These are not your average Shrimp Tacos. Imagine lightly charred corn tortillas cradling tender shrimp with a crisp salt and pepper crust, topped with crunchy cabbage and radish slaw then finished with creamy spicy shrimp taco sauce, a scatter of fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. So easy too. You can make them start to finish in 30 minutes, easy enough for a weeknight dinner!
For the past year, I've been working on perfecting this spicy shrimp taco recipe. I've made them a dozen times and this one is IT.
Jump to:
Here's what happened.
There was a full moon the other night and, well, I think Brandi Carlile says it best in Hard Way Home:
I never was good at sleeping while the moon was full
I just lie and burn
Wreck my mind while the planet turns
Yes, that about sums it up.
When I wasn't thinking about: work, family, coffee, the concept of eternity, pulling weeds, what was that guy's name?..., I was conjuring these tacos. So insomnia isn't all bad.
“I need a new strategy for Shrimp Tacos,” I thought, “maybe a crunchy green cabbage and radish coleslaw and creamy spicy shrimp taco sauce. And what if the shrimp had a crisp salt and pepper crust (a riff on these Salt and Pepper Shrimp - not your average shrimp recipe, I promise.)?”
I’ll tell you what, these are literally the best shrimp tacos I have ever tasted. And they’re easy enough for a busy weeknight (watch the video if you want me to prove it 😉). A great way to mix up Taco Tuesday or to try instead of your favorite fish tacos.
A couple of notes: I love to make these with corn tortillas, but flour tortillas work just fine if that's what you have on hand. And be sure to use a high heat oil for frying the shrimp. Olive oil has a lower smoke point and you want the oil to be very hot so the shrimp get a nice, crisp coating.
Shrimp Taco Sauce
The crisp shrimp are essential to these tacos, but so is the sauce. Shrimp Taco Sauce sounds so official, but it's actually really simple and made with things that I bet you have in your refrigerator right now. It's just three ingredients: mayonnaise, sour cream and sriracha sauce, but it brings the textures together in these shrimp tacos and makes all of the other flavors shine!
How to Peel and Devein Raw Shrimp
For shrimp tacos, you'll want to completely peel and devein the shrimp. No one wants to bite into a shrimp tail!
To peel raw shrimp, first gently twist off the head (if still attached) then wedge your thumb inside the shell, just above the legs. Grasp the shell between your thumb and forefinger; lift and turn to detach the shell down to the tail segment. For shrimp with the tail intact, hold the peeled shrimp near the tail and gently pull to release the shrimp completely. (Skip this step for recipes where you want to leave the tail intact.)
Peeling Shrimp Peeled Shrimp with Tail Intact Fully Peeled Shrimp
To devein, use a sharp paring knife to cut a shallow slit down the center of the back. With the tip of the knife, gently lift the vein out and discard (wipe onto a paper towel). Repeat with remaining shrimp.
What to Serve with Shrimp Tacos
Though these are a meal on their own, they would be great alongside Homemade Refried Beans and tortilla chips with Pico de Gallo and Salsa Guacamole for dipping.
For a 30 minute, summertime version of these check out Grilled Shrimp Tacos.
More Mexican Food Recipes You'll Love
- Carne Asada (Check out the comments - everyone loves this!)
- Carne Asada Tacos (Perfect way to feed a crowd.)
- Pork Carnitas (Made in the slow cooker - easy, super juicy and flavorful.)
- Pork Carnitas Tacos (Our favorite way to enjoy carnitas!)
- Pulled Pork Quesadillas (Crispy, oven baked and totally irresistible!)
- Pulled Pork Nachos (With my top tips for perfect nachos every time.)
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice (You'd never know that this is a lightened up version!)
How to Make Shrimp Tacos
Step 1: Finely chop cabbage and radishes (and fresh cilantro if desired). Set aside.
Step 2: Make Shrimp Taco Sauce with equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream and sriracha sauce to taste. Dribble in water to thin if desired.
Step 3: Lightly char both sides of each corn tortilla in a hot cast iron skillet and transfer to a packet of aluminum foil to keep warm.
Step 4: Toss shrimp with cornstarch.
Step 5: Fry shrimp in hot oil (nearly smoking) in a large wok or skillet until pink. Add salt, pepper and fresh garlic to shrimp; toss until coated and fragrant. Transfer shrimp to a plate.
Step 6: Assemble tacos one at a time, topping each tortilla with shrimp, cabbage, radishes and cilantro (optional). Drizzle with shrimp taco sauce and add a squeeze of lime (optional). Enjoy!
Shrimp Tacos Recipe Video
Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
Shrimp Taco Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce or more
- water as needed to thin sauce
Shrimp Tacos
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup avocado oil or other high heat oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup finely chopped cabbage
- ½ cup finely chopped radishes
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro optional
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- jalapeño peppers thinly sliced, optional
Instructions
Shrimp Taco Sauce
- Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream and sriracha sauce in a small bowl. Add water, a few drops at a time, to reach your desired consistency. Set aside.
Shrimp Tacos
- Place a large piece of aluminum foil near cooktop. Heat a dry, heavy skillet (ideally cast iron) 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.
- In a medium bowl, coat peeled and deveined shrimp in cornstarch.
- Heat oil in a large wok or skillet until nearly smoking. Shake any excess cornstarch from shrimp and carefully add a few at a time to wok, giving each shrimp some room to crisp up. Cook, turning often with a spatula until shrimp are pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper and fresh garlic; toss with spatula just until spices are dispersed and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer shrimp to a plate or platter.
