Cheesy Shrimp Tacos
Updated April 25, 2024
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1poblano chile, diced
- ½ medium yellow or white onion, diced
- Salt and pepper
- 2garlic cloves, chopped roughly
- 2teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¾pound peeled and deveined shrimp, chopped
- Olive oil or oil of your choice, for crisping tacos
- 8 to 10(5- to 6-inch) corn or flour tortillas
- 6ounces queso Oaxaca, queso Chihuahua or Monterey Jack, grated
- Lime wedges, hot sauce and salsa, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the poblano, onion and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and Worcestershire sauce, and once fragrant, about 30 seconds, turn the heat down to medium.
- Step 2
Stir in the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer shrimp mixture to a plate and wipe the skillet clean.
- Step 3
In the same skillet, pour enough olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) to leave a light slick on the bottom and heat over medium. Place 2 to 3 tortillas (whatever comfortably fits flat) in the pan, sprinkle cheese over and place a spoonful of shrimp mixture over the top. Cook, open-faced, rotating the tortilla to evenly cook the bottom, until the cheese is melted and the bottom is golden, about 3 minutes, fold in half and transfer to a plate. Repeat with more olive oil and the remaining tortillas, cheese and shrimp filling. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Susan
I love tacos...especially tacos dorados (for their slight crunch). I'm not much for standing over a frying pan or comal...especially if I am making tacos for a group. This technique works great for a few more. Coat a sheet pan with a slick of oil. Six corn tortillas will fit. Add cheese and filling of choice. Roast in a 450 oven for about 10 minutes and fold carefully. Two sheet pans, 12 tacos...all ready at the same time!
Alascat
I catch & cook a lot of shrimp here in Alaska. Shrimp has a high moisture content so I've found that if I sauté with ghee rather than 'normal' butter it maintains a better texture but still has the flavor of butter in it. And you don't end up with soggy tacos.
Luke
To everyone asking about step 3, it says, "turning the tortilla to evenly cook the bottom, until the cheese is melted and the bottom is golden." I read that as rotating the tortilla rather than flipping the tortilla over.
Jerry H.
The secret to any shrimp preparation is use wild shrimp only,farm raised shrimp are flavorless.
Linda Schubert
New twist on quesadillas. While in San Miguel de Allende last month, the woman with all the fillings on a cart and a hot comal put the cheese right on the pan to melt then used the flour tortilla heating beside to pick up the hot mess! Kind of like using a paper towel. You think it would be stuck but with Oaxaca cheese, pops right up in one piece into the tortilla.
Steve
This sounds really good. Step 1 has us turning the heat down to medium twice? Wondering what was intended here.
Ajijic Lady
I live in Jalisco, MX and all the chefs and cooks use what is labelled Salsa Inglés which is Worcestershire sauce. They also use a lot of Maggi which is similar.
Christian
Hey Luke, you're spot on here! Only the bottom side of the tortillas should touch the pan, and you may need to adjust or rotate the tacos in the pan so the bottoms get evenly cooked and golden :)
Bill
Folks, I think what he means in step three is to spin the tortilla in the pan, to brown it more evenly, not to flip it. When you fold the tortilla, the outside will be crispy, but the inside will never have been in direct contact with the pan. If you want it even more crispy, why not brown the tortilla, flip it, then add the ingredients?
Mary Young
Chop the shrimp, rotate the tortillas, and if you don’t have a poblano, use a sweet bell pepper and a de-seeded jalapeno (or just jalapeno). Serve with an avocado, tomato and cilantro salsa fresca. This is a no-recipe meal for someone in Texas.
Marty
I'm thinking that the recipe wants you to ROTATE the tortilla to cook it evenly. That's the only thing that makes sense to me. It could be worded more clearly...
Karen
I'm guessing the second heat adjustment is meant to go from medium to medium-low.
Lucheeba
A bit confused on turning the tortilla over when it has the shrimp and cheese on top, and then folding it in half, wouldn’t the shrimp mixture then be on the outside?
Nancy
One is supposed to turn the tortilla -- clockwise or counter-clockwise -- "to evenly cook the bottom." It could have said "spin the tortilla," but that would sound rather violent.
liz
Turn or rotate?
banana
Have made these a few times now and they are always a hit. So simple and yummy. Just here to add that once I had a little leftover shrimp mix and I made a quesadilla with it that was also excellent. Used the same process in the pan, then let it cool a little and cut the large half circle into triangles.
Neil
I substituted two chipotles in adobo for the poblano (poor selection at the grocery store this week) and it was really nice. Smokey but not too spicy. Two of us polished off the whole recipe in one sitting.
Neil
I substituted two chipotles in adobo for the poblano (poor selection at the grocery store this week) and it was really nice. Smokey but not too spicy. Two of us polished off the whole recipe in one sitting.
Neil
Substituted two chipotles in adobo for the poblano. Smokey but not too spicy.
Andrew
Works really well, especially for low effort involved. I increased the ratio of veg to shrimp. I was initially timid about the Worcestershire because it is such a strong and distinctive flavor but it really works here (in the right amount).
KJoy
Susan’s recommendation to bake 6 or 12 at a time in the oven is brilliant! To add to that, bake for 5 minutes, fold in half, bake for another 5 minutes, flip over, bake for 4-5 minutes, then to ultimate crisp, broil for 3-4 minutes (while watching) to desired extra crisp and cheesy! Amazing!!!
Jann
Rotation? I don't need no stinkin' rotation. I am just going to eat this for every meal. Top with a little avocado and a handful of arugula/rocket lettuce or a spring mix. Quick and delicious.
ssk
These are delicious with the spicy red salsa from the Crispy Potato Taco recipe
DGB
Delicious! Followed the recommendation to crisp the tortillas with Oaxaca cheese in the oven. Worcestershire Sauce was a game changer, I never associated it as an ingredient for tacos.
Lex
We liked this but didn't love it. We had a similar rendition of this cheesy shrimp taco at a restaurant here in San Diego, and it was so much better and lighter. I wish I could remember what else was on that taco.
Hope
I too cooked the tacos in the oven, and with that in mind undercooked the shrimp slightly. They were perfect. I think the next time I make this recipe I will add a few tomatoes or a couple of tablespoonsful of tomato paste. It just seemed to me to want that.
Jen & Steve
This was so great! We didn’t change a thing - delish!
Camille
These are delicious and not difficult! The only change I made was adding a dash of cumin with the salt and pepper. It pays to use real Oaxaca cheese; there is no cheese as melty and rich as Oaxaca. I used half corn and half flour tortillas to compare the two, and both were delicious in their own way, but the flour crisped up more in the oil than the corn. I had homemade salsa in the fridge for serving as well.
sue G
Easy and really delicious. Added a slaw with cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt, and sour cream. Or use mayo or yogurt. A complete meal
Jean
These were delicious, made exactly as recipe however used the cookie sheet method Susan suggested and perfect!
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