Shrimp Tacos
Fresh, flavorful and hearty, these Shrimp Tacos are made with perfectly seasoned shrimp and covered with a creamy sauce and homemade coleslaw!
A TASTY AND EASY SHRIMP DINNER
I had a friend tell me they only ever eat shrimp tacos when they go out to dinner and they never make them at home. She always felt like she could never get really good flavor with a delicious sauce. So I set about making her shrimp tacos that tasted just as good or better than the ones at the restaurant! These shrimp tacos have a nice flavor with a taco seasoning coating the shrimp and then it’s all topped off with a creamy sauce and flavorful coleslaw. This really is a delicious and easy dinnertime meal for any time of the week. I promise everyone will be begging for more with this recipe!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
You can put in your favorite taco toppings. Most restaurants serve shrimp tacos with some sort of sauce and maybe a creamy coleslaw (like I am here.) But you can top with lettuce tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, etc.
Shallots are more mild in flavor than a regular onion so they are great in recipes where you don’t want the onion to overpower the other flavors. Shallots also have a slight garlic taste which really adds to the flavor. If you do not want to use shallots in this recipe you can substitute with a sweet yellow onion.
Personally I love to eat it with a Mexican rice or a cilantro lime rice. Also, refried beans or a corn salad would be delicious.
No, you can use your own favorite seasoning or even fajita seasoning would be good on these. Or you can use my Homemade Taco Seasoning recipe!
This is a personal preference. I usually make them with flour tortillas. But corn works just as great but you just have to heat them up first so they don’t tear when you fold them up.
This is a personal preference to your heat tolerance. You can keep the seeds for a more spicy flavor or remove them to tone it down a bit!
If you don’t think the tacos will all be eaten at one time then don’t assemble them all. These tacos are best when assembled right at the time of eating otherwise the ingredients all get soft/soggy. Store the coleslaw separate, the dressing separate and the shrimp separate and reheat as needed. These ingredients can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat the shrimp (if desired) upon eating at a later time.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- salted butter
- taco seasoning
- large shrimp
- flour tortillas
- sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- olive oil
- garlic
- shallot
- jalapeño
- fresh cilantro
- salt
- lime zest and lime juice
- tri-color coleslaw mix
HOW TO MAKE SHRIMP TACOS WITH SAUCE:
Rinse and pat dry the shrimp with paper towels. In a larger bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave. Mix the taco seasoning with the butter.
Add shrimp to the bowl and stir to evenly coat the shrimp with the seasoned butter.
Add the sour cream, garlic, shallot, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and lime zest and juice to a food processor.
Pour the olive all over and process for about 30 seconds to make the creamy dressing.
Take half of this dressing and mix with the coleslaw. Reserve the other half for later. It will seem a little liquidy but it will thicken after a while.
In a large 12-inch skillet, melt the remaining butter over a medium high heat. Add the seasoned shrimp and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until no longer translucent. Move the shrimp around and turn etc.
Remove from the heat. Scoop a small serving of coleslaw in a tortilla, add about 3 shrimp then drizzle the dressing on top. Continue with the rest and serve!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, deveined, shelled, tails removed
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter, divided use
- 1 packet taco seasoning (1 ounce)
- 6-8 flour tortillas
- 1 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 small shallot
- ½ small jalapeno seeded (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- zest and juice of 2 limes
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups tri-color coleslaw mix
- Optional Extras: Avocado, sour cream, chopped tomatoes (typical taco toppings)
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry the shrimp with paper towels and set aside.
- In a larger bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave. Mix the taco seasoning with the butter.
- Toss in the shrimp and evenly coat them with the seasoned butter. Set aside.
- Add the sour cream, garlic, shallot, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and lime zest and juice to a food processor. Pour the olive all over and process for about 30 seconds to make a nice dressing.
- Take half of this dressing and mix with the coleslaw. Reserve the other half for later. It will seem a little liquidy but it will thicken after a while.
- In a large 12-inch skillet, melt the remaining butter over a medium high heat.
- Add the seasoned shrimp and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until no longer translucent. Move the shrimp around and turn etc.
- Remove from the heat. Scoop a small serving of coleslaw in a tortilla, add about 3 shrimp then drizzle the dressing on top. Continue with the rest and serve!
Notes
- You can use homemade taco seasoning for the seasoning on these.
- If you like more heat do not de-seed the jalapeño since that is where the heat comes from.
- If you can’t find the tri-color coleslaw mix, you can use the regular kind that just uses green cabbage.
- We like to use large shrimp but you can use whatever size you like as long as it is the same weight.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I’ve been trying to find a good shrimp taco recipe, really just a good shrimp taco sauce because that is the star of the show in my opinion, and this was exactly what I was looking for. It was so easy to make, but holy moly was it SPICY!! Not sure if it was because I substituted cottage cheese since I didn’t have sour cream – that could be why. My husband loved it, but it was too spicy for me. Next time I make it I will use sour cream and add a bit less jalapeno and see how it goes! Thanks so much for this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it! Did you seed the jalapeño? That helps remove some of the heat. Sometimes removing some of the ribbing on the inside does too. And be careful the kind taco seasoning you use. Some of that stuff can be really spicy! LOL