These simple shrimp tacos are a quick and easy dinner option that features tender shrimp, slaw, and creamy cilantro lime sauce, all inside warm corn tortillas. This is my favorite way to do taco night!
These shrimp tacos are quickly becoming one of my family’s favorite dinner options. And every time I make a recipe with shrimp, I ask myself why I don’t cook with it more often. It’s so easy and tasty!
I actually came across this recipe over at Kirsten’s Home Cooking. It’s the perfect light and easy meal that doesn’t require me to be stuck in the kitchen all night.
Let me tell you guys, these are so good and so easy.
I pretty much stuck to Kirsten’s recipe, except I swapped the sour cream for some fat free Greek yogurt, served them with fresh guac, and I doubled the recipe. It’s a keeper!
How Do You Make Shrimp Tacos?
This shrimp taco recipe is SUPER easy! Just a few simple steps and you’re well on your way to a flavorful dinner!
- Heat tortillas in a dry skillet until warm and starting to form small brown spots. Set aside.
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Mix creamy cilantro lime sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook cabbage in a skillet until just wilted. Set aside.
- Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut shrimp into thirds, so you have little bite size pieces.
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Sauté shrimp in a hot skillet with two teaspoons of olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper. Cook until pink.
- Assemble tacos with cabbage, shrimp, creamy cilantro sauce and another desired toppings.
How Do You Peel Shrimp?
For this recipe you’ll need raw, uncooked shrimp that have been defrosted, if bought frozen. I typically buy shrimp that have already been peeled and deveined for convenience. If your shrimp have shells, remove the shells by pulling the main part of the shell off with your fingers, then gently pull off the tail end of the shell. To devein the shrimp, use a paring knife to cut a slit along the top of the shrimp and use the knife to remove the vein.
Tips For Shrimp Tacos
- We like corn tortillas for shrimp tacos, but you can use flour tortillas, if preferred.
- Be careful not to overcook the shrimp – shrimp cooks very quickly. It will be whitish pink and curled into a loose “C” shape when fully cooked.
- For convenience, buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage for making the slaw.
- The creamy cilantro sauce can be made a day in advance.
Variations
We love this recipe as-is, but feel free to switch things up a bit depending on the ingredients you have available.
- Try replacing the shrimp with a white fish, such as cod or tilapia.
- Add in other ingredients, like corn, black beans, red onion or diced tomato.
- Top the tacos with guacamole or sliced avocado, jalapeño slices, cotija cheese or pickled red onion. Don’t forget a splash of fresh lime juice!
What I love best about this recipe is that it’s just so quick and easy to make with minimal ingredients! These sizzling shrimp tacos are going on my regular dinner menu rotation. They were such a hit!
More Taco Recipes To Try
Thanks so much for reading! You can watch the video down below and if you make this recipe I would love for you to give it a ★ rating below. And be sure to follow me on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and FaceBook for more healthy food inspiration!
Super Simple Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas
- 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1/2 a head of cabbage thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
- 1 lb shrimp defrosted if frozen, peeled, & deveined
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat tortillas over medium heat in a dry skillet until warm and starting to form small brown spots. Set aside on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel.
- Mix yogurt, cayenne, lime juice, cilantro, & salt in a small bowl, set aside.
- Heat two teaspoons of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and add cabbage. Cook for about four minutes or until the cabbage is just barely wilted. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Cut shrimp into thirds, so you have little bite size pieces. Sauté in two teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper over medium heat just until done. They cook up in just a few minutes so be sure to watch them!
- Build your taco! Place a scoop of cabbage on the warmed tortillas, then top with shrimp, and cilantro sauce. Enjoy!
Comments
Kiran says
I love fish tacos. I’m yet to try shrimp tacos, and thanks for this delish simple recipe 🙂
Jaya says
Oooh Dani! These look awesome! I thought I had explored your archives in their entirety, but I somehow missed these beauties! I have made so many great meals from your site. Thanks again!
Lauren Slayton says
glad you reposted. This may be dinner tonight. I assume fresh shrimp work? Yum.
