Listen up. This might just be the BEST taco recipe I’ve ever created. And that’s saying a lot because my amazing turkey tacos have been #1 in my heart (and yours) since about 2013.
As you may know, I have a lovely peach salsa on the blog, so I wanted to get it involved with a delicious dinner situation. And WOW did it get involved. The team and I tested these chipotle salmon tacos a few weeks back and seriously couldn’t stop raving about them or munching on those incredible salmon bites.
The salmon is marinated in a sweet and spicy chipotle brown sugar lime mixture and baked to crispy, caramelized perfection. You’ll then add that perfect corn avocado peach salsa for hints of freshness and sweetness, and finally, top everything with my brand new creamy cilantro yogurt sauce.
ARE WE KIDDING? So good.
This is truly a summer dinner you’ll want to make again and again, plus I included more fun sauce options and even ways to serve the taco mix-ins. Enjoy!
Everything you’ll need to make chipotle salmon tacos
I know it seems like there are a lot of ingredients BUT they all boil down to fresh produce, spices, and things you likely already have in your kitchen. Plus, each component in these chipotle salmon tacos makes them unique and irresistibly delicious. Here’s what you’ll need:
- For the salmon: we’re using a pound of salmon and marinating it with a little avocado oil, lime juice & zest, brown sugar, and spices like chipotle chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt & pepper. Sweet, spicy and amazing.
- For the salsa: practice those knife skills by chopping and mixing a peach, avocado, ear of corn, red onion, jalapeño & cilantro. My avocado peach salsa is famous for a reason and adds a lovely freshness to the tacos.
- For the sauce: the ultimate spicy cilantro yogurt sauce that I just posted as a little teaser to these tacos! It adds a wonderful creaminess and kick of heat to the tacos.
- For serving: load everything up onto corn tortillas and top with some extra sliced jalapeño, cilantro, and red cabbage for crunch.
What’s the best type of salmon to use?
Feel free to use wild or farmed salmon in this taco recipe. Farm-raised salmon tends to be milder in flavor and more fatty/buttery in texture, while on the other hand wild salmon can be a little more spendy, but is leaner, pinker, and higher in minerals such as zinc and iron. Both are delicious!
Customize your tacos
Because there are multiple components to these amazing chipotle salmon tacos, there are plenty of ways that you can customize them to your taste preferences. Here’s what I can recommend:
- Choose your protein: yes, these are salmon tacos (and the salmon is amazing) but you could also use chicken or tofu! Feel free to marinate either in the same marinade, and then learn how to grill perfect chicken here and tofu here.
- Keep them gluten free: be sure to use gluten free corn tortillas or grain free tortillas like these.
- Try a low carb option: feel free to serve all of the toppings over mixed greens, in lettuce cups, or cauliflower rice!
How to make the best chipotle salmon tacos
- Make your sauce. Start by making that creamy cilantro yogurt sauce in a blender or food processor. Set it aside in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the tacos.
- Cook your salmon. Toss your salmon with all of those delicious spices so that each bite is coated, then bake it on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F.
- Make the salsa. While your salmon is baking you can mix all of the ingredients for the peach avocado salsa together. Place the salsa in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the tacos.
- Assemble & devour. Char your corn tortillas if you’d like (see below for how to do so!) then top each with the salmon cubes, cabbage, salsa, extra jalapeño slices, cilantro, and the cilantro yogurt sauce. Then devour!
Don’t forget to char your tortillas
Who doesn’t love a warm, slightly toasty charred corn tortilla for tacos? To char them before assembling simply:
- Turn on your stovetop burner to the lowest setting.
- Place one tortilla on the burner and let it heat up for about 45 seconds – checking frequently to make sure it’s not burning.
- Once it has the desired char, carefully flip the tortilla with tongs and char on the other side.
- The tortilla might puff up a bit once you flip, which is okay!
- Cover your tortillas with a dishtowel as you finish them so that they stay warm.
Can I grill the salmon?
Absolutely! I would suggest using the foil pack method so that the salmon bites don’t fall through the grill grates. Alternatively, you could thread the bites onto sticks and grill salmon kabobs before adding them to your tacos! Get all of my tips for grilling salmon here. As always, it’s best to slightly undercooked your salmon rather than overcook it and risk it being dry.
More delicious sauce ideas
The cilantro yogurt sauce adds the perfect creamy, spicy, savory element to the tacos, but these sauces would also be delicious on these chipotle salmon tacos:
Get all of my sauce recipes here!
