• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Nothings logo

  • Recipe Index
    • Easy Dinner Recipes
      • Slow Cooker
      • One Pot Meals
      • Quick Meals
      • Instant Pot
    • Side Dishes
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Small Meals
  • Dinner Ideas
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Easter
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • About
  • Subscribe
×

Home / Recipes / Dinner / Fish / Crispy Shrimp Tacos

Crispy Shrimp Tacos

30 mins
| Leave a Comment |
5 from 5 votes
Jump to Recipe 04/25/21 | Updated: 04/26/21 | by Nora
Crispy Shrimp Tacos Image Pin 1

These Crispy Shrimp Tacos are an easy Mexican-inspired dinner recipe your whole family will love! Easy to make and so perfect for Cinco de Mayo, and all summer long.

overhead view of shrimp tacos together on white plate

Did you know I love all things oven fried? Well, if you didn’t then you must have been sleeping under a rock, ha! Or you simply missed my all-time favorite Crispy Oven Fried Chicken recipe – and the Oven Fried Fish, too.

Anyways, with Cinco de Mayo right around the corner, I knew you just needed another taco recipe. One can never have too many taco recipes 😉

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for crispy shrimp tacos with text labels
Ingredients for Crispy Shrimp Tacos: Shrimp, flour, breadcrumbs, taco seasoning, eggs, olive oil. To serve: Taco shells, cabbage (or coleslaw) and cilantro lime sauce.

Ingredient notes

  • Shrimp: I use raw frozen shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tail off. Please make sure to buy raw shrimp, not pre-cooked. Pre-cooked would turn out way too dry.
  • Taco seasoning: I use my homemade taco seasoning, but feel free to use your favorite store-bought seasoning.
  • Taco shells: My favorite soft taco shells here are small (5 to 6 inches) white corn shells. They can be a little harder to find and I will use flour taco shells if I can’t find them – but the white corn are definitely my preferred pick.
  • Cilantro Lime Sauce: Feel free to buy bottled cilantro lime dressing if you’re looking for an easy option. Or make my homemade cilantro lime dressing – it’s what I used when I took the photos for this recipe, and it’s definitely a favorite in my house!
  • Cabbage/slaw: I mostly make these tacos with just some shredded cabbage and fresh cilantro, and don’t make a full-on coleslaw. We just load our tacos with that cilantro lime sauce for the creaminess.

How to make Crispy Shrimp Tacos

Before you start with the shrimp, you’ll want to set your oven to 400°F and place a dark, rimmed sheet pan in the oven to heat it up. This will make the shrimp extra-crispy.

1. Start by preparing your ingredients for breading – pat dry the shrimp, and prepare the breading bowls:

  • One with flour and two seasoning (I use a 9×13 inch casserole dish for this)
  • One with beaten eggs (I use a 4 cup measuring jug)
  • One for breadcrumbs; and salt, if you want more seasoning (I use a medium serving bowl for this)
  • female hands drying off shrimp with paper towels
    dry shrimp
  • three bowls with ingredients for breading shrimp on marble surface

2. Toss the shrimp in the flour mixture – you can do all of the shrimp at once. Make sure to fully coat the shrimp with flour, so it feels completely dry and not sticky.

  • raw shrimp in casserole dish with seasoned flour
    add shrimp to flour mix
  • flour and seasoning coated shrimp in white casserole dish
    toss to coat

3. For the breading, you have two options:

Thorough: For the more thorough, perfectly-coated version, dredge each shrimp individually through the egg, then coat with breadcrumbs.

  • female hand dipping shrimp in beaten egg
    dredge through egg
  • female hand dredging shrimp through breadcrumbs
    coat with breadcrumbs

Quick: For the quick version, use about ¼ of the shrimp at a time. Stir it into the egg wash, then remove (allow any excess egg to drip off!!) and then stir in the breadcrumbs until coated.

  • female hand stirring shrimp in egg wash with rubber spatula
    stir in egg wash
  • female hand stirring shrimp in white bowl with breadcrumbs
    stir to coat with breadcrumbs

For the quick method, I highly recommend placing only one egg in the bowl at a time, and only ½ cup of breadcrumbs at a time. Re-fill the bowls after doing two batches – that way, things don’t get too messy.

4. Carefully remove the sheet pan from the oven (use oven gloves – it’s hot!) and brush with oil. Arrange half of the breaded shrimp on the sheet pan and bake for 8-10 minutes (or until shrimp is cooked through), flipping once.

