A healthy shrimp taco with lime, cilantro Greek yogurt sauce with a kick of cayenne pepper. Who needs fast food!
I love shrimp. It is one of my favorite foods. I enjoy it battered and fried with shrimp cocktail sauce, I find it delicious grilled with a little seasoning and as part of a pasta dish or salad or taco. I often will order a shrimp dish if it is on the menu at almost any restaurant. One of my treats is shrimp tacos from Pedros Tacos in Fallbrook, California. Initially I have been afraid to cook with shrimp myself but since I discovered it really is easy than I thought all of my fear has dispelled and it has opened up a whole new dimension to my recipes.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SHRIMP TACOS
corn tortillas
shrimp – de veined and tails removed
plain Greek yogurt
limes
cilantro
Old Bay Seasoning – or homemade copycat seasoning
cabbage
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
olive oil
optional toppings – cheese, avocados, tomatoes
STEPS TO MAKING SHRIMP TACOS
Making shrimp tacos is one of the easier recipes and comes together quite quickly. I will round up all my ingredients together ready to go. I like to mix the Greek yogurt with the cayenne pepper, lime juice, and cilantro first to let the flavors settle in together; store this in the fridge until ready to use.
After this I will warm my tortillas. There are a couple of ways to warm your tortillas. My preferred way is in a dry skillet over medium heat “cooking” on both sides until the tortillas bubble slightly or brown in a few spots. Place on a baking sheet in a warm oven at a low temperature with a damp clean cloth over them or in a tortilla warmer to keep warm until ready to use. Another method is to warp tortillas on a damp paper towel, heat in the microwave for a minute or two; you can do this just before assembling the shrimp tacos or place in a tortilla warmer until ready. Warm tortillas are easier to use and won’t usually break when assembling tacos.
Next is shredding the cabbage. Slice the side of a cabbage at about 1 inch off. Lay this on its side and thinly slice through all the cabbage layers to shred. I will do another slicing with each thin slice so I have cabbage about 2 inches by 1/4 inch. Set aside until it is time to assembly the shrimp tacos.
Now it is time to cook the shrimp. Remove tails if they are still attached, cut the shrimp into two or three pieces so each piece is about 1 inch. Sprinkle the Old Bay Seasoning and salt and pepper on top of the shrimp. Heat a saucepan over medium heat with 1 TBS of olive oil. Once the oil is warmed, add the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until the shrimp is cooked throughout. Shrimp will change from a gray coloring to a white/pink opaque color when cooked throughout. Remove from heat.
Prepare any optional toppings and set on the table ready to eat.
Now it is time to assemble the shrimp tacos. Spread one or two tablespoons of the Greek yogurt sauce all over the corn tortilla, sprinkle cabbage down the center of the tortilla, add enough shrimp to fill the center of the tortilla, and fold over. Repeat with all the tortillas and serve. Shrimp tacos are best eaten warm. If each person would like to prepare their own shrimp tacos, place everything on the table for them to enjoy.
Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 12 frozen shrimp (defrosted and tail removed)
- 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (divided)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 oz plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
- 1/4 a head of cabbage (thinly sliced and chopped)
- 5 corn tortillas
- olive oil
- toppings - grated cheese, tomatoes, avocado (optional)
Instructions
- Mix to your Greek yogurt; the cilantro, lime juice, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and a dash of salt. Set aside in fridge to blend flavors.
- Heat corn tortillas on a dry skillet over medium heat until brown spots appear, flip and do the same for the other side. Store on a warm plate or in a tortilla warmer to keep until ready to eat. Repeat with all 4 corn tortillas.
- Cut shrimp into thirds; sprinkle with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and Old Bay Seasoning
- Heat olive oil (about 1 TBS) in a medium skillet. Add shrimp to skillet and cook thoroughly. This takes just a few minutes until the shrimp have turned white throughout.
- Build your taco. I like spreading the sauce over the body of the corn tortilla, adding the cabbage and than the shrimp with a sprinkle of grated cheddar cheese.
Eat and enjoy especially if you like shrimp tacos. This recipe is so simple and quick which makes it doubly wonderful.
Shrimp Tacos was originally published July 8, 2012. Images updated June 2020.
Susan Raynor says
FANTASTIC! I just made these and now I have a new “go to” dinner. I did substitute the fresh Cilantro for two pods of frozen Chopped from Pop & Cook. I do not believe I lost any of this amazing flavor. Thank you
Aimee Berrett says
Glad you made it work for you Susan! I haven’t heard of those frozen pods, I’ll have to try them out!
Julia {The Roasted Root} says
I’m a huge fan of shrimp too and shrimp tacos with nice guacamole and/or salsa is my favorite! I love the Greek yogurt idea for a nice tang! Now I’m craving shrimp tacos!
aimeeberrett says
We have added greek yogurt to our tacos a couple times to replace the fatty sour cream and have loved the results. If you try it, let us know what you think!