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.
Shrimp Tacos
What goes in a shrimp taco?
- 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:
- Cucumber Salad
- Caprese Salad
- Roasted Vegetables (or just Roasted Brussel Sprouts)
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Italian Salad
More Easy Seafood Dishes:
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- One Pan Fish and Chips (Reader Favorite!)
- Sweet Honey Garlic Shrimp
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!)
- 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
- 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
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Remove 1/2 a cup of the cilantro lime sauce and toss it with the shredded green cabbage to combine.
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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.
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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.
Melissa Griffiths says
Shrimp tacos are life! Can’t wait to try.
chelseamessyapron says
Agreed 🙂 I hope you love these!!
Denise Darneille says
These were delicious! My husband loved them and I wasn’t sure he would. For sure a make again recipe!!
chelseamessyapron says
So happy to hear that! 🙂 Thanks for the comment Denise!!