Be careful when flipping – if you didn’t use enough oil, the shrimp may stick to the pan. You need to use an offset spatula to slide underneath any shrimp that sticks, else the breading will fall off.

  • breaded shrimp on dark sheet pan
    place on hot, oiled sheet pan
  • female hand using kitchen tongs to flip breaded shrimp on dark sheet pan
    flip halfway through

5. Serve the hot shrimp with taco shells and your favorite toppings!

overhead view of five crispy shrimp tacos on white plate with fresh cilantro and lime

Recipe tips

  • Follow the breading method exactly, or the breading will not stick to the shrimp.
  • I recommend using a dark sheet pan to oven-fry the shrimp. It reflects the heat best and yields the crispiest shrimp.
  • Do not skip pre-heating the pan! This is key to getting the crispiest coating on your shrimp.
  • Be careful when flipping the shrimp, if you do it in a hurry and without being gentle, you could rip off the entire breading. If the shrimp doesn’t release easily from the pan, use more oil next time. Slide an offset spatula under the shrimp to release it before flipping.
  • The shrimp tastes best eaten hot, right out of the oven. We usually eat the first batch while the second batch is still in the oven – that way, we get to eat all of the shrimp hot.

Serving suggestions

If you want to have an actual slaw with the tacos, I have this delicious coleslaw recipe – or this cilantro lime coleslaw. If you’re making my homemade cilantro lime sauce, you can also just use some of it to dress a bagged coleslaw mix with – super simple.

Homemade guacamole, chipotle mayo, pineapple salsa or mango salsa are also great toppings!

If you want something on the side, I recommend making a Mexican bean salad, or a tomato cucumber avocado salad.

frontal view of shrimp taco on white plate

Watch the recipe video

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable Recipe Card
overhead view of shrimp tacos together on white plate
Save Recipe Saved!

Crispy Oven Fried Shrimp Tacos

These Crispy Shrimp Tacos are an easy Mexican-inspired dinner recipe your whole family will love! Easy to make and so perfect for Cinco de Mayo, and all summer long.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 5 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 20 mins
Cook 10 mins
Total 30 mins
Servings 6 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

For the shrimp

  • ¾ cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 ½ pound raw shrimp de-veined, peeled and tail off recommended
  • oil for the pan

To serve

  • 12 small taco shells OR 6 medium flour tortillas for large tacos
  • Cilantro Lime Sauce optional
  • favorite toppings we like shredded cabbage, fresh cilantro and lime wedges

Instructions
 

  • Set oven to 400°F. Place a dark rimmed sheet pan in oven to heat up.
  • Combine flour and taco seasoning in large, shallow dish.
    Beat eggs in separate bowl or mesauring jug.
    Add breadcrumbs to separate shallow dish (feel free to season breadcrumbs with ½ teaspoon salt, if taco seasoning you are using isn't particularly salty).
    three bowls with ingredients for breading shrimp on marble surface
  • Pat shrimp dry, then toss shrimp in dish with flour until evenly coated.
    flour and seasoning coated shrimp in white casserole dish
  • Shake off any excess flour, then dredge each shrimp through beaten eggs.
    female hand dipping shrimp in beaten egg
  • Shake off any excess egg, then coat each shrimp with breadcrumbs (see notes for quicker but less neat method).
    female hand dredging shrimp through breadcrumbs
  • Remove baking sheet from oven (careful, hot! use oven gloves!). Brush with 2-3 tablespoons oil, then add ½ of breaded shrimp in single layer and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, flip shrimp carefully (use offset spatula to release shrimp from pan!), then bake for another 5 minutes or until done. Repeat with second batch of shrimp.
    breaded shrimp on dark sheet pan
  • Serve hot shrimp with taco shells, cilantro lime sauce and favorite toppings.
Want to save this recipe?Create an account for free to start your personal recipe box. Save any recipe by tapping the heart in the bottom right corner.
Join Now

Notes

Ingredient notes

  • Shrimp: I use raw frozen shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tail off. Please make sure to buy raw shrimp, not pre-cooked. Pre-cooked would turn out way too dry.
  • Taco seasoning: I use my homemade taco seasoning, but feel free to use your favorite store-bought seasoning.
  • Taco shells: My favorite soft taco shells here are small (5 to 6 inches) white corn shells. They can be a little harder to find and I will use flour taco shells if I can’t find them – but the white corn are definitely my preferred pick.
  • Cilantro Lime Sauce: Feel free to buy bottled cilantro lime dressing if you’re looking for an easy option. Or make my homemade cilantro lime dressing – it’s what I used when I took the photos for this recipe, and it’s definitely a favorite in my house!
  • Cabbage/slaw: I mostly make these tacos with just some shredded cabbage and fresh cilantro, and don’t make a full-on coleslaw. We just load our tacos with that cilantro lime sauce for the creaminess.

