Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa
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These festive and flavorful shrimp tacos are easy enough to make on a busy weeknight, and they’re good for you, too.
Filled with juicy grilled shrimp and spicy avocado salsa, these shrimp tacos make a delicious and fun (not to mention healthy) weeknight dinner or cookout dish. You can prepare most of the recipe ahead of time — although it comes together so quickly, there’s really no need to — and then just fire up the grill and lay out all of the fixings for everyone to assemble their own tacos. Since you’re eating with your hands already, round out the meal with some fresh boiled corn on the cob or grilled Mexican street corn, and dinner is done!
What You’ll Need To Make Grilled Shrimp Tacos
- As with all of my shrimp recipes, I recommend buying frozen shrimp labeled “shell split and deveined.” Most shrimp are cleaned and flash-frozen shortly after being caught, so the “fresh” shrimp you see in the seafood case at the supermarket is typically thawed frozen shrimp. Who knows how long it’s been sitting there, so you’re better off buying frozen and defrosting it yourself.
- Some brands of corn tortillas can be dry. For store-bought, I recommend Mission Super-Soft Corn Tortillas. If you’d like to make your own (it’s really easy!), check out my recipe for homemade corn tortillas.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the avocado salsa. For the jalapeño pepper, I cut the flesh off of the seeds, ribs, and stem, leaving the spiciest part of the pepper behind. If you like more heat, throw in some of the seeds. (When working with jalapeños, avoid touching your eyes and wash your hands well afterwards.) Combine the jalapeño pepper with the shallot and garlic in a food processor.
Process until finely minced.
Add the mixture to a bowl along with the avocado, tomato, salt, lime juice and chopped cilantro.
Stir to combine. When you taste it, you might worry that it’s too spicy but, rest assured, it’ll be perfect combined with the shrimp and fixins in the tacos. It’s not intended to be eaten on its own like guacamole.
Next, prepare the shrimp by combining it with the olive oil, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper.
Toss until evenly combined.
Grill the shrimp over medium heat. The reason I use large shrimp for this recipe is so that they don’t fall through the grates. If you’re worried your shrimp will slip through, you can always thread them on skewers or just cook them indoors in a skillet. Either way, be careful not to overcook them — they only need a minute or two per side. You’ll know they’re done when they look opaque and start to curl into a more-closed “C” shape.
Finally, heat the tortillas on the grill or in the microwave, and assemble the tacos with all the fixings.
You May Also Like
- Street Style Shrimp Tacos with Corn & Bacon
- Grilled Chicken Fajitas
- Best Carne Asada
- Margaritas
- Baja Fish Tacos
Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa
These festive and flavorful shrimp tacos are easy enough to make on a busy weeknight, and they’re good for you, too.
Ingredients
For the Salsa
- 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from half a lime
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
For the Shrimp
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Scant ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1½ pounds large (31/35) or extra large (26/30) shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and tail removed, thawed if frozen
For Assembling
- 8 to 10 six-inch corn or flour tortillas
- 2 cups chopped red cabbage, for serving
- 2 limes, cut into wedges, for serving
- 1 cup sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- Make the Salsa: Put the shallot, jalapeño pepper, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until finely chopped (a mini food processor is best, but large will work too) Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the chopped tomatoes, avocado, salt, lime juice, and cilantro to the bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. (If not using right away, see the make-ahead instructions below.)
- Make the Shrimp: Heat the grill to medium. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the olive oil, chili powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and shrimp. Mix until the shrimp are evenly coated with seasoning. Grease the grill with a wad of paper towels dipped in vegetable oil or non-flammable cooking spray. Place the shrimp on the grill and cook, covered, until just opaque, 1½ to 2 minutes per side. Place the shrimp on a serving platter and cover to keep warm. (I use large shrimp for this recipe so that they don’t fall through the grates. If you’re worried your shrimp will slip through, you can always thread them on skewers or cook them indoors in a skillet on medium heat.)
- Grill the tortillas until warm and slightly charred, about 20 seconds per side. (Alternatively, heat the tortillas in the microwave according to the package instructions.)
- Fill each tortilla with a spoonful of the avocado salsa, 3 shrimp, and some red cabbage; pass the lime wedges and sour cream at the table. Alternatively, set the warm tortillas, grilled shrimp, avocado salsa, and fixings on the table for everyone to assemble their own tacos.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The avocado salsa can be made up to 8 hours ahead of time; place a piece of saran wrap inside the bowl and directly over the mixture to prevent discoloration and refrigerate. The shrimp can be tossed with the oil and seasoning, covered, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead of time.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 517
- Fat: 27g
- Saturated fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Sugar: 7g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 30g
- Sodium: 1075mg
- Cholesterol: 244mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Not tried yet but is there any sweetness or sauciness? Was thinking maybe a chipotle mayo would add something but don’t want to overkill it.
