One of my friends messaged me a few weeks back asking if I happened to have a recipe for shrimp tacos. I make fish tacos at home all the time, but up until now I’ve never made shrimp tacos at home. Maybe it’s because I almost always eat seafood tacos when I’m out that I’ve never put together a recipe before, but these are simple enough that you’re going to want to make them often.
I topped these tacos with a tomato avocado salsa, but a fresh mango salsa is also outrageous! I love pretty much any salsa flavor imaginable when combined with the smoky spice of chipotle – that combination simply never get old. One thing I love to do with tacos to speed up the preparation is to use lettuce for wraps instead of homemade shells. I’ve used everything from homemade corn tortillas to paleo crepes for wrapping up this taco filling, but if you have some time on your hands I can’t recommend fresh corn tortillas enough (once you’ve had them fresh of the griddle there’s really no going back).
Whenever I’m preparing Mexican food, I always prep all the ingredients I’ll need for each part of the recipe. For instance I like to look ahead and see how much chopped cilantro I’ll need in each part of the recipe, and then just chop it all at once. This may seem like common sense, but I thought I’d mention it in case you’re like me and follow things from the top to the bottom. This really comes in handy anytime you’re making both salsa and homemade guacamole because they use almost the same ingredients – if you chop everything at once you’ll save a lot of time.
For me with any seafood or fish taco, the ingredients have to be of the best quality or you’re really going to notice the lack of flavor in the simple preparation. The cilantro lime crema is really the key to tying all these wonderful flavors together, and it’s the perfect counterpart to the light spice of the chipotle. If you’re dairy free, I have an avocado crema in my Fish Taco Lettuce Wraps recipe that you could sub in for the crema in this recipe.
I pretty much love all things Mexican cuisine, (no way to pick a favorite) and I’m working on a Paleo Burrito Bowl this weekend, but I was wondering if there was any dish you’d like to see a recipe for?
PrintChipotle Rubbed Shrimp Tacos
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 servings, about 3 tacos per person 1x
Ingredients
Chipotle Shrimp:
- 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled
- 2 Teaspoons ancho chile powder
- 1 Teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 Teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil, for sautéing
Tomato Avocado Pico (Salsa):
- 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, weighing 1 pound
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Teaspoons minced jalapeno
Cilantro Lime Crema:
- 1 cup sour cream, 8 ounces
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Tacos:
- 12 – 6” shells of your choice for an average of 3 tacos per person
- 1 head of romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Start by combining the shrimp with the seasonings, and let it ‘marinate’ in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the Tomato Avocado Pico, and set it aside to let the flavors develop.
- Mix together the sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro until thoroughly combined. Set the crema aside in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
- Slice the romaine lettuce very thinly to create a shredded texture. Wash and dry the lettuce, I use a salad spinner which makes this much easier.
- Prepare your choice of shells and set them aside to keep warm (unless you’re doing lettuce wraps).
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat until it’s hot but not smoking. Add the avocado oil to the hot pan along with the marinated shrimp. Sauté for 1-2 minutes per side, or until the shrimp turns opaque in the center. The cooking time for the shrimp will vary depending on the size you use. I like to use small shrimp because they’re bite sized, fitting into the tacos well, and they’re cheaper.
- As soon as the shrimp are cooked, remove them from the pan into a serving dish so they don’t overcook.
- Serve the chipotle shrimp with the tomato avocado pico, cilantro lime crema, and the shredded lettuce in your choice of shells.
Notes
For Paleo tacos be sure to use these Paleo Crepes or lettuce for your shells.
For a dairy free crema I love using this Avocado Crema.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
I have made these a couple of times now. SO good. Everything about this recipie is just perfect!
P.S. Your website is just the best!
Thanks so much Steph, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I’ve been thinking I should do more with shrimp, it’s fast cooking and delicious. 🙂
These shrimp tacos look amazing! I bet the pictures don’t even do them justice, even though the pictures look amazing!! I can’t wait to try these.
I really hope you enjoy them, now that it’s summer I really want to try these shrimp on the grill!
Hey Kari, Your recipe is great with wonderful mixture of ingredients and looking very tasty. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I hope you get the chance to make them sometime!
For some reason I’ve never tried shrimp tacos before.. so thanks for the inspiration Kari!
They’re just as delicious as fish tacos, and I’ve been thinking that now I need to try some other types of seafood too!
The idea of sautéing in avocado is pure genius! I’ve always done olive oil, but I’m sure avocado oil brings out the flavor of the avocado in the pico.
And the seasoning for the shrimp looks divine. A bit spicy, but still divine! I love Mexican food!
I recently made a cooking and baking blog, too.
I would greatly appreciate it if you would check it out!
Thanks so much!
I’ll be sure to check it out! I think you’d be surprised that it’s not really spicy at all, so if you like a bit of heat in your food you might want to up the amount of chipotle. 🙂
Would love to see a recipe for a really good cabbage slaw/salsa for an alternative/extra in these tacos. Usually I’m not into slaw but when it comes to shrimp or fish tacos for some reason it’s so good!
I went with shredded romaine on these, but I’m with you on the slaw idea, it’s so good on seafood tacos!
Shrimp taco’s seem to be on the menu at every restaurant these days! But I have yet to make them at home. Anything with Chipotle seasoning makes a party in my mouth though ~ and I really like your salsa recipe too. Somehow, I could eat Mexican food all summer =)
I’m right there with you, everyday is a good day for Mexican food!
I’m loving the shrimp seasoning, to be honest I’m literally drooling over the keyboard… 😀
These tacos need to happen in my home asap. Pinned!
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a wee bit addicted to chipotle chile powder, but it’s extra magical on shrimp!