Shrimp Nachos

These Shrimp Nachos bring a fresh twist to a classic snack, combining perfectly seasoned shrimp with crispy tortilla chips, cheese, and lots of colorful veggies for a snack or meal that's easy to prepare and fun to share. The fully loaded nachos can be customized to your own tastes and the ingredient options are endless!

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🍤 How to cook shrimp
• 👩‍🍳 How to make shrimp nachos
• ⏲️ How to store
• 🎉 Variations on recipe
• 🦐 More shrimp recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

If there's a food that I could eat at any time during any day of the week, it has to be nachos. I mean, I even have a recipe for breakfast nachos because sometimes you just crave chips and cheese in the morning.

Does it really get any better than crunchy tortilla chips and melted cheese and lots of toppings? Whether it's just chips and cheese or you add on all the toppings you can dream of, there's something so satisfying about a plate or entire sheet pan of nachos.

These shrimp nachos just happen to be fully loaded. And they're so delicious, I'd even consider eating them for breakfast.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

If you're a nacho lover, you're going to be obsessed with this creative version. We're used to seeing traditional nachos with beef, chicken, and chili, but how often do you see shrimp nachos on a menu? Not often enough!

This recipe is extremely easy to follow, but also offers room for all sorts of creativity, ultimately allowing you to make the seafood nachos of your own personal dreams.

They're great for serving as a game day appetizer or party food, but also make a fantastic mid-day snack or entire meal!

🗒 Ingredients

I will share everything I use to make these shrimp nachos, but please know that the world is your oyster and you can top these nachos with absolutely anything you want!

I'll share some more ideas for you in the "variations on recipe" section below. In the meantime, here's everything I used (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Shrimp: peeled and deveined with tails on or off. I like to leave a few shrimp with the tails on to top off the nachos with. You can use any size you want since you'll be chopping most of them up. I used medium here. You can use fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp.
• Olive oil
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Cumin
• Salt & pepper
• Tortilla chips: I like the flat chips, but you can also make these with the tortilla chip scoops if you want.
• Shredded cheddar cheese: or the cheese of your choice, like monterey jack cheese or mozzarella cheese
• Chopped red pepper
• Chopped red onions
• Chopped tomatoes
• Corn: I use frozen corn
• Black beans
• Sliced jalapeño pepper
• Chopped avocado: for topping
• Chopped cilantro: for topping
• Sour cream: for topping

If my ingredient list looks long, that's because these shrimp nachos are fully loaded! You can use as many or as few ingredients as you want.

I like to make my nachos on a quarter baking sheet, but, of course, you can do them on individual plates if you prefer. You can even make these in a cast iron skillet if you want.

🍤 How to cook shrimp

You'll want to season and cook your shrimp before adding to the nachos. I do recommend cooking the shrimp first. If you add raw shrimp right to your nachos and bake them, the shrimp will likely release juices and make your chips wet and soggy.

Put the shrimp in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper.

Of course, you can use the seasoning blend of your choice, but I love this combination! If you want a blend, try cajun seasoning or a homemade taco seasoning.

Now, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and when hot, add shrimp.

Cook until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes per side.

Remove from pan to cutting board and when slightly cooled, chop into pieces.

I like to leave a few with tails on to top the nachos with.

👩‍🍳 How to make shrimp nachos

Now you're ready to assemble your sheet pan nachos. There's no real science to it... just layer on those ingredients!

OK, so maybe I do have a bit of a technique...

I like to layer half the chips on the bottom of a baking pan and then sprinkle on half the cheese, red pepper, red onion, tomatoes, corn, and black beans.

Then I top with half the chopped shrimp.

And add another layer of chips over those.

And top with remaining cheese, red pepper, red onion, tomatoes, corn, black beans, and chopped shrimp, along with jalapeños.

Add on shrimp with tails if using.

Yup, I think that's everything!

Bake the nachos at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and getting bubbly.

Then you can add on any additional toppings that you want. I like to add chopped avocado and cilantro and some dollops of sour cream. Salsa is delicious, too. I add on a few lime wedges, too.

Honestly, I feel like these shrimp nachos are a literal work of art.

I'd hang a print of these on my wall. And would wake up drooling every morning. They're a feast for both the mouth and the eyes.

But really, the nachos offer a masterful blend of flavors and textures, from the succulent, perfectly seasoned shrimp to the crispy chips, all married together with the creamy melty cheese and the vibrant veggies.

I'm categorizing these as a snack, but am also totally guilty of eating them as my lunch and as my dinner. I haven't tried them for breakfast yet. Yet.

⏲️ How to store

Storing nachos for later is always pretty difficult, but if you have leftovers of these shrimp nachos, you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two. If you place a paper towel at the bottom of the container, it can help absorb excess moisture to keep the chips crispy.

Though you should note that leftover nachos will never be as crispy as freshly made and will likely be a bit soggy no matter what you do.

Re-heat the nachos in the oven or the toaster oven as the microwave will make them soggy.

If you know you'll have leftovers, I recommend not putting sour cream or salsa on the finished dish as you won't want to re-heat these and they'll only make the nachos soggy.

🎉 Variations on recipe

I put A LOT of toppings on these shrimp nachos and they're pretty much my dream come true. That said, you can do whatever you want with these!

Here are some ideas for variations and additional nacho toppings:

• If shrimp isn't your thing, replace it with salmon, chicken breast, ground beef, ground turkey, pulled chicken, pulled pork, or chili. You can also try other types of seafood, like lobster, salmon, or crab. I also have a recipe for clam nachos if you want to give those a try.

• Make a homemade sauce like a chipotle aioli, lime crema, or homemade salsa or pico de gallo.

• Instead of cheddar cheese, use cotija or queso blanco.

• Instead of chopped avocado, make homemade guacamole.

• Drizzle a cheese sauce or queso over the nachos.

• Add pickled onions or green onions.

• Add roasted sweet potatoes or squash.

• If you want spicy shrimp nachos, use more jalapeño peppers or other hot peppers, like green chilies. Also try using pepper jack cheese.

One of my favorite things about nachos is that they pretty much all have chips and cheese in common, but otherwise, there are so many ingredients you can use for them!

🦐 More shrimp recipes

If you love these shrimp nachos as much as I do, you might want to try some of my other delicious shrimp recipes. Here are some favorites:

I might actually love shrimp nachos more than shrimp tacos!

For more fun nacho recipes, try these Greek Nachos with Ground Lamb or these Chili Nachos.

These shrimp nachos have become a part of my regular meal rotation. There's something so fun and different about serving a platter of fully loaded nachos for an easy dinner; it's especially perfect for Friday night movie nights.

What toppings would you add to your shrimp nachos?

📖 Recipe