Hi James, I wouldn’t say that these really have any sauciness. You can make the chipotle, mayo; I don’t think it would be overkill, but the tacos have plenty of flavor as is. Hope that helps and you enjoy however, you make them!
THIS was amazing!!! I can’t even talk about how easy and delicious this was. I could eat the salsa with a spoon! I served with the cilantro/lime corn. Can’t wait to make it again next week! My college son had three of his buddies over and they devoured it! Jenn, thanks again for your weekly emails. They inspire me and make my family happy. By the way…. I’ve made your strawberry cake three times in three weeks!!! 💜
Bonjour Jenn!,
A “11* score on a 10* scale” from my son. A great family dinner that everyone enjoyed.
Can’t wait to see new recipes on your site or new cookbook:)
Martine
Delicious! Perfect combination of flavors and texture! Definitely a keeper!
It is excellent! I serve it everyother week and it is always with pleasure that we eat it all! Your recipes are very good, thank you for sharing!
What is the best way to cook the shrimp if you don’t have an outdoor grill?
Hi Pat, You can broil them in the oven – cook time will be about the same. Enjoy!
Looks like a great recipe but how much shrimp? A pound?
Hi Karen, You’ll need 1.5 pounds. Hope you enjoy!
Made this tonight when I had a last minute need to put dinner together and all of these ingredients are staples for me. Used cod filet as that’s what I had which I baked at 400 convection for 10 minutes. The cod worked great, just sprinkled the seasoning on before I put it in the oven. Salsa was AMAZING and I highly recommend grilling the tortillas – I put mine on my gas burner on my stove as was too cold to go outside. I will definitely be making this again.
My favorite shrimp taco recipe!!
So we accidentally grabbed the precooked shrimp. I’m planning to go back and get some uncooked shrimp to use for this recipe. Do you have any recipes for cooked shrimp?
Hi Michelle, You could make this shrimp salad.
Thanks Jenn! That looks delicious.
Made this tonight and it was delicious as everyone said. First time cooking shrimp and it was easy. Thank you for another great recipe.
Hi Jenn, as usual your recipes are spot on! I made the shrimp tacos/avocado salsa today for my sister visiting from Cali (you know those people are really healthy conscious:) Anyway, these were a hit! She could not stop raving about how delicious they were! I had to kick her out of the kitchen after making the avocado salsa, she kept scooping with a tortilla. Love this recipe, although I did switch out chili powder for ancho chili powder. This recipe is a winner, winner shrimp dinner:)
These were so yummy – absolutely delicious! Thank you, Jenn!
So, so, so good!! Thank you!
Excellent! I had invited friends, I made the salsa ahead, the shrimps on skewers…nothing to do, and the taste is soooo good….I will make more salsa the next time… thank you for a beautiful and easy recipe!
I politely suggest that you include in your instructions the need to remove any tails from the shrimp before serving.
A young married couple that had recently moved into our neighborhood hosted a barbecue for us where this recipe was part of the menu. It was quite tasty. Unfortunately, they used the thawed large shrimp, peeled and de-veined, as detailed in your recipe, but with “tail-on”. They didn’t know to remove the tails before serving.
Hi Lindsey, Good point — for most shrimp recipes, I think removing the tail is a matter of personal preference, but I would guess it’s not very appealing to bite into a tail when eating a taco! I’ve updated the recipe. 🙂
Made the tacos and avocado/tomato salsa, as usual it was delicious. I could have eaten more than two. Thanks!
Perfect every time! The family loves it!
The one thing I love most about your recipes is that they can be made just as presented and turn out wonderful each time. The salsa has very good flavor, I put everything but the avocado in and let sit in the refrigerator until ready to serve and then added the avocado.
I’m just wondering, all of my shrimp that are shell split and deveined (as Jenn recommends using) still have the shell on. At what point in the cooking do you remove the shell? Prior to?
Yes, prior to mixing the shrimp with the olive oil and spices. Hope you enjoy!
I’m not a big taco person, but I was craving these last week for some reason. They came out great! I made the mistake of adding some lime juice to the shrimp before cooking (I really like lime…) but I think it ended up making my shrimp a bit rubbery. Would stick with the recipe and not add lime juice next time.
This recipe was easy and delicious. My family loved it. Thanks again for a real winner!!
Such a winner this recipe is! I was a bit nervous grilling shrimp but I did 2 minutes on each side and they came out delicious. Thank you! The guacamole is so tasty. My husband thought these were the best shrimp tacos he’s ever had and he orders them a lot when dining out. I also heated up some black beans to add. Such a great meal to make during the week.