The BEST Shrimp Tacos with Mango Cabbage Slaw- bursting with delicious Caribbean flavors! Healthy, easy and fast- and can be made in 30 mins on the grill or stove-top!
Bursting with tropical island flavors, these Shrimp Tacos are quick and easy to make, full of delicious flavor and surprisingly healthy! Grilled tortillas hold the most flavorful Shrimp, seasoned with Caribbean Spices, over a warm bed of Cuban-Style black beans, then it’s all topped with a delicious cool and crunchy Caribbean Cabbage Mango Slaw .
Together this summery trio- of grilled flavorful shrimp, cool crunchy slaw and earthy spicy black beans makes for the perfect combination of flavor and texture – and takes me far away to hammocks and palm trees and sandy white beaches.
The Mango Cabbage Slaw is really refreshing and tasty and often I’ll eat a bowlful of just this, with just a side of black beans or rice. Sometimes I’ll use it to top off a slider or crispy fish sandwich, or serve it as a side for a BBQ. Fresh mango gives this a little tropical sweetness, while jalapeno gives a little heat. The slaw is dressed with the juice of oranges and limes and it makes you feel as if you are on a sunny Caribbean Island, far far away.
Shrimp is peeled and cleaned and deveined. Pat it dry with paper towels. The add just enough oil to lightly coat…1 to 2 teaspoons. This will help the flavorful Caribbean Spice blend to adhere.
In a little bowl, mix the spices, salt and sugar together…then toss with the shrimp. Either have the grill fired up, or heat up a cast iron skillet. Normally we grill these because I prefer the smokey char, but today, a summer storm blew through, and so they were cooked in a skillet.
After they are cooked, give a little squeeze of lime.
For quick black beans, use canned. Trader Joes offers “Cuban Style” black beans that work especially well with this. Or simply season plain black beans with cumin, chipotle pepper, salt and cilantro.
Of course, for a special meal, slow cooked black beans seasoned with dried chilies, onion, garlic and spices would be especially good too. But today- we are all about fast.
So here is the whole spread: Caribbean shrimp, cuban style black beans, Cabbage Mango Slaw and tortillas…all of which can be put together in 30 mins flat!
Remember to toast the tortillas. Nothing can ruin even the most flavorful tacos more easily than cold, or untoasted tortillas. So either place them in a toaster oven or regular oven, right on the rack, or on the grill, or place right over a gas burner, using tongs to flip and rotate.
As for tortillas, my personal favorite are a corn and flour blend. They seem to hold up the best, and have great texture. I know some of you are gluten-free, in that case, go with corn.
When assembling the tacos, place a layer of beans on the warm tortillas, then slaw, then shrimp. Serve with limes and hot sauce.
That’s all you need for a healthy flavorful dinner!
Have a great weekend!!
The BEST Shrimp Tacos!
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main, fish, shellfish, seafood
- Method: grilled, pan-seared
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Description
Flavorful Caribbean Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Mango Slaw and Cuban Style Blackbeans…healthy and flavorful!
Ingredients
- 1 lb large raw shrimp- thawed, peeled and deveined
- 1–2 tsp oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp yellow curry powder
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp cayenne or chipotle powder
Mango Cabbage Slaw– 2 Cups
Cuban Style Black Beans (1 can) – or sub 1 can ( egular) black beans seasoned with 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon chili powder and salt & pepper to taste.
6-8 toasted corn & flour tortillas ( 6-inches)
Chipotle Mayo ( optional, but tasty!)
Instructions
- Pat dry shrimp well. Drizzle with just enough oil to lightly coat- 1 to 2 teaspoons.
- Mix all spices, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Toss spices with shrimp, mixing well. Set aside and make Mango Cabbage Slaw.
- Grill the shrimp over medium-high heat…or pan-sear on med-high in a well oiled cast-iron skillet, until just cooked. Squeeze with 1/2 of a lime.
- Serve with grilled or toasted tortillas ( this is important, see above) and Cuban Style Black beans ( black beans seasoned with cumin, coriander, chili powder (or chipotle), salt and pepper )- or purchase “cuban style” canned black beans from Trader Joes ( see post).
