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.
- 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.
- 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!
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.