Spicy Shrimp Tacos
These Spicy Shrimp Tacos with mouthwatering extra large shrimp with spicy ancho chile, creamy avocado, cabbage, and a green Chile salsa are perfection. And to add more flavor? Lime-pickled red onions are the perfect compliment. Is your mouth watering yet? It will be when you feast your eyes below!
I’m amazed that one of the most humble and delicious Mexican street foods is so widely popular in the United States and worldwide. When I was growing up, Mom made tacos dorados (crispy tacos) at home. She still makes them today and is one of my favorites! She crisps corn tortillas one at a time, fills each shell with seasoned ground beef, and tops with finely shredded lettuce, thinly sliced tomato slices, pickled or raw onions, crumbled queso fresco, and her Chiltepin salsa. But aside from her homemade tacos dorados, she also made Carne Asada tacos, a Sonoran favorite.
Sonora style Carne asada tacos
Additionally, when we went south of the border to visit family, Baja-style fish tacos were a staple as were Carne Asada tacos on tiny flour tortillas. These are a Sonoran specialty. These tacos with succulent charred carne asada chopped into perfect-sized cubes, and topped with finely shredded cabbage. From there, you can top your taco with freshly squeezed lime, red or avocado salsa (of various heat intensities), radish, cilantro, and chopped white onion. The street tacos are a two-bite taco and you order as you go. It’s not uncommon to sit down and order two at a time so they are nice and hot.
Baja style fish tacos
For the Baja fish tacos, we looked forward to them every time we went down to Ensenada to visit my Dad’s cousin. I remember stopping by the highway near the beach at a taco stand. These tacos were as fresh as fresh can be. Highly likely the fish or shrimp was the catch of the day and battered and deep-fried to perfection. These delicious deep-fried fish or shrimp morsels are wrapped in corn tortillas, and topped with finely shredded cabbage, fresh avocado, crema, and salsa with a good squeeze of lime. Taco perfection.
Table of Contents
30 minute delicious Shrimp Taco Recipe
This Spicy Shrimp Taco recipe is my take on a healthy, flavorful, modern shrimp taco. These tacos are not fried, nor are they laden with sour cream. Not that sour cream is a bad thing, but for these tacos, I wanted to keep the focus on the flavor of the succulent shrimp and the crisp, fresh toppings that complement the shrimp flavor.
This Shrimp taco recipe is easy and comes together in 30 minutes but don’t let the quick prep fool you into thinking these are bland. The flavors are stacked to allow for each bite to taste the spicy Ancho Chile shrimp, the creamy cool avocado, crunchy cabbage, the tart green salsa, and the tang of the pickled onions. What’s more, is that all these flavors work well with homemade blue corn tortillas. Blue corn has a slightly sweeter and nutty taste complimenting these Spicy Shrimp Tacos perfectly.
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients prepared before you start. This recipe is really quick and it’s best to have all the vegetables prepared so you enjoy these hot! If you decide to make your tortillas, give yourself about 30 extra minutes and make them before you start the tacos. Lastly, if you are a taco fiend, like me, I eat 4 tacos without sides…so just sayin’ you may need to double the recipe if you have hearty eaters 🤗
- PICKLED ONIONS
- 1 cup of thin sliced red onion
- Juice of 1 lime + 2 whole limes cut into wedges for tacos
- 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
- pinch of salt and pepper
- SPICY SHRIMP
- 2 tsp salt Kosher
- 1 tsp black pepper ground
- 1 tsp Ancho Chile powder can substitute with Chile powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika sweet
- 4 tsp dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder granulated
- 1 tsp Mexican Oregano, crushed
- 1 pound of thawed, raw, peeled, deveined extra large shrimp. (13-15 shrimp per pound) Chopped into large chunks.
- 1-2 tablespoons of avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 9 good quality corn tortillas, regular size
- TOPPINGS – place the toppings on a large platter or individually so you can customize your tacos to your liking.
- 1 cup finely shredded cabbage, washed and dried thoroughly
- 1 avocado, peeled, pit removed and thinly sliced or cubed
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped Cilantro, washed and dried thoroughly
- Pickled onions (above)
- Salsa verde, homemade or store-bought
How to prepare this recipe
We will start with the quick pickled red onions. These will take about 30 minutes to macerate so I suggest making these first. Place the thinly sliced onions in a shallow bowl where the onions can be covered by the liquid. Add the lime juice, vinegar, pinch of salt and pepper to the onions. Toss the onions to ensure they are covered with liquid and set aside.
Seasoning Mix for the shrimp
Using a small bowl, combine the Kosher salt, pepper, Ancho Chile powder, paprika, dark brown sugar, garlic powder, crushed Mexican oregano. Mix well with a small whisk or fork and set aside.
