These healthy shrimp tacos with slaw are easy and delicious! Served on a warm tortilla with a delicious shrimp taco sauce.
Shrimp Tacos
These are the BEST shrimp tacos with cabbage cilantro slaw and spicy taco sauce that’s so good you’ll want it on all your tacos. Madison loves shrimp tacos, and lately, I’ve been making this easy shrimp taco recipe for her on repeat. They’re a fast and simple dinner, perfect for Taco Tuesdays, Cinco De Mayo or any night of the week. If you wish, you can also top them with pickled red onions to give them some zing. More taco recipes you may love are these Cod Fish Tacos, Ground Beef Tacos, or Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos.
To save time, I like to buy my shrimp peeled and deveined which is usually available frozen. Simply thaw in the friedge overnight or in the sink in a colander with running cold water. I also buy pre-shredded cabbage when I need dinner on the table fast. With those simple shortcuts the total time to make this is about 20 minutes!
Shrimp Taco Ingredients
- Shrimp: You’ll need 16 ounces of peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp. You can buy fresh or frozen shrimp.
- Shrimp Taco Seasoning: Mince two garlic cloves and use your favorite seasoning salt, like Tajin or Old Bay. You can also make taco spices with garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and chili powder.
- Tortillas: I prefer corn tortillas with shrimp tacos, but flour would also work.
- Slaw: Shredded green or red cabbage, jalapeño, red onion, fresh lime juice, salt, cilantro
- Shrimp Taco Sauce Ingredients: Mayonnaise, Greek yogurt or sour cream, lime juice, sriracha or Louisiana-style hot pepper sauce
How to Make Shrimp Tacos
- Season the Shrimp: Toss the shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle with the garlic and seasoning salt.
- Creamy Shrimp Taco Sauce: Mix the mayo, sour cream, lime juice, and hot sauce in a small bowl. Add a few drops of water if needed to thin it out so it will drizzle.
- Cabbage Slaw: Combine the shredded cabbage, onion, jalapeño, lime juice, and cilantro in a large bowl. Cover it and refrigerate.
- Air Fry the Shrimp: Preheat your air fryer to 360°F and cook the shrimp for six minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until cooked in the center.
- How to Heat Corn Tortillas: If you have a gas stove, turn on one of the burners, and hold each tortilla over the open flame with tongs. Char until there are a few brown spots, and then flip over to do the other side. You can also heat the tortillas in a skillet on the stove for about 30 seconds.
What do you serve with shrimp tacos?
I like to serve them with lime wedges. Here are some side dish ideas for these juicy shrimp tacos:
- Beans and Rice: Black Beans and Rice, Instant Pot Refried Beans, Mexican Rice, Cilantro Lime Rice
- Corn: Mexican-Inspired Grilled Corn Salad, Corn Tomato Avocado Salad
- Low-Carb Options: Skillet Mexican Zucchini, Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Can you eat leftover shrimp tacos?
Shrimp tacos are best eaten fresh, but you can save the shrimp for leftovers too. Store the tortillas, shrimp, slaw, and sauce separately. The shrimp will keep in the fridge for up to three days and can be microwaved or eaten cold.
Variations
- Allergic to shrimp? Substitute white fish, like cod, flounder, or tilapia. Check out these Cod Fish Tacos.
- No air fryer? Sauté the shrimp in a pan for a few minutes, flipping halfway, until opaque and cooked through.
- Not a fan of slaw? Try these spicy shrimp tacos with mango salsa, pico de gallo, or salsa verde.
- Tortillas: Swap corn tortillas with flour tortillas, or for a lighter taco use lettuce wraps instead.
More Shrimp Recipes You’ll Love
- Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad
- Shrimp Ceviche
- Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- Shrimp Quesadilla
Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- 24 jumbo peeled and deveined shrimp, about 16 oz
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, like Tajin or Old Bay
- 8 corn tortillas
For the Slaw
- 2 cups green or red cabbage shredded, (buy it pre-shredded to save time)
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
For the Shrimp Taco Sauce
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoon Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or Louisiana style hot pepper sauce
Instructions
- Drizzle shrimp with oil to coat and season shrimp with garlic and seasoning salt.
For the shrimp taco sauce
- Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice and hot sauce in a small bowl adding a few drops of water if needed to thin it out so you can drizzle; set aside or transfer to a squeeze bottle.
For the Slaw
- To make the slaw combine the cabbage, onion, jalapeño, lime juice and cilantro in a large bowl ; cover and chill.
To Cook The Shrimp
- Preheat the air fryer to 360F. Cook the shrimp 5 to 6 minutes shaking the basket halfway until cooked through in the center. To make it on the skillet, cook on medium-high, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
- Meanwhile char the tortillas on an open flame or skillet about 30 seconds and set aside.
- To Serve: Place 1/4 cup slaw on each tortilla, top each with 3 shrimp, then drizzle with spicy mayo, and garnish with cilantro.
