Salmon Tacos with Sriracha Aioli
It's time to spice up Taco Tuesday! Salmon Tacos with Sriracha Aioli have a simple seasoning mix on the salmon and the sriracha cream sauce is finger licking good!
Taco Tuesday is a favorite night of the week and I've been trying to find ways to make things more exciting than the typical beef tacos. Don't get me wrong - we LOVE my homemade beef tacos, but sometimes we just need to change it up! I'm a huge fan of fish tacos, and these Salmon Tacos with Sriracha Aioli are one of my favorite recipes for salmon tacos.
Not only is the rub for the salmon super flavorful, it's also made with pantry ingredients that I always have on hand. The star of the show however, in my opinion, is the salmon tacos sauce. This sriracha aioli cream sauce is SO good! We drizzle it on the tacos and then dip our tortilla chips in it, too! Oh and it's delicious served with Mexican Street Corn Dip or Cream Cheese Salsa Dip!
Ingredients
Salmon fillets - I prefer wild salmon (Sitka Salmon is my favorite!), opposed to farm raised.
Spices - chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. That's all you need for super flavorful salmon tacos! This spice combination is smoky, sweet, and SO flavorful!
Olive Oil - for cooking the salmon.
Plain Greek Yogurt - Greek Yogurt is great because it is creamy and a little healthier than sour cream. I definitely recommend whole milk Greek Yogurt, as it I have better results than with nonfat Greek Yogurt. You can definitely substitute sour cream, if you prefer or that's what you have on hand!
Sriracha - I love sriracha in this dip! It is a little bit sweet and has a good kick of spice in it.
Honey - a teaspoon of honey sweetens up the salmon taco sauce just a bit to offset the spice.
Lime juice - lime juice gives the taco sauce a bit of freshness!
Toppings - tacos are all about the toppings! With these salmon tacos, I do a sprinkle of red onion, cilantro, and jalapenos for more spice. Really, you could load yours up with all of your favorites - salsa, guacamole, lettuce, shredded cheese, cotija cheese, sour cream, pickled red onions, the works. I'm begging you, however, not to skip the Sriracha aioli. It really makes this taco recipe and gives it great flavor! If you're not a fan of super spicy things, you can definitely scale back the amount of Sriracha to just a half a teaspoon, and it will be much more mild.
So whether you're also trying to eat a little healthier this year or wanting to wish away the cold weather, give these salmon tacos with sriracha cream sauce a try!
Step by Step Instructions
Make the sriracha aioli. I like making the sriracha sauce to begin. Simply combine the Greek Yogurt, lime juice, honey, cumin, and Sriracha in a small bowl. Season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.
Prep the salmon. Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl and then rub it all over the flesh of the salmon.
Cook the salmon. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the salmon skin side down in the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook another 4-5 minutes. If your salmon is extra thick, you might need to cook closer to 6 minutes. If you have an air fryer, you could definitely cook it in air fryer! Just use this recipe.
Assemble. Use a fork to flake the salmon and then fill up your tortillas! You can use corn tortillas or flour tortillas - both work. I'd say corn tortillas are a bit more classic for salmon tacos, but sometimes I prefer the softness of flour tortillas. Either way, I love using warm tortillas which I achieve by microwaving topped with a wet paper towel for 60 seconds.
Top your salmon tacos with all of the toppings you like! Especially with the sriracha aioli, these really are the best salmon tacos I've had!
Enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
Traditionally, aioli is a creamy sauce made with olive oil and garlic. I made my own version of it with Greek Yogurt and Sriracha. It is essentially a dipping sauce or drizzling sauce that we use for tacos and tortilla chips.
I think that would work just fine. You could use shrimp. Simply substitute 1-1.5 lbs of raw shrimp that has been peeled and deveined, and toss in the rub. Cook in the olive oil for 4-5 minutes, as shrimp cooks much faster than salmon. Chicken could also be substituted. Dice the chicken, toss in the rub, and cook in the olive oil for 8-10 minutes.
Definitely. When I bake salmon, I use this recipe for oven baked salmon and line my baking sheet with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier. Just use the spice rub from the recipe card below. I also have a recipe for Air Fryer Salmon Tacos, which I will often make.
Other Salmon Recipes to Consider
Salmon Tacos with Sriracha Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Sriracha Cream Sauce
- 8 oz plain Greek yogurt
- 1-3 teaspoon Sriracha depending on how spicy you prefer
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon honey
- juice of 1 lime
Salmon
- 1 pound salmon
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 corn tortillas I like to double them up for each taco
Toppings
- chopped cilantro
- jalapeños sliced
- Salsa
- Guacamole
Instructions
- Combine all sauce ingredients in small bowl. Set aside.
- Combine cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, and salt. Rub over salmon.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. I love using my cast iron or All-Clad skillets.
- Once oil is hot, add salmon, skin side down.
- Cook 4-5 minutes, then flip.
- Cook another 4-5 minutes, until salmon is cooked through.
- Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your salmon. If you are cooking one large piece of salmon, you will likely need to cook it closer to 6-7 minutes on each side.
- Once salmon is cooked and flakes easily, divide chunks of salmon among the tortillas.
- Top with preferred toppings (mine are cilantro, red onion, and jalapeños) and drizzle with Sriracha cream sauce.
Notes
- I put my cream sauce in a plastic baggie, then cut one of the tips off a corner, which makes drizzling much easier! Alternately, you can drizzle with a spoon.
Hey girl! These look AMAZING! I'm assuming the brown sugar also goes in the salmon rub in step 2? Can't wait to make these for my salmon-loving husband.
Yes!! Thanks for catching that...it's been fixed 🙂 Hope you and your husband love them!
A good fish taco gets me every time...especially with this Sriracha cream sauce!!
I'm a sucker for fish tacos, too!
That sriracha cream sauce... can I just eat it with a spoon on the side of these tacos? 😉
Absolutely! 🙂
That sriracha cream sauce sounds amazing! Perfect for fish tacos!
Yum! Adding these to my menu for next week. I need to pretend I'm not in the cold MN winter 🙂
Ahhh same here!! I need some sunshine in my life!