Easy Chile Lime Shrimp Tacos
Loaded with tons of chile lime flavor and served with two divine sauces, these fast and easy shrimp tacos are incredible!
Easily one of the best things I’ve ever made at home, these shrimp tacos are what my last-meal-on-earth dreams are made of.
These shrimp tacos come together SO fast! In fact the two sauces can be made several days ahead of time. And while the sauces are tremendously delicious, you can skip them for a simplified shrimp taco situation.
(I highly, highly recommend both of them, though, and feel like I may regret even the mere suggestion they can be skipped.)
Cilantro Lime Avocado Sauce
The first sauce is a blended mixture of:
- avocado
- sour cream or yogurt
- cilantro
- fresh lime juice
- olive oil
- salt, pepper and garlic
Feel free to add water to thin down the sauce to more of a dressing-like consistency. I prefer it thick and creamy.
Spicy Garlic Lime Sauce
The second sauce gets quickly whisked together in a bowl – no blender needed:
- mayo
- sour cream or yogurt
- sriracha or other hot sauce
- garlic
- fresh lime juice
- salt and pepper
This sauce hails from the super popular fish taco recipe and is straight up YUMMY and clearly perfect for any number of taco variations.
Chile Lime Shrimp
Now let’s talk about the shrimp. The delectable, divine, delicious shrimp.
Because the shrimp are so easy to prepare and cook so quickly, I’ve made just the shrimp portion of this recipe a number of times and eaten it straight out of the skillet. Just me. Alone in my kitchen, unabashedly tossing piping hot, zesty shrimp in my mouth. Talk about living my best life in my happy place.
The shrimp get a boost of flavor from:
- olive oil
- lime juice and lime zest
- paprika (go for smoked paprika – YUM!)
- chile powder
- garlic
- salt
There’s no need to marinade the shrimp. Cook ’em up immediately! A nonstick skillet or an air fryer are both great options (instructions for both in the recipe).
How to Serve These Easy Shrimp Tacos
There is so much flavor in the two sauces and the shrimp that you don’t need much else for the perfect shrimp taco.
I dollop a spoonful of both dressings down the center of a tortilla, add shredded lettuce, top with several shrimp, and sprinkle a bit of crumbled cotija or queso fresco cheese over the shrimp.
Sliced avocado, drizzle of fresh lime juice, bit of fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes – all of those would be worthy additions as well.
Prepare yourself to have your mind and taste buds blown with the most delicious shrimp tacos of your life.
And listen that’s saying a lot, because you guys know my love also runs very deep for these crispy shrimp tacos. Let’s not even start to compare the two shrimp taco recipes – they are so different and both excellent in their own way.
But these chile lime shrimp tacos win the day simply because the flavor return on such a fast and easy meal is ridiculously high.
I hope you love these as much as I do!
One Year Ago: Roasted Asparagus Lemon Orzo Salad with Fresh Mozzarella
Two Years Ago: Floating Taco Bowls with Crazy Delicious Creamy Lime Dressing {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}
Three Years Ago: Beach Street Lemon Chicken Pasta
Four Years Ago: Tuna Quesadilla Melts {20-Minute Meal}
Five Years Ago: Super Easy Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie {12-Inches!}
Six Years Ago: Best Italian Pasta Salad {With Quick Homemade Italian Dressing}
Seven Years Ago: Double Chocolate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eight Years Ago: Grilled Greek Chicken Kebabs with Simple Tzatziki Sauce
Nine Years Ago: My Favorite Breakfast Smoothie
Ten Years Ago: Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Creamy Dipping Sauce
Easy Chile Lime Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
Shrimp:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (zest before juicing)
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon fresh lime zest
- Pinch cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
Cilantro Lime Avocado Sauce:
- 1 medium avocado, peeled and pit removed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup loosely packed cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Spicy Garlic Lime Sauce:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons sriracha or other hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
For Serving:
- 6-inch corn or flour tortillas
- Cotija or queso fresco cheese
- Fresh lime wedges
- Avocado slices
- Thinly sliced cabbage or romaine lettuce
Instructions
- For the avocado sauce, blend together all the ingredients until smooth. Add additional water to thin the consistency, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve (sauce can be made several days in advance).
- For the spicy garlic lime sauce, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve (sauce can be made several days in advance).
- For the shrimp, in a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, paprika, garlic, salt, cayenne or red pepper flakes, if using, and lime zest. Drizzle over the shrimp and toss until the shrimp are evenly coated.
- Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp in an even layer (cook in separate batches, if needed, so the skillet isn't crowded) and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until pink and cooked through.
- Serve the shrimp in tortillas with shredded cabbage or lettuce, a spoonful of each of the sauces, crumbled cotija or queso fresco cheese, and any other toppings you'd like.
Wow, the sauces were to die for! Both my husband and children insist that these be made regularly!
It’s always so hard coming up with light meals in the summer. This is a new favorite! I use jumbo shrimp and cut them in half lengthwise after cooking them, and then put four halves on each taco. So delicious!
The two sauces are incredible and the crunch of the cabbage is perfect. I will use those sauces for many other dishes.
I used fast free Greek yogurt and low fat mayo. Worked perfectly!
Fat free
I only have one seafood eater in my house, so I made this with chicken breast and my super picky 8 year old gave it a 10 out of 10!! No small feat and a huge bonus that it came together so fast. We all loved it!! Definitely adding it to the weekly rotation.
I’ve never felt more accomplished and confident cooking a dinner for Father’s Day! Thank you so much! My whole family loved it. (Note to self- just make all the shrimp in the 2 lb Costco bag next time!)
made this last week for Sunday dinner. Per request, making it again today for dinner. It is so easy, I now can enjoy a relaxing afternoon and still serve my family a flavorful meal. Pairing it with you mexican street corn salad. Might even serve it out on the patio!!!
These were delicious! I altered the sauces slightly to be WW friendly (I used Fage instead of mayo & sour cream) and it didn’t change the yummy flavors or consistency. We also grilled the shrimp and they were SO delicious. We served with some cilantro lime rice and corn on the cob. Will definitely be making this again soon! Thanks for another great recipe.
Amazing! Super flavorful.
I can’t wait to make this for a group of friends – how many tacos per person does it make? trying to decide if I need to double the recipe if for four people.
It really depends on how much each person eats and how loaded the tacos are with shrimp (or how big of tortillas you use). But I think this recipe should make about 6-8 tacos using 6-inch tortillas.
These were absolutely delicious! The sauces were amazing and tasted great together! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
You have knocked it out of the park…again!! These tacos were really easy to make but very flavorful! We loved the sauces and had enough to use in another recipe. So yummy and a new staple!
This was quick and easy and we really enjoyed it! We doubled the shrimp and halved the sauces and it was perfect for us. Thanks for a great, quick recipe!
So yummy and easy! My kids don’t like shrimp so I also made this with some chicken and they loved it. Mel’s never fails!
Loved the easy delicious shrimp taco recipe. My question is how long do the sauces last in the fridge? I had lots leftover and hate to be wasteful.
Hi Melisa, they should last up to a week or so!
Thank you, Mel! This is *exactly* what I needed this busy week!
Looks great! Could I combine ingredients to make one sauce instead of the two?
I bet you certainly could!
We are hesitant seafood eaters over here (that’s the adults–the kids are definite refusers!) To experience the yumminess of this idea and sauces, I might try it with chicken…or chickpeas…or cauliflower? We’ll see.
Let me know how it goes with a shrimp substitute, Kami!
Cannot wait to make this! Yummmmmm! Thanks for sharing this, Mel! I’m already in love with your Crispy Shrimp Tacos recipe. This recipe sounds absolutely delish!
My family would love these tacos but I am embarrassed to ask this one question. Where and how does one buy shrimp? Words like deveined, farmed, frozen kind of confuse me on what type of shrimp to buy.
Super great question, Ashley! There are a lot of strong opinions about seafood – especially when it comes to farm raised vs fresh caught. I buy most all of our shrimp from Costco or Trader Joe’s. The Costco shrimp are already deveined and the tail is removed so it makes it super easy to work with (the only thing I have to do is thaw the shrimp – and I usually do that placing the frozen bag of shrimp in a dish in the fridge overnight). I did a quick google search and this article from Serious Eats might be helpful! https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-pick-shrimp-varieties-freshness-guide (they recommend buying shell-on shrimp, but I’ve had really good results using the pre-peeled shrimp from Costco or Trader Joe’s)
I live in Arizona so I have to buy frozen shrimp (we lived in Mexico for 15 yrs). I buy frozen shell on deveined shrimp. Shell on shrimp have more flavor to me and it’s worth a little bit more effort. Great questions. Experiment and enjoy. Happy eating