Fried Shrimp Tacos made with popcorn shrimp, fresh slaw, an amazing creamy cilantro-lime dressing, and homemade corn tortillas. This recipe will have you dreaming about it long after the meal is over.
Take taco night up another level with Restaurant Style Salsa and the best Guacamole!
These shrimp tacos are just next level. With crispy fried shrimp, a light fresh slaw, and an incredible creamy tangy dressing to finish them off, they make your taste buds so happy.
Shrimp Tacos Recipe
Heres what you’ll need to make these tacos:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Shrimp: We put our homemade popcorn shrimp to great use in these tacos! Make up a batch in advance and then this recipe comes together in minutes.
- Coleslaw: A simple undressed slaw mix, either pre-packaged or made from scratch works great.
- Sauce: The sauce for these tacos is creamy, tangy, and perfectly spiced. We could drink it, it’s so good!
- Tortillas: Homemade corn tortillas take these tacos up a notch, but you can use store-bought, no problem.
Shrimp Taco Sauce
The sauce for these tacos? Chef’s kiss. It comes together in minutes using your food processor.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Mayonnaise and Sour Cream: These ingredients are the base of the dressing and provide creaminess and rich flavor.
- Cilantro: This fresh herb is a key component here. If you absolutely hate it, parsley can be used instead.
- Garlic: Use fresh for the best aromatics and flavor.
- Jalapeno: The seeds carry most of the heat in Jalapeno peppers, so remove them if you want the dressing to be more mild, or include them if you like things spicier.
- Lime juice: Fresh lime juice adds a bright citrusy flavor.
- Rice wine vinegar: For wonderful tang and flavor.
- Vegetable oil: A little vegetable oil is added to help disperse the vinegar in the emulsion.
- Kosher salt and black pepper: Simple seasoning for added flavor.
Recipe Variatons
- Sautéed shrimp: If you don’t want to use fried shrimp, raw shrimp that’s seasoned and sautéed is delicious here, as well.
- Flour tortillas: We prefer these tacos with corn tortillas (especially our homemade corn tortillas), but there is absolutely no shame in using flour tortillas – we love those, too.
- Creamy Coleslaw: Replacing plain coleslaw with our creamy Coleslaw adds another level of flavor. If you go that route, you might want to consider ditching the cilantro-lime sauce since all those flavors together might not jive.
- Use a different dressing: If the cilantro-lime dressing just isn’t calling your name, try our Chimichurri sauce, instead.
How to Make Fried Shrimp Tacos
These shrimp tacos are done in a few steps: Fry the shrimp, make the corn tortillas, blend the dressing, and assemble. If you choose to make the shrimp in advance and buy the corn tortillas already made, this meal comes together even quicker! To make this shrimp taco recipe, follow the steps below included in the printable recipe card. Make sure to refer back to the article for additional information.
Fried Shrimp Tacos Video
What to Serve with Shrimp Tacos
For a complete meal, we like to serve shrimp tacos with a side of Cilantro Lime Rice and Churros for dessert!
Other Shrimp Recipes We Love
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Fried Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound Popcorn Shrimp
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 medium jalapeno , chopped (seeds removed if you want a milder sauce)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups plain coleslaw mix
Instructions
- Make the popcorn shrimp.
- Place the cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, mayonnaise, sour cream, vegetable oil, lime juice, rice vinegar, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until combined and smooth.
- Make the tortillas from scratch or use store-bought. Warm them over a low flame on stovetop burners until just slightly charred around the edges.
- Top tortillas with a little coleslaw and 5 or so shrimp. Drizzle with the cilantro-lime sauce.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Other Notes
These were SO good! The sauce is incredible – I just want to drizzle it on everything.