This easy shrimp taco recipe with cilantro lime slaw is the freshest, fastest, and most delicious dinner ever! The tangy cilantro lime slaw mellows out the heat from the spicy shrimp, and the whole thing is ready in under 25 minutes. Perfect for Taco Tuesday! {Gluten-free & dairy-free-friendly}
Table of Contents
Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw
Hands up… who loves shrimp tacos?! We sure do!
We’re always looking for quick and nutritious meal ideas for those busy nights, and this recipe is one of the best.
The tacos are so colorful, vibrant, and absolutely delicious! Not to mention, they’re also super simple.
Just mix up the shrimp seasoning, cook up the shrimp and prep the slaw. You’ll have a quick, healthy and family-friendly dinner on the table in record time!
If you love tacos as much as we do, be sure to check out my Blackened Shrimp Tacos, Grilled Chicken Street Tacos, and Crock Pot Taco Meat which is perfect for stuffing into shells!
Why We Love these Healthy Shrimp Tacos
- Packed with major flavor from the spices and herbs
- Made totally from scratch
- Fun alternative to traditional beef or chicken tacos
- Ready in about 25 minutes flat
- Customizable in so many different ways
- Lighter dinner idea for those warm summer nights
Ingredient Notes
For the Spicy Shrimp Tacos
- Shrimp: I prefer to use the jumbo shrimp that’s already been cooked, peeled and deveined, but you can also use smaller shrimp too. Raw shrimp can be used as well, however, you may need to adjust the cooking time.
- Spices: We’ll season with a mix of chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and salt. Use less cayenne if your milder tacos and more if you like more heat. You can also sub in taco seasoning if in a pinch.
- Lime: Add a little extra fresh lime juice to the marinade.
- Tortillas: I like to use small soft corn tortillas for these tacos, but hard shells or flour tortillas are good as well. If using soft tortillas, heat them up a bit in a frying pan to get them nice and warm and slightly crispy.
For the Cabbage Slaw
- Shredded cabbage: We’re using a mix of green and red cabbage. You can shred it yourself or buy coleslaw mix at the store.
- Shredded carrots: Adds additional color and crunch. Grate your own carrot or purchase matchstick carrots.
- Cilantro: For a nice, refreshing note. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, you can leave it out.
- Oil: Used for the base of the slaw dressing. I typically use olive oil, but you can also use canola oil or avocado oil.
- Lime: For zesty flavor. Sub in lemon juice if you don’t have lime.
- Honey: Adds a touch of sweetness to the dressing. You can also sub in maple syrup.
Quick Tip: If you’re using frozen shrimp and it hasn’t thawed all the way, place the container under cold running water in the sink to thaw.
Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw – Step-by-Step
1. Prepare the Shrimp Taco Marinade
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Season shrimp with the spice mix and juice of half a lime and toss until well coated.
NOTE: If you have time, allow the shrimp to sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Cook the shrimp
- Heat oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the thawed seasoned shrimp to the hot pan and saute for 5-8 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through.
3. Prepare the Shrimp Taco Slaw
- While the shrimp cooks, mix together the ingredients for the coleslaw in a large bowl until combined.
4. Assemble Tacos
- Serve on warm tortillas. To assemble, layer some mashed avocado, shrimp and top it off with the slaw. Garnish with cheese, fresh cilantro and lime juice, if desired.
How to Easily Remove Shrimp Tails
Because the shrimp are served in tacos, I prefer to remove the tails before cooking so that they are easier to eat. No one wants to be picking out tails as they devour tacos!
To remove the tail, simply peel back the shell from either side of the cut down the middle of the shrimp. Pinch the tail where it meets the body of the shrimp, gently pull and it should come off easily.
Best Shrimp Taco Sauce
If you want to kick these tacos up a notch, you can also top them with a creamy sauce!
- Avocado sauce: If you prefer to go with an avocado sauce, try this homemade avocado crema recipe. It’s really simple to prepare!
- Mayo sauce: If you’d rather do a mayo sauce, try mixing some mayo with some sriracha hot sauce.
I usually mix about 4 tablespoons of mayo with 2 tablespoons of sriracha. You can even add a little of lemon juice and some freshly minced garlic too for some extra flavor. Then drizzle it over the spicy shrimp tacos with slaw.
Expert TIps
- Don’t overcook the shrimp: Keep an eye on the shrimp and be careful not to overcook it or it will be rubbery. We want nice and juicy shrimp!
- Make it even faster: You can purchase pre-shredded cabbage for the coleslaw to cut down on prep time.
- Prep extra seasoning in advance: Make up a double or triple batch of the shrimp seasoning mix to cut down on prep time when making these tacos in the future.
- Warm the tortillas: I like to heat up the tortillas in a frying pan for a couple of minutes per side to get them nice and warm and slightly crispy.
