These grilled chili lime shrimp tacos are a quick and easy, light and refreshing meal perfect for any summer weeknight. They feature quick grilled shrimp and a bright and fruity strawberry avocado salsa topped off with a cool and slightly spicy chipotle lime sour cream, for a healthy and quick twist on shrimp tacos.
I. Love. Tacos. Honestly, I could probably eat some type of tacos (or other Mexican food) every day of the week. From breakfast tacos with eggs and sausage to the traditional shredded chicken street tacos with pico de gallo, I have never met a taco I didn’t like. But I know Steve gets a little tired of all of the tacos sometimes (in fact, I believe a direct quote would be “Oh no… Mexican again…”). So I try to mix it up, combining unexpected ingredients and flavors. These Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry Avocado Salsa and Chipotle Lime Sour Cream are a great twist to mix up taco night.
What Do You Need for Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos?
These Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry Avocado Salsa are quick and easy to throw together, making them perfect for Taco Tuesday or any other quick weeknight dinner. You just need some frozen shrimp tossed in a quick marinade that you grill up quickly on an indoor grill pan – or if you don’t have a grill pan, just cook them up over medium high heat in a skillet. The shrimp take just a few minutes per side.
The shrimp are marinated with tequila, lime zest and juice, and some spices, but if you don’t have the tequila or prefer to skip it, you can just leave it out.
To compliment the slightly spicy shrimp, we add a fresh strawberry avocado salsa and cool and creamy chipotle lime sour cream. When you eat it all together, nothing is too overly spicy as it all balances out. If you like things spicy, feel free to kick the heat up by leaving the seeds in the jalapeno for the strawberry and avocado salsa. You can also add extra chipotle in the chipotle lime sour cream to up the heat level as well.
What Are Chipotle Peppers in Adobo?
If you have never used chipotle peppers in adobo before, they are a favorite of mine. They are smoked and dried jalapenos that are rehydrated and canned in a tangy tomato, vinegar, and garlic sauce. They pack quite a bit of heat, but it is balanced with a smoky and tangy flavor. If you want to tame down the heat, cut the pepper open and scrape out the seeds and membrane before chopping.
The chipotle peppers come in a small can, usually with about 6 peppers per can. You should be able to find them in the Mexican aisle of any grocery store. Most recipes don’t use an entire can of chipotle peppers in a adobo at once, so a trick of mine is to take the peppers out of the jar, place them in a ziplock bag, and freeze them flat so the individual peppers are somewhat separated. Then you always have them ready to go, and can just take one or two peppers out of the freezer as needed.
What Kind of Shrimp Should You Use for Grilled Shrimp Tacos?
Living in the Midwest, nowhere near any ocean, it is usually difficult and pricy to get fresh seafood. However, for these Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos, you don’t need to worry. Frozen shrimp work just fine. In fact, they are more affordable and often just as fresh or fresher than what you find “fresh” in the grocery store, since that is often thawed frozen shrimp, and you have no idea how long it has been sitting.
I always have a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer. For this recipe, the peeled and deveined raw shrimp are quick and easy to use. To thaw shrimp, just run them under cool water for a few minutes.
How Do You Make Strawberry Avocado Salsa?
No offense to the shrimp, but this strawberry avocado salsa is really the star of these Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos. The creamy avocado balances perfectly with the sweet and bright strawberries. Add in some cilantro and lime juice for freshness, diced red onion for bite, chopped bell pepper for crunch, and jalapeno for a little heat, and this is the perfect salsa for any summer evening. (Or if you are like me, make it on a rainy March afternoon to help pretend you are soaking up warmer weather and sunshine!)
In fact, you can make this strawberry avocado salsa to go with a variety of other things. It would be perfect will grilled chicken or fish or even just served up in a bowl with some tortilla chips.
Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos with Strawberry Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
Strawberry Avocado Salsa
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 avocado
- 1 jalapeno (seeds and membranes removed)
- ½ red bell pepper
- ¼ red onion
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1/8 tsp salt
Chipotle Lime Sour Cream
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo (from can)
- ½ lime (zested and juiced)
Shrimp Tacos
- 12 oz peeled and deveined shrimp (thawed)
- ½ lime (zested and juiced)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 oz tequilla (optional)
- 1 oz olive oil
- corn tortillas
Instructions
- Zest and juice one lime, separate 1/2 of the juice and zest into a large bowl for the marinade. Reserve the other 1/2 of the juice and zest and set aside in a medium bowl for the Chipotle Lime Sour Cream.
- To the large bowl, add the remaining marinade ingredients - chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, tequila (if using), and olive oil. Add shrimp, mix, and refrigerate to marinate while prepping salsa.
- For the Strawberry Avocado Salsa, chop strawberries, cilantro, red bell pepper, add to medium bowl. Finely dice jalapeno and red onion, add to bowl, and toss to mix. Chop avocado, and add to salsa. Squeeze juice of one lime over avocado, sprinkle salt, and gently toss to coat (being careful not to brusie or mash the avocado too much).
- Remove shrimp from marinade and place on a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Cook about 5 minutes per side or until opaque (and slightly charred if using grill pan).
- While shrimp cooks, prep Chipotle Lime Sour Cream. Dice chipolte pepper (removing seeds if desired to reduce heat). Add chipotle and sour cream to reserved lime juice and zest. Stir to mix.
- When shrimp is cooked, remove from pan and set aside, covered.
- Add corn tortillas to grill pan or skillet a minute or two per side until slightly warmed.
- Serve tacos by topping corn tortillas with shrimp, strawberry avocado salsa, and chipotle lime sour cream.