These are the best shrimp tacos with a delicious cilantro lime cabbage slaw served on corn tortillas with a spicy shrimp taco sauce. So good, you’ll want them every week!
Best Shrimp Tacos Recipe
Taco night happens weekly in my house, and these spicy shrimp tacos are always a hit! Juicy, flavor-packed shrimp, crunchy cabbage, and a creamy, zesty cilantro lime slaw come together in under 20 minutes. In my opinion, they’re the best shrimp tacos—and the five-star reviews agree! What really takes them over the top is the cabbage slaw and spicy, creamy sauce that’s so good, you’ll want it on every taco. Not a shrimp fan? Try my easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos.
What Makes These Shrimp Tacos So Good
My daughter Madison loves these tacos and Skinnytaste readers have made these shrimp tacos hundreds of times—just read the comments!
- The shrimp cook fast and taste amazing.
- The creamy, spicy sauce has the right amount of heat and tang.
- The cilantro lime cabbage slaw adds crunch and flavor, no boring toppings here.
- It’s a 20-minute dinner that tastes like a restaurant taco night.
Ingredients You’ll Need
I love that with just a few ingredients, you have a restaurant worthy dinner. See recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Shrimp: For convenience buy peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp. You can buy fresh or frozen shrimp.
- Shrimp Taco Seasoning: I minced up some fresh garlic cloves and seasoning salt, like Tajin or Old Bay. You can also make your own taco spices to use here with garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and chili powder.
- Tortillas: I prefer corn tortillas with shrimp tacos, but flour tortillas would also work.
- Slaw: This slaw really makes the tacos, in my opinion! Made with shredded green or red cabbage, fresh jalapeño, red onion, fresh lime juice, salt and cilantro.
- Shrimp Taco Sauce: Mayonnaise, Greek yogurt or sour cream, lime juice, sriracha or Louisiana-style hot pepper sauce. It’s so good!
How to Make Shrimp Tacos
Here’s the step-by-step directions for these easy shrimp tacos. See recipe card below for printable directions.
- 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 6 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until cooked in the center.
- Or Cook Shrimp in Skillet: In two batches, over medium-high heat cook the shrimp in a large skillet about 1-2 minutes on each side, until opaque and cooked through.
- 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.
Swaps and 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.
- Add Zing: If you wish, you can also top them with pickled red onions to give them some zing.
- Not a fan of slaw? Try these spicy shrimp tacos with guacamole, mango salsa, pico de gallo, or salsa verde.
- Tortillas: Swap corn tortillas with flour tortillas if you prefer
- Low Carb: For a lighter taco use lettuce wraps instead.
Make It A Meal
These tacos are delicious on their own, but if you want to make this a fiesta, here’s some side dish ideas:
- 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
Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- 24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, about 16 oz total
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, like Tajin or Old Bay
- 8 corn tortillas, or flour if you prefer
For the Slaw
- 2 cups cabbage, shredded, green or red is fine (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 kosher 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.
Skillet Method
- Or Cook Shrimp in Skillet: In two batches, over medium-high heat cook the shrimp in a large skillet about 1-2 minutes on each side, until opaque and cooked through.
- 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.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Video
Notes
- You can make the slaw a few hours in advance
- Swap the shrimp for grilled fish
- Store leftovers separately to keep tortillas from getting soggy.
Nutrition
FAQ
Yes! Just thaw them first—pat them dry so they don’t steam.
Nope. The slaw is fresh and tangy from lime and cilantro. The heat comes from the separate spicy cream sauce, so you can adjust that to your taste.
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.
Swap the Greek yogurt in the sauce for a dairy-free yogurt or mayo alternative.
The slaw and sauce can be made a few hours ahead. Cook the shrimp just before serving so they stay juicy.
More Shrimp Recipes You’ll Love
If you love shrimp as much as my family does, you’ll love these other easy favorites:
- Air Fryer Shrimp
- Shrimp Ceviche
- Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- Shrimp Quesadilla
Want even more ideas? Browse all my Shrimp Recipes or explore the full Seafood Recipes collection!
Amazing! Our whole family loved them! We served them with your cilantro lime rice and fresh pineapple. What a perfect way to welcome summer!
Oh my goodness!! We have made so many ST recipes and not sure how we haven’t stumbled across these before now!!! (Thank you for the search bar!!) my husband warmed the tortillas with a light dusting of corn meal. We cooked the shrimp as directed and the cabbage and spicy sauce. I used a mango salsa and my husband used a saucy pico de gallo. We forgot to add avocado and didn’t even miss it!!
Wow, we can’t wait to have these again!!
Delicious and delightful!!
THANK YOU Gina!!!
Glad you both enjoyed it!
Excellent! This was so delicious and the slaw with it was so refreshing. We went out for shrimp tacos a week ago and these could definitely rival them. Plus I know how much healthier these were. Only swap I made was low carb small tortillas instead of the corn. Yum! I’ll be making these again and again!
