Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Cilantro Chili Sauce

This super zesty Grilled Shrimp Tacos recipe is delicious, and we show you how to make a wonderful creamy chili sauce that goes with it. Combined, you will want to start making these grilled tacos all the time. Such a delicious shrimp taco sauce recipe, and the grilled shrimp is divine.

🌮 What makes this recipe special?

Keep your house cool and fire up the grill for this special shrimp taco. Not much cooking is needed at all, making it even better. 

Not only is this a quick and easy grilled shrimp tacos recipe, but it is served with a spectacular creamy cilantro chili shrimp taco sauce. The sauce can be used for these tacos and many other recipes.

The chili sauce balances the tang of the lime, spicy pepper, and a creamy base that brings it together into something special. Combine it with the tacos, and you have some grilling perfection.

If you are looking for other shrimp recipes, this Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp is delicious or you could try our Grilled Blackened Shrimp recipe. Some great sides would be this refreshing Watermelon Feta salad or this easy coleslaw recipe.

🍤 Ingredients

Shrimp is the star of this recipe, but there is more to it. We have a quick shrimp taco marinade and then the creamy cilantro chili sauce has its own unique ingredients.

• Deveined and deshelled shrimp
• Olive oil
• Shredded cabbage
• Mexican cream
• Cilantro
• Serrano pepper
• Garlic cloves
• Limes
• Soft Taco Shells
• Salt & Pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

🇲🇽 Mexican Cream (Mexican Crema) vs Sour Cream

If you haven’t had Mexican Crema, you should try it. It is the Mexican version of Creme Fraiche if you know what that is. It is a cream that has a consistency between heavy cream and sour cream. It should be pourable but still thick.

You can use Sour Cream instead of Mexican Cream, but I suggest mixing in a tablespoon or two of milk to thin the sour cream out a bit, as traditional sour cream is a bit thicker than Mexican cream. This homemade sour cream recipe would also work for this.

This taco sauce could be called cilantro lime crema sauce, as we are using Mexican Cream, but why complicate things?

🔥 How to Buy Shrimp for Grilling

If you live in the middle of the country like me, you might have a tough time finding fresh shrimp, but that should not stop you. Check out this guide to buying shrimp at Bon Appetite.

I used 16/20 Argentine Red Shrimp for this grilled shrimp tacos recipe. The “16/20” (or other numbers) are the number of shrimp you will get in a pound. So, the higher the number, the more shrimp. This size is a little on the larger on these suckers and I ended up using about 4 shrimp per taco.

I also bought them already deveined, but I shelled them prior to putting on the skewer. If you need to know how to shell and devein, check out this article.

🍲 Instructions

If you are using wood skewers, this is the longest part of the process, and grilled shrimp doesn’t need that much time on the grill, so this step really might be optional. 

Like this this grilled chicken kebobs recipe, soak the wood skewers. The difference, in the case of shrimp, is that we only are grilling the shrimp for about 6 minutes.

At this time, throw together the simple shrimp taco marinade and let them soak for a bit. All we do is put our shrimp in a container with a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. It does not need long, and the most significant benefit of this marinade is that while it flavors the shrimp, it also coats it in oil that helps prevent sticking to the grill.

Then, make the simple and easy sauce by mixing the ingredients together and store in the fridge until you are ready to use. The recipe for the sauce is straightforward

Preheat the grill to a good 450° Fahrenheit temp. Grill the marinated shrimp on each side for three minutes on the wood skewers. Of course, according to the USDA, you should use a meat thermometer to ensure everything is at the right temperature.

Once the shrimp is done, put them on a flour tortilla (or corn), add some slaw and then apply sauce! 

🤷 Substitutions and variations

There are a few ways you can change this up a bit.

• Wood Skewers – In a pinch, the wood skewers do not need to be soaked. The shrimp are on the grill for only six minutes.
• Cilantro – I get it. Some people don’t like cilantro. Feel free to leave it out if you prefer. 
• Tortilla -I am using flour tortillas, but corn would be great, as well.

📦 Storage

You could put the shrimp in the fridge and keep them for a few days. This dish is meant to be eaten straight off the grill.

Also, i would not suggest storing the shrimp on the tortilla. 

❓ FAQ

📝 Tips and tricks

• Make sure to have a clean grill. Cleaning your grill helps ensure that product doesn’t stick and results in a better overall end product.
• Use a meat thermometer to ensure your shrimp reach the desired temp or the 145 Farenheit that the USDA indicates as the safe minimum.
• The integers on packets of shrimp indicate the number of shrimp per pound. For example “16/20” indicates that there are between 16 and 20 shrimp per pound.
• Purchase deveined shrimp for sure, but deshelled can also make it easier. Mind you, the shells can add flavor to recipes.
• We use Serrano peppers, but you could try any pepper of similar size to either get a spicier or milder heat profile. Obviously, peppers taste different, as well.

🛠 Products used in this recipe

• Weber Genisis III
• Digital Thermometer
• Grill Tongs
• Lemon Lime Squeezer

😋 Did you make this recipe?

That is awesome, and thank you so much for giving this shrimp taco recipe a try. If you could leave a rating in the comment area below, it would be greatly appreciated. This lets me know how I am doing and helps others decide if they want to make this grilled dinner recipe. Most of all, thanks for visiting Ramshackle Pantry.