- Optional: Drizzle with Chipolte Mayo for even extra flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tacos
- Calories: 445
oh my what a lovely blend of fresh flavors! I made it for friends on a hot evening. We grilled the shrimp and I had made the beans and salad ahead. So delicious on the patio watching the fireflies come out. We finished it with a fresh pineapple sorbet! Perfect summer meal. thank you! This is going in the “must make again” file.
Thanks so much Mert- Glad you liked it!!!
I made this today while in quarantine/isolation! It’s delicious. Never would’ve thought to put cinnamon on shrimp but there you have it. Thanks!
So Glad you liked it!
Made this and brought it over to my family who lives local. Used your Crunchy Asian Slaw instead, since mangos aren’t in season right now. Both my sister and brother-in-law sent me thank you texts 🙂
Awesome Loretta, Im glad they liked it!
Hi Sylvia,
I need to make a big salad for a Hawaiian themed potluck so I am going to make the shrimp and pineapple slaw.
I’m thinking about adding avocados as well as some other veggies!
Any other suggestions from you on other veggies to add are appreciated!
Another yummy recipe!
Thanks so Sylvia !
Pick things that will hold up in the salad- ie, stay crunchy. Avocado may get mushy- so use it right be fore serving, not mixed in.
So we thought this recipe was pretty good! WE found the spices for the shrimp a little too hot as the shrimp flavor was a bit hidden. I will use less cayenne next time. And I did add some garlic powder to the mix.
The black beans I made my own with suggested spices and additional garlic. An improvement next time will be to purée the beans with spices in ninja and can spread on tortilla therefore making more room for shrimp and slaw, yet still have the bean flavor!!
The slaw was lovely. I omitted the onions and oil (in my opinion the oil is not needed and just adds needless calories)and used pineapple since that is what I had on hand. I also added somebody sugar as my cabbage was a little too bitter. Think this is a BRILLIANT slaw without calories of a mayo based slaw. A excellent compliment to all the other flavors!
We will make these again. Thanks for the recipe.
Exceptional flavor and texture!
Everyone ate themselves to misery.
Awesome Kim, thanks for sharing!!!
Exceptional flavor!!!
Loved by all at my table.
Nice work i like this caribbean shrimp tacos recipe
Keep the more coming
Thanks
Those Tacos are mouthwatering for sure.
Wow, looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing ! I will this recipe..
It’s great.
Thank you so much!
Elegant, this is some kind of magic! I can not do that!
Great looking and healthy food, thanks for the ideas and for posting this to us !
mmmm, grilled fruit makes everything even better
oooh this sounds incredible! i will have to try it soon! thanks for sharing! 🙂
Yes, give it a go and tell us what you think!
I just tried this yummy recipe from your blog and it has come out really yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Oh Im so glad you liked it Daniela! One of my favorites too!
Great recipe look nice and yummy , I want to taste it too much I’ll try this follow as your I’m sure that I’ll return to get more useful information form this site ,
really appreciate thanks for sharing this post !!!!!!!
Such a wonderful recipe! At the first time I saw the meal’s image, I cannot wait until I can taste it! Shrimp is always an amazing ingredient, isn’t it? This meal is also very healthy, with a lot of beans and vegetables. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe!
Thanks Catherine…appreciate it!
Great informations. I needed to get something for my wife, I guess I found it!
It looks so delicious, a clumsy man seems able to do it. Thanks for your post so much!
Thanks, yes, you can do it! Easy recipe!!
Super caribbean recipe, I like to add the lemon shrimp.
It was tasty with a little bit of a kick but it was the perfect amount of heat. My husband loved them and gone real quick, lol. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Oh good!! thanks so much, makes me happy your hubby liked them too.
the spices make the dish simply awesome , the smell is so good itself, it will make you hungry in no time
The cabbage mango slaw sounds delicious!! I’m sure it goes beautifully with the tacos.
Thanks mary Frances! I love the combination…healthy and tasty!
It is so easy to do and it looks so delicious. I love it. The ingredients make this dish balance between protein and vegetable 🙂
Thanks jennifer, yes a healthy balanced one. 😉
Sylvia these tacos look absolutely beautiful! What stunning photos! Tacos are a favorite at our house! I will definitely be serving these this summer!
Thanks so much Mary Ann…have a great weekend!
Looks right up my alley! I am also going to try it with the black beans pureed and used as a spread. thanks!