- Top them up: Finish the tacos with all your favorite toppings. I like to add cotija cheese, avocado, lime juice, cilantro and other fun toppings. Mango or pineapple salsa, jalapenos and guacamole all work great!
Storage & Reheating Guidelines
Refrigerator: You can store the slaw and shrimp in the fridge for up to four days. I recommend storing them separately covered or in an airtight container and then assembling the tacos right before you’re ready to serve.
To reheat: Place the shrimp in a pan with a bit of olive oil and warm them just until they’re hot to the touch to prevent them from getting overcooked.
Recipe FAQs
To peel and devein shrimp, gently twist to remove the head if it’s still attached. Next, go underneath, where the legs are attached, and dig your thumb under the shell to help it release. Tug gently to remove the tail.
To devein the shrimp, lay the shrimp down on a flat surface and run a paring knife along the back. Try to avoid cutting too deep. Pull out the thin grey vein.
For shrimp with a tail, remove the shell as you did previously but leave the last segment attached, and then devein.
For best results, I like to serve these spicy shrimp tacos as soon as they’re ready, but you can totally prep both the shrimp and slaw ahead of time.
Both can be stored, covered in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The slaw is so delicious, I often make a double batch to enjoy throughout the week!
Shrimp tends to get rubbery if it’s overcooked. To prevent this from happening, you’ll want to pay close attention to a few signs that indicate the shrimp is done.
First, when the shrimp curls into a gentle “C” shape and has transformed from grey to pink, that’s generally an indicator that it’s ready to be removed from the heat.
If the C looks more like an O, then it’s most likely overcooked. The most important thing when cooking shrimp is that you pay close attention and remove it from the heat as soon as it’s cooked which can help prevent it from becoming rubbery.
What to Serve with Spicy Shrimp Tacos
These tacos taste especially good when you spread the tortillas with some mashed creamy avocado and then place the slaw and shrimp mixture on top.
Top with additional cilantro, lime juice and Cojita cheese, if desired.
Feel free to break out your favorite taco toppings, too. A little sour cream or Greek yogurt will mellow out the spicy marinade. There are no rules or limits here, so have fun making them your own!
Try these tasty sides and toppings:
- Mango Pineapple Salsa
- Guacamole without Tomatoes
- Grilled Corn Avocado Salad
- Fresh Pico De Gallo
- Rice – try Mexican rice or coconut lime rice
Shrimp Taco Variations
- Add beans: Add in a can of black beans to the mix to make the recipe go even further. Perfect for a crowd!
- To make kid-friendly: If your kids (or anyone else in the family) is not a fan of spicy food, cut back on the cayenne pepper to make the tacos less spicy.
- Grill ’em: Cook the shrimp on skewers instead of heating them on the stove. Grilled shrimp adds so much extra flavor!
- Add extra veggies: In addition to the green cabbage, red cabbage and carrots, you can also add some thinly sliced red onion or cucumber and peppers.
- To make low carb: Use low carb tortillas or skip the tortillas and serve the spicy shrimp over the slaw instead with sliced avocado!
More Healthy Shrimp Recipes
- Lemon Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Pasta
- Shrimp Noodle Stir Fry
- Grilled Chili Lime Shrimp
- Creamy Coconut Shrimp
- Thai Shrimp Curry Soup
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw
Video
Ingredients
For the shrimp tacos:
- 1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Juice of half a lime
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 8 corn tortillas
For the slaw:
Optional toppings:
- Avocado
- Cheese (try Cojita cheese)
- Additional cilantro
- Lime juice
Instructions
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with the spice mix and juice of half a lime until well coated.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shrimp to the hot pan and saute for 5-8 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through.*
- In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the slaw until combined.
- Serve on warm corn tortillas. To assemble, layer some mashed avocado, shrimp and slaw. Garnish with cheese, fresh cilantro and lime juice, if desired.
Notes
- Keep an eye on the shrimp and be careful not to overcook it or it will be rubbery.
- You can purchase pre-shredded cabbage to cut down on prep time.
- Make up a double or triple batch of the taco seasoning mix to cut down on prep time when making these tacos in the future.
- I like to heat up the tortillas in a frying pan for a couple of minutes per side to get them nice and warm and slightly crispy.
- Finish the tacos with all your favorite toppings. I like to add cojita cheese, avocado, lime juice, cilantro and other fun toppings. Mango or pineapple salsa, jalapenos and guacamole all work great!
- Shrimp and slaw mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Nutritional information is based on one shrimp taco.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published April 2020 and was updated in April 2022 to include more helpful tips and photos. The text, formatting and photos were updated again in July 2025.
Can you use raw shrimp instead? It would just need to be cooked longer?
For sure! You would just have to adjust the cooking time to ensure the shrimp has cooked through. Enjoy!!
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.