Note: This Ancho chile spice blend is one of my favorite to use here at home and you will see it in various recipes like this one and Grilled Steak with Grilled Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa.
Shrimp
If needed, using paper towels, pat the shrimp dry to remove any excess moisture. Place the shrimp in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon Avocado oil, and about 1 tablespoon of the ancho chile spice blend, toss until the shrimp is fully coated.
Before you start searing the shrimp, start by warming the tortillas. Using tongs, I suggest warming the tortillas straight onto the gas burner to get them good and hot with a little char. All tortillas are meant to be heated through on a griddle, burner, or grill. They are not meant to be microwaved or eaten cold. Heat all the tortillas through and cover them with a clean tea towel to keep warm.
Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is good and hot, add the second tablespoon of avocado oil and the shrimp. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp is completely pink and cooked through. Remove the skillet from the heat source immediately.
Now it’s time to eat this delicious Spicy Shrimp Tacos!
Take a warm tortilla, and top with shrimp, avocado slices, shredded cabbage, pickled onions, cilantro and green chile salsa. A squeeze of lime to finish it all off!
Tip: Make the tacos as you go. This makes any leftovers easy to store.
Blue corn tortillas
Corn tortillas are one of my favorite staples and like my grandfather, I prefer them over flour tortillas. But what is my ultimate fave? Blue Corn tortillas. I buy a spectacular Blue corn masa harina from Masienda (link is in notes of recipe card) which is based here in Los Angeles. The corn for these tortillas is “single-origin heirloom corn grown in Mexico” and the flavor says it all.
What to serve with Shrimp Tacos
When I make tacos here at home, I don’t serve them with anything on the side. We just dig into the tacos but, if you prefer to round out the meal with some extras, I suggest a side of hot beans, like black or pinto beans, and some Mexican red rice or a Cilantro white rice. Simple sides are optimal so they don’t compete with the deliciousness that are Spicy Shrimp Tacos!
If you have leftovers…
If by chance, you are lucky enough to have some leftovers, store each ingredient separately in the fridge. The cooked shrimp will last about 2 days. When it’s time to reheat, make sure the shrimp is completely heated through. Warm tortillas on the griddle or burner and top with any leftover toppings. Also, all of these leftovers, minus the tortillas are excellent in a bowl with some steamed rice!
If you love shrimp, you might want to try my Spicy Chorizo Shrimp Pizza, Zesty Shrimp Avocado Jicama Salad, or Chutney Glazed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. All incredibly delicious!
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Spicy Shrimp Tacos
March 6, 2024Equipment
- 1 skillet
- 1 griddle for tortillas, optional
Ingredients
Pickled onions
- 1 cup of thin sliced red onion
- Juice of 1 lime + 2 whole limes cut into wedges for tacos
- 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
Ancho chile seasoning
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 tsp salt, Kosher
- 1 tsp black pepper ground
- 1 tsp Ancho Chile powder can substitute with chile powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika sweet
- 4 tsp dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder granulated
- 1 tsp Mexican Oregano crushed
Spicy shrimp
- 1 pound of thawed raw, peeled, deveined extra large shrimp. (13-15 shrimp per pound) Chopped into large chunks.
- 1-2 tablespoons of avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 9 good quality corn tortillas regular size
Toppings – place the toppings on a large platter or individually so you can customize the tacos to your liking
- 1 cup finely shredded cabbage washed and dried thoroughly
- 1 avocado peeled, pit removed and thinly sliced or cubed
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped Cilantro washed and dried thoroughly
- Pickled onions above
- Salsa verde homemade or store-bought
Instructions
Ancho chile spice blend
- Using a small bowl, combine the Kosher salt, pepper, Ancho Chile powder, paprika, dark brown sugar, garlic powder, crushed Mexican oregano. Mix well with a small whisk or fork and set aside.
Spicy shrimp + tortillas
- If needed, using paper towels, pat the shrimp dry to remove any excess moisture. Place the shrimp in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon Avocado oil, and about 1 tablespoon of the ancho chile spice blend, toss until the shrimp is fully coated.
- Before you start searing the shrimp, I recommend starting to warm the tortillas. Using tongs, I suggest warming the tortillas straight onto the burner to get a good them good and hot with a little char.
- All tortillas are meant to be heated through on a griddle, burner, or grill. They are not meant to be microwaved or eaten cold. Heat all the tortillas through and cover them with a clean tea towel to keep warm.
- Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
- Once the skillet is good and hot, add the second tablespoon of avocado oil and the shrimp. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp is completely pink and cooked through.
- Remove the skillet from the heat source immediately.
Assembling a Spicy shrimp taco
- Take a warm tortilla, and top it with shrimp, avocado slices, shredded cabbage, pickled onions, cilantro, and green chile salsa. A squeeze of lime to finish it all off!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
