Fresh Salmon Smash Burger Tacos with Quick Slaw
If you crave salmon, smash burgers, and tacos, you will love these easy salmon smash burger tacos that don’t make you choose a favorite. A nutritious alternative meets two guilty pleasures to make a fresh fish taco that tastes like it was always meant to be. Ground fresh salmon fillets are tossed in a sweet and slightly spicy caramelized sauce to create a harmony of flavors that sear to perfection on the hot cast iron. These smash burger salmon tacos take taco night to the next level with crispy texture, rich flavor, and fresh slaw. This is the type of dinner you crave all week and makes you forget it’s only Tuesday. Full recipe card below!
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What are Smash Burger Tacos?
If you have not seen the smashed taco trend yet, let me explain. It all started last year with a TikTok – make video. A creator combined big macs, smash burgers, and a tortilla and reinvented how a taco can be made. Instantly this trend went viral.
Essentially a smash taco takes the taco meat, usually ground beef, and smashes it on a tortilla. The taco is then cooked with the meat side down. Once the meat is cooked, you fold it like a taco and fill it up with your favorite toppings and burger sauce.
I was heavily inspired by this smash taco idea and decided it was time for the salmon smash taco to have a moment. Rather than a typical beef smash burger, I combined it with fresh ground salmon, hoisin sauce, honey, garlic, chili flakes, and fresh slaw to create the perfect handheld taco for a tasty lunch or dinner.
Smash Burger Tacos Ingredients
These simple salmon smash tacos are the perfect recipe for a craveable dinner on a busy weeknight. Here are my notes on the ingredients that will give you the best results.
- Ground Salmon – This is key. Do not swap fresh salmon for canned. They are not the same. To nail the smash burger taco method you will need fresh or frozen salmon fillets to grind down which will allow you to spread the salmon mixture evenly on the tortilla. If you do not have a meat grinder you can chop the fillets into very small pieces. However I do think this works best with a meat grinder.
- Tortillas – A flour tortilla works better than a corn tortilla since they are sturdier. I usually use a single layer of the street taco size tortillas. They hold up much better than corn tortillas and the street taco size is just perfect for the amount of toppings. Feel free to use larger tortillas but note they will yield less tacos.
- Hoisin Honey Garlic Sauce – After the salmon is ground down, I add a mixture of hoisin, honey, garlic, and chili flakes to the salmon mixture. This seasons the fish well with a sweet and salty flavor with a little bit of spice.
- Coleslaw Mix – This ingredient provides a good crunch without instantly becoming soggy like romaine lettuce. To keep it easy I buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage mix and I mix up my own sriracha mayo dressing.
- Sriracha – This is definitely an optional ingredient but in my opinion takes the heat up a little bit, but you can skip it if you want. If you have never had it, it’s hot chili sauce.
- Mayo – This is used to dress the slaw. While I prefer mayo, sour cream can also be used here for a lighter flavor.
- Lime – To balance out the mayo and the salmon, lime juice adds some acidity. I recommend fresh limes if available.
- Ponzu – A little bit of ponzu is used to flavor the slaw. This is a citrusy, salty Japanese sauce that is full of umami flavor. While ponzu works better in this recipe you can use soy sauce as well.
- Green Onions – Green onions add freshness and flavor to the salmon mixture and slaw. They also pair well with salmon. While chives are the next closest option, you can also use red onion in this recipe.
- Red Pepper – I used one small red pepper here for added color and sweetness to the slaw.
- Avocado – Avocado is one of my favorite taco toppings and I love adding avocado slices for a bit of creamy texture. I only used a little bit in this recipe since the salmon is also really rich
- Additional Toppings – Feel free to add any additional toppings you love like jalapenos or even crispy fried onions.
Grinding the Salmon
The best way to make the salmon smashable is to grind the salmon first with a meat grinder. When grinding seafood it is easiest to start with semi frozen fillets. They should be very cold and close to frozen but not solid. This allows you to dice the salmon and send it through the grinder easily without it becoming a mushy mess.
