These Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos are topped with a strawberry, avocado, and mango salsa and just became your new favorite taco of summer. They're easy to make and a fun way to eat the rainbow!

Overhead view of two chili lime shrimp tacos with a strawberry, mango, avocado salsa on a marble surface with recipe title at top.

(This recipe was originally published in May 2011, but has been updated with new photos in 2019).

There are some things in life I'm 99.9% sure I'll never enjoy (including camping, monkeys, raspberry vodka, buttered popcorn jellybeans, and sugar in my coffee).

But, of course, part of the beauty of life is that we're all free to change our minds. With no warning, at a moment's notice. And thank goodness for that because it we weren't, I wouldn't be currently experiencing the summer of shrimp. As I've mentioned several times before, I grew up with a complete hatred of fish. And it wasn't until high school that I would even try it. Now? I can't imagine life without all kinds of seafood.... and especially shrimp.

This dinner was born out of my summer obsession for shrimp and mango. OK fine, and avocado, tacos, and chili powder. It's funny because at one point, I also disliked fruit in my savory meals. But today I found myself craving fruit on tacos. My 8-year-old self would be so offended right now. But my 30-something-year-old self is just plain in culinary heaven.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

If you already love shrimp tacos, this recipe is going to take your love to a whole new level. And if you've never had them before, this is going to make you fall in love with them.

These chili lime shrimp tacos are packed with so much flavor! They have a slight kick to them, but it's more of a flavorful kick than a spicy one. Plus, the strawberry, avocado, and mango salsa adds a nice, cool contrasting flavor.

This meal is very easy to make and is the perfect summer dinner... But it can really be enjoyed year round!

Plus, aren't these shrimp tacos so pretty??

Ingredients

This is a pretty simple recipe and doesn't require too many ingredients. In terms of the fruit salsa, you're totally welcome to mix it up and add whatever you have on hand!

Here's what you need for the tacos (see recipe card below for amounts and full instructions):

Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
Chili powder
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Olive oil
Feta cheese, crumbled
Flour tortillas
Greek yogurt, for topping (if desired)

And here's what you need for the accompanying fruit salsa:

Chopped mango
Chopped strawberries
Avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
Chopped red onion
Black beans, drained and rinsed

How to Make Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos

The best part of this shrimp taco recipe? It's so insanely easy! Even though you marinate the shrimp, it's only for 20 minutes, so you can do that while you're chopping the fruit for the salsa.

For the marinade, put the shrimp in a Ziplock bag with chili powder, lime juice, and olive oil. Make sure the shrimp is fully coated and let marinate for 20 minutes.

Shrimp in large Ziplock bag with marinade.

I usually like to grill my shrimp with the peel and tail still on, but this time I removed them so I could pop the hot shrimp on the tacos without having to worry about removing the tail. Tails are nice for aesthetic reasons, but not so much for eating!

Once the shrimp is done marinating, heat a grill pan (or other skillet if you don't have one) to medium heat and grill shrimp for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until pink.

You'll probably have to do this in two batches, so just remove the first batch to a bowl to keep warm while you grill the second batch. Your kitchen will immediately start smelling like a resort in the Caribbean. In a good way.

If you prefer to cook shrimp on an outdoor grill, you can do that, too. I recommend skewering them for easier grilling.

Warm tortillas in oven (or microwave). And top the tortillas with fruit salsa, five shrimp, and some feta cheese.

You can add some Greek yogurt on top if you want for a little extra creaminess and some tang. Add an extra squeeze of lime juice, too.

Overhead view of open-faced multiple chili lime shrimp tacos on a marble surface with bowl of fruit salsa and lime wedges in background.

There's something so awesome about "eating the rainbow." Not only is it healthy, but it's so fun, too! And usually quite delicious.

How to Make Fruit Salsa

I recommend making the salsa while the shrimp are marinating. It's easy to make and is mainly just a lot of chopping.

Chop the mango, strawberries, avocado, and red onion and put in a medium bowl.

Overhead view of bowl of fruit salsa with chopped mango, strawberry, avocado, and red onion.

Drain and rinse the black beans, add them in, and mix everything together.

Overhead view of bowl of fruit salsa with chopped mango, strawberry, avocado, red onion, and black beans.

This recipe should make about 8 tacos and I'm saying it's a recipe for 4 with a serving of 2 tacos each. Though I'll be honest, I could probably eat way more than 2 tacos.

I want to eat a million pounds of this chili lime shrimp (DEFINITELY not the "appropriate" serving size) and I can think of so many dishes it would be fabulous in.

What to Serve with

While tacos can often be a meal all on their own (especially since these ones have so many goodies in them!), here are a few sides that would go great with these chili lime tacos:

Mexican corn salad
Cilantro lime rice
Spanish rice
Green salad
Guacamole
Queso
Refried beans
Margaritas

Close-up head-on view of two chili lime shrimp tacos with strawberry, mango, and avocado salsa and feta on top.

The weather here in the Boston-area has been so perfectly summery lately and this Caribbean-style meal was perfect for eating outside on the deck. With a margarita.

Are you a fan of sweet and savory dishes? There's something about shrimp and tropical-y fruits that just work so well together!

More Taco Recipes

Though these chili lime shrimp tacos are high up on my list of favorite tacos, I have SO many other tacos recipes I love. Here are some of the absolute best:

Overhead view of two chili lime shrimp tacos with a strawberry, mango, avocado salsa and feta on a marble surface.

These chili lime shrimp tacos will definitely be made again in my house. And I'll continue to thank my lucky stars that I was allowed to change my mind in regard to shrimp.

Who knows... Maybe some day you'll find me wearing Birkenstocks while eating Buttered Popcorn jelly beans and drinking raspberry vodka. Doubtful.

But at least I'll always be keeping my options open. Never say never.

What foods have you changed your mind about liking?

📖 Recipe