Elevated Fish Stick Tacos

We are back into the normal swing of things, with our youngest daughter back to school. This means we are waking up at 6 am again and I am looking for fast and easy dinner options by the time 6 pm rolls around. This meal fits the bill quite nicely – nutritious, fast, but with a little flair.

I ate my first fish tacos oceanside in Folly Beach, South Carolina, a few years ago. They were made with fresh, grilled fish, some crunchy, tangy Cole slaw, with a bit of spice and a bit of lime. They were simple and delicious.

Since then, I have ordered them elsewhere and made them at home a time or two. They are extremely adaptable. You can add anything you like, or keep them simple. You can make them with fresh fish, like mahi mahi, or even make them with shrimp.

They are also a great way to elevate a heat-and-serve dinner if you use fish sticks. What?! Fish sticks?? Yes! Use the kind made from whole fillets, or even use breaded fillets.

Pop them in the oven to bake while you prepare the rest of the tacos and you have a fast and satisfying weeknight meal. You can chop up the fish, or keep it in it’s stick or fillet form so that it doesn’t fall out and make a mess everywhere.

You can really elevate them with a homemade cilantro and lime dressing. With some Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, garlic, jalapeño peppers and lime juice, you can whip up a fancy sauce that really brings your fish tacos to life.

Throw it all in your blender and whir away. You can mix the flavorful, green dressing with a slaw mix, or simply drizzle on top of your tacos. For the tacos pictured above, I mixed just a bit of dressing with some slaw and had plenty leftover for drizzling on top.

I mixed 2 large jalapeño peppers into my sauce. You can adjust to suit your family’s taste. If it seems a bit spicy at first, don’t worry. It mellows in the tacos. You can always add a bit of sour cream to the tacos as well, if you need to knock down the heat a bit.

This delicious dressing also makes a great, healthy dip for tortilla chips. Because it’s made with Greek yogurt, it has lots of protein and less fat than sour cream-based dips.

Honestly, I am pretty sure this dressing would be great drizzled on lots of things. If you experiment and come up with a great combination, I would love to hear about it.