Gordon Ramsay’s fish tacos recipe is white fish dusted in cumin and smoked paprika, fried in coconut oil until crisp, then flaked into warm corn tortillas with chipotle yoghurt, shredded red cabbage and avocado. From his Ultimate Fit Food cookbook, the whole spread is on the table in about 20 minutes.
Ramsay writes that “we love tacos in my house, particularly because everyone has their individual preferences.” He builds the whole thing as a serve-yourself spread: fish on one plate, toppings in bowls, tortillas wrapped in a tea towel, so everyone makes their own.
The spiced flour coating is what holds it together. Cumin and smoked paprika mixed into the flour gives each piece a thin crust that stays intact when you flake the fish, so the chunks keep their shape inside the tortilla instead of falling apart.
Gordon Ramsay Fish Tacos
Course: DinnerCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes10
minutes575
kcal20
minutesSpiced fish tacos from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food. White fish in cumin and paprika flour, fried and flaked into build-your-own tacos with chipotle yoghurt, red cabbage slaw and avocado. 575 calories per serving.
Ingredients
300g (10.5 oz) meaty white fish fillets, skin removed and pin-boned
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1½ tbsp rice or plain flour
Coconut oil or flavourless oil for frying
100g (3.5 oz) natural yoghurt
½ tbsp chipotle paste, or to taste
¼ small red cabbage, finely shredded
1 small red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and roughly chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges
12 small soft corn tortillas or 4 large ones
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Make the chipotle yoghurt: Mix the yoghurt and chipotle paste together. Add a little more paste if you like it hotter. Put into a small serving bowl.
- Prep the toppings: Put the shredded cabbage, diced red onion, chopped avocado and lime wedges into separate bowls.
- Warm the tortillas: Place a dry frying pan over medium heat. Heat the tortillas two at a time for 2 minutes, flicking a little water onto them with your fingers and turning halfway. Wrap in a clean tea towel to keep warm.
- Coat the fish: Mix the cumin, smoked paprika and flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Dip the fish fillets into the spiced flour, making sure they are well covered on both sides.
- Fry the fish: Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Fry the fish for 2-4 minutes on each side depending on thickness, until just cooked through.
- Flake and serve: Remove from the heat, flake the fish into bite-sized chunks and put onto a serving plate. Bring everything to the table and let everyone build their own tacos.
FAQs
What fish should I use for these tacos?
Ramsay writes in Fit Food to “try whiting, pollock, hake, coley or gurnard to make a change from the usual haddock or cod.” You want something firm enough to hold its shape when you flake it, so any meaty white fish works.
Avoid thin fillets like plaice or sole because they break up too much when you flip them. Cod and haddock are the easiest to find in UK supermarkets, though pollock is cheaper and holds up just as well. If you want to try something different, the same spice-then-sear approach works on halibut in Ramsay’s tandoori halibut from Fast Food.
Can you use prawns instead of white fish?
You can, though the technique changes completely. Ramsay’s shrimp tacos from Fast Food are seared prawns flambéed in tequila and orange zest, wrapped in flour tortillas with crème fraîche and diced tomato. No spiced flour, no frying, totally different flavour.
These fish tacos are crunchier and more Mexican in feel because the spiced flour gives a light crust. The shrimp version is more French in technique because of the flambé and crème fraîche. Both work as build-your-own at the table, so you could do both for a bigger spread.
Why does Ramsay use coconut oil for frying?
Coconut oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which matters because you need the pan properly hot to get colour on the spiced flour in 2-4 minutes without burning. It also adds a subtle sweetness that works with the cumin and paprika.
The book says “coconut oil or flavourless oil, e.g. groundnut” so any high-heat oil is fine. Vegetable oil and groundnut oil both work. Just avoid olive oil or butter here because they burn at the temperature you need for a quick golden crust.
Can you grill the fish instead of frying?
You can grill thicker fillets, though you lose the crust from the spiced flour because it needs oil contact to crisp up. Brush the fish with oil, dust with the cumin and paprika (skip the flour), and grill for 3-4 minutes each side.
The grilled version is lighter since there’s no frying, which fits the Fit Food approach even better. The trade-off is texture: you get char marks and smoky flavour instead of that thin crispy coating. Both are good, but the flour coating holds the flaked pieces together better inside the tortilla.
Does the chipotle yoghurt have to be homemade?
It takes about 30 seconds to mix yoghurt and chipotle paste, so there’s no reason to buy a ready-made sauce. The balance matters too because Ramsay says to add the paste “to taste,” which means you control how hot it is. His son Jack likes it really hot, his daughter Holly likes it mild.
If you can’t find chipotle paste, a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne stirred into the yoghurt gets close. The smokiness is the key flavour, not the heat, so don’t just substitute with regular hot sauce.
Do fish tacos keep well?
The fish keeps in the fridge overnight, but the spiced flour crust goes soft and the tortillas dry out. Honestly, this is a 20-minute dish, so making it fresh takes less time than reheating leftovers properly.
If you do have leftover fish, flake it cold into a seafood chowder the next day rather than trying to reheat it in a taco. The spiced cumin and paprika actually work well stirred into a creamy soup base. The cabbage slaw and chipotle yoghurt keep separately for a day and make a decent wrap filling with some cold chicken.
