These Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos have hints of a margarita with tequila, citrus, lime, and added chipotle cream sauce tucked into tortillas.
There’s a funny story about these fish tacos. A Latin magazine written entirely in Spanish contacted me about 13 years ago and asked if I would create a recipe to be published in their magazine. Having never been published before, I was super excited and agreed. I created this recipe for Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos! So I photographed them and sent along the recipe to the magazine. They published it, but I have no idea what the article said because I don’t speak Spanish. Ha!
Ingredients needed:
- orange
- lime
- tequila
- white sugar
- shrimp
- sour cream
- garlic
- red onion
- canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
- ground cumin
- fresh cilantro
- vegetable oil
- red bell pepper
- flour tortillas
- iceberg lettuce
How to make Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
And finally, cook the shrimp. Heat the oil in a large skillet to medium-heat. Sauté the bell pepper and onion until slightly charred. Add the shrimp to the pan. Stir often, and cook just until the shrimp turn pink and curls up. Remove from heat.
Add a side dish of beans, a couple of handfuls of chips (and a Corona or two for the adults), and you will have a fabulous dinner. These are completely delicious.
The flavors are fresh in these Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos, and they feel healthy but are also filling. They’re a good choice to serve up on Cinco de Mayo too (if you’re a celebrator). Enjoy!
Best Taco Recipes:
- Oven Baked Beef Tacos
- Breakfast Tacos
- Carne Asada Street Tacos
- Flank Steak Tacos
- Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos
Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Cream
Ingredients
MARINADE WITH SHRIMP:
- 1 medium orange, juice and rind
- 2 medium limes, juice and rind
- ¼ cup tequila
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 1½ pounds large, raw shrimp (peeled and de-veined- tails removed)
CHIPOTLE CREAM SAUCE:
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 whole chipotle chile in adobo sauce (canned), seeded and chopped
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from the can)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- ½ medium red onion, sliced
- 8 soft-taco-sized flour tortillas, warmed
- ½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 4 large lime wedges
Instructions
PREPARE THE SHRIMP WITH MARINADE:
- Place all of the marinade ingredients in a large zip bag. Add the shrimp, zip closed and move the bag around to coat the shrimp. Place the bag flat in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, turning every so often to make sure the marinade is reaching all of the shrimp.
MAKE THE CHIPOTLE CREAM SAUCE:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready for use.
COOK AND ASSEMBLE:
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-heat.
- Add the bell pepper and onion to the pan, and saute until slightly charred.
- Drain the shrimp from the marinade and add it to the pan. Stir often, and cook just until the shrimp turn pink and curl up. Remove from heat.
- In warmed tortillas, place the shrimp, peppers and onions. Add lettuce, drizzle with chipotle cream sauce, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What could you substitute tequila with?
leave it out and it will just be citrus.
Amazing !! I made this today and my family loved it ? the Chipotle cream sauce was delish! I will make this again next Cinco de Mayo .. Oh, and with the left over tequila I made tasty tequila sunrise drinks it all went well together 🙂
Made this for dinner and it was delish! I used yogurt in place of sour cream, then used the sauce to make slaw. Turned out great; a little sweet on the shrimp with the spicy of the slaw. 🙂 Thanks!
Man….I really want to make this recipe. It makes me long for home (I’m a West Coast native). Unfortunately, I live in a really hick area of the country (i.e. people here think authentic Mexican food contains copious amounts of Velveeta–I’m not joking–the “Mexican” restaurants claim to be authentic while slathering their food with this evil fake cheese product) and no one sells adobo sauce or chipotle chilis. My question is, is there anything I can use to substitute for the adobo sauce and chipotle chilis? I miss good Mexican food and I’m tired of eating sludge! Thank you in advance.
not really sure- you could maybe just use some chipotle chili powder instead… should be easy to locate in the spice aisle.
I made this for dinner last night and my very talented chef/gourmet-man was SO empressed! I used yogurt instead of sour cream to keep it on the healthy side and it was BIG YUM! Thank you Recipe Girl, thank you so much!
Renatta
Hi, these sound amazing! I am just curious if you have ever tried the same recipe but substituting white fish such as tilapia? I am quite tempted to do that but wanted to get your feedback. Thanks!
I believe that tilapia would have a tough time standing up to both the marinade and the sautéing. Might need to improvise and bake it instead?
Okay I’ll be honest- this didn’t sound appealing to me. But after looking at your photos I want to lick my screen 🙂
ohh wonderful. thank you for sharing.
i’m always looking for new creama sauce for my fish and shrimp tacos.