Baja-Style Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Lime Crema

Mr. Mom’s Kitchen and I have different ideas about what it means to have a stocked pantry.

He sees an empty fridge. I see a chicken carcass and a couple of wobbly carrots to turn into soup.

He sees wrinkled bag of dried beans and a few odd bits of cheese. I see a Tex Mex casserole.

He sees nothing to snack on. I see the fixings for guacamole to go with the half bag of tortilla chips hiding behind the granola.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Mom’s Kitchen is up to the task of cooking for our family, but the fact is, I’ve spent far more time honing that time honored skill of foraging for ingredients. That said, there are a few pantry basics from which we can both pull together supper seemingly out of thin air. One of them is the bag of shrimp we almost always have in the freezer.

Shrimp is a “go to” healthy convenience food. Here’s why:

1. When frozen, it’s quick to defrost.
2. Cooks in a few quick minutes (and is pretty hard to mess up).
3. Has just 84 calories in a three-ounce serving along with 20 grams of protein, very little fat, and vitamin B-12.
4. Meets one of the two recommended weekly servings of seafood, something most of us are falling well short of getting
5. Is a versatile ingredient that can be spun in any ethnic direction, whether that’s a Chinese stir fry, Vietnamese summer rolls, or an Indian curry.

Case in point are these tacos, which are so quick and easy to make with a Baja-style chipotle lime sauce that will have you asking for seconds.  Feel free to double up on the slaw if you want more on the side or check out this recipe for Mexican Slaw.

And…if you’re looking for more healthy convenience food inspiration, head here.

Lastly, a few notes on buying shrimp. The infographic below gives a little insight into the size of shrimp and how that translates into weight, and this post is full of pointers on purchasing seafood.

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Baja Style Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Lime Crema

The key to these scrumptious tacos is the mega-flavorful chipotle sauce, which is nothing more than yogurt, light mayo, and chipotle pepper. Paired with griddled shrimp and a nutritious, crunchy slaw on warm corn tortillas? What’s not to love. Feel free to sub in your favorite grilled fish for the shrimp if the mood strikes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 8 tacos, 4 servings

Calories 186 kcal

Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons lowfat yogurt
• 1/3 cup light mayonnaise
• ½ chipotle pepper en adobo, minced into a puree*
• 1 pound medium peeled and deveined shrimp
• 2 limes, divided
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ medium green cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• ¾ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• Large pinch kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 corn tortillas

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle pepper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the shrimp, juice of 1 lime, and the chili powder. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the shredded cabbage, carrots, cilantro, the juice of the remaining lime, and the salt. Toss well.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high. Lay the shrimp in the pan and cook on one side until lightly brown, a minute or 2. Turn them over and cook on the second side until done, another minute or 2. The shrimp are done when they turn pinkish and opaque in color.
5. Warm the tortillas using your preferred method.
6. To assemble, spread a few teaspoons of the chipotle mayo along the center of a warmed corn tortilla. Lay 3 or 4 shrimp across the mayo. Top with a generous spoonful of the cabbage slaw. Serve additional slaw as a side salad.

Recipe Notes

Chipotle peppers en adobo are sold in small cans in the Mexican food section of most supermarkets. One-half of a minced chipotle pepper measures about half of a tablespoon.

This recipe was developed for the National Fisheries Institute.