Chili shrimp taco with slow

This is my new favorite shrimp taco! There’s the perfect blend of spices and butter, mashed avocado and tender shrimp cooked on a quick, crispy slow!

I was happy to eat these tacos once a week (maybe more!). We are particularly generous with shrimp spices. There is chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and even my secret ingredient: unsweetened cocoa powder. Trust me about this! I’ll add a little bit, but it’s very valuable for the flavor.

If you’d like to try a different flavor profile for your next shrimp taco night, consider swapping the chili butter shrimp shown here for the cilantro lime butter shrimp (they are just as tasty). And I will not be doing justice to you. If I don’t remember you how simple and delicious the homemade corn tortilla is. They take these tacos to a whole new level!

Important ingredients

Shrimp: Use fresh, high quality jumbo or large shrimp. I like to remove the tail from my shrimp for these tacos. I also leave the whole shrimp, but I can definitely cut them up if necessary. Shrimp Spice Friction: This is where magic happens! Our shrimp are generously coated with robust spice friction with ancho chili powder (mild and sweet), chipotle powder (for smoky heat), cumin and coriander. My secret ingredient is the touch of sugar-free cocoa powder. Cocoa powder may seem a little odd, but it works very well with chili powder (often somewhat similar to molsauce with dark or unsweetened chocolate). If you can’t find any chipotle powder, smoked paprika makes an excellent alternative and has a similar smoky flavor. For spicy shrimp tacos, add more chipotle powder (pack it with punch). Butter: I love cooking shrimp in butter. It melts and blends with the spices to make a bit of butter sauce. It’s incredible! If you’re against butter, olive oil or avocado oil works perfectly well. Red cabbage throw: We keep this throw dairy free and very simple. To make it, chop the cabbage and onions with fresh lime juice, salt and cilantro. This crispy, tangy slow is the perfect contrast for spiced shrimp and creamy avocado. Avocado: I love adding a layer of mashed avocado with lime and salt to the tortilla before adding shrimp and slaw. It acts as our taco sauce and works very well with other flavors. Tortilla: Use corn or flour tortillas. I love corn tortillas because of their flavour, but it really depends on you. And if you feel ambitious, I highly recommend trying your hand in making them from scratch! Homemade tortillas really take these tacos to the next level. You can find recipes for homemade corn tortillas and homemade flour tortillas on our blog!

When I make these shrimp tacos, I first throw the shrimp with spices and then set the bowl aside while preparing the throw and mashing the avocado. This short break allows the shrimp to truly soak in all the incredible flavours of the spice mix.

The throw takes a few minutes to make, so I’ll make it next. Salt and lime help to wilt the cabbage and onions a little, so making the shrimp before cooking is a great idea.

Then, for the assembly, I love the creamy layer of avocado, shrimp in chili butter, and the generous help of the slow. I can’t wait to try these tacos. They are one of my favorite shrimp recipes on the blog!