This Cilantro Lime Shrimp is a family favorite. Juicy shrimp over cilantro lime rice with black beans, avocado, and a cilantro lime sauce. Filling, fresh, and packed with flavor.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
How One Favorite Taco Recipe Turned Into This!
For almost two full years, my Shrimp Tacos have been one of the most popular recipes on my site. Out of over a thousand recipes, they keep making the top 10, and I totally get why. The charred tortillas, saucy slaw, seasoned shrimp, and that cilantro-lime sauce are just so good together.
So I wanted to take everything I love about those tacos and turn it into a dinner bowl. This Cilantro Lime Shrimp Recipe has the same kind of bold, fresh flavor, but with a heartier base of cilantro-lime rice, black beans, avocado, and plenty of sauce.
And yes, this is the same cilantro-lime sauce from those shrimp tacos. It is creamy, tangy, herby, a little garlicky, and honestly good enough to drizzle over just about anything. If you already love the taco version, I think you are going to be obsessed with this bowl version.
Quick Tip
Shrimp are labeled with numbers like 21/25 or U/15. “U” means “under,” so U/12 means fewer than 12 shrimp per pound. 21/25 means 21 to 25 shrimp per pound. The smaller the number, the bigger the shrimp.
How To Make Cilantro Lime Shrimp
The full recipe is below, but here are our top shrimp cooking tips!
- Pick the right shrimp. Save yourself some work (and hassle) by picking shelled, peeled, and deveined shrimp. If using frozen shrimp, be sure it has fully thawed before cooking it. (Rinse under cold, not warm water, to keep the firm texture.)
- Pat it dry. Whatever shrimp you’re using (fresh or frozen), be sure to thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. The cilantro-lime marinade spices won’t adhere to wet shrimp and the shrimp won’t cook properly.
- Shrimp cooks really fast, so we recommend cooking the shrimp quickly at higher temps and using tongs instead of a spoon to place, flip, and remove the shrimp. This allows the shrimp to get a nice char (char=flavor). It’s easy to overcook shrimp, so watch them closely and remove from the skillet promptly. (Even off heat, the skillet is still retaining heat.)
What To Serve With Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Once the shrimp is cooked, it’s time to build the bowls! Here are our favorite additions:
- Black beans: Saucy Black Beans are amazing here, but canned black beans work great too.
- Avocado or guac: Adds creaminess and fresh flavor. Use a ripe avocado that gives slightly when pressed near the stem.
- Cilantro lime rice: Use a box mix for ease, or make your own by stirring 1–2 tablespoons lime juice, 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, and salt into 1 cup cooked rice.
- Other toppers: Fresh lime, cilantro, and jalapeño add so much flavor. Mix diced jalapeño into the rice for extra heat.
Variations
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp grilled (on skewers): Use the seasoning blend in my recipe below and use this detailed breakdown on how to perfectly grill it!
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad: Add a base of finely chopped romaine lettuce to the bowl. You can still prepare the rice and add it on top of the lettuce (We love a good grain salad recipe!) or replace the rice with the lettuce.
- Air Fryer Cilantro Lime Shrimp: Follow the directions to marinate the shrimp in seasonings and then cook in the air fryer according to your fryer’s directions. (Each air fryer typically comes with a manual breaking down cooking times for proteins in their specific model.)
Shortcut Ideas
Bowl recipes can be overwhelming — preparing all the components for the bowl and then a sauce to top it all off. It’s a lot.
So here are my top shortcut suggestions. Yes, homemade is always best, but use convenient store shortcuts when needed right!?
- Prepared Cilantro Lime Shrimp. I honestly have not tried already-prepared shrimp, but have heard great reviews on it. Costco and many other stores sell it, and it’s already seasoned and cooked so you can just throw it on your bowl.
- Use a cilantro-lime rice mix. Nothing beats the ease of already cooked, packaged rice or a seasoning mix!
