinegar, garlic and season to taste with salt. Cut the fish across the grain of the flesh into strips roughly 1/2 inch wide, and add it to the cream marinade. Cover and refrigerate for two hours, though preferably overnight!
- Make a batch of my keto tortillas. You can have them shaped and ready to go for cooking them simultaneous to the fish- as the secret to great tacos is eating them right away!
- Prepare your frying station by adding enough oil to a skillet or pan to make it about 1/2-inch deep. You can save a lot of oil by using a narrower pan and frying in batches. Heat up oil over medium/low heat while you coat the fish.
- Mix the whey protein, baking powder, chili powder and salt in a shallow plate or dish. In a second plate or dish, whisk the egg with cream and vinegar.
- Coat the fish by lightly removing excess marinade, dipping in the egg mix, followed by the whey protein mix, immediately placing in the hot oil and basting the top right away. You want to fry the fish right after coating for best crispness. Fry on both sides until deep golden and transfer to a paper-lined plate for a couple minutes.
- Serve right away with the freshly-made tortillas, plenty of limes and your salsa of choice.
Notes
Nutrition
I’ve made these twice there fantastic. The only issue is when I fry them the batter falls off, any tips to prevent this from happening?
Mmmm that’s definitely not ideal Rachel (though I’m glad you’ve still enjoyed!)!! By any chance could the pan you’re using be making the coating stick? If I remember correctly I used my cast iron pan for these… otherwise I just got an air fryer last week and will be trying recipes like these in it, as I’m fairly certain it’ll make all our lives a little easier.
These are so AWESOME Paola! I have had fish tacos right from vendors on the beach in Mexico and these are even better! Your directions are spot on. I just got a Tortilla press so I had to make your gnommy tortillas ttoo. Thank you for your amazing recipes.
So happy to hear Charmaine 🙂
Absolutely delicious!!
OMG! These fish tacos are amazing! I loved them! My only regret was I made them when I was alone… I could have gained big time bragging rights serving these to friends and family! Thanks for the great recipe!
According to Carb Manager with the tortilla the Macros (per taco) are as follows:
Calories: 335.9
Total Carbs 5.4g
Net Carbs 3.2g
Fiber 2.2g
Sugar 0.5g
Protein 55.6g
Fat 9.2g
Hi, I’m excited to try these – what can I use in place of they whey protein? Can I use coconut/almond flour? Thank you!
I have been eating low carb (and now Keto) for almost 16 years and have never found ANYTHING that makes a crisp coating on fried foods like whey protein isolate! The fish tacos were amazing.
Do you make other things with this ie chicken fingers, prawns? What about deep frying?
Thank you
Hi Paola! Just made this recipelast night, hook, line, and sinker! Even got a tortilla press for it! It was a lot of work but sooooo delicious! I am about to make your smoked salmon and pastry roll up. I love your recipes! I was just looking at your comment from Samuel. I think I might try this batter recipe on mozzarella sticks. The recipe I have is with almond flour and it just falls off!
Thanks so much for all your great recipes!
I made these fish tacos, including the tortillas, for dinner tonight. Just as it was time for my husband to arrive home from work the phone rang – he was running late. I popped the fish into the toaster oven at 200°F, covered the tortillas with a towel, and sealed up the avocado/sour cream guac I’d made, hoping everything would hold up for another hour. It did!
The fish was delicious, golden brown, moist, and flaky; the tortillas still pliable (on try #2 as I wasn’t happy with my first batch I’d made earlier) after being covered with a towel, and my not-so-fond-of-fish husband finally remarked, “These are good.” That’s a big deal coming from him after he had worked 12-1/2 hours. I ate one and, being low on carbs for the day, ate another.
I reduced the recipe because there are just two of us and I only needed 4 tacos. With no tortilla press here or for sale anywhere close-by and some funky, misshapen tortillas on try #1, I resorted to using a glass pie plate to do the press (thanks YouTube) and ended up with round shells instead of the original Rorschach-looking ones. I wanted to make some jimica fries but there was already too much going on at the stove with the tortillas and fish. Next time…and steamed asparagus made a fine stand-in.
The tortilla dough never did form a ball in the food processor, but it did show signs of complete ‘wetting’, so I removed it to plastic wrap and proceeded (I really need a new food processor; my mom gave me this one 30 years ago and I hate giving up any connection to her even though the casing for the S-blade is cracking). After kneading, I let the dough rest for 10 minutes then made some tortillas, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and stuck them in the refrigerator to wait for dinner time. The cooking time for those is perfect.
Sorry there are no pix, but I was in hurry-up mode. Next time – and there will definitely be a next time.
Paola, I Love You…. Seriously, your dishes are so on point! Muy Delicioso!!! I don’t know if my husband and I can stay Keto if it weren’t for finding You!
I didn’t expect for these fish tacos to be so Yummmsome! We made more marinade for the topping. That with a good squeeze of Lemon!!! OMGOOOOD!!!
I bought your cookbook as well.
The list is too long with everything I’ve made from you… But what I Can say is… Not One thing turned out that Wasn’t delish!
Thank you SOOOO Much!!!!
Can this frying technique be applied to other items, such as zucchini fries, fried pickles, etc? Or are these items too high of a water content. Thanks!
Same question. Would like to try it on chicken thighs.
In step 4, the egg mixture…can you clarify what cream gets mixed with the egg? It is the sour cream, correct?
