Spicy marinated shrimp cooked to tender perfection, topped with a homemade avocado crema and slaw… are you drooling yet? These spicy shrimp tacos with avocado crema are a must make this week!
Two taco recipes in the same week?! This must be heaven or close to it! My love for tacos is really on display this week for Cinco de Mayo. These spicy shrimp tacos with avocado crema are going to be your new favorite tacos to make!
Ingredients
Shrimp are such a fun seafood to work with, because they are the perfect blank canvas to infuse flavor into. I wanted to have a spicy/smokey taste to these shrimp so I utilized: dark chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, oregano, and garlic. Then followed up with a nice base of avocado oil, lime juice, and some kosher salt.
Shrimp Prep
When buying shrimp, I usually go for the peeled and deveined variety. Cleaning shrimp is kind of tedious if you are short on time. If you do want to clean them remember to remove the vein down the back of the shrimp. I also remove the tails before marinating, so it is less messy than doing it later and rubbing all the flavor off with your fingers.
I remove the tail by pinching the shell all the way at the back. This will allow the tail to free itself and you won’t lose any delicious meat.
Marinade
Whisk all the marinade ingredients together, place the shrimp in the marinade, and stir until all the shrimps are coated. You can marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to a few hours, shrimp take on flavor pretty quickly.
Avocado Crema
Next up is the crema! These spicy shrimp tacos are great on their own, but I’ve always been partial to a little sauce on my shrimp tacos. This creamy sauce lends a little heat itself from the jalapeño, but its the perfect contrast to the spices used on the shrimp.
I used avocado, cilantro (perfect time to use some stems!), garlic, lime juice, deseeded jalapeño, avocado oil, and a touch of water for consistency. You can use sour cream for the creamy factor, but I chose to use greek yogurt as a healthier alternative.
I blended all the ingredients and did a few tastings before proceeding. You don’t want it too thick or too thin, so I added 1 tbsp of water and tested it, then added one more before reaching the consistency I wanted. It may taste a bit spicy on it’s own, but it will all mellow out when it’s all put together.
Slaw
Now for a quick slaw. Using a purple cabbage and a green cabbage, I sliced them on my mandoline (here is my be careful note). If you do not have a mandoline, a knife will do the trick just try to be consistent with your size of cuts.
I added a few spoons of the avocado crema to the slaw and tossed it until evenly coated. You will be using the rest of the avocado crema to drizzle on top of the tacos!
Cooking Shrimp
Next is cooking the shrimp. You can either grill them or cook them in a cast iron. I have done them both ways! If you are going to grill them, skewer them on either soaked bamboo sticks or using metal skewers.
Shrimp cook fast! As they start to cook they are going to begin to coil up. If you are cooking them on the stovetop (depending on the size of the shrimp), they will cook in about 5-7 minutes. I flip them to get a nice char/color on each side. If you are grilling the shrimp, same time frame around 5-7 minutes and flip them midway through.
Time to assemble our spicy shrimp tacos! I used flour tortillas (toasted them in the oven), then I spread the slaw, added a few shrimp, drizzled the avocado crema, then topped with some fresh cilantro and served with lime wedges!
The flavors of the spicy grilled shrimp paired with the creamy avocado crema are a match made for your cinco de mayo or any day of the week! These spicy shrimp tacos are a must make! Love tacos? Try my Carne Asada Tacos!
Things you’ll need: 2 small bowls for marinating/slaw, food processor for crema, mandoline for slaw (optional), cast iron (optional), skewers for grilling (optional), citrus squeeze, tongs for flipping shrimp/tossing slaw.
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PinDescription
These Spicy Shrimp Tacos are marinated in delicious spices and sit on top of a homemade slaw with an avocado crema perfect for taco tuesday or any day of the week!