Storing tips
If you have any leftovers, I recommend storing each component (salmon, salsa, and yogurt sauce) separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days so that you can easily assemble your tacos and the ingredients stay fresh.
More salmon recipes you’ll love
- Firecracker Salmon with Peach Avocado Salsa
- Honey Lemon Garlic Salmon
- Damn Good Salmon Taco Bowls For Two
- 30 Minute Chili Maple Lime Salmon Bowls with Forbidden Rice
- Blackened Salmon Tacos with Forbidden Rice & Mango Guacamole
Get all of my seafood recipes here!
I hope you love these chipotle salmon tacos. If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Chipotle Lime Salmon Tacos with Corn Avocado Peach Salsa & Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- For the salmon:
- 1 pound salmon, cut into 1 inch cubes and skin removed
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- ½ lime, juiced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar)
- ¾ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For the avocado peach salsa:
- 1 medium ripe but still slightly firm peach, diced
- 1 ripe but still slightly firm large avocado, diced
- 1 large ear corn, kernels cut off (about ¾ cup corn)
- 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
- 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced (reserve other half for slicing and garnishing)
- 1 tablespoon finely diced cilantro
- 1/2 small lime, juiced
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the sauce:
- Spicy cilantro yogurt sauce
- For serving:
- 8 soft corn tortillas
- Extra thinly sliced jalapenos
- Extra cilantro
- Shredded red cabbage
Instructions
- Make your cilantro yogurt sauce. Set aside in the fridge until you are done and ready to put it on your tacos.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, add cubed salmon, avocado oil, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar, chipotle chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper; toss well to combine the salmon in the seasonings. Add the salmon cubes to the baking sheet and spread out evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Make the avocado peach salsa: Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Char your tortillas if you’d like, then top each with salmon cubes, cabbage, peach avocado corn salsa mixture, extra thinly sliced jalapeños and a drizzle of cilantro yogurt sauce on top plus extra cilantro. Enjoy! Serves 4; 2 salmon tacos each.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
16 comments
I love your recipes
I’m so glad!
These were AMAZING! I didn’t have paprika or chipotle chili powder and it was still delicious!! I will definitely be making these again!
Soooo good! I’m avoiding wheat right now so I skipped the tortilla and just ate it as a bowl. 🥣Used sweet vidalia onion instead of red as that’s what I had on hand. Instructions were easy to follow, Looking forward to impressing my sister and her husband with this delicious meal! The chipotle chilli powder gives it quite a kick🔥…but in a good way 🤤😋
Perfect! Great idea to enjoy as a bowl – sounds delicious 🙂
Super easy and yummy!
So glad you enjoyed them!
So quick, and maybe stupid, question. For the salsa, do you cook the corn or use it raw? Review sounds and looks delicious! Can’t wait to try
Excited for you to try it!! I add it in raw, but if you prefer to cook it, go ahead!
This was a great recipe to make for company! I did a few modifications – I used shrimp instead of salmon, and grilled them on skewers. I also grilled the ear of corn before using it in the salsa. I found the cilantro sauce to be very spicy with 1 whole jalapeno with seeds, but by the next day the sauce mellowed out quite a bit. I would definitely make this again. Served with a watermelon mezcal margarita!
That all sounds amazing, especially the mezcal marg haha!! Thanks so much for the review, Becky 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them.
I made these tacos for dinner last night and I absolutely love them! I’ve been enjoying trying your taco recipes all summer and you’ve definitely outdone yourself with this one. Everything that could go wrong while cooking did – we lost power just as I was about to put the salmon in the oven so that delayed dinner by a whole hour and a half, and our blender stopped working so I tried making the cilantro yogurt sauce in the food processor and it didn’t fully blend the way I hoped it would. BUT it was still so worth it! Thank you for this!
Haha I saw your FB & IG posts, sounds like a disaster! But SO happy they still came out great!!!
These were so good!! We used shrimp and salmon both delicious. The sauce is excellent I could eat that on everything!!
Love that! New favs for us, too 🙂
Made my own dish based on this recipe, and it was incredible! Thank you for this delightful recipe that inspired me to make my own adaptation https://ahavabite.com/2023/02/11/chipotle-salmon-with-citrus-avocado-salsa-and-cilantro-yogurt-sauce/