Spicy Shrimp Tacos
These Spicy Shrimp Tacos are truly THE BEST tacos! They are packed with spice crusted shrimp, creamy coleslaw, and an avocado salsa all drizzled in a zesty lime and cilantro sauce. This easy shrimp tacos recipe is a real crowd pleaser that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. 
Why You Will Love These Shrimp Tacos
- You are going to have a hard time choosing a favourite between the green sauce and delicious shrimp, they are both so tasty!
- This easy shrimp taco recipe is perfect for a last minute taco tuesday dinner. The entire dish comes together in under 30 minutes and is incredibly easy to make.
- It can easily be adapted for anyone with a shellfish allergy, simply swap the shrimp for a white fish such as tilapia or cod and use the same spice seasoning mix to make tasty fish tacos
- Serve these shrimp tacos in celery root tortillas or lettuce cups to make them keto, paleo and whole30!
- These juicy shrimp tacos would be great for a big dinner with friends as the sauce, salsa and coleslaw could all be made in advance and then you would just need to quickly cook the shrimp before serving.
- The leftover are fantastic all served in a bowl as a big salad. You are going to want to make extra because the leftovers are just as good as the tacos!
How To Make These Shrimp Tacos
- Start by placing the raw shrimp in a large bowl. Add in the olive oil and spices (smoked paprika, cumin and chili powder) plus salt, black pepper and minced garlic. Stir to ensure the shrimp are well coated and then set the bowl aside for a few minutes to let the shrimp marinate.
- Make the cilantro lime sauce by combining the mayonnaise, cilantro, garlic, lime juice and scallions in a food processor or blender and blending until completely smooth.
- In a medium bowl add the shredded cabbage and chopped green onions and pour half of the green sauce overtop. Toss and set aside pour the remaining amount of the green sauce into a small bowl.
- Prepare the salsa by combining the chopped tomatoes, jalapeno, avocado and cilantro in a bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the seasoned shrimp in a single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until no longer pink.
- To assemble the tacos, fill the warm tortillas with coleslaw, avocado salsa, the shrimp and drizzle the lime cilantro sauce overtop.
Tips For Making This Shrimp Taco Recipe
- I found that if you heat the oil in the skillet for a minute or two to get it really hot before adding in the shrimp it creates a nice spiced crust on the shrimp
- When making the cilantro lime sauce, taste it and add more lime juice, cilantro or scallions depending on your preference
- Toss the crunchy slaw in the cilantro lime sauce and then leave it to sit for 10 minutes or so to allow the coleslaw to slightly soften and lose its hard crunch.
Spicy Shrimp
Fresh shrimp are coated in a delicious spice and garlic blend and then pan seared until a golden crust of spices coats each shrimp. The spice blend includes chili powder which can also be substituted for cayenne pepper plus ground cumin and paprika. If you want the shrimp to have a real kick of spice feel free to add more chili powder to the seasoning. The shrimp have so much flavor you won’t believe how delicious they are. You could leave them to marinate in this mixture for as little as 10 minutes while you prep the rest of the tacos, or up to overnight for more flavourful shrimp. I like to give them a squeeze of lime juice before serving as the zesty lime juice adds freshness to the spicy shrimp.
Can I Use Frozen Shrimp?
Absolutely! I always have a few bags of frozen shrimp in my freezer for nights when I have minimal time for defrosting. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl of cold water and they should thaw within 15 minutes or so.
The Cilantro Lime Sauce
The creamy cilantro lime sauce is what really transforms these to the best shrimp tacos out there. The sauce is creamy, zesty, tangy and so so good and the perfect compliment to the spicy shrimp. The sauce contains only a handful of ingredients (cilantro, garlic, mayonnaise, green onions and fresh lime juice) and works as both a sauce for the coleslaw and a creamy sauce to be drizzled over the tacos.
The Creamy Coleslaw
This creamy cilantro lime slaw is so easy to make and absolutely delicious. I like using shredded red cabbage or green cabbage but to save time you could use a bag of store bought crunchy cabbage slaw. The cabbage is then mixed with chopped green onions and smothered in some of the cilantro lime sauce which turns it from boring old coleslaw to the most delicious coleslaw you won’t be able to stop eating. It recommend making the coleslaw 15-20 minutes before serving to give the sauce time to soften the crunchy coleslaw.
Avocado Tomato Salsa
This is an easy salsa packed with fresh ingredients including chopped jalapeño pepper, fresh avocado, tomatoes, cilantro and a little lime juice. The blend of creamy, spicy and fresh flavors really work well to lighten up the tacos. The spicy avocado salsa can be made a few hours in advance and stored in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap.
