The best healthy shrimp tacos with Pico de Gallo are made with wild-caught Key West Pink Shrimp, fresh veggies, and healthy tortillas.
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Why We Love Shrimp Tacos
Tacos are a great way to share a meal with friends and family. You can mix and match all sorts of fillings and toppings to make each one unique.
Taco meals have a perfect blend of flavors, textures, and ingredients, all wrapped up in a convenient handheld taco shell.
Wild-caught shrimp, such as the Key West Pink Shrimp from Florida's coast, add a healthful boost to your meal. These shrimp thrive on a natural diet of plankton, snails, and small fish, making them an excellent and nutritious choice for anyone looking to eat a bit healthier.
Finally, organic veggies and spices make this meal a superstar! Onions, garlic, and fresh limes are superfoods!
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
- 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
How to Make Homemade Taco Seasoning
Taco seasoning includes chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ground oregano, cayenne, salt, and black pepper
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 the best results, prepare all your toppings before you cook the shrimp. The shrimp is cooked 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 the 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 is white, about 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat.
- In a separate skillet over medium-high heat, warm the tortillas 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.
My favorite shrimp taco sides and toppings include:
- Spanish Rice
- Guacamole
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Mango Pico de Gallo
- Peach Mango Salsa
- Roasted Vegetables
- Cilantro Lime Crema
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 healthy shrimp tacos, use wild-caught shrimp harvested in the USA. I use Key West Pink Shrimp.
For a lower-carb shrimp taco, use Romaine 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 salt.
Taco toppings include:
- jalapeno peppers
- radishes
- avocado slices
- guacamole
- hot sauce
- chili peppers
- sour cream
Tacos are so much fun to make. You can put all your favorite toppings out on a platter and have everyone fill their taco shells.
If you love seafood tacos, try our recipe for Snapper Fish Tacos too!
More Great Shrimp Recipes
- Florida Keys Shrimp Salad
- Peel and Eat Shrimp Recipe
- Pan Seared Mangrove Snapper with Mango Coleslaw
- Broiled Yellowtail Snapper with Blackened Seasoning
- 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
- 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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- Cilantro Lime Crema
- Guacamole
- Sliced radishes
- Sliced avocado
- Sour cream
- Hot sauce
- Sliced jalapenos
- Lime wedges
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