Delicious!!!! Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit. Everyone was very complimentary! “Best Shrimp Tacos Ever” and “You couldn’t buy Shrimp tacos this good”, were a few of the compliments. Also, they were quick and easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Another winner. No modifications. Family loved it and so easy. Very filling and fresh tasting!
So delicious and so easy!
I felt like I was eating at an upscale fish restaurant but nope…I was in my own dining room eating my own home cooked meal. These turned out so fantastic in a way I didn’t think was possible.
Love that!!
Excellent and quick to make.
So good! Recommend using Old Bay on the shrimp, and mixing the crema in the slaw before putting on the taco. I added a little avocado mash to the taco which took it to another level!
These are absolutely fantastic; I didn’t change a thing. I used small corn tortillas and (for the first time, yay me!) charred them on my gas stovetop first. What a difference! I was a little afraid lol but they came out restaurant quality!
The perfect taste of these tacos boils down to the different elements. You have the slaw, the sauce, the seasoned shrimp. And it’s so easy to do. We are going to have these SOOOOOOO many more times lol
Hubby is taking them for lunch tomorrow and I really think they will still hold up 100 percent.
So glad you both enjoyed them!
Flavor on flavor! Definitely on the make again and share lists!! I used bagged slaw and finely diced a seeded jalapeno and red onion. I don’t like Cilantro so swapped chopped Italian Parsley for a nice herby taste. Last, I used a low carb wrap and cut it in half, so rather than a crunchy taco mine was more of a taco wrap but the flavors of the bay seasoning on the shrimp, the spicy sauce and the lime coleslaw were fabulous!
Delicious and healthy shrimp tacos with a yummy slaw and sauce. Loved it!
I made this recipe last night and it was delicious. I placed the corn tortilla in a flour tortilla to catch all the bits. My husband said ” you can make this again even when it’s not Lent!”
Love to hear!
These were delicious and quite easy to make! We used a bagged salad kit containing broccoli stalk, cabbage, green onions, lettuce, etc. — added cilantro and lime juice to that per the directions and served the jalapeño on the side. Topped with homemade salsa in addition to the shrimp taco sauce. Husband and kids ate theirs on flour tortillas while I made mine into a salad. Didn’t have any pickled onions but I want to add those next time!
Perfect!
Gina, do you think this would work with precooked frozen shrimp by chance?
Yes but I don’t recommend because they will get rubbery.
I usually am disappointed in shrimp tacos, but these really were the best.
Thanks David!
I made this with a few small adjustments (esp. to the slaw – onion powder instead of onions and picked jalapenos instead of fresh), and we LOVED this! I will absolutely be making it again!
Excellent! Nice spice. I used pickled red onion as topping.
Wow, made these shrimp tacos last night and they were absolutely delicious! I did double the Old Bay seasoning on the shrimp and served them with diced mango as others suggested. Perfect blend of spicy, sweet, crunchy and smooth. My husband fried the corn tortillas in a cast iron pan and that just elevated this recipe so much. Healthy, flavorful and satisfying. We are already talking about when we will make them again – they certainly will go into the rotation. Thanks!!
I’m not a great seafood lover and wasn’t overly enthusiastic about eating this meal. I was blown away! It was incredible. Will definitely do this one again.
I love this recipe. Perfect just as written.
This is another great-tasting recipe from Skinnytaste. I use pickled jalapeños to make it less spicy. My husband loves this, too.
This was a hit. Everyone loved it.
Best non-beef, non-hard shell tacos I’ve ever had
So easy to make a full of flavor!
Delicious and super easy. Another great recipe.
Thansk Kim!
Delish! I try to stick to paleo/w30 meals so I used siete tortilla and flour for the husband. these were so good I’ll definitely be making them again.
Really delicious. We just made this for dinner tonight with some rice and beans as a side.
First time making or eating shrimp tacos. Didn’t think my husband would say YES to me making these as we’ve only ever had traditional beef tacos. These were SUPER easy to make!!! added a few pieces of canned mango and a dolop of guacamole. While these were spicey from the jalapeno in the slaw and siracha in the sauce, we decided it was just perfect the way it was (with about 3/4 of a non-seeeded jalapeno sliced thin in the slaw). The mango helped cool things down. REALLY great recipe!! I encourage you all to make it!
Great!!!
Excellent sauce. Love them
Delicious, all three parts of this recipe came together allowing the flavors to compliment each other.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. I try 1-2 new ones a week along with rotating previous ones I tried and loved.
Thanks Dayle!
Delicious and easy
So good! I’m not even a huge shrimp fan but I wanted to try making these for my husband. They are delicious!
This was awesome! My grandson said, “Don’t lose this recipe!”
Ridiculously quick and easy. I didn’t have slaw fixins, but crunchy lettuce and cilantro worked perfectly. I put mango and avacado on the side. Really delicious.
Absolutely delicious!!!
Amazing!! Our new favorite!
Glad you enjoyed it!