- Make the cilantro-lime sauce ahead of time. Not really a shortcut per se, but it sure makes dinner assembly a breeze when the sauce is already made. Plus, the sauce only gets more flavorful as it sits in the fridge.
More Delicious Shrimp Recipes:
Easy Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Video
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 (8 to 10-ounce) package cilantro-lime rice mix see note 2
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 large ripe avocado chopped
- Limes cut into wedges, optional, for serving
- 2 limes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup fresh cilantro loosely packed, plus more for serving if desired
- 1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeño seeds/ribs removed
- 1/2 cup mayo full-fat
- 1/2 cup sour cream lite/fat-free works great
Instructions
- Prepare the rice according to package directions. As soon as the rice is done cooking, fluff and stir in the drained and rinsed black beans. Or warm beans separately if you want to serve as a side in the bowl (as pictured).
- Pat both sides of the shrimp completely dry, then gently toss in a large bowl with the cumin, garlic powder, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Hold off on salt/pepper for now. Cover and place in the fridge while preparing the rest of this dish.
- Sauce: Zest and juice 1–2 limes to get 1/2 teaspoon zest and 4 tablespoons juice. Add the juice and zest to a blender or food processor along with the minced garlic, cilantro, jalapeño (add more for a spicier sauce or add slowly if you’re worried about the heat), and mayo. Add salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper). Blend or pulse until smooth. Add sour cream and pulse once more to combine. Taste and adjust the sauce to preference (more lime, garlic, salt/pepper). Refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Remove shrimp from fridge and add salt and pepper. (Creole seasoning has salt, so don’t add too much extra—I add 1/4 teaspoon of each.) In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over high heat. Once butter is melted, using tongs, add half the shrimp in an even layer so the shrimp is not overlapping. (It will steam if the pan is too crowded.) Cook for 1 minute, then use tongs to flip each shrimp and cook the other side for 1 more minute or until cooked through (shrimp cooks quickly—see note 4!). Transfer cooked shrimp to a clean plate.
- In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 more tablespoon butter. Add in the remaining shrimp, cooking for 1 minute per side (or until cooked through). Use tongs (never a spoon) to place shrimp in the pan and flip. Transfer all the cooked shrimp to a plate.
- Layer the ingredients into bowls, beginning with the prepared rice mixture. Then add shrimp, desired bowl toppings (avocado, additional cilantro, black beans), and finally a good drizzle of the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed and enjoy promptly! Drizzle some extra lime over bowls if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this tonight and it was Excellent! It will be a family favorite for sure!
YAY!! So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Lori! 🙂
Truly elegant flavors and appearance. I wanted to use the sauce for every meal afterwards!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Pam! 🙂
Just absolutely yummy🎉🎉🎉💚
I’m so happy you enjoyed! 🙂
My family loved this! I didn’t make the sauce to go with and I added mango to the bowl. They asked if I could make it every night. They want me to make the sauce with it next time just to see.
I am thrilled to hear this! 🙂
This was my first recipe from your site and what a delicious way to start I made the rice with lime juice ,rind and chopped cilantro. Made the shrimp as written. Served as shown in the recipe. That sauce is delicious, I used yogurt instead of sour cream and mayo with a pinch of salt since no mayo. My husband said it’s a keeper!
I am so happy to hear this Nancy! Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
Excellente recipe! Super tasty!
Thanks Elizabeth! 🙂
This is one of the top 5 recipes I’ve tried of yours. SO good and SO easy. Perfect amount of spice and flavor.
Ahh i’m so glad you enjoyed Jordan! Thanks!! 🙂
another great recipe, love all of these ingredients although I’m not eating much rice these days, a few bites will be fine, thank you for this recipe!
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment Sabrina 🙂
Hi CHELSEA
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Thanks a lot, dear.
Ahh this made my day! So glad you guys enjoy this page!<3
hey girl- this is right up my alley! yummy!