These Baked Shrimp Tacos may just be my new favorite. Soft tortillas loaded with refried black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, seared shrimp, and melty cheese served with homemade salsa and chipotle adobo … talk about flavor!
And I’m excited to partner with Reynolds Wrap® for this recipe! Thanks to Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil, everything from prepping, to cooking and even cleaning up afterward is an absolute breeze. Baked Tacos can be rather messy, i.e. lots of melting cheese action and sticking to the pan, but the Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil solves all of that thanks to the non-stick coating.
Ingredients in Baked Shrimp Tacos
Peppers & Onions – I opted for yellow onion & red pepper as these colors have less bite, more of a subtly sweet flavor than other onion and pepper varieties.
Shrimp – Fresh shrimp works best for this recipe. Try to find or prepare them to be peeled & deveined with tails removed (I used size 22-25 ct).
Tortillas – Any variety that’s thin and pliable should work!
Refried Beans – Add a creamy and flavorful base to the baked tacos. Use whichever brand you prefer.
Cheese – To keep with the authentic flavors, I used a shredded Mexican cheese blend, but any shredded cheese variety will work.
Greek Yogurt – I used 5% Greek Yogurt as the base for the chipotle adobo sauce. Making it extra creamy and thick!
Adobo Peppers – Look for a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for this.
How to Make Baked Shrimp Tacos
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking tray with Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil placing the non-stick side facing up (the dull side)
- Prepare your peppers & onions – preheat a medium cast iron skillet to medium and add olive oil. Once hot, add your sliced onions, red bell pepper, and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onions and bell pepper have softened and are slightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Cook shrimp – Pat peeled and deveined shrimp dry with a paper towel and add to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne and smoked paprika and stir until coated. Top with 2 tbsp of olive oil and stir again until evenly combined. To the same cast iron skillet you cooked your peppers and onions, add remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and heat to medium. Once olive oil is shimmering and hot, add your shrimp in an even layer, making sure they are not touching. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until shrimp are browned and tightly curled. Flip over, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. Leave shrimp to cook without touching or moving as this will help them brown nicely! Cook in batches as needed. Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside.
- Assemble your tacos – Take the Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil lined baking tray and lay out 6 tortillas. Top half of each tortilla with about 2 tbsp refried black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, 4-5 shrimp, and 2-3 tbsp shredded cheese. Close the tortilla and flip over (this helps to ensure they stay closed).
- Bake Tacos – move tray to the oven and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- While tacos are baking, prepare your Chipotle Adobo Sauce by combining Greek yogurt, adobo peppers, garlic cloves, mayo, lime juice, water and salt in a small food processor. Blend until smooth and stir in ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro. Set aside.
- Next, prepare your fresh salsa by adding diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, chopped cilantro and salt to a small mixing bowl. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, stir to combine and set aside.
- Serve Tacos – Remove tacos from the oven and top each with fresh salsa and a drizzle of the chipotle adobo sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
How to Make the Best Shrimp for Baked Tacos
Now I know it may feel intimidating to prepare and cook shrimp at home, but I promise it’s easier than you think. There are a few key steps to take note of for the best texture and flavor with shrimp!
Pat the shrimp dry before cooking. This is such a simple, yet important, step for texture! Once you rinse the shrimp off, lay them out on paper or cloth towels and pat dry until there’s barely any moisture left. This allows them to soak up the spices while cooking and get a nice sear versus just releasing and cooking in their own moisture.
Use lots of seasoning and don’t be skimpy on the oil. Just like with most proteins, shrimp don’t have too much flavor on their own. To get tasty shrimp, you have to add flavor! And if you follow this recipe as is, I promise you’ll get a delicious flavor in every bite.
Lastly, don’t overcook the shrimp. So long as your pan is hot enough, it should only take 2-3 minutes per side for the shrimp to cook through and get a little sear on them. Important for texture and flavor!
Easy Cooking + Clean Up
Can someone please explain why we’re not all using Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil in the kitchen? It is truly a kitchen essential for me and makes every part of the cooking process 10 times easier and better. Between work, life and a 6-month-old baby, I don’t have time to spare on scraping and cleaning pans after every meal!
A few ways I use Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil to make cooking & clean up easier are by lining pans so I don’t have to wash them every time, covering bowls and pans of leftovers versus dirtying more dishes, and using the non-stick side (the dull side!) whenever cooking or baking anything in the oven. There are so many ways to make cooking and life easier so you can spend more time with your family!
More Shrimp Recipes
Looking for more recipe inspo using shrimp? Check out these recipes for more delicious dinner ideas:
Creamy Chipotle Shrimp with Grilled Polenta Squares – Sauteed shrimp are tossed in a creamy chipotle dressing and served over homemade grilled polenta squares. The kick of spice and subtle smoky flavor in the sauce pairs perfectly with the fresh shrimp and creamy polenta.
Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp Noodles Recipe – Pad thai noodles get coated in a flavorful and creamy red coconut curry sauce, and served with crunchy snap peas, fresh cilantro, and juicy sautéed shrimp. This will definitely be your new go-to dinner recipe that takes less than 30 minutes start to finish!
Ingredients
Peppers & Onions:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion sliced into thin strips
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
- ½ tsp salt
Shrimp:
- 1 lb fresh shrimp peeled & deveined with tails removed (I used size 22-25 ct)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided
Baked Tacos:
- 6 , 8 ” soft tortillas heated to make pliable
- 1 cup refried black beans ~half of a 16oz can refried black beans
- 1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
- Avocado Oil Spray optional
Chipotle Adobo Sauce:
- 1, 5.3 oz container 5% fage greek yogurt
- 3 chipotle adobo peppers + 1 tbsp sauce
- 2 whole garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice ~½ lime
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped fine (loosely packed leaves & tender stems)
Fresh Salsa:
- 2-3 medium tomatoes chopped small
- ½ small yellow onion chopped fine
- 1 jalapeno chopped fine (use only half for less spicy salsa. Include seeds.)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- Squeeze of fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking tray with Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil placing the non-stick side facing up (the dull side)
- Prepare your peppers & onions – preheat a medium cast iron skillet to medium and add olive oil. Once hot, add your sliced onions, red bell pepper, and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onions and bell pepper have softened and are slightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Cook shrimp – Pat peeled and deveined shrimp dry with a paper towel and add to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne and smoked paprika and stir until coated. Top with 2 tbsp of olive oil and stir again until evenly combined. To the same cast iron skillet you cooked your peppers and onions, add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and heat to medium. Once olive oil is shimmering and hot, add your shrimp in an even layer, making sure they are not touching. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until shrimp are browned and tightly curled. Flip over, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. Leave shrimp to cook without touching or moving as this will help them brown nicely! Cook in batches as needed. Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside.
- Assemble your tacos – Take the Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil lined baking tray and lay out 6 tortillas. Top half of each tortilla with about 2 tbsp refried black beans, sauteed peppers and onions, 4-5 shrimp, and 2-3 tbsp shredded cheese. Close the tortilla and flip over (this helps to ensure they stay closed).
- Bake Tacos – move tray to the oven and bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- While tacos are baking, prepare your Chipotle Adobo Sauce by combining Greek yogurt, adobo peppers, garlic cloves, mayo, lime juice, water and salt in a small food processor. Blend until smooth and stir in ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro. Set aside.
- Next, prepare your fresh salsa by adding diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, chopped cilantro and salt to a small mixing bowl. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, stir to combine and set aside.
- Serve Tacos – Remove tacos from the oven and top each with fresh salsa and a drizzle of the chipotle adobo sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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