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
Those tacos look nice an light and healthy and so good!
Cara says
tacos are the best! love the idea of the cilantro yogurt sauce on these.
Hadas says
Oh, my! That was delicious!!!! I was having a “When Harry Met Sally” episode while eating them. The guacamole was sooooo good.
My Chihuahuas were begging for a bite 🙂 Thanks for the recipe. I’m going to make them A LOT!!!!!
Stacey says
I have been reading your blog for about 2 years and am so glad I did because I look forward to seeing what you post.
I am trying to eat healthier and have given up all red meat for lent. I am only eating fish (I thought of going vegan and not eat fish, but I was hungry just thinking about it lol) and could not allow myself to grab another $4! shrimp Taco Bell burrito as a quick lunch at work. I can right to your site and found this recipie. I made them last night and I woke up today thinking about them…delicious!
They were so light; I love the Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I didn’t even think I liked cabbage, but this was goooood! I will be making these regularly. Thanks Dani
BeeGidget says
Thank you so much for this recipe!! This was my first time on your blog and I am greatly impressed! The Shrimp Tacos was not only extremely easy to make, but super tasty! My Husband just loved them!! I will be sure to make them again and also try out some of your other recipes!!!
Thank you!!!
Brittany says
Made these last night. Be careful not to over cook the tortillas because if you do, you wont be able to fold or roll them.I used flour tortillas so that might of been the culprit. I think these may have been better with just shredded lettuce, but the cabbage was ok. I also used fat free sour cream instead of the yogart. The sauce was delish! We added cheese too. Yummy!
PP says
I made these for dinner tonight– delicious! The sauce takes it up a notch from your standard taco or burrito, and has just the perfect amount of kick.
Leslie says
Made these for dinner tonight and they were amazing! The sauce was wonderful! And, even better that it was Greek yogurt!
Jenn says
The nutritional info posted-is that for one taco, or for one serving aka 2 tacos?
Just made these tonight-they tasted wonderful!!
Allison says
spicy—but GOOD!
Jennifer says
Made this for dinner last night- hubby and I loved it (he loves spicy food)! We are having it again tonight since we have 1/2 of all the ingredients left. Thanks for an easy, delicious and healthy recipe!
Jessica says
Just made these for dinner with homemade whole wheat tortillas- SO GOOD! I will admit that I just wing it with the amount of each ingredient, but hey, they were super tasty!
Rally says
Is the nutritional information per serving (of 2 tacos) or for 1 taco?
Dani says
The nutritional info is for two tacos!
Jen says
These look sooo good! I am always trying to find a NEW, fast, healthy meal. Thanks for sharing.
Kelly says
Turned out great although I think a little less cayenne pepper for the faint of mouth like me.
Patricia Walton says
This was really good. I will use less cayenne pepper next time. Also I used bagged slaw mix and I didn’t warm it up as directed. I seasoned my shrimp with chili powder,olive oil, cumin and cilantro. I let it marinate while my wooden Skewers were soaking and then hit the shrimp with lime just before I put them on the grill and again afterward.
Melodi Cagle says
Oh my Goodness! I made these last night for my husband and I for our date night and WOW! The sauce was out of this world and I think the greek yogurt really adds to that! fast, easy, and healthy? YEP! I will be making this again soon! 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Monica says
Thanks for reposting! They were great! I used NM Red Chile powder because I couldn’t find my cayenne. Big thumbs up from the boys (my dad & husband).
Jenna says
I made these today and they were so good!! I added cummin, chilli powder and garlic. Yummy!! 🙂
David says
Great recipe, I just added 1 TBS of sugar to the sauce to cut down the acidity a little, and spinkled cajun spice on the shrimp while it was cooking instead of salt peper and cayenne.
Turned out absolutely delicious!
Marny says
These were great, but a bit too spicy. Next time I’d cut the cayenne by half– a little goes a long way for me. Regardless, it’s a great dish!
Kristen says
Thanks for the great recipe – my family really enjoyed them! To save time, I bought a bag of Cole slaw mix instead of chopping cabbage. It tasted great and made your fast recipe even faster!
