Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos

These Easy Air-Fryer Shrimp Tacos are going to be your new favorite!

The shrimp have just the right crunch, wrapped in warm tortillas, and topped with cilantro lime slaw, mango salsa, or a delicious homemade mango sauce. 

You can even prep the shrimp ahead of time for a quick meal on busy weeknights. 

The shrimp cook in the air fryer in under 10 minutes, and the simple slaw only takes about 5 minutes to prepare. You can either make your own homemade tortillas or warm up some store-bought ones. I prefer to use flour tortillas for shrimp tacos, but corn tortillas will work, too! 

Serve with black beans or refried beans and Mexican rice for a simple dinner.

Tips for Various Styles of Air Fryers

Air Fryers are very popular, and there are many different brands and styles from which to choose.

The various styles and even brands are going to vary slightly in how they cook your food, so it is important when following an air fryer recipe that you check on your food as it is cooking. This way you can adjust your temperature and time accordingly.

While you may not have the same air fryer as I do, I have tested recipes in many different styles of air fryers and here are some tips so that you have perfect results in your air fryer!

Basket Style Air Fryers: This is the most common type of air fryer, but they do come in various sizes. The smaller your air fryer, the more concentrated the heat will be, so for this recipe you may need to decrease your cooking time to 6-7 minutes if you have a good quality small basket style air fryer.

Oven-Style Air Fryers: Most oven-style air fryers do not air fry as well because they tend to be larger and have more heat escaping, which slows the crisping action.

I recommend increasing the temperature when using an oven-style air fryer and for this recipe, that would mean air frying on 425℉/220℃ for about 8 minutes.

There is another class of air fryers which are combination cookers, meaning they air fry as well as have other functions. Ninja Kitchen has released many different combination cookers that include air fry and here are my recommendations for the various styles.

Ninja Combi Air Fryer: This is the appliance I used in this recipe and I have found that the air fry function works beautifully and the large cooking area allows me to cook all the shrimp at once. If you have the Ninja Combi, simply follow the recipe instructions for perfect results.

Ninja Foodi or Ninja Speedi: When using the crisper basket or tray in the NInja Foodi and the crisping tray in the LOW position in the Ninja Speedi, you shouldn't need to make any changes to the temperature for this recipe. The Speedi is a bit smaller than the Foodi, so you may only need to air fry the shrimp for 6-7 minutes instead of 8 minutes.

Ninja Indoor Grill and Woodfire Grills: In my experience, these appliances air fry the same as the Combi and Foodi so you shouldn't need to make any changes in the time or temperature for this recipe.

When using a combination cooker like the ones mentioned above and following an air fryer recipe, you will want to use the appliance's air crisp or air fry function.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Shrimp

The shrimp I recommend are large shrimp, with a count of 31-40 per pound. You can purchase shell-on or shelled and deveined shrimp, which is my preference because it makes this recipe super easy. Simply thaw the shrimp in the refrigerator, give them a rinse, and let them drain in a colander while you prepare the breading. 

While you can use any size shrimp you like, if they are too small they tend to overcook before the breading gets crunchy and, if they are too big, they aren't as easy to eat in the tortilla. 

If you are looking for a large butterfly-style fried shrimp that you can make in your air fryer, check out this recipe: 

If your shrimp have the shells on, you will want to remove the shells and the tail and devein the shrimp before breading them. 

You can substitute fish for the shrimp, and I recommend using a firm white fish like cod. You can cut it into pieces and then bread it, or use this recipe: Air Fryer Fried Fish to prepare the fried fish and then cut it into strips before using it in your tacos. 

Breading

There are two parts to the breading process for the shrimp; a wet batter and a dry coating. Both are important and should not be skipped for the best results. 

You can use grilled shrimp if you don't want a crispy coating on the shrimp.

Wet Batter

The wet batter is what you dip your thawed shrimp into before coating in the dry breading. I use flour, an egg, and simple seasonings: salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. You can also use chili powder or any other seasonings you like. If you want a spicy seasoning, increase the cayenne pepper. 

