Irresistible Crispy Chicken Shrimp Tacos Recipe

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Cooking With Anadi

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Crispy Chicken & Shrimp Tacos Recipe

Wondering what to make for dinner and you’re craving something easy but oh so tasty? If you’re like me, you love some awesome crispy chicken. Hand me a crispy chicken burger and I just can’t say no! Psst - if you’re also looking to satisfy that crispy chicken burger craving, then be sure to check out my Crispy Panko Chicken Burger recipe! You can either go on the lighter side by baking the chicken, or go traditional by shallow frying. The choice is yours!

These tacos came to be because of just that - I was craving some crispy chicken! I had tortillas, guacamole, and shrimp to use up! At the time, I was in the process of creating many of the recipes you see here to get this website ready for launching! I had the leftovers and wasn’t quite sure what to do. Well, I just took a gamble and just went for making a chicken and shrimp taco. I have to admit that I’ve also been wanting to try this combo for quite some time!

At restaurants, I’ve had crispy fish tacos and they were absolutely scrumptious! I’ve experimented just once or twice with shrimp tacos in the past, but I really wanted to have the deliciousness of chicken and shrimp together!

As a result, I took pictures and wrote down everything I did, and I have to say that in this scenario, the first time was a charm! Oh gosh, I was seriously in love with the result! The chicken and shrimp were perfectly crispy, so flavorful, and just amazing! Tossing the chicken and shrimp in some breading mixture with Blackening spice really does the trick! I’m using my Easy & Bold Homemade Blackening Spice recipe for these tacos, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand! If you don’t have anything, then definitely prepare your own spice mixture! I promise you that it will only take an extra 5 minutes, and you’ll have delicious Blackening spice for many recipes to come!

I’m also serving these tacos with my Incredible Easy Homemade Guacamole recipe and some chopped tomatoes. Of course, I love a cheesy taco, so don’t forget a small layer of cheddar cheese to be added!

I love serving my tacos in mini tortillas because I find it just makes eating the tacos more fun, and you can really stuff them up to make them full and messy! Let’s all agree that the messier the food is, the better right!

From start to finish, this chicken shrimp taco recipe should only take about 30 minutes to prepare! Shrimp is a winner here because of how fast it cooks! But don’t worry about the chicken - it’ll be pounded very thin so that won’t take much extra time to cook!

So what are you waiting for? For any occasion, you can have these awesome crispy and tender tacos right on your table for a fantastic and satisfying dinner!

Tools Needed

• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Strainer
• Nonstick pan
• Tongs
• Cutting board
• Chefs knife

Ingredients for Easy Crispy Chicken & Shrimp Tacos

While the ingredient list may seem a bit long for these tacos, trust me, this recipe is still extremely easy to get together!

For the Guacamole

• Fresh, ripe avocado
• Onion
• Tomato
• Green chilies
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lime juice

For more details on preparing the guacamole, be sure to check out my Incredible Easy Homemade Guacamole recipe!

For the Crispy Chicken and Shrimp

• Chicken breast
• Shrimp
• Flour
• Semolina
• Baking powder
• Blackening spice
• Salt
• Olive oil: For the marinade
• Vegetable oil: For deep frying.

For the Chicken Shrimp Tacos

• Mini tortillas
• Tomatoes
• Cheese
• Sour cream
• Lettuce
• Cilantro

Tips for Getting the Chicken & Shrimp Perfectly Crispy

• Make sure to season the breading mixture before adding the proteins. This will make sure the chicken and shrimp are well seasoned once fried.
• The oil should be hot before adding the breaded proteins. If the oil is not hot enough, the breading will absorb the oil and become soggy rather than crispy. If unsure, test the temperature by frying a piece or two.
• You may use a sauce pan if frying a small batch or a stainless steel pan if frying a larger batch. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan which will cause the temperature of the oil to go down.
• Make sure to sieve any excess flour/semolina before adding the proteins to the oil. Any excess flour/semolina will burn and settle in the oil and taint the flavor in the oil.
• Once fried, make sure to pat out any excess oil and season right away. The heat will help the seasonings to stick to the breading

How to Make Crispy Chicken & Shrimp Tacos

Add oil and blackening spice to a bowl and whisk together to make the marinade. Add the prepared chicken and shrimp and toss well to combine.

If using onions, add onions to the same bowl as chicken and shrimp and mix well to combine.

Prepare the Guacamole, Lettuce and Tomatoes for the topping prior to frying the proteins. For more details, be sure to check out the complete recipe for Incredible Easy Homemade Guacamole!

Heat oil on medium heat for frying and in the meanwhile, take a small batch of the breaded chicken, shrimp and onions and add to a sieve. Shake well to remove any excess breading.

Add to the oil and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the proteins are a light golden brown. While the proteins are frying, you can heat up the tortillas.

