These Blackened Shrimp Tacos are bold, zesty, and loaded with flavor, making them the ultimate weeknight dinner or party dish. With perfectly seasoned shrimp, crisp toppings, and a kick of heat, they’re quick to make and even quicker to disappear!
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Why This Recipe Works:
- Big Flavor, Minimal Effort: The shrimp cook in minutes with a bold spice blend that delivers maximum flavor fast.
- Perfect Texture Combo: Juicy shrimp, crunchy slaw, and creamy sauce come together for the ultimate taco bite.
- Fresh and Fun: These tacos are light, vibrant, and perfect for Taco Tuesday, Cinco De Mayo, summer cookouts, or anytime you need a flavorful pick-me-up.
- A Little Heat: Most other recipes season their tacos with chili pepper and maybe a little cayenne and stop there. I love to add red pepper flakes and then top everything with a chipotle sriracha sauce.
I am very particular about shrimp tacos. Not only does the shrimp have to taste delicious on its own but I love a shrimp taco that is loaded with extra tasty toppings.
Normally, when I have chicken street tacos or asada tacos, they are topped with a tomatillo salsa, cilantro, and onions, but when it comes to seafood recipes, bring on the pickled onions, homemade slaw, and tasty sauces.
What You Need for Blackened Shrimp Tacos
Shrimp: Uncooked, deveined, tail-off shrimp
Tortillas: I recommend corn, heated in a little oil for these tacos.
Spices: I use a blend of bold spices that give the shrimp a rich, flavorful kick with every bite.
Toppings: Pickled onions, cotija cheese, and cilantro lime slaw take these tacos to the next level—fresh, flavorful, and fully loaded!
Cilantro Lime Slaw- This slaw is easy to make and definitely worth making to add to the tacos. I love using a mixture of purple cabbage and shredded lettuce for extra color, but if you only have one, that works too!
Chipotle Siracha Sauce- This is my favorite taco sauce, and it is delicious. The mixture of chipotles in adobo sauce and sriracha makes a smoky spicy sauce that you won't be able to stop eating!
These tacos have a little bit more going on for them compared to a typical salmon with mango salsa or, easy beef fajita taco. With the cilantro lime slaw and sriracha sauce, these tacos are over-the-top flavorful and delicious.
They are worth the extra work!
How to Make Cilantro Lime Slaw?
This recipe uses a half portion of my tasty cilantro lime sauce that I then mix in with the slaw.
- Step 1: In a food processor, combine the olive oil, green onions, cilantro, onion powder, salt, lime zest, lime juice, and sour cream and blend until combined.
- Step 2: Chop purple cabbage. Then add the green and purple cabbage to the cilantro lime sauce and stir until all the cabbage is coated evenly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
How to Make Chipotle Sriracha Sauce?
- Step 3: In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, lime zest, lime juice, garlic powder, sriracha sauce, and chopped chipotle peppers. Thin with water until you get the consistency you want. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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How to Make Blackened Shrimp Tacos?
- Step 4: In a small bowl, combine all the seasoning for the shrimp.
- Step 5: Thaw shrimp under cold running water. Pat dry and then toss the shrimp in the seasoning.
- Step 6: Heat oil in a fry pan, then add shrimp, and cook until opaque (not see-through), white, and cooked all the way through. 1-2 minutes per side. Once cooked, set aside to cool.
- Step 7: Carefully, wipe out your pan, add 1-2 tbs more oil, and heat your tortillas. Assemble your tacos with a layer of cilantro lime slaw, shrimp, and chipotle sriracha sauce, along with any additional toppings like avocado, cotija cheese, pickled onions, and extra lime juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
I love to have some pico de gallo, pineapple mango salsa, a cucumber salad, or even smoked queso as sides when I serve shrimp tacos. Round everything out with some homemade limeade, too!
A mixture of chili powder, cumin, red chili flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper makes a delicious coating for the shrimp.
Cilantro Lime Slaw, Cotija Cheese, Pickled Onions, Avocado, and Chipotle Siracha Sauce are my go-to toppings for blackened shrimp tacos.
More Related Recipes
If you like this recipe, make sure to check out my pork carnitas tacos, breakfast tacos, Mexican Street Tacos, old-fashioned salmon patties, sour cream chicken enchiladas, pan-fried cod, and easy fried scallop recipes, along with all my favorite tacos recipes!
If you like this recipe make sure to give it a 5-star review and leave a comment down below!
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Video
Blackened Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
Spicy Shrimp
- 1 lb uncooked deveined, tail off shrimp
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tbs oil for frying
Cilantro Lime Slaw
- 2 tbs olive oil
- ½ cup green onions
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 limes zested and juiced
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
Chipotle Siracha Sauce
- 2 tbs sour cream
- 2 tbs mayo
- 1 lime zested and juiced
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped
- 3 tbs water optional
Additional Taco Items
- 8 Tortillas corn or flour
- Limes
- Avocado
- Cotija Cheese
- Pickled Onions
- Oil for frying tortillas
Instructions
Cilantro Lime Sauce
- In a food processor, add the olive oil, green onions, cilantro, onion powder, salt, lime zest, lime juice, and sour cream. Blend until combined.2 tbs olive oil, ½ cup green onions, ¼ cup cilantro, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, 2 limes zested and juiced, ¼ cup sour cream
- Chop purple cabbage. Add shredded lettuce, cabbage, and cilantro lime sauce to the bowl, and stir everything together. Refrigerate until ready to use.2 cups shredded lettuce, 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
Chipotle Siracha Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, lime zest, lime juice, garlic powder, sriracha sauce, and chopped chipotle peppers and water if you want a thinner sauce. Refrigerate until ready to use.2 tbs sour cream, 2 tbs mayo, 1 lime zested and juiced, ¾ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon sriracha sauce, 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 3 tbs water
Shrimp
- In a small bowl, combine all the seasoning for the shrimp.2 teaspoon chili powder, 2 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Thaw shrimp under cold running water. Pat dry, then toss in seasoning.1 lb uncooked
- Heat oil in a medium fry pan over medium heat. Once hot, add shrimp, and cook until opaque (not see-through), white, and cooked all the way through. 1-2 minutes per side.2 tbs oil for frying
- Once cooked, set aside to cool. Carefully, wipe out your pan, add 1-2 tbs more oil, and heat your tortillas. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your pan.8 Tortillas, Oil for frying tortillas
- Assemble your tacos with a layer of cilantro lime slaw, shrimp, and chipotle siracha sauce, along with any additional toppings like avocado, cotija cheese, and extra lime juice. Enjoy!Limes, Avocado, Cotija Cheese, Pickled Onions
Notes
- Leftovers: Store any leftovers in individual bowls- slaw, chipotle sriracha sauce, and shrimp all go in individual air-tight containers and should be refrigerated. Eat within 3 days.
Lisa Killian says
These are so flavorful! Love them!