Spice up your dinner routine with our mouth-watering Quick and Easy Shrimp Tacos. Succulent shrimp, seasoned and cooked perfectly, then added to a warm flour tortilla and adorned with your favorite taco toppings. Perfect for busy weeknights and entertaining guests.
Since you love an easy shrimp taco recipe, be sure to check out these Crispy Tacos Dorados and these Homemade Chalupas while you're here!
Shrimp tacos and even fish tacos are definitely a family favorite! We love setting up a taco bar, and everyone gets to add whatever toppings they like. They're so quick and easy to make too, which is the best part!
Why you will love these shrimp tacos
Super simple: these tacos take very minimal effort, and they are ready to eat in well under 20 minutes. It is such a great recipe for a quick weeknight meal, or your next Cinco de Mayo celebration!
Fresh: the juicy shrimp adds a nice freshness and puts a different spin on traditional tacos. They taste very fresh and clean every single time.
Delicious toppings: add a delicious cabbage slaw, some red onion, fresh cilantro, and of course a delicious hot sauce (details in the recipe card).
Ingredients for the best shrimp taco recipe
Tortillas: you can use flour tortillas or corn tortillas for this recipe. It is definitley a preference thing.
Shrimp: using frozen shrimp instead of "fresh shrimp" is ideal for this recipe, I'll explain more below. Grab a bag of frozen, raw shrimp from your local seafood department.
Lime wedges: adding a squeeze of fresh lime juice to these shrimp tacos really brighten up the flavor.
Hot sauce: whip-up a delicious taco sauce for your shrimp tacos. We love to add this creamy chipotle sauce to ours.
How to make tacos with shrimp
Season and Cook shrimp
Make sure your raw shrimp is fully defrosted. You can run it under cold water to get any chill off of it. If the shrimp you are using has a peel on it, make sure you peel and devein it.
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Place them in a large bowl and season them with a homemade taco seasoning made of: Garlic powder, chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, black pepper, and salt.
If you want spicy shrimp tacos, add some cayenne pepper to your seasoning mixture. Once the shrimp are seasoned, you can add them to your air fryer and cook for 5-7 minutes; or pan sear them over medium high heat with a bit of olive oil for 2-3 minutes per side.
Build the tacos
Once the shrimp are cooked, it's time to build the tacos! Warm tortillas in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. Next, place the cook shrimp in the center of the flour tortillas.
Top the shrimp taco with a slaw, or a little bit of shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, a creamy hot sauce or sour cream, and serve with lime wedges!
Toppings for the best shrimp tacos
The toppings for these tacos are endless! Which is the fun part, add as little or as many toppings as you like. Here are some suggestions for taco toppings:
- Mango salsa
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh lime juice
- Sour cream or greek yogurt
- Creamy slaw or shredded cabbage
- Pico de gallo
- Hot sauce or salsa
Hot sauce for tacos
To make the perfect shrimp taco sauce you only need a few ingredients. This sauce is delicious on classic tacos, fish tacos, or even chimichangas too!
Add about 2 tablespoons of sour cream to a small bowl, next mix in 1 tablespoon of chipotle sauce, or sriracha sauce. Season the mixture with cumin, cayenne pepper, and a dash of salt.
Drizzle in about 1 teaspoon of lime juice, and stir until everything is fully combined. Serve this taco sauce directly over your fish tacos.
Why you should use frozen shrimp instead of fresh shrimp
When you go to your local grocery store to buy "fresh shrimp" from the seafood department, it is normally in a glass display case, sitting over ice. Well most of the time, the grocery store buys the shrimp previously frozen.
So this means that the shrimp was frozen and defrosted to be sold to you. Buying it in the frozen state means that you will be defrosting it at home yourself, instead of buying it "previously defrosted."
Defrosting shrimp is very fast too. Add the shrimp to a small bowl and run cold water over it. You can also set it in the refrigerator to defrost.
FAQ
What to season shrimp with?
Season your shrimp with a cajun seasoning, garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper. Add a little bit of olive oil to help bind the seasoning to the shrimp.
Can I use frozen shrimp for shrimp tacos?
Yes. Frozen shrimp is the best to use when you are making shrimp tacos. Simply defrost them prior to cooking the shrimp.
What is a good side dish for shrimp tacos?
Mexican rice is always a delicious side dish with tacos. You can also serve them with a side of street corn, or elotes too.
More recipes to try:
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 4 Flour tortillas warmed-up
- Optional Toppings: cabbage slaw creamy chipotle sauce, avocados, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes
Instructions
- Peel and devein the shrimp. Make sure they are clean, and dry them with paper towels.
- Next, add the shrimp to a large bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss to coat the shrimp.
- Sprinkle in the garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, ground cumin, and salt. Use tongs or a spoon to toss the seasoning with the shrimp to make sure each piece is evenly coated.
Air Fryer Shrimp:
- Add the shrimp to your air fryer in one single layer and air fry at 400° for 3 minutes. Turn the shrimp and cook for an additional two minutes.
- Continue cooking in batches until all the shrimp are cooked.
Stovetop Shrimp:
- Add the shrimp to a skillet over medium high heat in one single layer.
- Cool on each side for 2-3 minutes. Remove immediately and set aside.
Assemble the shrimp tacos:
- Warm the flour tortillas up over medium high heat in a cast iron skillet, or directly over gas flames on the stove.
- Turn the tortillas over frequently so that they do
- Not burn.
Assemble the shrimp tacos:
- Add 5-6 pieces of shrimp to the center of each tortilla.
- Add some cabbage slaw, creamy chipotle sauce, and avocado on top- or
- Add your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
Gina says
Delish