Heat another pan on medium heat and place tortillas on the pan. Add a strip of cheddar cheese down the center, along with a tablespoon of sour cream on each tortilla. Warm until lightly crispy and then set aside on a plate or taco stand.

Once the proteins have cooked, transfer to a bowl and lightly pat with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

How to Assemble the Tacos

Top each tortilla with lettuce and then evenly distribute the proteins, making sure each taco has some chicken, shrimp and onion.

Then, add a scoop of guacamole over the proteins, followed by the tomatoes and sprig of cilantro.

Serve with a fresh wedge of lime and your favorite hot sauce! Enjoy.

Additional Recipe Notes

• The semolina helps add some texture to the breading and makes it extra crispy and flavorful.
• You may use a taco stand to make the assembling the tacos much easier, especially if you are making a large batch.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the fried proteins from the oil to help filter out any excess oil

Serving Suggestions

As you can see, I’ve loaded my tacos with lettuce, cheddar cheese, guacamole, and chopped tomatoes. You can definitely add more toppings if you like! Here are some recommendations:

• Salsa: Either Salsa Roja or Salsa Verde.
• Pico de Gallo
• White rice with a touch of lemon juice! You could also serve with Chipotle Cilantro-Lime Rice or Mexican Red Rice.

If you really wanted to, you could also serve with some Oven Baked Homemade Crispy French Fries or for a lighter option, a simple Arugula Goat Cheese Salad.

The Ingredients Behind These Tacos, and Whether They Are Gluten-Free

Most of what makes this Mexican food favorite work sits in two bowls. The breading is a dry mix of one and a half cups of all purpose flour, three quarters of a cup of semolina and a teaspoon of baking powder, which is what gives the crust its lift and its grit. The marinade is simpler still: three tablespoons of olive oil whisked with two tablespoons of Blackening Spice in a medium bowl, then the diced chicken breast and the eight shrimp tossed through it. The olive oil is doing more than carrying the spices, it is what makes the dry breading cling to the proteins without an egg wash anywhere in sight.

Those two tablespoons of Blackening Spice are where nearly all the flavor lives, and if you use my homemade blackening spice you already know exactly what is in there: cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, thyme, oregano, white and black pepper, and salt. That blend is the reason the ingredient list looks long but the seasoning step is one line. If you want a warmer, earthier note, half a teaspoon of ground cumin stirred into the marinade is the addition I would make, though it is not in the spice blend or the recipe as written.

One honest answer before you shop: these tacos are not gluten-free. Both the all purpose flour and the semolina are wheat, and semolina in particular is doing a job that is hard to replace, since it is the coarse grain that keeps the crust crunchy rather than merely crisp. A cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend plus fine cornmeal in place of the semolina will get you close, and swapping to a corn tortilla finishes the job, but treat that as a different recipe rather than a substitution.

Flour Tortillas or Corn Tortilla, Plus Cotija Cheese, Feta and Shredded Cabbage

The recipe calls for six mini tortillas and leaves the type to you. I use mini flour tortillas because they fold without cracking and take the pan-warming step well, which matters here since each one gets a strip of cheddar and a tablespoon of sour cream melted into it before anything else goes on. A corn tortilla is the more traditional choice and brings a toastier flavor, but warm it properly or it will split under the weight of the proteins.

The toppings are equally open. My version is shredded lettuce, guacamole, diced tomatoes and cilantro, and that is what the ingredient list reflects. Shredded cabbage in place of the lettuce is the swap I would suggest first, because it stays crisp under hot fried chicken where lettuce wilts within a minute. On the cheese, cotija is the classic Mexican taco cheese, salty and crumbly rather than melting, and feta is the supermarket substitute that gets you most of the way there; either one scattered over the top instead of the cheddar strip changes the character of the taco entirely. A sliced jalapeno works wherever you would otherwise use the green chilies from the guacamole.

Frying: Medium Heat, Juicy Shrimp, and Getting the Internal Temperature Right

This recipe says medium heat, not medium-high heat, and the difference matters more than it sounds. Semolina browns fast. Push the oil hotter and the crust reaches a deep golden color while the diced chicken is still raw in the middle, which is the single most common way this dish goes wrong. Half to one inch of oil, medium heat, three to five minutes, and the proteins go in as a small batch in a single layer with room between them, because a crowded pan drops the oil temperature and the breading turns greasy instead of crisp.

Chicken and shrimp do not finish at the same speed, which is the reason both are diced small here. Chicken is done at an internal temperature of 165F and there is no arguing with that number. Shrimp needs far less; juicy shrimp are the ones you pull the moment they turn opaque and curl into a loose C, and they turn rubbery within about thirty seconds of that point. If you are worried, fry the shrimp separately and give the chicken the extra minute. Season the moment everything comes out of the oil and lands on the paper towel, while the surface is still hot enough for salt to stick, then taste one before you build a single taco.