Ingredients
Shrimp Marinade
- 1lb shrimp, uncooked, peeled, deveined, tails removed
- 1 tsp dark chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic minced, (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
Taco Elements
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 8–10 small flour or corn tortillas, lightly toasted
- Garnish:
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
Avocado Crema
- 1 medium avocado, seed removed and flesh scooped out
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 jalapeño, seeds removed
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 limes, juiced (3 tbsp)
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 3 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients: 3 tbsp avocado oil, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, and kosher salt. Add in prepped shrimp, stir to coat all the shrimp with marinade. Place in refrigerator and marinate for minimum 30 minutes.
- While the shrimp is marinating, in a food processor add the avocado crema ingredients: avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, yogurt, olive oil, water and kosher salt. Pulse until all the ingredients are smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add another tbsp of water. Set aside.
- Using a mandoline or knife, shred the cabbages. Place in a small bowl, add a few spoons of the crema and toss to combine. Save the rest of the crema to drizzle over the tacos at the end.
- You can either cook the shrimp in a cast iron skillet or grill them.
- Grill method: Skewer the shrimp on either soaked bamboo or metal skewers. Preheat the grill. Over medium direct heat, cook the shrimp for 5-7 minutes, flipping them midway through. You want the outside slightly charred and pink, with the inside white.
- Cast iron method: In a seasoned cast iron skillet over medium/high heat, give each shrimp a good shake (to get rid of some excess marinade) and add it to the pan. Cook the shrimp for 5-7 minutes flipping halfway through. You are looking for the same preparedness as above.
- Assemble the tacos: Place the tortilla down, add a few spoons of the cabbage slaw, add a few shrimps, drizzle avocado crema over the top, garnish with fresh cilantro, serve with lime wedges!
Keywords: shrimp tacos, avocado crema, shrimp marinade, cabbage slaw
Made these shrimp tacos one night and they turned out better than imagined!! Very flavorful and delicious.
The avocado cream and slaw was delicious with it and now use on a lot of different tacos.
Highly recommend doing the pickled red onions and adding those to the tacos. Definitely a 10 star Tacos Tuesday meal!
★★★★★
I thought the avocado crema called for way too much of a lime juice. Was a little disappointed by that.
★★★
Hi Rachel, thank you for making the tacos. I’m sorry you got too much of a lime taste, there are different sized limes so I will add a measurement for the liquid in the recipe.
Spectacular!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Rachelle!
Delicious, we made this recipe twice ounce with shrimp and one time with mahi-mahi both times deliciousness
The avocado crema was delicious!!!
★★★★★
I made these exactly as the recipe calls for the shrimp marinade. I used spicy guacamole for the sauce. I mixed 2 Tbls of Mayo, a splash of jalapeño juice, a tsp of avacado oil, minced garlic, sea salt, and ground pepper with pre-packaged cabbage mix. These were amazing!
I’m so glad you loved it Ashley!
I forgot to add that I used lime juice with the cabbage mix as well! Thanks for sharing your recipe, these are amazing!
★★★★★
So refreshing and light. Hosted this for dinner. Loved loved loved this recipe!! Will def make again.
★★★★★
Hi Kristina! I am so glad you loved the recipe, thanks for making it.
Can the cilantro be substituted? My husband and I are not fans of cilantro 🙁
I have only tried this recipe with cilantro, so I cannot verify the taste, but I would try basil in its place.
Does the nutrition breakdown include the shell and all toppings??
Hi Jaime, it does however nutrition information can vary based on different brands of each ingredient.
I made this tonight for Cinco de Mayo, and they were outstanding. I also made a home made mango salsa to go on top which took it to another level. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. The avocado crema will be a staple in my fridge from now on I think!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved it Kathleen! Mango salsa sounds so amazing to go along side as well.
These shrimp taco’s are amazing! I doubled the recipe and made them for my family of 7. Everyone raved about them, especially the avocado crema and everyone wanted more! I found the avocado crema to be a little to thin at first and added another avocado and it was perfect! Will definitely use this recipe again, thank you!
I’m so glad the whole family loved them, that makes me so happy!