Crispy Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw
Crispy Shrimp Tacos, are so fresh and flavorful. Lightly breaded and pan-fried to golden perfection, the shrimp are tucked into warm tortillas and topped with my favorite, homemade creamy slaw with zesty lime, and your favorite toppings.
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Mexican food is a favorite in our house. Taco nights are filled with my favorite taco recipes, Grilled Steak Tacos and Crispy Chicken Tacos.
Why These Shrimp Tacos Work
These lovely shrimp tacos are quick, easy, and ready in only 30 minutes with minimal prepping. The tender shrimp make for a lighter option to use in your favorite tortillas and that Creamy Lime Slaw is where it’s at! Once you’ve had it, you won’t want tacos any other way. Plus, they’re slightly healthier than deep fried shrimp, have just the right amount of breading and crunch and you don't have to worry about a deep fryer.
If you love quick and easy shrimp recipes try this Shrimp with Hot Garlic Sauce or my Spicy Cajun Shrimp Fajitas both are delicious recipes.
Let's Gather the Ingredients
- Shrimp: I use medium shrimp.
- Tortillas: flour tortillas or corn tortillas will both work
- Breadcrumbs: I used Panko breadcrumbs
- Eggs: 2 large or 3 medium eggs.
- Flour:All purpose flour
- Herbs and spices: salt, pepper, and chopped cilantro
- Cabbage: both shredded red and green cabbage for slaw
- Lime juice from fresh lime
- Mayo and sriracha sauce
- Vegetable oil: for pan frying
How To Make Crispy Shrimp Tacos
- Step 1: In a shallow bowl add flour. Use tongs to coat the raw shrimp with flour.
- Step 2: In a second bowl, whisk egg. Transfer flour coated shrimp to whisked eggs and coat.
- Step 3: In a third shallow bowl, add slay and Panko. Stir together before adding flour and egg coated shrimp. Flip and coat both sides with breadcrumbs.
- Step 4: Place breaded shrimp on a sheet pan to be fried. Work in batches to get all shrimp coated in breading mixture.
- Step 5: Mix sriracha sauce with mayo in a small bowl to create the sriracha mayo sauce and place in fridge until ready to use it.
- Step 6: Preheat cast iron skillet or other skillet and add oil for frying. Working in batches, pan fry breaded shrimp.
- Step 7: Carefully flip shrimp while frying to cook evenly and get the shrimp that nice golden brown color on both sides.
- Step 8: Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place cooked shrimp on them. Paper towels will help absorb excess grease.
- Step 9: Add mayo, lime juice, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk to mix together. Add shredded red and green cabbag and cilantro. Toss to coat.
- Step 10: Transfer slaw and fried shrimp to tortillas. Drizzle with sriracha mayo sauce from the fridge and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcrowd the shrimp in the skillet or they may not fry properly and could get soggy faster.
- Warm the tortillas in a skillet or in the microwave for flexibility. Heating them makes them more pliable so they don’t rip as easily. This is especially helpful if you are using corn tortillas or white corn tortillas. A warm tortilla is always easier to use.
- Make It a Taco Bar – Let everyone build their own for a fun, customizable meal.
- Leftover shrimp should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They may lose their crispness over time. You can reheat them in the Air Fryer to make them warm and crispy again. Store the lime slaw separately from the shrimp. Tortillas can be stored at room temperature.
Recipe Faq's
You want to use raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp. I used medium-large size shrimp. But I imagine other sizes would work too. I used raw shrimp as we will cook them when frying them. You can use fresh raw shrimp or frozen raw shrimp that you have thawed, peeled, and deveined. If using frozen ones that you just thawed, I like to use a paper towel to pat them dry so the breading coating sticks better.
I like to serve these with Grilled Corn, side salad, and my favorite chips and salsa or chips and queso. Spanish rice and beans are also an easy go to option.
More Shrimp Recipes
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Crispy Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined I like to use medium-large
- 6 small corn or flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cup Panko
- 2 eggs whisked
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Cilantro Lime Slaw
- 1 cup green cabbage shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage shredded
- 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 1 lime juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Sriracha Mayo
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk the mayo and sriracha until combined. Set aside and refrigerate until ready to use.
- In three small separate bowls add Panko crumbs and 1 teaspoon salt, flour, and whisked eggs.
- Heat a large skillet on medium heat and pour 1 inch of oil into the pan. Coat the shrimp in the flour, then dip into the egg, then the Panko crumbs. Place the shrimp into the hot oil and cook about 2-3 minutes then flip and cook another 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel.
- In a medium bowl whisk the mayo, lime juice and salt and pepper until combined. Add shredded cabbage and cilantro and toss until mixed well.
- Spoon some slaw into the tortillas, followed by 3-4 shrimp and topped with a drizzle of sriracha sauce.
I put old bay into the flour. Turned out great.
Yes, Nicole! They are my favorite so happy you loved them 🙂
Simple but so darn good. My mother is soooooo picky but she ate these up!! Really quick and satisfying!! Adding it into the rotation!!!
I will try next week and report back.
I haven't, but they should turn out delicious!
Have you tried making them in an air fryer?
So happy you loved it Leigh! 🙂
This recipe is amazing. We used our deep fryer to cook the shrimp. Simple, quick and outstanding. Thank you so much for sharing. A keeper recipe at our house!
Oh Yay Emily!! You're welcome, I'm so happy to hear that you totally made my day 🙂
I have been making these the past 2 years for my family. It is in regular rotation and it’s always a hit. If I can, I do the prep earlier in the day, it makes putting this together so easy when it’s time to cook. Thank you for sharing this recipe because we will be using it for a lifetime!