Rebecca says
thank you for posting this recipe! as a college student, im always trying to find new recipes to make that are cheap, quick and healthy. this one exceeded my expectations. the only tweak i did was add garlic powder to the sauce… because who doesnt love garlic??
Alexis Williams says
Came across this recipe and was excited to make this!!! My kids really enjoyed the tacos, I just so happened to have all the ingredients on hand and it was sooo easy to make!! Looking forward to making more of your recipes!!
Fran says
Does anyone know of a substitute for the cilantro…my family says it tastes like soap, so its not a popular ingredient
Kristi says
Made these a while ago and they were SOOO good!! I don’t like corn tortillas so I used flour and my husband doesn’t like cabbage so we just used lettuce. Even with these small changes they were great!! Making them again soo!
sandjrose says
Just made these for dinner tonight. OMGosh amazing with extra zing! Super easy no fuss meal and it was superb! Will do again for sure. Thanks for the recipe!
Dani says
You are very welcome;)
jill says
did anyone ever find out if the nutritional value was based on 1 or 2 tacos? Counting calories and would like to know.
Dani says
It’s for two tacos.
Emma Leeds says
Just finished eating these babies! Absolutely AMAZING!!!!
Mandy says
Made these tonight and they are delicious.
Lucy says
omg these were to die for hahha my husband was licking his fingers but I added smoked paprika and a little balsamic vinegrette
Angie says
Made these for the second time last night and they were a total hit again! The sauce is so delicious. I wish my kids would go for the shrimp because I think they’d love it if they could get past the idea of it being something different as they love spicy. Oh well, my husband and all my dinner guests raved about these tacos. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Chelsea says
First time cooking (and eating!) Shrimp Tacos! They were great. I love how quick and easy they were. Delish!
kristen says
Yum! Thanks for the recipe, I made it last night with some shrimp I got from Crabville.com. I had never ordered seafood online before (I thought it was kinda weird at first), but I was pleasantly surprised. Has anyone else tried ordering stuff like that online before? Any good recommendations?
Nikki says
Shrimp Tacos, Does The Nutritional Information Include The Tortillas?? Thanks!
Dani says
yes;)
rosalinda says
We tryed this recipe this weekend anf they where delicious…we have tryed some of your recipes and they have all been GREAT! Thank you !
Lizzie says
Just made these for dinner and I’m amazed at how simply and delicious they were! I’m new to your site and can’t wait to try more recipes. Love the video demonstrations.
Isabel says
Hi dani, love this recipe! But just a little curious about the cholesterol?? Is 850 correct?? It’s seems a bit much?? Thanks.
Dani says
shrimp is high in cholesterol but remember, cholesterol it the diet does not create cholesterol in the body. Check out this video for a brilliant explanation of how cholesterol works from one of my favorite science/nutritional gurus: https://summertomato.com/cholesterol-explained/
Monica says
Thank you soooo much! I made these tonight. So yummy! I didn’t have any cayenne pepper for the sauce so I used Zatarain’s Blackened Seasoning with has cayenne and other seasoning in it. Perfect!
Gigi says
Dani your awesome I did the shrimp tacos and the family loved it!!!!
I ate 4 OMG!!!!!
Thanks
eva says
i notice you use kosher salt often.
what is the difference and/or benefit to using kosher salt?
and how is is different than sea salt??
thanks
eva
Dani says
The main reason I choose kosher salt is because I like the texture. It has larger granules and I find when all is said and done, I use less of it!
Nancy says
I made these for dinner last night.so yummy. I was surprised how well the cooked cabbage was in this recipe. Will be making this again! Thanks dani!
Dani says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them Nancy. Thanks for letting me know.
Char Wilcox says
Dani,
I am a big fan of C&D and am a lover of shrimp in anything. I also fall into the category of hating Cilantro and not a big fan of Parsley either. Anything else I could use? Or do I just eliminate it? I look forward to making these. Thank you for all your hard work.
Jackie Harris says
Wonderful to use shrimp. We love eating them prepared like this. Thank you, Dani
Rehoboth says
Wonderful recipe