If you don't want to use flour, you can use cornstarch and it should work fine. 

Dry Coating

The dry coating is simply seasoned bread crumbs using plain bread crumbs and the same seasonings in the wet batter. I have tried this recipe using panko and a combination of panko and bread crumbs and I recommend sticking with just bread crumbs for this recipe. It will give you the closest results to deep-fried shrimp. 

Tortillas and Toppings

Choosing the type and size of tortilla you want to use as well as the toppings are where you can customize your shrimp taco in so many different ways. I prefer flour tortillas for shrimp tacos, but you can always use corn instead. A 6" tortilla is a great size for shrimp tacos, but you can use larger ones if desired. 

 As far as toppings go, I keep things simple with cilantro lime slaw and mango sauce but feel free to add whatever toppings you like. 

Here are some great options to choose from:

• red onion
• sour cream or Greek yogurt
• cotija cheese
• avocado slices or a creamy avocado spread
• mango corn salsa or your favorite salsa
• sweet chili sauce
• thinly sliced jalapeno peppers
• extra lime juice and fresh cilantro

How to Make Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos

Prep for Recipe

Choose your Toppings

Before you get started air frying the shrimp, you may need to prepare some of the toppings, like the mango sauce and cilantro lime slaw.

For example, if you want to use the Mango Sauce that I recommend for these shrimp tacos, I would make it ahead of time.

Here is the recipe: Mango Sauce

You may also choose to use a salsa instead of a sauce, and I highly recommend this one: Mango Corn Salsa

The Cilantro Lime Slaw can be made up to two hours in advance, and the directions are in the next section.

Don't forget the homemade tortillas! There is nothing like wrapping the shrimp and slaw in a warm soft flour tortilla and nothing beats homemade!

Homemade Tortilla Recipe

You can make the homemade tortillas up to 2 days in advance, but I recommend making them fresh before you start to bread and air fry the shrimp if time permits.

Preparing the Shrimp

Unless you are lucky enough to live close to where shrimp are harvested, you most likely will be purchasing frozen shrimp.

Even the shrimp at most seafood counters in local grocery stores have been previously frozen, so I recommend purchasing fully frozen wild caught large shrimp and thaw them yourself.

There are two ways to thaw the shrimp.

1. Place the frozen shrimp in a covered container in the refrigerator and let them thaw overnight.
2. Place the frozen shrimp in a colander or a container with drain holes and run cold water over them for 10-15 minutes or until they are completely thawed. It is important to use cold water and break up the shrimp as they thaw.

Once the shrimp are thawed and rinsed, I set them in a strainer over a container and put them in the fridge until I am ready to bread them.

You can leave the shrimp in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but I would loosely cover them with plastic wrap.

Bread the Shrimp

In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, egg, and seasonings. Stir with a fork to combine and check the consistency.

You want the wet batter to be the consistency of a thin pancake batter. If it is too thick, add 1 teaspoon of cold water at a time (mixing before adding more water) until you reach the desired consistency.

In a shallow container or breading tray, combine the seasoning blend and flour. Mix well.

Place a shrimp into the wet batter and coat evenly. Remove with a fork and allow the excess to drip off.

Place the coated shrimp into the breading mixture and coat all over, making sure to get into the curve of the shrimp.

Place the breaded shrimp on a wire rack, which helps to set the breading on the shrimp. Repeat for all of the shrimp.

Air Fry the Shrimp

No matter what type or brand of air fryer you are using, you will want to preheat it for this recipe.

I recommend preheating with the air fryer basket or crisping tray inside the appliance so the cooking surface heats up. This will help to set the coating on the shrimp quicker so you don't have issues with the coating falling off when you flip them.

To preheat, select the air fry (air crisp on some models) function and set the temperature to 400℉/200℃ and the time for 20 minutes. You only need to preheat for 10 minutes before adding the shrimp.