Other Toppings For These Shrimp Tacos
I really think that the creamy slaw, cilantro lime sauce and avocado and tomato salsa are imperative parts of these shrimp tacos. Some of my other favorite toppings that I like to add or can be added in place of the salsa include:
- Pico de gallo
- crumbled cotija cheese (or feta can be used in its place)
- slices of avocado
- chipotle sour cream sauce
- chopped red onions
- black beans
- pickled jalapeno peppers
Tortilla Options For These Shrimp Tacos
I originally created this recipe for Whole30 so the recipe used celery root tortillas which are a great Whole30 and Specific Carbohydrate Legal substitute for flour tortillas. You can find a full recipe for them here. Other tortilla options for this recipe include corn tortillas, soft flour tortillas or almond or cassava flour tortillas. I recommend warming the tortillas over an open flame on the stove top for 10-20 seconds per side until warm and golden brown marks form. If you do not have a gas stove then the tortillas can alternatively be warmed on a grill pan, cast iron skillet or wrapped in damp paper towels and microwaved for 20 seconds. As a grain free, low carb option you could serve these tacos in lettuce cups or alternatively serve them as a salad over a big bowl of lettuce.
What About Leftovers
Store any leftover shrimp, coleslaw or cilantro lime sauce in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. I only recommend assembling the tacos right before eating to ensure that the tortillas don’t become soft and soggy. I also love to turn any leftovers into a delicious shrimp taco bowl with brown rice or cilantro lime rice, the tangy slaw, warm shrimp, salsa and the cilantro lime sauce drizzled over top, it’s absolutely delicious!
Love tacos? Here are a few other taco & taco filling recipes you might enjoy:
- The Best Taco Ground Beef
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Seared Tuna Tacos
- Barbacoa Beef
- Roasted Cauliflower & Butternut Squash Tacos
- Shredded Pork Tacos
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Spicy Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
Spicy Shrimp
- 1 pound large shrimp, shells removed and deveined
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Cilantro Lime Green Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/3 cup chopped scallions
- pinch salt
Coleslaw
- 3 cups shredded purple or green cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
Avocado Tomato Salsa
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 jalapeno finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 small tortillas (either flour tortillas, corn tortillas or celery root tortillas)
Instructions
- Place the shrimp in a bowl along with 1 tbsp olive oil and all of the spices and toss with your hands to ensure they are well coated. Set aside to marinate for a few minutes.
- To make the coleslaw in a bowl combine the shredded cabbage and 1/4 cup chopped scallions. In a food processor or blender combine the all of the ingredients for the cilantro lime green sauce and blend until smooth. Pour approximately half of the sauce over the coleslaw and toss until it's well coated. Set aside.
- In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the salsa and stir until well mixed.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet on high heat and once very hot add in the shrimp in a single layer. Cook them for 2-3 minutes per side until pink.
- Warm the tortillas on the open flame of the stove or in the microwave (or if using celery root tortillas slice and grill them).
- To assemble fill each warm tortilla with the coleslaw, avocado salsa and shrimp and then drizzle with the extra cilantro lime sauce. Serve with wedges of lime and sliced jalapeños.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 11, 2019, and updated with new copy on June 13, 2024.
Can you explain what you do for the ecelery root tortillas?
If its 428 calories per serving… this recipe makes 4 servings.. HOW many tacos is considered 1 serving per person…
Am I only eating 1 taco?
I wondered the same, but assumed one taco. Just wanted to comment since your question wasn’t responded to
My apologies for the delayed reply! It is 2 small tacos per serving.
I can’t remember if I commented already but in case I didn’t, I rly love this recipe. I don’t cook a ton so when I do it really means everything when I love the meal and this delivers. The sauce tastes even better the next day. Anyway thank you!
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. Instead of making them into tacos I made them into cauliflower rice bowls. It was absolutely delicious!
Thank you thanks a great idea, making it tonight
These are the BEST shrimp tacos my husband and I ever had. The sauce and slaw are absolutely amazing. It is a great summer dish. Thank you soooo much.
Wow. Fresh and zesty. Our new favorite seafood taco.
I forgot the stars.
This recipe is amazing! Though the celery root tortillas are hard to do. I loved it so much I bought a semi professional slicer to help myself get them thinner. A whole 30 cooking reward. About to make them again for the 2nd time! Thanks I just can’t say enough about how delicious this is. I’ve even used the celery root idea for fajitas. We just put them on the plate and the toppings on top. The celery root really has a lot of flavor! ❤️This recipe!
This was amazing. The flavor of the sauce and salsa were delicious. Everything came together easily. I too didn’t have celery root so I used red and green cabbage leaves which seemed to work well. Definitely making this again.
How many shrimp exactly are 400 grams??? And what about the nutritional information such as carb grams??
400 grams came out to about .8 lbs. We just used a pound.
You can easily round up for this recipe, exact measurements aren’t necessary.