- Assemble tacos: top one warm corn tortilla with 3 or 4 shrimp and sprinkle with chopped cabbage, radishes and cilantro (if desired). Drizzle with desired amount of shrimp taco sauce. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve with lime wedges and sliced jalapeño if desired.
Mmmmmmm these look fabulous! I've had tacos with white fish and salmon, but not shrimp. Why the heck not?!! Can't wait to make these, thanks!
Thank you, Mimi! I'm so excited for you to try these!
I love how simple this recipe is. It was a huge hit in our household. I make it all the time now. We had some family and friends over helping with a project and I whipped this up for them, nothing was left and I was sending the recipe link to everyone afterwards 🙂 Thanks for sharing this gem!
You made my day, Danielle! I'm so happy that you and your family and friends are enjoying these!
I just tried these for dinner tonight. My husband and I both LOVED them!! Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe!! 😋😋😋
That's wonderful, Janet!! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
This was fantastic!! Since I’m the only one that likes radishes in my house I switched them out for scallions and it was delicious. I had the leftover greens as a salad for lunch the next day. Love the crunch!
Can you make these ahead of time, say an hour before serving?
I need to bring a Mexican appetizer to a pool party and these look delicious!
Hi Janet! Honestly, I wouldn't make them that far in advance. They're best served pretty quickly after assembling. How about something like this Mexican Street Corn Salad with Spicy Grilled Shrimp? I've served it at several parties and it's always a hit. Hope that helps!
Can the shrimp be cooked ahead of time and then assemble tacos at dinner time. I'm doing a taco bar and wanted to make as much ahead of time that I can.
Thank in advance for your help.
Hi there, Karen! I like to cook the shrimp as close as possible to when I'll be serving the tacos. The shrimp will still be tasty if cooked a bit ahead, but the crust won't be quite as hot and crispy.
Made this for Cinco de Mayo and it was a huge hit! My friend who lived in Mexico said it was the best shrimp taco he’s ever had and very authentic. Others asked where I ordered in from. Will definitely make this again.
That makes me so happy!! Thank you for coming back to let me know!!
I was looking for.a shrimp taco recipe when I came across this. It was a Hit. Everyone loved it, ages 2 through 69.
Thank you!,
That's fantastic, Debbie! So glad the tacos were a hit!
Made these tacos tonight and everybody loved them !! Such a hit and pretty simple to follow the recipe! Thank you , will definitely be making these again ..... and again !
I love to hear that, Debbie! Thank you!!
These look perfect Marissa!!! I love that slaw!!
Thanks so much, Joanne! The slaw definitely adds a delicious crunch to these!
Hi! I'm excited to try these, but I don't have any cornstarch... only tapioca flour and regular flour. Which do you recommend?? I'm scared to use the tapioca flour for fear of ruining it! I've had bad experiences with alternative thickeners...
Hi Abigail! I'd go with a light coating of the tapioca flour. Hope you love these!
I had been looking forward to this recipe all day the moment my wife said yes to shrimp tacos ... everything was superb!!I couldnt believe how amazing everything came out ... she is super picky and even she was impressed especially with the sriracha sauce that she asked me to continue to make it for other tacos ...and the slaw she hates slaw and she even thought it was amazing I did it with lettuce wraps because I am keto and I am enjoying more for lunch tomorrow :)I also added avacado because what is tacos without some sort of guac or avacado:) and I paired it with a cilantro lime rice yummy ..btw if you could tell me was the nutritional facts for a total of 1 taco or 2 and is that including the corn tortillas or just the ingredients itself ?
Your whole meal sounds wonderful, Nicole! I'm so glad that you and your wife enjoyed the tacos so much!! The nutrition info is per person and is for 2 tacos including the corn tortilla.
Hello,
Just found this yummy sounding easy recipe. I was wondering if one could use cooked shrimp and eliminate the cornstarch.?
Hi Nancy! You absolutely can! The shrimp won’t have that crisp salt and pepper crust, but they’ll still be delicious. I do recommend reheating your cooked shrimp in a skillet before assembling the tacos. Enjoy!
I made these last night....they were amazing! My very picky Mexican husband raved about them. I used a bit more sour cream than mayonnaise and I used Franks Hot Sauce instead of Sriracha sauce. We will definitely eat again. I may even make them for his family.
You made my day, Andrea! So glad that you and your family enjoyed them. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know.
is there anything i could sub for the cornstarch?
Hi Andi! I think that arrowroot powder would work well, but haven't tried it myself. If you do, let me know how it goes. 🙂
Loved these, definitely restaurant quality. Was wondering if you could substitute tilapia for shrimp?
So glad you enjoyed them, Marcia! I haven't made these with fish, but I think it would be delicious with a firm white fish like cod or halibut. My only concern with tilapia is that it tends to be pretty soft and I'm not sure about that texture in the tacos. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes! 🙂
We usually do a traditional “taco Tuesday “ with ground beef... but these were a hit... the new shrimp taco Tuesday has taken over ! The sauce is simple and goes perfectly 😊
That's wonderful, Pam!! Thank you for letting me know!
I made this the other week for a friend and me, and he could not stop raving about these tacos! He said if I ever make them again he better be invited. Thank you for making such an awesome recipe. They look fancy but are easy and affordable to make for a college student!
aww, I love this, Natalie!! I'm so glad that you and your friend enjoyed them!