Mexican Shrimp Tacos – Tacos de Camarones
Tacos de Camarones or Mexican Shrimp Tacos are so easy to make. Garlic flavors the shrimp before it’s mixed with creamy chipotle sauce, layered on a taco, and topped with salsa fresca, queso, sliced avocados, and lime!
Bite into the tacos de camarones and it’s the garlic that hits you first!
After the garlic, you’ll taste the sauteed shrimp or prawns, chipotle, citrusy lime, cheese, salsa fresca, and more! Maybe even some pico de gallo.
A type of tacos de Pescado or seafood taco that’s popular along the Mexican coast, these Mexican shrimp tacos originated in Baja, Mexico, and use either fried or grilled shrimp.
The tacos de pescado were invented in the 1960’s in Baja when Mario “El Bachigualato” set up a stand selling tacos made with angelito fillet, a type of shark fish.
Sometime later the shrimp tacos appeared on the scene along with lobster, abalone and other illegal food items.
They also use most of the same ingredients as the popular fish tacos, but highlight the pan-seared shrimp.
Can you make this popular popular Mexican dish at home? Yes, in under 30 minutes!
Recipe Pointers For Shrimp Tacos
- You can also add some crunchy cabbage or lettuce leaves to the tortillas.
- You can make the salsa fresca and the chipotle sauce a day in advance and refrigerate till you need them.
- No matter when you plan to serve, always make the sauce first! If you cook the shrimp first, they’ll get cold.
- You’ll know that the shrimp are cooked when they turn opaque.
- You can prawn instead of shrimp.
- You can substitute cilantro with parsley or chopped green onions.
- For something really different, top with pineapple salsa.
- Enjoy with a cold beer!
FAQs about Mexican Shrimp Tacos
Serve shrimp tacos with diced red onions, cilantro, hot sauce, diced avocado or guacamole, and of course lime wedges.
Yes, the shrimp needs to be peeled. But it’s better to buy shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined.
You can buy either shrimp. If you’re buying fresh shrimp, cook it as soon as possible. If you’re using frozen shrimp, thaw in the refrigerator before using.
If you’re allergic to shrimp, use batter-fried fish in this recipe. It will be equally good.
Instead of 1 tsp of chipotle chili powder you can use 3 tsp of chipotle paste. Or you can use 1 tsp ancho powder, 3 tsp ancho paste, 1 tsp chile powder, 1 chile paste, or 2 tsp hot sauce.
You can use coleslaw if you’re in a hurry, but I don’t recommend it. The coleslaw does not accurately represent the flavors of the creamy chipotle sauce and veggies in the taco.
You could, but they’ll get soggy. It’s best to eat them fresh. You can however store the salsa and chipotle sauce separately in the refrigerator for a few days.
Mexican Shrimp Tacos
Tacos de Camarones or Mexican Shrimp Tacos are so easy to make. Garlic flavors the shrimp before it's mixed with creamy chipotle sauce, layered on a taco, and topped with salsa fresca, queso, sliced avocados, and lime!
Ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas (small, 6” diameter)
- 1 lbs of shrimp (fresh or frozen, but without tails)
- 3 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1 teaspoon of chipotle powder
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 oz Cotija cheese
- 2 limes
- 1 jalapeño, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- cilantro, chopped finely
- salt
Instructions
- Prepare chipotle sauce: in a bowl combine sour cream and chipotle. Add some salt to taste.
- Prepare the salsa fresca: mix your diced tomatoes with green onion, jalapeno and squeezed lime juice from your limes. Set aside.
- On a skillet, saute onion and garlic for about a minute. Then add shrimp and cook for a few minutes on each side until pink. Transfer to a place.
- Heat up your tortillas - this can either be done in an oven for about 1 minute, or on a skillet for 30 seconds each. Never in a microwave though as it will make them mushy.
- Assemble your tacos by placing the shrimp inside the charred tortillas, then topped with queso, salsa fresca, sliced avocado and chipotle crema. Garnish with cilantro.
