Chelsea's Messy Apron

Simple, healthy recipes without sacrificing taste!

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Shrimp Tacos

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Perfectly seasoned shrimp with cilantro-lime slaw and fresh avocado all packed in a tortilla. These shrimp tacos can be ready in 30 minutes or less! (Plus, prep ahead tips!)

Alternate “Taco Tuesday” meals with this shrimp taco recipe, these chicken tacos (READER FAVORITE!), these vegetarian tacos, these asian tacos, or these quinoa tacos. 

Overhead image of the completed shrimp tacos.

Shrimp Tacos

  • Shrimp: of course this is a given! The shrimp is marinated for a bit in a delicious (easy) seasoning mix and some olive oil. Once it’s cooked, drizzle over fresh lime and it’s ready to go!
  • Slaw: this slaw is simply shredded green cabbage mixed with the simple cilantro sauce. 
  • Cilantro Sauce: the sauce is multi-purpose: you’ll toss the slaw with the sauce and then also add a drizzle over the finished tacos. Not only is it easy to make, you can also prep this ahead of time (up to a day in advance).
  • Fresh Avocado/Guacamole: you can make your own quick guacamole or grab some at the store. Otherwise, a few slices of fresh avocado works great too. The avocado gives these tacos a delicious creamy element while keeping them healthy.

How do you make delicious shrimp?

Making delicious shrimp is all about how you season it and then cook it! This recipe has a killer seasoning mix and below I’m sharing some tips for cooking it.

A few tips for cooking perfect shrimp:

  • When shrimp is raw the flesh is a grayish color. As it cooks, the protein turns to an opaque whitish pink color. Shrimp cook VERY quickly – about 2-3 minutes per side – so don’t take your eyes off of them while they’re cooking.
    • The shrimp should curl up into a loose “C” shape when properly cooked. If they have curled up into a tight “O” shape, then the shrimp is most likely overcooked. (An undercooked shrimp will still have some grayish spots on them and form more of a flexible “U” shape)
    • Cook the shrimp very last for these tacos so the shrimp don’t dry out while preparing the other components of this dish.
  • I recommend buying shrimp that’s already been peeled and deveined to make this dish go faster and the prep to be simpler!
  • If you are using frozen shrimp, make sure to let it completely thaw out before putting over any heat.

While these stand on their own pretty well, here are a couple of quick side dish ideas:

What to serve with these tacos:

Overhead image of the completed-ready to eat shrimp tacos.

More Easy Seafood Dishes:

5 from 39 votes
Print
Shrimp Tacos
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Perfectly seasoned shrimp with cilantro-lime slaw and fresh avocado all packed in a tortilla. These shrimp tacos can be ready in 30 minutes or less! (Plus, prep ahead tips!)

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: shrimp tacos
Servings: 12 small tacos (serves 4)
Calories: 408 kcal
Author: Chelsea
Ingredients
Shrimp
  • 1 pound (~45) medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 small cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, separated
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or use additional olive oil)
  • 1-2 fresh limes
  • 2 cups shredded green cabbage
  • 1 large avocado
  • Corn (or flour) tortillas
Cilantro Lime Sauce
  • 1 lime juiced and zested (3 tablespoons juice + 1/2 teaspoon zest)
  • 1-2 cloves garlic add to desired preference, minced
  • 1/2 of a large bunch of cilantro
  • 1/2 jalapeno (or 1 full jalapeno for a spicier dressing)
  • 1/2 cup regular full fat mayo
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, I use fat-free
  • Optional: olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
Shrimp

  1. Pat both sides of the shrimp dry and then gently toss in a large bowl with the garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover and place in the fridge while preparing the rest of this dish (at least 15 minutes and up to overnight).

  2. In a large skillet (if you don't have a big enough skillet to cook all the shrimp in a single layer, separate this process AND the butter + olive oil into 2 parts), melt butter and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.

  3. Add shrimp in a single layer and saute until they just turn pink, flipping shrimp over halfway through, 2 to 4 minutes depending upon their size. Remove from heat and set aside to a cutting board. Cut off the tails. If desired, add a squeeze of fresh lime juice to the shrimp.

For the Cilantro Lime Sauce

  1. Zest and juice 1 lime to get 3 tablespoons juice and 1/2 teaspoon zest. Add the juice and zest to a powerful blender or mini food processor along with the minced garlic, cilantro, 1/2 of the seeded jalapeno (add more of the jalapeno for a spicier sauce, add slowly if you're worried about the heat), and mayo. Add salt and pepper to taste and blend or pulse until smooth. Add in the sour cream and pulse once more to combine.

Assemble Tacos

  1. Remove 1/2 a cup of the cilantro lime sauce and toss it with the shredded green cabbage to combine.

  2. OPTIONAL: Spray the tortillas (both sides) with olive oil cooking spray and "grill" tortillas on stovetop over the open flame until slightly charred. Alternatively warm (covered with a damp paper towel) in the microwave.

  3. Fill tortillas with shrimp, a generous serving of the slaw, and fresh avocado. Drizzle additional sauce over top and serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Recipe Video

Nutritional facts in the shrimp tacos.

Perfectly seasoned shrimp with cilantro-lime slaw and fresh avocado all packed in a tortilla. These shrimp tacos can be ready in 30 minutes or less! (Plus, prep ahead tips!) via chelseasmessyapron.com #shrimp #taco #easy #quick #healthy #fast #recipe #meal #cilantro #lime #avocado #guacamole #tacos
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Comments

  3. Danny Rose says

    5 stars
    Shrimp tacos, that’s quite an idea. I can hardly believe that this delicious meal is also so healthy. That’s rare. I just had to try them, and they were bursting with flavor. Followed your recipe to the letter. Great work!

