These pan fried spicy shrimp tacos are topped with tangy honey cilantro lime slaw & a creamy jalapeno cashew sauce. They are spicy, sweet, tangy and lip smacking delicious!
You guys, this spicy shrimp tacos recipe is a weeknight favorite at our house. Taco Tuesday anyone? 🙌 They’re ridiculously easy and quick to make, look, smell and taste amazing and will make you look like a pro if you make them for your guests. I speak from personal experience! My friends LOVE them and devour them in seconds.
What makes these spicy shrimp tacos so irresistible?
There are 3 amazing components to this recipe that work perfectly in harmony:
The spicy shrimp with the perfect spice rub which is savory and spicy from the chilli and garam masala powder. This shrimp is so good, you are going to find it hard to not eat a few before you actually build your tacos (speaking from personal experience, of course! 🤣)
The honey cilantro lime slaw that is crunchy and refreshing with a slight hint of sweetness from the honey and a zingy tang from the lime. A lot of slaw recipes have some sort of creamy element like mayo in them but this recipe works great without it because of the amazing salsa.
The cilantro cashew jalapeno salsa is sooo good and super simple to make! This sauce is inspired by Indian green chutneys with the addition of some Mexican elements. Cashews provide richness and creaminess to this salsa but if you don't have them, you could replace it with half an avocado!
Protein choices for this recipe:
Non vegetarian options:
- If you are using shrimp/prawns, both fresh and frozen work great! Just thaw out the frozen shrimp for a few minutes under cold water and dry them well with a paper towel before using in this recipe. You will need to devein the shrimp and remove the shell and tails if they have not been removed.
- You could replace shrimp with chicken/fish cubes too and follow the exact same recipe. You will need to cook the chicken/fish a little longer since shrimp cooks very quickly
Vegetarian/plant based options:
- You could replace shrimp with paneer, tofu/tempeh or potatoes . Use the same spice rub and cook until your choice of filling is well cooked. If you are using potatoes, you will need to cook them until they are almost done before adding in the spice mix (to prevent burning).
- Replace honey with agave syrup or brown rice syrup in the slaw to make it vegan.
While there is no marinating needed for this recipe, you can place the protein in the fridge for 15 minutes (up to 24 hours) if you’d like. The longer the protein sit in the spices the better.
The best wraps for these spicy shrimp tacos:
I love using corn tortillas in this recipe. I love that they are small in size, which makes it super convenient to eat. A big plus is that they are pretty low in calories! Since these tortillas are made of corn, they make a great option if you are trying to eat grain free for the day too.
You could replace these tortillas with any wraps of your choosing! Leftover chapatis/rotis will work well here too as well as options like these cheese wraps, if you are following a low carb diet. Use whatever you can find easily!
If you like this recipe, you might also want to check out my Masala salmon with mango avocado salsa recipe. It has a similar spicy sweet tangy flavor profile that you will absolutely love!
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Spicy shrimp tacos with cilantro cashew sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
To make the sauce:
- ⅓ cup jalapenos (remove seeds if you don't like the heat)
- 15 large cashews
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup cilantro leaves and stem (packed)
- ½ lime juiced
- kosher salt to taste
- ¼ cup water
For the shrimp dry rub:
- 24 medium shrimp/prawns (peeled and deveined )
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder (or unsmoked paprika)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- kosher salt (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
For the cilantro lime slaw
- 3 cups cabbage finely shredded
- ½ cup red onion thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup jalapenos de-seeded and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ lime juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
To assemble:
- 8 tortillas (or wraps of your choosing)
- lime cut into wedges for serving
Instructions
To make the sauce:
- Add all the ingredients (under the sauce section above) into a blender and blend into a smooth sauce.
To make the jalapeno cilantro slaw:
- Add the cabbage, jalapenos, red onion and cilantro into a large bowl. Add in the olive oil, honey, lime juice, salt and freshly cracked pepper and toss everything well to combine. Refrigerate the slaw until you are ready to serve.
To make the shrimp:
- Coat the shrimp well with 1 teaspoon avocado oil and all the spices. Season well with salt. Set the shrimp to marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes (up to overnight) while you make the slaw.
- Heat a teaspoon of avocado oil in a frying pan. When it is hot, add in the shrimp and make sure they are all in a single layer on the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes on the first side before flipping them and cooking for another minute on the other side. Take them off the heat.
To assemble:
- Heat the tortillas or wraps (directly over the flame works great) until they are soft and pliable.
- Top each tortilla with slaw and pan fried shrimps before topping with the spicy cilantro sauce. Squeeze lime over the top and enjoy while they are still warm.
Looks so delicious! I am going to make this in a few days and i'll report back then.
I made this these wraps today with a few tweaks due to a few missing ingredients but it turned out delicious! I used boneless chicken instead of shrimp & a bit of some leftover marinara sauce.This is such a go-to recipe when your feeling lazy and don't want to put in too much effort! We each made our own rolls at the dinner table! Keep 'em coming Viola!