Shrimp Tacos (The Quick And Easy Way)
Served with guacamole, salsa and shredded cheese, these shrimp tacos are a great recipe for Cinco de Mayo. But they’re so tasty, you’ll want to serve it more than once a year.
These easy shrimp tacos are a great dish for Cinco de Mayo. Every time I have served them, everyone has loved this recipe.
It is quick to make, tastes delicious and has fewer calories than traditional beef tacos.
Shrimp tacos are also great to serve at parties because you can put out the supplies and have people make their own/
I like to dress them up with diced tomatoes or salsa, my favorite homemade guacamole, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. (But you can skip the last two ingredients if you’re trying to keep the calories down).
Ingredients
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Don’t let the number of ingredients scare you! They’re really not that hard to make.
Here’s the shopping list for this shrimp tacos recipe:
- Uncooked shrimp – 1 pound – I like to use the small sized ones (40 to 50 per pound) since they fit in the taco shells better than the larger ones. Also, buying them already peeled makes for less work. You can use fresh or frozen shrimp.
- Taco shells – 8 shells
- (optional) Broccoli slaw – 1 package – For a more traditional taco, you can omit this ingredient. But I love the flavor and texture it adds to the tacos.
- Fresh fruit and vegetables – half of a lime
- Fresh herbs and spices – ¼ cup cilantro, 1 clove garlic
- Dried spices – ½ teaspoon cumin
- Seasoning – ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Hot sauce – ½ teaspoon – I like to use Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot, but any hot sauce you like will work.
- Oil – 1 Tablespoon – Any kind of vegetable oil or olive oil is fine.
- Toppings – guacamole or chopped fresh avocado, salsa or diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, chopped lettuce, sour cream – or whatever other toppings you like to put on your tacos.
Substitutions
- If you don’t have guacamole on hand, try this quick substitute: Mash an avocado. Mix with an equal amount of plain yogurt or sour cream until smooth.
How to make shrimp tacos
Prep work
If your shrimp are frozen, thaw them before using.
And if they still have the shells on them, peel them before continuing.
Mince the garlic.
Juice half a lime.
Chop the cilantro.
Heat up the oil in your wok or frying pan.
Sauté the shrimp
Add the shrimp along with ½ teaspoon ground cumin, the minced garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
Cook until the shrimp has turned pink, stirring constantly.
Add the rest of the filling ingredients
Then add the package of broccoli slaw (if using), ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 1 Tablespoon of lime juice and ½ teaspoon hot sauce to the pan.
Cook for another couple of minutes until everything is warm, again stirring constantly.
Put them together
Fill the taco shells with the shrimp mixture and top with salsa, guacamole and shredded cheese (or whatever your favorite toppings are).
Other Cinco de Mayo recipes you might like
Or browse all of our Cinco de Mayo recipes.
Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound uncooked, peeled shrimp (frozen or fresh)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 10 ounce bag broccoli slaw (optional)
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro , chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- 8 hard taco shells
- salsa for topping
- guacamole for topping
- grated cheese for topping
Equipment
- Wok or large frying pan
- measuring spoons
- lemon (or lime) juicer
- knife
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large wok or frying pan until almost smoking.1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- Add shrimp, cumin, minced garlic, salt and pepper.1 pound uncooked, peeled shrimp, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 1 clove garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Toss until shrimp turn pink, approximately 2 minutes.
- Mix in the broccoli slaw (if using), cilantro, lime juice and hot sauce.1 10 ounce bag broccoli slaw, ¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- Cook another 2 minutes, until the slaw is warmed and the flavors have combined.
- Remove from heat.
- Fill taco shells with the shrimp mixture.8 hard taco shells
- Serve shrimp tacos with salsa, guacamole and shredded cheese (or whatever your favorite toppings are).
Notes
- These are also really easy to serve for a crowd. Make up a big batch of the shrimp mixture and put it out on the buffet table with the shells and toppings. Then let your guests put their own tacos together.
- Quick Guacamole: If you don’t have guacamole on hand, try this quick substitute: Mash an avocado. Mix with an equal amount of plain yogurt or sour cream until smooth.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Have comments or questions on our shrimp tacos recipe? Tell us in the section below.
This post was originally published on May 5, 2016 but was updated with new content on March 19, 2024.