This easy shrimp tacos recipe will become your new favorite if your a fan of both spicy food and tacos! This shrimp cooks quickly in the air fryer and the sauce and slaw both take only a few minutes to mix.
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Crispy shrimp cooked in the air fryer and tossed in spicy buffalo sauce is one of my favorite things.
I'm a huge fan of tacos, so of course I immediately stuffed the crispy buffalo shrimp into tacos and loaded it up with slaw and pickled onions.
These spicy shrimp tacos are the perfect addition to your next taco night. Serve with grilled elote, or a broccoli crunch salad, brown rice, and a mango margarita on the side for a flavorful summer dinner.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact amounts.
- shrimp: I use jumbo shrimp (16/20) for the buffalo shrimp. The bag that my grocery store sells is 300 grams, so it's a bit short of a pound and I get about a dozen jumbo shrimp. I use 2 per taco.
- shrimp breading: to make a crispy coating on the shrimp, you'll dip it in flour batter and then Panko breadcrumbs.
- buffalo sauce: the sauce is a simple mix of hot sauce, butter, honey, garlic powder, and onion powder - no cooking involved.
- slaw: I love a tangy slaw, especially on tacos. This is a cabbage slaw with both red and green cabbage and a simple dressing of Greek yogurt, lime juice, and cumin.
- taco toppings: I keep it pretty simple for this taco because the flavors are quite bold with spicy and tangy notes. I garnish with pickled red onion, cilantro, and a bit of my ranch dressing recipe. These are optional but I like them.
- tortillas: I like corn tortillas, lightly grilled or warmed. Use flour tortillas if you prefer.
Substitutions
- shrimp: use chicken instead with the sauce for buffalo chicken tacos.
- slaw: use another slaw or add a different dressing like ranch dressing.
- taco toppings: Feel free to add your favorite toppings on top of the tacos like diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream, or salsa.
I prefer the homemade versions, but for an even quicker recipe, try store-bought buffalo sauce and slaw!
Instructions
Prep Tips
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels so that the flour batter will stick.
Air Fry the Shrimp
Mix the flour, salt, and black pepper with cold water using a whisk until it is smooth and lump-free.
Place the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.
- Coat shrimp in the flour batter, letting the excess drip off.
- Coat the shrimp in the breadcrumbs.
Place the shrimp in a single layer on an air fryer tray or basket.
- Repeat for the remaining shrimp. Leave room between the shrimp for airflow so the breadcrumbs can get crispy!
- Air fry for 8-10 minutes. Flip halfway and rotate trays if using.
Use two trays if needed, and cook in batches if using a basket-style air fryer.
Shrimp are done cooking when they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C ). Check by inserting an instant read meat thermometer in the thickest part of the shrimp.
While the shrimp cook make the sauce and slaw.
Make the buffalo sauce
Melt the butter in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Add the hot sauce, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
- Mix melted butter with hot sauce, honey, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- When the shrimp are golden brown and cooked through remove them from the air fryer. Toss the cooked shrimp with the sauce in a large bowl.
Make the slaw
- Combine the yogurt, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add the green and red cabbages and mix well to coat the cabbage in the sauce.
Make the tacos
Heat the tortillas. You can either warm them in a skillet over medium heat for 20-30 seconds each or stack them and wrap in damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds just until warm.
This makes them pliable and helps prevent them from cracking and tearing when folding them into tacos.
Set out a tortilla on a plate or work surface.
- Add the slaw.
- Add the shrimp. Two fit nicely in small tortillas.
- Top with ranch dressing.
- Add pickled red onion and cilantro.
Tips for making crispy buffalo shrimp tacos
- Keep a meat thermometer on hand to check for doneness when cooking. The Government of Canada says shrimp are cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).
- Don't overcrowd the shrimp in the air fryer. This will ensure air can circulate and you'll get the crispiest results. Air fry in batches if needed.
- Flip halfway for even cooking. For best results, rotate the upper and lower baking trays if you have this style of air fryer. This will help achieve the most even browning.
- Make breading easier by using a dry hand and a wet hand. This helps to avoid breading your fingers as well as the shrimp.
- Using Japanese panko breadcrumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs gives the most crunch.
- Add your favorite taco toppings to customize it.
What to serve with shrimp tacos
Serve these tacos on a summer afternoon or evening with a side of Instant Pot Brown Rice, southwest corn salad, air fryer ranch potatoes, grilled elote, or elote fries.
Serve a cooling drink on the side like a frozen margarita. Try a dragonfruit margarita, strawberry margarita, watermelon jalapeno margarita, or a mango margarita.
For a margarita on the rocks, try this tropical pineapple coconut margarita.
Try grilled chicken tacos, or cheesy crispy potato tacos next!
Storage
While breaded food is usually best eaten fresh because the breadcrumbs are at their crispiest, you can store the leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
To make some of this ahead of time make and store the slaw and buffalo sauce in separate containers in the fridge. Make the shrimp as needed and toss in the sauce.
FAQs
Buffalo sauce can be spicy to some although I use a hotter hot sauce because I have a high tolerance to heat. If you are sensitive to heat, you may find these tacos spicy.
Recipe
Buffalo Shrimp Tacos
Equipment
- Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer or similar
Ingredients
- 12 jumbo shrimp size 16/20
- ½ cup all-purpose flour mixed with ½ cup cold water
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
For the sauce
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
For the Slaw
- 1 cup green cabbage thinly shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage thinly shredded
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Tacos
- 6 corn tortillas
- pickled red onions optional
- cilantro optional
- ranch dressing optional
Instructions
For the Shrimp
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200℃).
- Peel and dry each shrimp. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper with water to get a thick batter. Place breadcrumbs in another bowl.
- Dip each shrimp first in the flour batter and then in the breadcrumbs. Place in an even layer on the air fryer trays or the basket and air fry for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
For the Sauce
- Mix melted butter with the hot sauce, honey, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss the cooked shrimp in the sauce.
For the Slaw
- Combine the yogurt, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Add the green and red cabbages and mix well to coat the cabbage in the sauce.
For the Tacos
- Heat the tortillas. You can either warm them in a skillet over medium heat for 20-30 seconds each or stack them and wrap in damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds just until warm. This makes them pliable and helps prevent them from cracking and tearing when folding them into tacos.
- Set out a tortilla on a plate or work surface. Add slaw and then two shrimp. Top with ranch dressing, pickled red onion, and fresh cilantro. Serve.
Video
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
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