Fish Taco Sauce Recipe

By
Pete Scherer
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Pete Scherer
Pete Scherer is a cook and baker with a decade of experience across many facets of the Southern California food scene.
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Updated on 01/29/23
Fish Taco Sauce

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Yield: 1 cup
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
123 Calories
13g Fat
1g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 123
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 14mg 5%
Sodium 205mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 1g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 4mg 22%
Calcium 12mg 1%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 32mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

That tangy, slightly spicy white sauce that often accompanies Baja style fish tacos is usually made with sour cream, mayonnaise, and lime juice. Some variations have more ingredients, often including things like cumin, cilantro, or hot sauce. This recipe is the basic idea, but you should feel free to improvise with whatever you have on hand. The roasted jalapeño adds some smoky depth and gives the sauce a pleasant pale green hue. If you don't want to go to the trouble of preparing the pepper, any prepared hot sauce makes a good substitute. Use a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired level of spiciness.

This sauce is delightful on all kinds of other things besides fish tacos. Try it on shrimp tacos, all kinds of enchiladas, burgers, sandwiches, or as a dip for fish sticks, calamari, onion rings, or jalapeño poppers. Pretty much anything fried or sandwich-like will taste good with this sauce.

The sauce couldn't be easier to make. The hardest part is roasting and processing the pepper. Be careful when handling hot peppers—we've all had the experience of handling hot peppers and then touching our eyes or face. Ouch!

Ingredients

  • 1 small jalapeño pepper

  • 1/3 cup Mexican crema, or sour cream

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1 lime, juiced

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Fish Taco Sauce ingredients

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  2. Roast the jalapeño pepper over an open flame of a gas range or under the broiler of your oven until the pepper has softened and the skin is charred and blistered all over.

    roasted jalapeno in a baking dish

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  3. Remove to a cutting board. Remove the stem and blistered skin.

    remove the end and the skin from the jalapeño

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  4. Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and membrane.

    jalapeno cut in half

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  5. Add the roasted jalapeño and all remaining ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Remove to a covered container or squeeze bottle and chill before using.

    Fish Taco Sauce in a food processor

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Tips

  • The easiest way to roast a jalapeño pepper is to use a long pair of tongs to hold the pepper over the open flame of a gas stove. If you don't have a gas stove, you can pan roast the pepper or char it under an electric broiler. You can use a toaster oven for this, too, which makes a little more sense than firing up the big oven when you're only roasting one little pepper. Turn the pepper as it roasts so that it chars on all sides, and let the flesh get nice and soft so that it purees into the sauce.
  • Putting the pepper into a bag or other covered container for a few minutes after roasting will loosen the skin and make it easier to remove. When handling the skin, seeds, and membranes, use gloves or take care to wash your hands thoroughly before moving on.
  • Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.