If there’s one recipe that manages to combine protein, texture, and flavor in spades, it’s Blackened Shrimp Tacos. Marrying Southern smoky flavors with bright and zesty Mexican sensibilities, these easy weeknight tacos take only 30 minutes and are equally suited to dinner for two or a celebratory patio party in high summer.
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Where’s the magic come from? All over: Seared shrimp coated in classic Southern Blackened Seasoning; slightly charred corn tortillas; a crisp and refreshing slaw; and a smooth and flavorful cilantro lime crema. You get smoky, umami, crunchy, tangy, and satisfying in every single bite. What’s not to love?
Table of Contents
Recipe at a Glance
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 tacos
- Skill Level: Easy
Ingredients for Blackened Shrimp Tacos
For the Tacos
- Medium Shrimp: Look for shrimp in the 31/40 per pound range, with glossy, translucent flesh and a clean ocean smell. If you’re buying frozen, thaw them in the fridge for a day before cooking. Do not thaw at room temperature, which can increase the risk of foodborne illness.
- Olive Oil: The right extra-virgin olive oil is light, fruity, and flavorful. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, but make sure it’s of decent quality.
- Blackened Seasoning: While you can find this at the store, I highly recommend the minor extra effort required to make my Blackened Seasoning recipe at home.
- Tortillas: Choose fresh, pliable corn tortillas that are tender and without cracks.
- Butter: Choose a high-quality butter. Salted is fine unless your blackened seasoning is already salty, in which case an unsalted butter is a better bet. You can always add salt later.
- Jalapeño: Look for firm jalapeños with smooth, glossy, green skin devoid of cracks or dry-looking veins of brown.
- Lime: Choose bright, firm limes that weigh relatively more than the others in the produce section. This tells you they contain lots of juice … yum!
The Slaw
- Cabbage: Again, you’re looking for produce with a high water content, which yields crisp leaves and good flavor. Weigh the cabbages in your hands to find one that feels heavy for its size with firm, tightly packed leaves.
- Radishes: Bright reddish-pink skin and a smooth exterior are the telltale signs of a good radish.
- Green Onion: Look for green onions with unblemished stalks and firm white bulbs.
- Olive Oil: As stated above, you’re looking for an olive oil that is light, fruity, and flavorful.
- Lime: Smooth skin, a heavy feel, and slight give when lightly pressed signal the perfect lime.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Cilantro Lime Crema
- Sour Cream or Mexican Crema: Choose a full-fat version for a rich and creamy texture.
- Fresh Cilantro: Look for bright green leaves without any yellowing or wilting.
- Lime: Use fresh limes for the best zest and juice.
- Garlic: Choose plump bulbs with taut, unbroken outer skins.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
How to Make Blackened Shrimp Tacos
Mix cabbage, radish, green onion, olive oil, and lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, mix, and chill.
Stir sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, zest, and garlic together in a bowl. Adjust salt and pepper; chill.
Coat shrimp in olive oil and blackened seasoning in a bowl. Warm each tortilla in a hot skillet until lightly charred, then wrap in foil to keep warm. In the same skillet, heat olive oil and butter. Sear shrimp for about 2 minutes each side. Fill tortillas with Blackened Shrimp, top with slaw, cilantro lime crema, and optional jalapeño and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
6 Recipe Tips
- Shrimp Prep: I love buying shrimp that are already peeled and deveined. It’s a major timesaver (and bonus: you don’t have to deal with all their creepy little legs). If you decide to do it yourself, be sure to remove the vein running along the back of the shrimp for the best texture and flavor. Simply make a slice along the vein, then pull it out and wash the crevice.
- Adjust Seasonings: Keep in mind that store-bought blackened seasoning can vary a lot in terms of both heat and salt. Taste it before using and adjust as necessary. You can always add more, but you can’t remove it once added.
- Tortilla Toasting: Don’t skip the tortilla charring step. It’s key to getting the nice, smoky flavor on which this recipe rests.
- Crema Consistency: Crema or sour cream too thick to drizzle? You can thin it out slightly with a bit of milk.
- Slaw Mix: If you can, prepare your slaw a while in advance, which allows the flavors to marry and the veggies to macerate in the lime and salt.
- Heat Level: Those who are sensitive to spicy foods should remove the seeds from the jalapeños or avoid them altogether. On the other hand, you can pump up the heat by either adding more jalapeños or slicing them more thickly … or both, you maniac.
Make-Ahead, Storage and Reheating
I advise assembling Blackened Shrimp Tacos just before serving. However, you can prepare most of the individual components ahead of time. For instance, the slaw can be made up to a day ahead. Just keep it covered in the fridge. If you like it a bit softer, dress it when prepping ahead. If crispness matters more, dress it closer to serving. The cilantro lime crema also keeps well in the fridge, and the flavors blend nicely if you let it sit. Where possible, chill it for a few hours before dinner, up to three days tops.
To store your leftovers, pop shrimp, slaw, crema, and tortillas each into their own tightly sealed containers. Shrimp and slaw will both keep up to two days in the fridge. When Leftover O’Clock comes around, heat shrimp gently in a skillet over medium-low heat for a minute or two, but no longer – otherwise, they get rubbery. Warm tortillas in a separate dry skillet until soft, then assemble.
Serve With
More Shrimp Tacos
Video
Ingredients
For the Slaw
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 2 thinly sliced radishes
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice from about 1/2 a lime
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Cilantro Lime Crema
- 1 cup sour cream or Mexican crema (thinned with milk as needed for drizzling)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro plus more for serving
- 1 medium lime juice and zest
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Tacos
- 1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons blackened seasoning store bought or homemade (recipe note #1)
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 tablespoon butter
- thinly sliced fresh jalapeño optional
- fresh lime wedges for serving
Instructions
To Make Slaw
- Combine cabbage, radish, green onion, olive oil and lime juice in a medium bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper; stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To Make the Cilantro Lime Crema
- In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and zest, and garlic; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Tacos
- Add shrimp to a large bowl; drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with blackened seasoning. Toss well to coat; set aside.
- Place a large piece of aluminum foil near cooktop. Heat a large, dry, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add one corn tortilla; cook 30 seconds on each side until softened and lightly charred. Transfer to aluminum foil and fold around tortilla to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Leave skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add remaining olive oil and butter to skillet and stir until sizzling. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes; flip with a thin spatula and cook about 2 minutes more, until shrimp is just cooked through. Remove from heat.
Assemble Blackened Shrimp Tacos
- Divide shrimp among warm corn tortillas and top with slaw and drizzle with cilantro lime crema; garnish with cilantro and fresh jalapeño slices (if desired). Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
- It’s easy to make homemade Blackened Seasoning in about 5 minutes with spices you may have on hand!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is it weird that I want blackened shrimp tacos for breakfast!? 😉 Seriously, these look/sound so amazing. I love your seasoning mix. That, I need to make and have on hand for sure. 🙂 ~Valentina
haha…not weird at all! Thanks so much, Valentina.
I love blackened anything, and I also love tacos – so I know these blackened shrimp tacos would be a huge hit here in our house!
haha, perfect! I love to hear that, David.
Fabulous! I love everything about these. Salmon would work really well with your seasoning mixture also. Salmon tacos are really good, too.
Thank you, Mimi! I agree about the salmon!