Crispy Fish Taco Cauliflower Rice Bowls

The first recipe of my Cinco de Mayo line-up! I’m so excited to share this week’s recipes with you because they revolve around my favorite thing in the world: Mexican food! More specifically, tacos, and margaritas. What more could you want? These crispy fish taco bowls are soooo delish and healthy too!

The base is my favorite cilantro lime cauliflower rice. Have you tried cauli rice yet? It’s such a great way to pack more veggies in your meal. Don’t get me wrong, I love regular rice, but when I’m in the mood for tons of veggies (always), I use this. I even mix them sometimes!

The star of the meal is this crispy cod. It’s so freaking good! Instead of beer battering and deep frying it, I coated the little cod chunks in panko breadcrumbs, and just cooked them in a pan! No scalding pots of oil or batters to make. I can’t wait to make these little bites again and stuff them into tacos. I mean, what’s better than a super crispy fish taco? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Except maybe guac.

I topped the bowls with a little red cabbage, red onion and cilantro-lime slaw, and the most delicious lime crema. Oh. And avocado of course! I know you knew that was coming.

The lime crema is super simple to make, and I recommend using sour cream here. Not my usual Greek yogurt swap. You really need the richness here to cut through the lime. It’s just sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, milk, and salt!

If you want to serve these over regular rice, feel free to! As long as this crispy fish and lime crema are involved, you’re good to go.

Serve these with my mango jalapeño margaritas for the best margarita Monday!

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Crispy Fish Taco Cauliflower Rice Bowls with Lime Crema

These crispy fish taco cauliflower rice bowls are lightened up with cilantro lime cauliflower rice, panko crusted cod, and a super delicious lime crema!

Course Main Course

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

For the cauliflower rice

• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 teaspoons olive oil or avocado oil
• juice of ½ a lime
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper

For the crispy fish

• 1 pound cod fillet, cut into 1'' chunks
• 1 large egg + 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup avocado oil or other high-heat cooking oil

For the crema

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons milk or cream
• pinch of salt

For the bowls

• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• juice of ½ a lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus extra for serving
• pinch of salt
• 1 avocado, sliced
• thinly sliced jalapeño (optional)
• lime wedges for serving

Instructions

1. Make your cauliflower rice. Add the cauliflower florets to a food processor or blender and pulse until "rice-like". You may need to do this in batches. Alternately, you can buy pre made cauliflower rice and use that! Set aside.

2. Make the crema. Combine the sour cream, lime juice and zest, milk, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.

3. Make the cabbage slaw. Combine the cabbage, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the panko, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and egg whites in a medium bowl until combined. Dip the pieces of cod into the egg first, and then the breadcrumb mixture to coat.

5. Once they are all coated, heat the avocado oil or other high-heat cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, fry the cod bites in batches, about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on their thickness. Mine were thick, so I had to cook them on all 4 sides. Let drain on paper towels.

6. Heat two teaspoons of olive or avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the riced cauliflower and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the lime juice, cilantro, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. To assemble the bowls, top the cauliflower rice with a few spoonfuls of the cabbage slaw, then the crispy cod, and a drizzle of the lime crema. Garnish with sliced avocado, jalapeño slices, and extra chopped cilantro.

8. Devour!