Shrimp Tacos

I make this fast shrimp taco recipe all the time, because I often lean on easy shrimp dinners on busy weeknights. Start with placing big juicy shrimp in a 3-ingredient marinade for about 15 minutes. Then, cook them in a pan until they’re just pink. Pile them into a warm, tender corn tortilla and that's it!  My family's favorite shrimp taco dinner is served. 

Shrimp tacos stand alone as dinner (maybe with tortilla chips on the side), but when I have time, I make guacamole and margaritas to go with our shrimp tacos. If you’re looking for another classic shrimp recipe, try shrimp and grits next. 

Shrimp Taco Ingredients

• Shrimp: It can be tricky to buy good-quality shrimp, check out our buying guide further down the page. I try to buy wild American shrimp, but I also often opt for frozen shrimp, just because it can actually be ‘fresher’ than what’s been defrosted at the grocery store fish counter.  
• Tortillas: I like warm corn tortillas, but you can use flour tortillas if you prefer. 
• Shredded cabbage: Pre-shredded cabbage is a great short cut! Or do it yourself with a shredding attachment or mandoline slicer. 

For The Shrimp Taco Marinade

• Fresh lime juice: Not the bottled stuff! It just isn't the same.  
• Olive oil: Doesn’t need to be extra virgin for this recipe. 
• Taco seasoning: Use store-bought if you want to, but I’m partial to my own taco spice blend recipe. 

The Best Shrimp Taco Sauce

Avocado crema is a lighter, healthier riff on traditional Mexican crema. In these juicy shrimp tacos, I’ve got it doing double duty! Use it to dress the cabbage slaw, and as a sauce on top of the shrimp tacos. You'll need:

• Avocado: Ripest you can find! 
• Sour cream: Full fat sour cream will make it most delicious, but you could use a vegan brand if you need this recipe to be dairy-free. 
• More lime juice: Like in the shrimp marinade, fresh-squeezed lime juice is best. 
• Garlic: Because of COURSE garlic. 
• Jalapeño: If you want a mild shrimp taco sauce, it’s OK to skip this. Or if you want spicy shrimp tacos, add more!  
• Cilantro: It’s fine to skip cilantro if you don’t like it. 

How to Make Shrimp Tacos

1. Marinate the shrimp in olive oil, lime juice and taco seasoning while you make the slaw and crema. TIP: Don’t leave the shrimp in the marinade for more than 15-20 minutes, it’ll get tough. 
2. Make the avocado crema! You could make it a few hours before you want to serve this meal, if you need to.  
3. Make the slaw. Toss the cabbage, onion, and fresh cilantro with some of the avocado crema. 
4. Warm the tortillas gently in a skillet or in the oven. 
5. Sauté the shrimp. It should be done in just a few minutes, when the shrimp turn pink. 

How To Prep Ahead And Store Leftovers

This recipe does not freeze well, but you can prep the components a day or two ahead of time for even quicker shrimp taco night! Just store the cooked shrimp, the slaw, and the shrimp taco sauce separately in airtight containers in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Reheat the shrimp gently in a pan, or enjoy the shrimp tacos cold in warmed tortillas. 

Tips For Buying The BEST Shrimp For Shrimp Tacos

• Know your shrimp sizes: My recipe calls for “large” shrimp, but what does that mean exactly? The shrimp industry defines shrimp size by how many shrimp it takes to make a pound. So, a label that says “16/20” means that those shrimp are big enough that it only takes 16-20 shrimp to make a pound. FOR THIS RECIPE: you want large shrimp, and “large” shrimp are defined by the industry as 26-40 shrimp per pound. 
• Fresh vs. frozen shrimp: Almost all shrimp is flash frozen when harvested, and delivered to stores in its frozen state. If you see “fresh shrimp” in the fish case, that’s just because the fishmonger has defrosted those shrimp. 
• When buying frozen shrimp, check the label and make sure that the only ingredient is “shrimp”. Many brands of frozen shrimp have processed the crustaceans with preservatives to extend their shelf-life. Not only are they not great for your health, these chemical preservatives will dull the flavor of the shrimp. 
• How to buy good-quality shrimp: There are a couple of organizations that certify seafood as sustainable, like the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, so you can look for labels that carry a seal from either of these organizations.

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