The best healthy shrimp tacos with pico de Gallo are made with wild-caught Key West Pink Shrimp, fresh veggies, and grain-free almond flour tortillas.
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How to Make Your Tacos Much Healthier
I would like to share a few pointers to help you make your homemade tacos a lot healthier than you might think.
First, forget the corn tortillas! Did you know the USDA spends millions of dollars each year trying to control the mold in America's corn crops? Yup!
I use Siete tortillas. They're made with almond flour and they're grain-free, gluten-free, and free from preservatives. The ingredients are Almond Flour, Tapioca Flour, Water, Sea Salt, and Xanthan Gum.
To read more, here's an interesting article, Corn, It's What's Bad for You from Texas Grass Fed Beef.
Second, wild-caught shrimp are super healthy. Key West Pink Shrimp are from the coast of Florida. The shrimp enjoy a healthy diet of plankton, snails, plankton, and little fish.
Shrimp also provide you with a healthy dose of iodine to keep your thyroid healthy.
Wild shrimp swim in the ocean, they are not fed antibiotics, and they do not eat moldy grains such as corn. They are non-GMO and high in Omega 3 fatty acids.
Third, organic veggies and spices make this meal a superstar!
Onions, garlic, and fresh limes are anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.
Tomatoes have lycopene and beta-carotene for skin and eye health. Cabbage has vitamins A, C, E, and choline for good liver health. They all have fiber.
What You Need
- Medium or large shrimp (peeled, deveined, tails removed)
- Taco seasoning: chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ground oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, and ground black pepper
- Siete Almond Flour Tortillas, or your favorite brand of taco shells or tortillas
- Fresh veggies: lettuce or cabbage, red or white onions, tomatoes, cilantro
- Olive oil
- Limes
- Optional toppings: sour cream, guacamole, pico de Gallo, and hot sauce
Where to Get Healthy Tortillas
Siete tortillas are available in Key Largo at Publix, and Winn Dixie in the freezer section. All of the Whole Foods Markets and Sprouts Farmer's Market have them too.
I prefer the purple bag which is made using almond flour.
How to Make Homemade Taco Seasoning
In a medium bowl, whisk the seasonings. For a pound of shrimp, measure out 1 ½ tablespoons of the spice mixture. Dust the shrimp with the spices.
NOTE: You will have enough seasoning for 2 or 3 pounds of shrimp.
For The Pico de Gallo
Chop the tomatoes and dice the onions. Mince the garlic.
Halve the jalapeno pepper and scoop out the white membrane and seeds. Dice the jalapeno.
Place all of the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Squeeze in the juice of one lime; stir to combine. Season with salt. Taste and add more lime juice and salt as needed.
Sometimes I add a little Cholula hot sauce too!
How To Make Shrimp Tacos
There are a few ways to make shrimp tacos. You can set out a platter with all your toppings and have everyone make their own or you can prep them in the kitchen.
For best results, make sure to prepare all your toppings before you cook the shrimp. The shrimp cook in three minutes and they taste best hot from the pan.
- Prepare the Pico de Gallo.
- In a medium bowl, whisk spices together.
- Dust the shrimp with the taco seasoning.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook for two minutes; flip.
- Squeeze half a lime over the shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp are white about 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat.
- In a separate skillet over medium-high heat, warm the tortillas, one by one, for about 30 seconds each.
- Assemble tacos by placing some cabbage in each tortilla. Top with shrimp and pico de Gallo.
- Serve with sour cream and lime wedges.
Shrimp Taco Toppings
These are some toppings you can serve alongside the tacos.
- Sliced radishes
- Sliced avocado
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Sliced jalapeno peppers
- Hot sauce
- Lime wedges
- Shredded cheese such as sharp cheddar, Mexican Cojita (which is a salty cheese similar to feta), or Monterey Jack.
Shrimp Taco Sides
For an easy side dish, I made a quick rice dish. I already had chopped cilantro and I zested one of the limes on hand and a side dish was born.
Steam a cup of jasmine rice and toss it with a few tablespoons of cilantro, zest of one lime, lime juice, and a little extra-virgin olive oil, and season with salt.
For a low-carb side for tacos, use cauliflower rice instead of jasmine.
My favorite shrimp taco sides:
Storage
Place the cooked shrimp in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
To store assembled tacos, pack them separately in aluminum foil packets. You can heat them in a hot oven the next day.
Summary
For the best shrimp tacos, use wild-caught shrimp harvested in the USA. I use Key West Pink Shrimp.
My favorite tortillas for shrimp tacos are from Siete. They are in your grocer's freezer. Make sure to heat them for 30 seconds in a hot skillet before serving.
For a lower-carb shrimp taco, use Romain or iceberg lettuce leaves in place of the tortillas.
You can make homemade taco seasoning or use your favorite taco seasoning packet.
For a taco with more heat, add more cayenne pepper to the spice mixture.
To make low-sodium shrimp tacos, leave the salt out of the taco seasoning mixture. The recipe contains 193mg of sodium without the salt, vs. 850mg with the salt.
Taco toppings include:
- jalapeno peppers
- radishes
- avocado slices
- guacamole
- hot sauce
- chili peppers
- sour cream
Tacos are also fun to make. You can put all your favorite toppings out on a platter and have everyone fill their taco shells.
I also have a recipe for Yellowtail Snapper Tacos.
More Great Shrimp Recipes
- Florida Keys Shrimp Salad
- Peel and Eat Shrimp Recipe
- Blackened Shrimp with Butter Sauce Recipe
- Oven Baked Coconut Shrimp with Mango Sauce
- Florida Keys Shrimp Cocktail
FAQ
Key West pink shrimp are very sweet and have a firm texture. They are easily identified by the pink dot on their sides. Key West pink shrimp are prized as being the best-tasting shrimp in the USA.
Most of the restaurants serve shrimp tacos. You have a choice of grilled, blackened, or fried shrimp on the taco. Our favorite tacos are at Buzzard's Roost and Snappers. Both restaurants are waterfront.
"📖 Recipe"
Healthy Shrimp Tacos with Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
FOR THE PICO DE GALLO
- 1 diced white or red onion
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1 large or 2 small tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro sub parsley, if preferred
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- 1 lime
- salt to taste
FOR THE SHRIMP
- 1 pound medium or large wild-caught shrimp (16-20 per pound) peeled and deveined
- 2 cups thinly sliced red or green cabbage (or a combo of both)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tortillas I use almond flour tortillas
FOR THE TACO SEASONING
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (this gives it a little heat)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Chop the tomatoes and dice the onion. Halve the jalapeno pepper and scoop out the white membrane; dice. Place all in a medium mixing bowl. Squeeze in the juice of one lime. Season with a little salt; stir. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk spices together.
- Measure out 1 ½ tablespoons of the spice blend for one pound of shrimp. Dust the shrimp with the taco seasoning.
- In a 10 or 12-inch large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp and cook for two minutes. Flip the shrimp and squeeze half a lime over the shrimp; toss. Continue cooking, for about another minute, until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Remove the pan from heat.
- Heat a second large dry skillet, over medium-high heat, add tortillas, one by one, for 30 seconds each. (If the pan isn't pre-heated, it will take longer.)
- Assemble tacos by placing some cabbage in each tortilla. Top with shrimp and pico de Gallo.
- Serve with sour cream and lime wedges.
Notes
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- Sliced radishes
- Sliced avocado
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Hot sauce
- Sliced chili peppers
- Lime wedges
- Shredded cheese such as sharp cheddar, Mexican Cojita (which is a salty cheese similar to feta), or Monterey Jack.
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