Baked Cod Tacos on Flour Tortillas
By Jude Horak, UC patient. Remission. Dinner.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
Fish tacos were a favorite before my diagnosis, and the fried, battered, cabbage-slaw version is a long way from anything I would eat now. This one keeps the parts I actually missed. The cod is baked, not fried, with a mild rub of cumin, smoked paprika and lime, and it flakes into big soft pieces after fifteen minutes in the oven. Flour tortillas were already a flare staple for me, so the tortilla is the familiar part; what changed is what goes on it. Mashed avocado and a lime yogurt sauce were early, easy additions. Finely shredded romaine and seeded tomato came later, once raw vegetables in small amounts stopped being a gamble, and I still keep those two on the table as toppings rather than built into every taco, so anyone can take a little or none. It makes eight tacos for four people in about half an hour, and the components hold well for a second night.
Why it works for UC
White fish like cod is lean, soft and among the most reliably tolerated proteins across every stage of UC, and baking with a little oil keeps it that way; the same fish battered and fried would be a different story. Tortillas made from white flour are low-residue and warm easily. Avocado and Greek yogurt bring creaminess with easy-to-digest fat and low lactose. Lettuce and tomatoes are the remission additions: shredded romaine is easier than whole leaves, and seeding the tomato removes the part with most of the fiber, so both sit better than a full raw salad would.
Ingredient pages: White fish, Tortillas, Avocado, Greek Yogurt, Lettuce, Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, about 1 inch thick
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 2 limes
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ripe avocado
- 8 small (6-inch) flour tortillas
- 2 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 cup diced tomato, seeds removed (about 2 medium tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Method
- 1Heat the oven to 400 F with a parchment-lined sheet pan ready. Pat the cod completely dry with paper towels; wet fish steams instead of roasting. Rub it all over with the olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the zest of one lime.
- 2Bake for 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness, until the fish is opaque all the way through and flakes apart when pressed with a fork. A thermometer in the thickest part should read 145 F. Let it rest 2 minutes.
- 3While the fish bakes, stir the Greek yogurt with the juice of half a lime and a pinch of salt. Mash the avocado in a separate bowl with the juice of the other half lime and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until mostly smooth.
- 4Warm the tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds per side until soft and lightly speckled. Stack them in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm.
- 5Flake the cod into large chunks with a fork, discarding any bones. Spread a spoonful of avocado on each tortilla, add a pile of fish, then a drizzle of the yogurt sauce. Set the romaine, tomato, cilantro and remaining lime wedges on the table so everyone tops their own.
Tips and swaps
- Flare version: bake the cod with olive oil, salt and lime only, warm the tortilla, add a thin layer of mashed avocado, and skip the yogurt sauce, lettuce and tomato. Plain and honestly still pretty good.
- Cod fillets vary in thickness. Thin tail pieces cook in 10 minutes and thick center cuts need the full 15, so if your fillets are uneven, fold the thin end under to even them out.
- Haddock, halibut or tilapia all work in place of cod. I avoid oilier fish like salmon in tacos only because the flavor fights with the lime.
- Shred the romaine finely with a sharp knife, almost like slaw. Finely cut lettuce was the version I could handle first, and it also stays in the taco better than big pieces.
- Leftover fish keeps two days in the fridge. Rewarm it gently in a covered skillet with a spoonful of water rather than the microwave, which dries it out.
What a serving gives you
Two tacos give roughly 35 grams of protein from the cod and yogurt, and cod is very low in fat, so most of the fat here comes from the avocado and a little olive oil, about 14 grams total. Fiber sits near 5 grams, from the avocado, tomato and romaine, which is a modest amount spread across a meal. This is the kind of dinner where I can eat a normal portion and feel full without feeling heavy, which was rare while I was flaring.
Questions about this recipe
Can I use corn tortillas instead of flour?
In remission, corn tortillas are an option for many people, but they are whole grain and corn itself is on the caution list, so they are a bigger step than they look. I started with flour and have only tried corn on days I felt solid. If you go that way, warm them well because cold corn tortillas crack, and maybe do one corn and one flour to compare. Flour tortillas remain what I keep in the house.
Can I make the yogurt sauce dairy free?
Yes. A plain unsweetened coconut or almond based yogurt with lime and salt gives a similar tangy sauce, though it is thinner. Another option that skips dairy entirely is to thin the mashed avocado with extra lime juice and a tablespoon of water so it doubles as the sauce. Greek yogurt is low in lactose because it is strained, which is why it is in the recipe, but the tacos do not depend on it.