Just want to be sure
Yes that is correct!
What is the fat content in these? It isn’t listed under the nutrition facts.
Hi Paola, I have a question!
I’ve been encouraging my parents to go low carb, but its very difficult for my Mom, as she has severe egg allergies. One of her absolute favorite carby foods was fish and chips, and I think this recipe may finally help, but there’s the issue of the egg…..can it be done without it?
Hi Lola! This recipe will definitely be a good base for fish ‘n chips (just don’t do the spices, just a little garlic does help). Regarding the egg, just go ahead and try skipping it as the whey will stick to the sour cream coating (maybe a little bit less crisp, but should still be very good). xo!
Thank you!!
Why have I waited so long to try these?!?! I have loved your tortillas for a while now (makes so many Mexican dishes possible!), but it wasn’t until tonight that I had the fish. Super yum!!! I had to stop myself from eating it all – they are that delicious. As the only keto-ist out of 4, I was surprised when my son and DIL both loved them. Almost had to fight them off, but they had carnitas to keep them happy. I got all the fish … heaven in a keto tortilla! Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. You help make keto fun.
LOL Marianne that’s awesome to hear! And I definitely get you, these are in my opinion some of my favorite tacos 😉 xo and thanks so much for reporting back, had a good laugh!
These look uber-authentic and fantastic…Question: Could I possibly substitute Jay Wolf’s Egg White Protein Powder for the whey protein powder here?
Donna I’m sorry to have missed your comment earlier! In all honesty I haven’t tried with egg white pp here :-S
Wow, Paola! You’ve done it again! I used to live in San Diego (the place I consider the fish taco capital of the US) and the one food I miss more than anything else is fish tacos. I was wondering, the day before I saw this recipe, “How am I going to eat keto forever? I can’t live without fish tacos!” And then- BAM!- here you are! Thank you for another fantastic recipe!!!
LOL that’s so awesome to hear Jen! And YES on San Diego’s fish tacos! Baja in Mexico definitely has the best ones 😉 xo and thanks for your comment!
Wow. Made these tonight, they did not disappoint. Really, really good.
The recipe itself is extremely well written and easy to follow.
Please, please, publish a recipe book.
April that’s so wonderful to hear! Happy you guys enjoyed them 🙂 and p.s. there will be a summer cookbook with 50 recipes coming later on this month (digital as the blog is under a year old!) xo and thank you for your comment!
GRACIAS GRACIAS GRACIAS! We’re Mexican American and the whole family enjoyed these so much! Your tortillas have been a god send for us, we wouldn’t be able to do keto without them!
De nada Ana Maria! So happy you guys enjoyed these so much, and great to hear about the tortillas too!! I get you (I’m half Mexican too!) 😉 un beso!
Hi there,
First off I love your recipes! Your keto tortillas are my fav!!! I tripe the batch and freeze until I need! Love them!
I was wondering about this recipe as it states dairy free but you have whey protein in the recipe. What would the dairy free substitute be? Thanks!
Thanks!
Hi Laura! You’re right, I should’ve added a note as whey protein is one of those gray area ingredients (yes it’s derived form dairy, but good brands have little to no lactose left in them). You can alternatively use pork rinds and bake them (check out the chicken and waffles recipe for guidance). Hope this helped! xo
I think the macro information is off. 48 calories per taco is too good to be true! I would eat all 8 servings if that accurate.
Also this is the first time I’ve seen your recipes. They seem great. I can’t wait to make all of them. Thanks!
Thank you Memo, hope you enjoy them! And yes, 48 calories is for the fish only (it’s stated right above the nutrition card). You need to add the tortilla you use (ours for e.g. have 89 and 2g net carbs). But thanks for the heads up, I have been known to screw up!
Oh and I also didn’t add the frying oil calories, so they will be higher (also in the notes). I just couldn’t figure out how to do it accurately :-S!
I am thrilled to have found your blog today, have spent way too much time pinning and printing recipes! I am very excited to make the tortillas and these tacos. It is time to buy a tortilla press..do you recommend the cast iron style or the cast aluminum? Thanks so much.
Jillian that’s awesome to hear lol! I have a cast iron style (traditional Mexican), and they last a lifetime! xo and hope you enjoy!
The US conversion on these fish tacos didn’t convert from grams. Thought you might want to know. Everything else converted just fine.
Thanks so much for your recipes. They are wonderful!
Hi JoAnne! There isn’t a conversion for this recipe as I just did everything but the fish in cups. Precision here is not that important, so you can actually eyeball 😉 xo but thanks so much for the heads up!
This sounds delicious. FYI, you many want to edit this paragraph in your post. “Their crispy interior and perfectly flakey interior”…..
What would I do without you guys lol! Thanks Ronalyn!
Can I use Coconut flour to replace the whey protein?
Hi Samuel! Unfortunately no, I’ve tried these with coconut and almond flour before and it never crisps up and just kind of falls off… Whey is the only thing I’ve tried that mimics a batter quite well. Hope this helps xo!
Hey! Totally helps. Good thing you recommended marinating the fish over night. Now I have time to go buy whey protein! haha
Oh man I’m sorry for getting back to you so late! I have tendinitis in both my wrists and I’m struggling a bit to keep up with comments (thank goodness for dictation!) xo and hope you enjoy 😉
Do you think this would work in an air fryer ?