I also recommend putting the grinder parts in the freezer as well so they are extra cold for grinding. Place the salmon fillets in the freezer 1 hour before grinding for best results. I have this meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
Cooking Method
The best way to make these is on the stovetop on a griddle pan or on a flattop grill pan. If you do not have one you can also make them in a large nonstick skillet or cast iron pan but it may take longer if you cannot fit more than one at a time. I can make four street taco size at a time on my griddle pan or all at once on the flattop grill insert.
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Fresh Salmon Smash Burger Tacos with Quick Slaw
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 street tacos 1x
- Diet: Pescatarian
Description
Forget choosing between nutritious salmon, taco night, and smash burgers. These salmon smash burger tacos are the perfect mash up delivering a lighter option with your favorite guilty pleasures. Full of sweet and slightly spicy caramelized flavor, crispy texture, fresh crunch, and rich protein all in smashed taco form. This craveable weeknight meal is the perfect way to spice up your taco Tuesday. Trust me, this fish taco recipe is the unlikely pairing you never expected to fall in love with.
Ingredients
- 2 Fresh Salmon Fillets skin removed (about 1lb, slightly frozen)
- 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
- 3 cup Cole Slaw Mix
- 1 1/2 tbsp Mayo
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1/2 tbsp Ponzu Sauce
- 1/4 Lime juice from
- 2 Green Onions chopped
- 1 Mini Red Bell Pepper chopped
- 1 Avocado sliced
- 8 Street Taco Flour Tortillas
Instructions
- Before starting this recipe, add salmon fillets (with skin removed) and meat grinder to the freezer for one hour or until almost frozen and very cold. This will make grinding much easier.
- In a small bowl, combine coleslaw mix, mayo, sriracha, ponzu, lime juice, green onion, and red bell pepper. Set aside or refrigerate until use.
- Using a sharp knife, cut slightly frozen salmon fillets into cubes.
- Send the salmon cubes through the meat grinder and catch the ground salmon with a medium size bowl.
- In the same bowl as the ground salmon add the hoisin, honey, garlic, and chili flakes. Mix until thoroughly combined. You can use a spoon or your hands.
- Divide the ground salmon mixture into 8 equal size balls.
- Pre-heat your pan over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.
- Place each ball in the center of a tortilla. Cover with a piece of wax paper and smash the ground salmon balls down into a thin layer until it covers most of the tortilla. You can also just use your hands or a burger press if you have one but it definitely isn’t needed.
- Flip the tortilla onto the hot griddle salmon side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes then flip so the bare tortilla is on the pan. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the tortilla is toasty and crisp.
- Transfer the tortilla with the cooked salmon to a plate or taco stand.
- Add a spoonful of the slaw mixture to the bottom of the taco.
- Top with a slice of avocado and sprinkle of green onion.
Notes
The number of tacos will vary slightly depending on the size of your tortillas and how full you stuff them, but I usually end up with 8 full street tacos.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Entree, Lunch
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Looking for more smash burger taco ideas? Try my fresh Mediterranean chicken smash burger tacos or my buffalo chicken smash burger tacos.
Looking for more salmon recipes? Try my smoked salmon and chives cream cheese spread, pan fried homemade salmon patties, air fryer salmon tacos with pineapple mango salsa, or my teriyaki salmon bite rice bowls.
Looking for more taco recipes? Try my Caribbean jerk chicken tacos, crispy potato egg and cheese breakfast tacos, or my frozen Costco tilapia fish tacos.
Storage
These tacos are best eaten immediately, but life happens and sometimes you have leftovers. Store leftover salmon smash tacos disassembled in the fridge for up to 3 days. The slaw should be stored in a separate airtight container but will become soggier the longer it sits.
When to Make Salmon Smash Tacos
At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I do love making tacos on Tuesday! But these delicious salmon smash burger tacos are a great choice any night of the week. They combine two guilty pleasures with a wholesome option for one easy weeknight dinner you will crave all week long. A new twist on a salmon fish taco that adds something bold and exciting to a tired nightly meal plan. No matter when you decide to make them, these will definitely become a household favorite!
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