Recipe tips

  • Follow the breading method exactly, or the breading will not stick to the shrimp.
  • I recommend using a dark sheet pan to oven-fry the shrimp. It reflects the heat best and yields the crispiest shrimp.
  • Do not skip pre-heating the pan! This is key to getting the crispiest coating on your shrimp.
  • Be careful when flipping the shrimp, if you do it in a hurry and without being gentle, you could rip off the entire breading. If the shrimp doesn’t release easily from the pan, use more oil next time. Slide an offset spatula under the shrimp to release it before flipping.
  • The shrimp tastes best eaten hot, right out of the oven. We usually eat the first batch while the second batch is still in the oven – that way, we get to eat all of the shrimp hot.

Quick breading method

For the quick breading method, use about ¼ of the flour-coated shrimp at a time. Stir all of it into the egg wash, then remove (allow any excess egg to drip off!!) and then stir all of it in the breadcrumbs until coated (see post for step photos to illustrate this method).
For this quicker way of breading, I highly recommend placing only one egg in the bowl at a time, and only ½ cup of breadcrumbs at a time. Re-fill the bowls after doing two batches – that way, things don’t get too messy.

Nutrition

Serving: 2small tacos (no sauce or toppings)Calories: 431kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 32gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 340mgSodium: 1421mgPotassium: 227mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 196IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 252mgIron: 6mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican

Recipe first published on 05/01/2017. Updated with simpler recipe, new photos and better text on 04/25/2021.

More taco recipes

  • baja fish tacos on a plate with sauces in background
    Baja Fish Tacos
  • overhead view of pineapple bbq pulled chicken tacos on white plate with fresh cilantro
    Pineapple BBQ Pulled Chicken Tacos
  • chicken taco salad on a wooden plate
    The Ultimate Chicken Taco Salad
  • chicken tacos on wooden platter
    Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

Reader Interactions

cilantro lime dressing in glass measuring jug surrounded by fresh cilantro and lime

< Previous Post

overhead photo of mango black bean salsa in glass bowl with wooden spoon

Next Post >

Add a Review or Ask a Question Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this recipe? Rate it:




Primary Sidebar

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

welcome to

logo for the Savory Nothings brand

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

Easter Recipes

  • close up photo of glazed carrots with parsley
    Perfect Glazed Carrots
  • overhead view of strawberry rhubarb pie with dish towel and fresh fruit next to it
    Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
  • frontal view of sliced lemon loaf cake
    Glazed Lemon Loaf Cake
  • overhead view of roasted carrots on foil lined pan
    Honey Roasted Carrots

see all >

Popular

  • overhead close up view of garlic parmesan oven fried chicken piece on black pan
    Garlic Parmesan Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • overhead view of three oven baked chicken breasts in white casserole dish
    Oven Baked Chicken Breast
  • overhead close up photo of a piece of oven fried chicken on a black sheet pan
    Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • overhead close up photo of chocolate chip baked oats
    TikTok Baked Oats: 6 Ways!
  • white bowl with rigatoni bolognese
    One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese
  • chicken tacos on wooden platter
    Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Tacos
  • casserole dish with shepherd's pie
    Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
  • close up photo of a sliced banana bread
    Whole Wheat Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread

Trending on Pinterest

  • Balsamic Chicken Marinade
  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Homemade Salisbury Steak
  • About
  • Contact

Footer

Footer

Follow Along













Recipes

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Sides
Dessert
Appetizers

Instant Pot
Slow Cooker
One Pot
Casseroles
Ground Beef
Chicken

Featured On

different logos of publications Savory Nothings' content has been featured on

↑ back to top

About | Contact | Work with Us

Copyright Savory Nothings © 2023

Made with lots of love and spices ♥︎
PRIVACY POLICY | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT |
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Yummly
  • Mix