These were so good! The sauce and slaw are the stars of the show. I omitted the jalapeno because I was nervous it would be too spicy for me. Can’t wait to make them again!
The sauce makes it! But to be fair it’s all delicious.
The shrimp tacos are a favorite in our house. The recipe is easy and delicious. The slaw dressing is wonderful. We love the kick in the slaw and the sauce. Another great recipe from Skinnytatse!
My husband and I just made this! We loved it! My husband can’t get over how good it is, he has said lit over and over!!!
Lol, glad you both enjoyed it!
The best shrimp tacos I have ever eaten. I cooked the shrimp in the air fryer and I used a coleslaw mix for the cabbage. Delicious!
I used the air fryer method and these tacos were AMAZING. I chose sriracha sauce for my sauce and it was just perfect. I also added guacamole to each taco. I will definitely make these again. Next time, I will not put jalapeños in all of the Cole slaw. Too spicy for my son, but I LOVED it. Super quick and easy and VERY delicious.
Great tasting easy to make
Perfect recipe for air frying the shrimp. Love it and it’s super quick.
These were so good!
Great easy dinner with an excellent flavor. Add to your list for sure!
So delicious and filling! Comes together quickly. Love that it has WW points.
If I could give it more stars I would. Excellent recipe and quick enough for a weeknight. Flavors are awesome!
I used the Low Carb tortilla. And, didn’t have slaw, so I used romaine. So delicious. Love all of your recipes and promote your site all the time. Especially on the Weight Watchers Facebook groups that I belong to.
Thank you!!!
This was absolutely delicious! I can’t believe how quick and yummy this meal was. I will definitely make this a regular in my dinner rotation. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent, quick dinner with things on hand
Perfect!
Oh my! These shrimp tacos are amazing and definitely restaurant worthy!! Easy and delicious!!
I made this recipe and it is definitely a repeat recipe. The slaw really made the dish. I may use that slaw with the cod fish tacos next time I make them. We had extra slaw and crema, I used it for the side dish with burgers the next day. Now, I am on to see what recipe I will make next. We are really enjoying these additions to our dinner menu.
This recipe makes my stomach soooo happy
I honestly thought this looked kind of boring – but I was SO wrong. The slaw combined with the sauce are a great mix, giving the tacos so much flavor. In both cases, I either grilled pre-marinated shrimp kebabs from Wegmans, or used the stove top to cook the Skinnytaste Cilantro Lime Shrimp, but it was so easy. Using pre-shredded cabbage is a life saver. And I will use that sauce on other things because I always have those ingredients on hand. Easy and delicious, definitely recommend.
These were SO easy to make and restaurant-level delicious! Never thought to do shrimp in the air fryer but it was perfect.
Easy and delicious! I can’t wait to try different hot sauces in the shrimp taco sauce.
These shrimp tacos are fabulous! Just as good if not better than our favorite seafood restaurant! Added a couple of slices of avocados to each taco as well.
Sooooo delicious! Added sliced avo because the calories are so low. And do fast with relatively few ingredients. A weeknight go-to for sure.
This was so good. Even my husband liked it. Will definitely be making again.
This is my 1st Skinnytaste recipe I made it because it so hot here and it looked easy & light…I was right only thing I did differently was used coleslaw mix so it had some shredded carrots in it..will be making this ALOT
The shrimp tacos look amazing! Have to make these!!
Such a tasty recipe!
Thank you for another 5 star recipe, we loved it! I was delish in the corn tortillas and in TJ’s jicama wraps which I had been wanting to try.
Looks delicious! If I didn’t have cabbage, what is a good sub?
My husband loves these tacos! Thank you for all your great recipes! Since I started following your site and using your recipes, I have lost almost 14 lbs and my husband also enjoys your recipes too. My doctor said I had to lose weight and you have made it easier. Thank you!
I am so happy to hear and that’s amazing!
These are amazing!
These are delicious!!
Delicious and nutritious! Hits the spot for Taco Tuesday! 🌮
Delicious, quick and healthy dinner! I have some sriracha seasoning from Costco that we tossed the shrimp with and it was so delicious! This will be a summer staple at our house!
I have made these two days in a row. My family love them.😋
I made the shrimp tacos, and Gina’s Corn, Tomato, Avocado salad for Cinco de Mayo, and both were absolutely delicious!
Wonderful…Flavorful…it was a hit with the family. I will definately be making this again😋
I haven’t tried this yet but really want to. We’re doing a Keto diet. If we eliminated the corn tortillas for keto (zero carb) tortillas, how does that change the carb count? 28 carbs is more than my whole day’s carb allowance. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, this recipe is amazing. Can’t wait to share this with my friends. Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything. Thank you so very much for sharing amazing recipes with all of us…
Glad you enjoyed it!
I saw the photo of these and knew I had to make them. Very tasty and fresh. Husband approved!
Perfect
Super easy to make and tasted delicious. Will definitely be adding to my rotation.
I have to try this sounds delicious
Very good , I made the slaw and sauce the day before, scrumptious