While the air fryer is preheating, spritz the shrimp on both sides with a neutral oil. I recommend avocado oil or any other neutral oil you like.

Place the shrimp in a single layer on the crisping tray or in the air fryer basket.

Air fry the shrimp at 400℉/200℃ for about 4 minutes and then flip the shrimp over. Spritz any dry areas with oil and air fry an additional 4 minutes or until the shrimp are golden brown.

Remove them from the air fryer and place them on a cooling rack. This will prevent them from steaming and becoming soggy.

Assemble the Shrimp Tacos

Place 3-4 shrimp into a warm flour tortilla and top with cilantro lime slaw, mango sauce, and whatever other toppings you desire.

Serve and Enjoy!

The mango margarita was made with the same mango sauce used for these air fryer shrimp tacos!

How to Make Cilantro Lime Slaw 

You can either shred your own cabbage and carrots for the base of the slaw or pick up a bag of coleslaw mix to make things a bit quicker. Even though there is more green cabbage than purple cabbage in the bags of mix, that will not make any difference in the outcome of your slaw. 

What you will need for the slaw base

• 2-2½ cups of coleslaw mix or 1 cup of shredded green cabbage, 1 cup of shredded purple/red cabbage, and ½ cup of shredded carrot
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Zest from 1 lime

Dressing Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon lime juice
• 3 tablespoon Mexican Crema Sour Cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and toss with the coleslaw mix. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. You do not want to mix the dressing into the slaw mix more than 2 hours ahead of time or it becomes too runny. 

If you want the full slaw recipe with video and step-by-step instructions, click here: Cilantro Lime Slaw

Storage & Reheating Instructions

How to Store Leftover Shrimp Tacos

I only recommend assembling the number of tacos you plan on eating because storing them already assembled is not going to work well. The tortilla and shrimp will get soggy from the other ingredients.

Refrigeration

You can store any leftover shrimp in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

I only recommend refrigerating the shrimp after they have been air fried. If you want to prep the shrimp ahead of time, I recommend breading them and then freezing them.

You can air fry from frozen and in my experience they only take 8-10 minutes from frozen to air fry.

Freezer

Raw and Breaded Shrimp: You can easily prep the shrimp ahead of time and then air fry from frozen. Despite some myths that circulate around the internet, it is perfectly safe to thaw seafood, bread it, and then freeze it AS LONG AS you have thawed it correctly (thawing the refrigerator is best practice).

Once all the shrimp has been breaded, Spritz them with oil on both sides (this helps prevent ice crystals) and place them on a parchment lined tray and freeze overnight. Transfer the frozen shrimp to a freezer bag or other air tight container and keep them in the freezer until you want to air fry them. You don't want to thaw them before air frying, so see directions below for how to cook them from frozen.

Air Fried Shrimp: Before freezing, make sure your fried shrimp are cold so they don't produce steam which can lead to ice crystals.

Place the cooked shrimp on a parchment lined tray and freeze for at least 8 hours. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or other freezer container and you can store them in the freezer for up to a year.

How to Reheat Leftover Shrimp or Air Fry from Frozen

Refrigerated (already air fried) Shrimp

Preheat the air fryer on the hottest temperature setting for 10 minutes. Place the refrigerated cooked shrimp in the air fryer basket or on the tray and air fry for about 5 minutes or until the coating has crisped up and the shrimp is warmed through.

Frozen Breaded and Cooked Shrimp

Place the frozen shrimp into the preheated air fryer (400℉/200℃) in a single layer. If you haven't already, spritz with oil on both sides and air fry for 8-10 minutes, flipping after 6 minutes.

I have found that there isn't much difference in cooking these shrimp from frozen or raw.

Frozen Breaded and Uncooked Shrimp

Follow the same instructions as in the recipe, but you may need to increase the time from 8 to 10 minutes.

What to serve with Fish or Shrimp Tacos

There are plenty of side dishes that go really well with shrimp tacos and here are some of my favorites!