Shrimp Tacos with Corn, Bacon and Lime Crema
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These shrimp tacos are fast, fresh, and loaded with bold flavor—think crispy bacon, sweet corn, and a zesty lime crema to tie it all together.
The inspiration for these crazy-good shrimp tacos with corn, bacon, and lime crema comes from a fabulous cookbook called Taqueria: New-Style Fun and Friendly Mexican Cooking by Australian chef Paul Wilson (Hardie Grant Books, 2017). Wilson writes, “This is one of the most popular summer dishes in my kitchen. It’s fast, simple to prepare, and the three main ingredients work very well together in a warm tortilla.” I can confirm: my family literally devours these.
To round out the meal, try serving these tacos with a simple guacamole, chips and salsa, and a pitcher of margaritas. And if you’re looking for a more classic take, don’t miss my go-to shrimp tacos with avocado salsa—a longtime reader favorite.
“This is a family favorite! I have to double the recipe so we don’t run out!”
What You’ll Need To Make Shrimp Tacos with Corn, Bacon & Lime Crema
- Sour cream, fresh lime juice, and salt – Whisked together to make a cool, tangy crema that cuts through the richness of the filling and ties everything together.
- Bacon – Adds smoky richness and crisp texture, and gives the corn and shrimp an instant flavor upgrade. For best results, use good quality thick-cut bacon; Wright or Smithfield are both easy-to-find brands that work well here.
- Fresh corn, scallions, and garlic – A sweet and savory veggie trio that brings crunch, freshness, and big flavor to every bite.
- Shrimp – I use large shrimp for this recipe, often labeled 31/35 per pound. Once cooked, they’re just the right size to pile into tortillas without needing to chop them.
- Cumin, ancho chili powder, and salt – This trio adds warmth, smokiness, and just the right depth of flavor to the shrimp without overpowering them.
- Lime juice and cilantro – Stirred in at the end to brighten everything up with a burst of citrus and herby freshness.
- Corn tortillas – Soft, toasty, and just sturdy enough to hold the filling. I recommend Mission Super Soft Corn Tortillas for store-bought, or you can make your own tortillas if you’re up for it.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep the corn. To begin, cut the raw kernels off of the corn cobs. The best way to do this is to this (without having the kernels fly all over the kitchen) is to invert a small bowl inside a larger bowl. Hold the cob upright on top of the inverted small bowl, with the flatter end of the cob down, and use a sharp knife to slice downward as close to the cob as possible.
Step 2: Cook the bacon. Next, place the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until crispy and golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the bacon fat in the skillet.
Step 3: Cook the corn. Add the corn to the reserved bacon fat in the skillet. Season with salt and cook until the corn is tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.
Step 4: Cook the shrimp. Spoon the corn into a bowl and set aside. Add the shrimp, scallions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 5: Put it all together. Add the corn, bacon, cilantro, and lime juice to the shrimp. Stir to combine, then remove from the heat and cover to keep warm while you heat the tortillas and make the lime crema.
Step 6: Make the lime crema. Simply stir together the sour cream, fresh lime juice, and salt. (Feel free to make the crema ahead; it will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.)
Step 7: Serve. Warm the tortillas according to the package instructions. Place the tortillas on serving plates and top with the shrimp mixture and generous spoonfuls of the lime crema. Serve immediately with the rest of the crema on the side. Enjoy!
More Taco Recipes You May Like
Street-Style Shrimp Tacos with Corn, Bacon and Lime Crema
These shrimp tacos with corn, bacon, and lime crema make a fast, fun, crowd-pleasing meal.
Ingredients
For the Lime Crema
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from 1 lime
- Pinch salt
For the Shrimp Tacos with Corn and Bacon
- 4 slices (6 oz) thick-cut bacon, diced
- 4 corn cobs, uncooked kernels removed
- 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 lbs large (31/35) shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and tail removed, thawed if frozen
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- Salt
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1 lime
- 12 small corn tortillas
Instructions
For the Lime Crema
- In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, fresh lime juice and salt.
For the Shrimp Tacos with Corn and Bacon
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, fry the bacon, stirring frequently, until crispy and golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the bacon fat in the skillet.
- Add the corn to the fat in the skillet and season with ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook the corn, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Spoon the corn into a bowl and set aside.
- Add the shrimp, scallions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and ⅛ teaspoon salt to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the corn, bacon, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon lime juice to the shrimp. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust the seasoning with more lime juice or salt, if necessary. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm while you heat the tortillas.
- Warm the tortillas in the microwave or in a skillet according to the package instructions. Place the tortillas on serving plates and top with the shrimp mixture and generous spoonfuls of the lime crema. Serve the rest of the crema on the side.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The lime crema can be made up to four days ahead of time and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. The shrimp mixture can be made one day ahead of time and refrigerated; just keep the cooked bacon and cilantro separate until you reheat the dish. Reheat the shrimp mixture in a skillet over medium heat until just heated through.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 taco
- Calories: 245
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Sodium: 636 mg
- Cholesterol: 115 mg
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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These tacos were delicious! I didn’t have sour cream on hand but in had plain yogurt:) (we also didn’t use cilantro;) but I served with avocado:) all of us loved it and we will be making it again!
I also used 2 cans of canned corn, drained, as corn isn’t in season right now:)
Hi Jenn! I’m having a hard time finding ancho chili powder. Do you have a substitution recommendation? Thank you!
Hi Theresa, You can just use regular chili powder – it will still be delish. 🙂
Thanks, Jenn!
I have made these three times and they are wonderful!! I use frozen, defrosted corn and also add some canned black beans (about 3/4 of a cup). So yummy! My guests fight over the left overs.
This was SO good! Tasted like summer without standing over a hot grill in the hot and humid
August heat. I shredded some cabbage and added chipotle with adobo to the crema to add a little more spice. Thanks for another great recipe. 🙂
The whole family loved this recipe! It was helpful to know that it should be 3 cups of corn. How many scallions? A bunch can mean a lot of things.
Thank you for letting me become a better cook!
Will make again!!
Glad you liked them! I’d guesstimate that one bunch of sliced scallions would give you about 3/4 cup.
Thanks Jenn. Aldi’s has humongous bunches of scallions, but Wegman’s has little bitty bunches, so a measurement really helps.
Use your judgement and add until you think it looks good to your liking or tastes right.
Absolutely delicious! Would be a quick meal to put together if I wasn’t so fastidious about my shrimp cleaning but a simply delicious meal with complex flavors! Thanks for another winner to add to the repertoire, Jen!
Yummy! This is a keeper especially with fresh summer corn available now. I halved the recipe and there’s still enough for another dinner. Unable to locate ancho chili powder in my local market, I mixed regular chili powder and cayenne. Delicious and easy.
Yes I made the street tacos! They were amazing!! Making them again this evening. Everyone in my family that had a taco thought they were delicious! What’s not tasty with bacon😊
So Delicious! We made this and everyone gobbled it up without any leftover. I would love to make it again for company. Can this recipe be doubled or would you need to make two batches?
Glad you liked it (and, yes, you can definitely double it)!
We loved this recipe. I increased the bacon to 6 strips, used frozen, defrosted corn (2 cups) and added 1 cup of rinsed, canned black beans. We substituted avocado crema for the lime crema, but I am sure it would have been just as good with the latter. We served the tacos with Jenny’s recipe for Mexican Rice….YUM!