Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa are a sensational blend of textures and sweet and savory flavors. Plump, juicy shrimp are nestled into warm corn tortillas, smothered with fresh mango salsa and drizzled with creamy, spicy chipotle crema. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are wildly delicious.
These tacos are a mashup of a few of my favorite recipes: Grilled Shrimp Tacos, Mango Salsa, and Chipotle Crema to round things out. Though each element of this recipe is easy, it does take some time to prep. But with your first bite, you'll know it was 100% worth the effort.
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Ingredients You Need to Make Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
For Mango Salsa
- Mango: ideally a fresh, ripe mango
- Avocado: ripe, but firm enough to dice
- Red Cabbage: or green cabbage
- Red Bell Pepper: or yellow or orange sweet pepper
- Green Onion
- Jalapeño: leave the seeds for extra spice
- Fresh Cilantro
- Fresh Lime Juice: about ½ lime
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Ground Cumin
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
For Shrimp Tacos and Chipotle Crema
- Fresh Cilantro
- Kosher Salt: or fine sea salt
- Ground Cumin
- Cayenne Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Shrimp: ideally medium shrimp
- Corn Tortillas: yellow or white corn
- Sour Cream: or Mexican Crema
- Lime: juice and zest + lime wedges for serving (optional)
- Chipotle Hot Sauce: such as Cholula brand or Tabasco brand
- Kosher Salt: or half the amount of fine sea salt
Though these make great weeknight dinners, they're also a terrific option if you're looking for something different and fun for your next dinner party. Assemble them and serve on a platter or serve family style and let your guests build their own.
Recipe Options
- Swap corn tortillas for flour tortillas or make some of both.
- Kick up the heat with extra slices of fresh jalapeño peppers.
- Season shrimp with chili powder along with the other spices for added flavor depth.
More Ways to Enjoy Shrimp
- Shrimp Tacos (A reader favorite with crispy, salt and pepper shrimp!)
- Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
- Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
- Shrimp Remoulade
- Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Shrimp Piccata
How to Make Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Make mango salsa, combine all salsa ingredients and set aside or refrigerator. Then make chipotle crema, whisk together all ingredients and refrigerate.
Cook tortillas in a dry, heavy skillet until softened and lightly charred, about 30 seconds per side. Wrap in aluminum foil to keep warm.
Combine shrimp with cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and toss to coat. Cook and stir in a medium skillet until just cooked through.
To make tacos, top each warm corn tortilla with ⅛ of the shrimp. Top with a generous amount of mango salsa and drizzle with chipotle crema. Serve with lime wedges if desired.
Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Ingredients
For Mango Salsa
- 1 small mango peeled, pitted and diced small
- 1 small avocado peeled and diced small
- ¼ cup finely chopped red cabbage
- ½ small red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 small green onion finely chopped
- 1 small jalapeño seeded and minced, (recipe note #1)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (recipe note #2)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice about ½ lime
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Chipotle Crema
- ½ cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- ½ medium lime juice and zest
- 1 ½ tablespoons chipotle hot sauce or more to taste (such as Cholula brand chipotle hot sauce)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Shrimp Tacos
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish (recipe note #2)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper or more for spicier shrimp
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 8 corn tortillas
- lime wedges optional
Instructions
To Make Mango Salsa
- To a medium bowl add first 7 ingredients (mango through cilantro).
- Add lime juice, olive oil, and cumin to mango mixture. Gently toss to coat. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside or cover and refrigerate if making well in advance.
To Chipotle Crema
- In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, lime juice and zest, chipotle hot sauce and kosher salt until smooth. Cover and refrigerate.
To Make Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
- In a large bowl, whisk together cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Add shrimp and gently toss to coat. Set aside.
- Place a large piece of aluminum foil near cooktop. Heat a 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.
- Heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add shrimp; cook and stir until pink and just cooked through. Remove from heat.
- Assemble Tacos: top one warm corn tortilla with ⅛ of the shrimp and spoon on desired amount of mango salsa. Drizzle with chipotle crema. Repeat with remaining tortillas, arranging on a serving platter as you go. Serve with lime wedges if desired.
Notes
- I recommend wearing gloves when cutting raw jalapeños as the juice can be very irritating to skin.
- You'll need ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (plus more for optional garnish). Chop it all at once and divide for the separate recipe steps.
- If you want lime wedges, you'll need an additional lime.
This was delicious - my 14 year old son made it for dinner tonight, and the recipe was clear, detailed enough without being overwhelming, and easy to follow (thank you!!). We served the tacos with baked sweet potato wedges to dip into the extra spicy sauce - so good!
Your comment made my day, Rose! So glad these were a hit!
I love everything about these shrimp tacos Marissa! We're huge fans of shrimp at our house and I love the mango salsa and chipotle crema too! Total home run!
Thank you, Mary Ann!
The other day my girlfriend told me that she always loves my shrimp! I just mentioned that I cook them properly, meaning I don’t overcook them. And that’s exactly what it looks like you do as well. Rubbery shrimp is awful! Love your tacos, the crema and that salsa. Beautiful.
so true, Mimi! Thanks so much.
What a beautiful and delicious combination of flavors. Mango salsa is my absolute favorite, and when you add shrimp and the chipotle flavor -- oh my! We just ordered dinner tonight from a new local taco place and I ordered something similar to this -- we're currently waiting for the delivery, but not sure it'll measure up to yours 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you, Valentina! I'm excited for you to try these tacos - I think you and your family will love them.
is it okay if i use precooked frozen shrimp? writing this down in my recipe book and considering doing it in the future <3
Hi there, Veronika! Sure - just be sure to cook the shrimp until they're just heated through so they don't become rubbery.
Haha - you did indeed have a shrimp taco recipe up your sleeve for that chipotle crema! I love it! With all of the citrus flavors, this one is perfect for spring!
haha...I laughed when you wrote that on the crema, David! Yes, perfect for spring!
Shrimp and mango pair beautifully together, that's one of my favourite combinations. The tacos look irresistibly delicious, and I love this chipotle crema, too.
aww, thanks Ben!