Air Fried Crispy Shrimp Tacos

Looking for a different way to enjoy shrimp for dinner? Air fried crispy shrimp tacos are your answer.  Crispy, breaded air fried shrimp, fresh lettuce and tomato, pickled red onions, and a sriracha lime crema make this a mouthwatering meal that is easy to throw together. You’ll feel like you’re eating an indulgent restaurant dinner, except you made it yourself.

What’s in these air fried crispy shrimp tacos?

These tacos are loaded with yummy ingredients, flavors and textures.  The main components of the dish are the following:

• air fried breaded shrimp
• crispy corn tortillas (I use these from Mission, they are extra thin)
• tomato salad
• pickled red onions
• sriracha lime crema

Since this dish has a few components, there are separate ingredient lists for each part of this recipe.  Don’t fret though, many of the ingredients are household staples.  If you don’t have them on hand, they are easy to find in stores, or you can omit them altogether and adapt this any way you wish.

Each component of this dish works together to make it an ultimate taco experience, so I definitely recommend making this recipe as-is.  

Help! I’ve never worked with shrimp and I’m scared!

Have no fear! Shrimp might be intimidating if you have never worked with them before, but they are so easy to cook!  The most difficult part of working with shrimp is making sure they are cleaned and deveined.

You can definitely purchase cleaned, deveined shrimp from the seafood counter, or you can buy frozen shrimp, too.

If you buy frozen shrimp, you’ll probably have to clean and devein them yourself.  If you have never done that before, here is an easy video on how to: How to Clean Shrimp

How to air fry crispy breaded shrimp

Air frying shrimp is a great way to get them super crispy.  If you don’t have an air fryer, no fear.  You can easily use your convection oven to get them just as crispy – typically this requires a super high temperature (i.e. 450F) and a wire rack on top of a sheet pan helps get the air circulating around the shrimp, like an air fryer would.  All other steps for this recipe would be the same regardless of how you cook the shrimp.

To prepare the shrimp, create a breading station.  Gather two bowls: one for the cleaned and deveined shrimp, and one for the breading.  Add the breading and the taco seasoning to one bowl, and mix them together.  Add the yogurt to the shrimp, and toss them to coat.  Then, one by one, add the coated shrimp to the breading and make sure they are coated on both sides.

If you use the air fryer, spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray, and add half of the shrimp to the air fryer basket.  Spray the tops with more cooking spray, and then air fry them at 390F for 10 minutes.  At the halfway mark, flip the shrimp. Then, repeat with the second batch.

How to put it all together

To create the tomato salad, simply half the cherry tomatoes, chop the scallions, and add all of the other ingredients together.  For the crema, simply combine the sour cream, sriracha, lime juice, and cilantro.  

For the ultimate crispy corn tortillas, spray a frying pan with olive oil or cooking spray and heat over a medium flame.  Add the tortillas to the pan and sprinkle with salt, flipping carefully to not break them.  The tortillas should be slightly golden and still pliable, but will develop great flavor.

The pickled red onions can be made days in advance, or hours in advance. I do not advise making them right before eating, as they need time to marinate and pickle.

Each taco will have: one crispy tortilla, shredded lettuce, cooked shrimp, pickled onions, tomato salad, and the crema.

Air Fried Crispy Shrimp Tacos

Looking for a different way to enjoy shrimp for dinner? Air fried crispy shrimp tacos are your answer.  Crispy, breaded air fried shrimp, fresh lettuce and tomato, pickled red onions, and a sriracha lime crema make this a mouthwatering meal that is easy to throw together. You'll feel like you're eating an indulgent restaurant dinner, except you made it yourself.

5 from 19 votes

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course: dinner,lunch,main course

cuisine: Mexican

keyword: air fryer,shrimp tacos,tacos

prep time: 10 minutes minutes

cook time: 25 minutes minutes

servings: 6 tacos

calories: 176kcal

author: Steph

cook modeprevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• air fryer
• frying pan

Ingredients

Crispy Shrimp

• 1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, raw, tails removed
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, plain, unseasoned
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 2 tbsp plain non fat Greek yogurt
• olive oil spray or cooking spray

Sriracha Lime Crema

• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 1/2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp cilantro, fresh

Tomato Topping

• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 scallion, chopped

Pickled Red Onions

• 1 red onion, small
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic

Other Ingredients

• 6 extra thin corn tortillas
• 1 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded

Instructions

Crispy Shrimp

• Make sure your shrimp are peeled, deveined, tails off, and clean.
• Add the taco seasoning to the breadcrumbs and stir to combine.
• Add the yogurt to the shrimp and toss to coat.
• Toss the coated shrimp in the breading.
• Working in two batches, spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and add half of the breaded shrimp.
• Spray the tops with more cooking spray.
• Air fry at 390F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway.
• Repeat for the second batch. Set aside the cooked shrimp.

Tomato Salad

• Half the cherry tomatoes. Chop the scallion.
• Combine the tomatoes, scallion, lime juice, and salt. Set aside.

Sriracha Lime Crema

• Combine all ingredients. Set aside.

Pickled Red Onions

• Combine the water, vinegar, and salt in a bowl or mason jar.
• This can be done (and should be done) in advance for the most pickled flavor (not right before eating).
• Microwave the bowl or jar for 2 minutes to heat through.
• Thinly slice the red onion, smash the garlic cloves, and submerge them in the pickling liquid.
• Cover the jar and shake it for everything to combine.
• Set aside until ready to use. Refrigerate after use.

Assembly

• Toast the corn tortillas in a frying pan over medium heat with cooking spray and a pinch of kosher salt.
• Cook for a couple of minutes per side or until just crispy and golden, but still pliable.
• Add the shredded lettuce on top of each tortilla, followed by the shrimp, tomatoes, pickled red onion, and finally, the crema.

Weight Watchers

Notes

WW Points:

• 3 WW points per taco (green plan)
• 2 WW points for 1 taco, 5 WW points for 2 tacos, 7 WW points for 3 tacos (blue and purple plans)

WW PersonalPoints™: Click here to track this recipe in the WW app.

Nutrition

Serving: 1taco | Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 193mg | Sodium: 1056mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 149mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetsavoryandsteph or tag #sweetsavoryandsteph!

More taco recipes:

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

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