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spicy shrimp tacos with flour tortillas and sides
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5 from 3 votes

Easy Spicy Shrimp Tacos

Quick and Easy Spicy Shrimp Tacos filled with spicy shrimp, Mexican pickled red onions, queso fresco, and a mango avocado salsa. They are a party in your mouth-- just like our carne asada tacos!
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:Mexican
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 tacos
Calories171 kcal
Author Denise Browning
Cost $2 per taco

Equipment

  • skillet
  • bowls
  • cutting board
  • knife

Ingredients

For the Mango Avocado Salsa (OPTIONAL):

  • ½ cup cubed mango
  • ½ cup cubed avocado
  • ¼ cup chopped red onion
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped jalapeno
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • A pinch of salt
  • 2-3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley

For the Spicy Shrimp:

  • 12 ounces extra-large raw shrimp (thawed, deveined, and peel-and-tail-off) If making street tacos, use medium shrimp.
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 Tablespoons white rum OPTIONAL
  • 5 fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 3-4 Tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley

Others:

  • 6 tortillas If using small tortillas to make street tacos, yields 12 tacos. If using corn tortillas to make regular tacos, use 12 tortillas (one over the other to hold the filling because they tear apart easily), I used low-carb tortillas!
  • 8 tablespoon crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
  • sour cream OPTIONAL
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • To make this spicy shrimp taco recipe, prepare the salsa first (OPTIONAL): In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, red onion, jalapeno, lime juice, salt, and cilantro/parsley. You can use your food processor to chop the salsa ingredients! Cover and chill in the fridge.
    A bowl of salsa
  • Meanwhile, prepare the spicy shrimp. Season shrimp with salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder, mixing well. Then, heat vegetable oil in a large no-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add the seasoned shrimp. Cook shrimp for about 3 minutes. Add the rum and let cook until slightly evaporated (about 30 seconds). Reduce heat!
  • Over medium heat, add the garlic, and cook for about 30-60 seconds, stirring every now and then. Do not let brown!
  • Add the mint, remove the pan from heat, and squeeze the lime juice all over the shrimp. Toss the cilantro/parsley and arrange the tacos.
    spicy shrimp in a skillet
  • To arrange the spicy shrimp tacos, warm the tortillas and then place either a) one flour tortilla on a flat surface or b) double tortillas (one on top of the other) on a flat surface if using corn tortillas, which are more fragile.
  • Fill the tortilla with a bit of the mango avocado salsa on top, then the cooked shrimp, crumbled cheese, pickled red onions, and a drizzle of sour cream, plus lime wedges on the side.
  • Repeat the process so that you end up with 12 street tacos (small bites) or 6 regular-size tacos (quick dinner meal). Enjoy!
    tacos on a table

Recipe Notes

  • The double tortilla helps to prevent breaking and spilling of the filling.
  • The nutritional facts omit any optional ingredient from the calculation, including the mango avocado salsa. It also calculated low-carb tortillas instead of regular tortillas! 
How to warm up tortillas
Corn tortillas are way more fragile than flour tortillas because they break apart or tear more easily especially when they are at room temp!
There is more than one way to warm them up but my preferred way is this:
  1. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat.
  2. Spray both sides of the tortilla with cooking spray or lightly brush some oil on top.
  3. Then, place oiled tortillas on the hot skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until they get warm and slightly browned. Make sure to watch them closely in order to not brown too much.
The warm flour tortilla is still less breakable than a corn tortilla! This is why I use either a single flour tortilla or double corn tortillas in my tacos.  
Storage
Store salsa and shrimp leftovers in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Re-heat shrimp in order to assemble the tacos.
Freezing either the salsa or the shrimp is not recommended because the salsa will be mushy after thawing and the shrimp may become rubbery.

Nutrition

Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 793mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 272IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 2mg

** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.

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