These seared Ahi Tuna Tacos are an easy and fun dish to serve at your next fish taco night! The fish is seared to perfection and then served in a warm tortilla with a spicy mango cabbage slaw.
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Key Ingredients
- Sushi-grade ahi tuna: Visit your fish monger for high-quality sushi-grade ahi tuna.
- Cabbage: You can use green, purple cabbage, or a combination of the two. Feel free to shred your own cabbage or purchase pre-shredded cabbage in the refrigerated section of lots of grocery stores.
- Mango: The diced mango adds the perfect touch of sweetness. Alternatively, diced pineapple would also be delicious.
- Sriracha: The slaw dressing is a combination of sour cream and sriracha and has a good amount of kick to it! If you are sensitive to spice, you can use less sriracha and more sour cream.
- Limes: Use both the juice and zest of limes in the spicy crema and serve with extra lime wedges on the side.
- Spices: chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper make for the most flavorful spiced ahi!
- Tortillas: You can use corn or flour soft tortillas or opt for crunchy hard shells. I recommend heating the tortillas before serving.
- Optional toppings: pickled or regular onions, lime wedges, avocado, cilantro, or radishes.
How to make the Mango Cabbage Slaw
1. Make the spicy crema by combining sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, sriracha, and a pinch of salt.
2. Toss together the shredded cabbage, mango, cilantro, and sauce. Set aside.
Tips for Searing Ahi Tuna
- Pat the ahi dry before seasoning to remove excess moisture.
- Evenly coat the ahi all over with the seasonings.
- Heat a large skillet (I recommend cast iron or non-stick) on medium-high heat until very hot. Make sure you preheat your pan until it is nice and hot. The ahi won’t be in the pan for long and we want to make sure it gets a beautiful sear in a short amount of time.
- Cook the ahi for just about 1 minute on each side, or until there is a sear on the outside but the inside is still raw.
- For flaky and tender fish, slice the ahi against the grain.
Prep Ahead Tips
When serving dishes for company, I always recommend prepping as much in advance as possible!
- You can mix together the seasonings up to 5 days in advance and store it in a cool, dry place.
- The sauce can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The cabbage slaw can be tossed up to an hour in advance of serving.
Ahi Taco Toppings
If you are hosting company, it would be so fun to set up a fish taco bar for everyone to put together their perfect ahi taco! In addition to the mango cabbage slaw, any of the below would be delicious additions to top your tacos with:
- Sliced or mashed avocado
- Pickled onions or sliced red onions
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Radishes
- Salsa or hot sauce
- Tortilla chips on the side
What to serve these Ahi Tacos with
If you try these Ahi Tuna Tacos, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments! And for another fish taco variation, try my salmon tacos with slaw!
📖 Recipe
Ahi Tuna Tacos
These easy Ahi Tuna Tacos are seared to perfection then served in a warm tortilla with a spicy mango cabbage slaw.
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Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
FOR THE SLAW:
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon sriracha reduce for less spice
- 1 lime juiced and zested
- 1 Pinch Kosher salt
- ½ lb shredded cabbage
- 1 cup diced mango
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
FOR THE AHI:
- 1.5 lb sushi grade ahi tuna
- 2 teaspoon Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
FOR SERVING:
- 12 6-8 inch corn or flour tortillas warmed
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS FOR SERVING:
- ½ cup pickled onions
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ red onion diced or sliced
Instructions
FOR THE SLAW:
- To make the sauce, combine the sour cream, sriracha, lime juice, lime zest ,and a pinch of salt.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the cabbage, mango, cilantro, and sauce. Taste, adjusting for seasoning as desired. Set aside.
FOR THE AHI:
- Gently pat the ahi tuna dry to remove excess moisture. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Coat the ahi with the spices all over.
- Heat a large skillet (preferably non-stick or cast iron) on medium-high heat until hot. Add the avocado oil then the ahi. Sear the ahi until seared on the outside but still raw in the center, about 1 minute on each side. Remove the ahi from the pan and slice against the grain.
TO ASSEMBLE:
- To assemble, place the ahi tuna in warmed tortillas. Top with cabbage slaw and any additional toppings, as desired.
Video
Notes
- These tacos have a slight kick to them. For less spice, reduce the amount of sriracha used.
- The chili powder used in this recipe is a chili powder spice blend that is commonly found in US and Canada. If you are purchasing chili powder outside of these countries, please note that the chili powder is much, much spicier and the recipe will need to be adapted.
Tried this recipe?Please consider leaving a review! It means the world to me!
Kelly Burns
This recipe is amazing ! The perfect balance of spice , crunch, sweet mango, all wrapped up in a warm tortilla .
Caitlin Charlton
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you loved it! 🙂