Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
On August 16, 2019 (Updated May 10, 2024)
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These Grilled Shrimp Tacos are Tex Mex-inspired shrimp tacos that are bursting with great flavor. They have everything you love in a good taco – crisp grilled corn tortillas, shrimp with just a kiss of heat, fresh pineapple salsa, and a savory avocado crema. Best served with extra lime wedges, these grilled shrimp tacos are great for any occasion, any day of the week.
Grilled Shrimp Tacos
These grilled shrimp tacos made their debut when I competed on Food Network’s BBQ Brawl – Flay v. Symon during the grilled taco challenge. Unfortunately I didn’t win that challenge, and my fatal flaw was under cooking the tortillas. But when these tortillas are cooked to a golden brown, and everything is grilled just right, this is a crazy delicious recipe for grilled shrimp tacos.
These tacos are all about a balance of flavors. We begin with the sweet and spicy shrimp, add a fresh fruit salsa, and finish with the creamy and savory avocado crema on top. It’s a family favorite in my household, and it’s a fantastic, fresh way to mix things up on taco night.
Shrimp Taco Seasoning
The seasoning used in these shrimp tacos is well-balanced and gives the shrimp just a touch of heat. This shrimp taco seasoning begins with olive oil (remember fat=flavor), then 7 spices as well as lime juice are added to make these shrimp taste ah-mazing. Here’s the ingredients you’ll need to beautifully season your shrimp prior to grilling them:
- Olive oil
- Lime juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cumin
- Chipotle chili powder
Grilled Shrimp in the Shell
I love cooking larger shrimp in the shell when making shrimp tacos. Grilling the shrimp in the shell helps keep moisture in while on the grill. With the high heat of the grill, you can easily run the risk of the shrimp drying out while cooking. The shell gives you a bit of insurance, and it provides a natural heat protector.
If you can’t find any shrimp still in the shell at your local grocer, you can grill the shrimp without the shell. Follow this recipe as outlined below, but just note that shrimp removed from the shell may cook a bit faster.
How to Make Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Here’s the step-by-step process on how to make grilled shrimp tacos in your own backyard. Quick tip: I like to cook these shrimp still in the shell, and cooking this on a charcoal grill is the bee’s knees.
- Season the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a large bowl and toss with the shrimp seasoning.
- Heat your grill. Preheat your grill (I cooked these tacos on my Weber Charcoal Grill) to 450 degrees F.
- Grill the pepper and pineapple. Place your whole bell pepper and pineapple rings on your grill grates directly over the coals. Cook the peppers until they are black and blistered on all sides. Grill the pineapple until it is caramelized.
- Make the pineapple salsa. Remove the pineapple and pepper from the grill. Remove the skin from the bell pepper, remove the core, and dice the pepper. Chop the pineapple. (Using a sharp chef’s knife like this Dalstrong makes quick work of the pepper and pineapple). Add the diced pepper and pineapple to a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients for the salsa to the bowl and stir to mix.
- Make the Mexican crema. In a blender jar or food processor, combine all ingredients for the Mexican crema. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Grill those shrimp! Place your shrimp directly on the grill. Grill the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side or until they are pink and opaque throughout. Remove them from the grill and use tongs to remove the tails and shells.
- Grill the tortillas. Place the corn tortillas on the grill and grill them until they have nice, golden spots on them. Remove them from the grill and keep them wrapped in aluminum foil until you are ready to assemble the tacos.
- Assemble! On each corn tortilla, place 2-3 shrimp, a spoonful of pineapple salsa, and drizzle with avocado crema on top. Serve with lime wedges, and enjoy!
More Grilled Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp is one of those items that tastes completely incredible when grilled. If you love shrimp just as much as I do, try out these other completely delicious grilled shrimp recipes from Hey Grill Hey!
Grilled Coconut Shrimp Foil Packet
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Tabasco Peach Glaze
Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad
Grilled Shrimp Tacos Recipe
Follow the recipe below and let’s make something delicious! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind the scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 pound U/15 Shrimp shell on, de-veined
- 10 small corn tortillas
Shrimp Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
Pineapple Salsa
- 1 whole pineapple skinned, cored, and cut into rings
- 1 whole bell pepper
- ¼ cup finely minced red onion
- 1 jalapeno optional, seeds removed and finely minced
- juice of 1 lime
- ½ cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- salt to taste
Avocado Crema
- 1 cup Mexican crema
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 avocado skin and pit removed
Instructions
- Place shrimp in a large bowl. Toss with the shrimp seasoning and set aside.
- Preheat your grill to 450 degrees F.
- Place your bell pepper on the grill grates directly over the coals as well as your pineapple rings. Cook peppers until black and blistered on all sides. Grill pineapple until caramelized on all sides.
- Remove the bell pepper and the pineapple from the grill. Remove the roasted skin from the roasted bell pepper, remove the core, and finely dice the pepper. Add the diced pepper to a small bowl. Finely chop the pineapple and add it to the bowl. Add in the remaining salsa ingredients and stir to mix.
- In a blender jar, combine all ingredients for the Mexican crema and blend until smooth.
- Place your shrimp on the grill. Grill them for 2-3 minutes per side or until they are pink and opaque throughout.
- Place corn tortillas on the grill and grill them until they are pliable and they have golden spots on them. Pull your tortillas off your grill and place them in foil to keep them hot until you are ready to serve.
- When the shrimp are done cooking, remove them from the grill. Use tongs to remove the tails and shells.
- Assemble your tacos! On each corn tortilla, place 2 shrimp, a spoonful of the pineapple salsa, also drizzle some avocado crema on top. Serve with additional limes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fantastic. If I were to make again, I would skim the Crema portion and just use store bought Crema. We doubled the resipe and had way more salsa than we needed. Used corn tortillas but flour may have been a better choice. The leftovers made great burritos.
Family loved these. Super easy to make. Put my own little twist on them. Added lobster tails and used sweet Hawaiian flour street taco tort. The sweetness of the tortillas with the spiciness of the shrimp/lobster mix was awesome!!
Tried this recipe for our weekly taco Tuesday. It was super easy to follow and took no time to prepare. I used my George Foreman grill making my clean up a snap. My boyfriend enjoyed it and gave several compliments throughout the evening.
just made these for lunch and they were very good. i skewered the shrimp to cook on the grill and added the jalapeño. next time i may only use half the jalapeño but it was still tasty regardless.
Looks great! I’d probably skewer the shrimp to make turning quick and easy, especially with such a short cook time.