    Reply

  4. Laurie says

    5 stars
    This was great! So much flavor with just the right amount of spice. I ended up adding a little bit of white rice with some lime and cilantro to the tortilla, then put on the greens, then the shrimp. I added some avocado, more cilantro, the leftover sauce, a squirt of lime juice, and some feta cheese. I used wheat tortillas to keep it on the healthy side. Everything was so good, my husband and I devoured it in record time! Definitely going in the regular rotation!! Thank you!!

    Thanks
    Laurie
    https://tellthebell.tips/

    Reply

    • chelseamessyapron says

      Yay! SO happy to hear this is was a hit ? The white rice addition sounds delicious! Thanks for the comment Laurie! ?

      Reply

  8. Denise Jones says

    5 stars
    These were AHMAZING…thank u so much for sharing . I only used half of the cilantro and used flour tortillas bc that’s what I had. I will be making these again.

    Reply

  9. Nicole says

    5 stars
    This was delicious! We did lettuce tacos instead of flour/corn and it was a light and flavorful dinner. I will be making this again!

    Reply

  12. Barb says

    5 stars
    Love the shrimp tacos and so did my husband. The cilantro lime sauce is one of my favorites. Thanks for a great recipe! Will be making them again

    Reply

  14. Joy says

    5 stars
    These were so refreshing and different. Most of my family loved them, my youngest doesn’t like shrimp. So I decided to shred some grilled chicken and toss in the same spices for him this time. Hopefully it’ll be as good as the shrimp ones are for the rest of us,

    Reply

    • Chelsea Lords says

      I am sooo happy you guys loved this!! Smart move with the chicken, I’m sure he loved it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

      Reply

  15. Mia says

    5 stars
    Love it love it love it!! I made it as soon as I saw it! And even the fam enjoyed and devoured all of it! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  21. Kate says

    Do you have substitute ideas for the sour cream? My daughter is allergic to dairy and I would love to be able to make these. Thanks!!

    Reply

  22. Leanna says

    5 stars
    These were so good! And so EASY even for me 🙂 I was nervous about the jalapeño, but I added in pieces slowly to gauge spice and that was a great suggestion! Grocery stores were all out of fresh cilantro so used paste and that did the job. Will definitely make again! And plan to scan your site for more recipes!!!

    Reply

  23. Sarah says

    These were soooo good! Best shrimp tacos I’ve ever made. I used almond flour tortillas and cut the sour cream, we are paleo, and they were perfect. Thank you!!

    Reply

  25. Richardine says

    5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe. It came out great. My husband loved it and wanted me to save some so my daughter could taste it. I’m making extra sauce to keep on hand for a readymade coleslaw dressing.

    Reply

  26. julia says

    5 stars
    made these tacos for dinner tonight… they were so delicious! the shrimp tasted amazing and the cilantro-lime slaw was fantastic. 10/10 would recommend!

    Reply

  33. JayneSB says

    5 stars
    Ok, made these taco’s tonight almost exactly as written, they were AMAZING! It took me a bit more than 30 minutes to prepare but that might be because I had to refer to the recipe so often. I am thinking the next time I make them it will go much faster. One note: corn tortillas make a huge difference!(And this is coming from folks who are generally flour tortilla people). Heating them in a cast iron pan makes them extra tasty! Give this recipe a try you won’t be disappointed.

    Reply

  35. Kathy says

    5 stars
    These shrimp tacos were amazing. Had to improvise with a couple of the ingredients, but still every bite was full of flavor.

    Reply

  36. Lynn says

    5 stars
    These were excellent!
    Followed recipe exactly. Next time we will make twice as much cilantro sauce and maybe add some fresh spinach along with the cabbage(we like greens)!

    Reply

  40. Megan Crouse says

    5 stars
    This is a perfect recipe .
    Best marinade!
    I didn’t have sour cream or fresh cilantro so I used mayo and freeze dried cilantro and the dressing still was still delicious! I will make these over and over .

    Reply

  41. Ryan says

    5 stars
    Very good recipe, thank you. Only thing I did differently was added crumbled Queso Fresco to top them off and additional cilantro to the top.

    Reply

  42. Alan says

    I love these, but after starting to track macros and calories, the nutrition is super-super-off.

    If this makes 12 tacos and serves four, each person is eating three tortillas. Just the tortillas alone are 420 calories and 72 grams of carbs, but this says the entire serving is 408 calories and less than 18 g carbs.

    Reply

  43. Alis says

    5 stars
    Thanks for awesome information. These tacos are the perfect light (yet filling) dish to ring in the new year with! They’re packed with flavor, made with tons of healthy ingredients, and they’re FAST to whip together. I’ll share my favorite way to make shrimp tacos, but honestly, this shrimp is good enough to stand on its own — the seasoning mix is so delicious (while also remaining easy with few ingredients!)

    Reply

  45. Tracy says

    5 stars
    Shut the front door, these shrimp tacos are ridiculously fantastic!!! Not only is the seasoning on the shrimp fully flavorful, then comes the sauce and watch out, because the taste of it mixed in with the cabbage and also drizzled over top of the taco will make you say “OMG, this is the best shrimp taco ever!”
    I enjoyed reading all the reviews and to be honest, they are what sold me on picking this recipe out of many, to make this dish yesterday and what a delight it was to have my boyfriend give me huge kudos on all the flavors he tasted within the taco.

    Reply

    • Chelsea Lords says

      Haha! You made my day Tracy!! Thanks so much for your kind comment and review 🙂 SO thrilled these were a hit!

      Reply

  46. Vandalay says

    5 stars
    This was delicious!! I was looking for a fast dinner recipe for weekdays and this was perfect. Quick, easy, and delicious. This is going into my rotation of meals, without a doubt.

    Reply

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