These chicken and shrimp tacos are made with a homemade Cajun spice and tucked into soft corn taco shells on top of an avocado and cabbage slaw and topped with mango and roasted corn salsa.
These tacos are a great mid-week dinner that everyone will love. Mexican food is known for its bold and often smoky flavors and spiciness. You can also try this one-pot Mexican chicken which is always a winner or these prawn tacos. Very similar to these, but without the chicken.
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The key to seasoning shrimp
The best way to season the shrimp and chicken is to whisk the spices in a bowl and use tongs to toss the shrimp and chicken in the spices until they're well coated in the seasoning.
Top tip- Use a paper towel to dry the shrimp before frying them. This will help them to get a golden crust on the outside and stay plump and juicy in the middle. And don't crowd the pan.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's quick and easy making it great for busy nights.
- You only need a handful of spices to make your own taco seasoning.
- These chicken and shrimp tacos feel like takeout but they're actually really healthy and full of veggie and protein.
Ingredients needed
- boneless skinless chicken breast
- raw (already peeled) jumbo king prawns
- corn or wheat tortillas- the ones I used were a mixture of both.
- garlic powder, Cajun spice, chili and garlic seasoning (a mix of garlic salt and cayenne pepper)
- white cabbage
- avocado
- fat free Greek yogurt
- limes
- coriander (cilantro)
See the recipe card for quantities.
Step By Step Instructions
1 & 2
- Start by adding the spices to a medium bowl and add the peeled shrimp. Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized cubes and toss with the shrimp and spices.
- Add some vegetable oil or olive oil to a shallow frying pan. Once the oil is hot, it will shimmer, place the chicken cubes in the pan and fry for about 5-6 minutes.
3 & 4
- Once the chicken has been frying for about 6 minutes, add the shrimp to the pan and continue to cook until the shrimp and chicken are both cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, make the cabbage and avocado slaw. Add the avocado, coriander leaves, lime juice, and fat-free Greek yogurt to the bowl of a food processor and blend until it's a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper. *You may want/need to add some water to loosen the sauce so you have a nice drizzling consistency.
- Using a sharp knife thinly slice the cabbage into ribbons and add to a large bowl. Spoon some of the avocado sauce into the cabbage and toss until well all the cabbage is coated well. Add as much or as little avocado sauce as you like.
To assemble the tacos:
Lay the tortillas flat and place some of the cabbage avocado slaw into the shell. Layer with some of the chicken and shrimp mix and drizzle with some more avocado sauce.
Hint: If you can only get shrimp with the shell and tails still on you can peel them yourself. This tutorial will help.
Recipe: FAQ
Absolutely. They're a little bit smaller so you'll probably need 4 chicken thighs instead of 2 breasts.
Shrimp are incredibly quick cooking. They are fully cooked when they turn pink and are totally opaque. In a medium-high frying pan, this should only take about 5-6 minutes.
The best way is to heat the cast-iron skillet or a stainless steel frying pan (the one you're going to use for the chicken and shrimp) and toast the tortillas. Use a dry pan so you get lovely dark char marks. Wrap in some foil to keep warm until you're ready to use them.
Substitutions & Variations
There are a couple of variations you may want to try with these chicken and shrimp tacos. It may depend on what you have in your fridge or what you feel like.
- Lettuce - instead of cabbage you can use some romaine lettuce.
- Red cabbage - you can use some red cabbage and shredded carrots along with the white cabbage.
- Sour cream - use sour cream in the sauce for the slaw rather than the fat-free Greek yogurt.
- Crispy taco shells - you can use crispy taco shells if that's more your thing. But I absolutely adore a corn soft shell tortilla!
What to serve with chicken and shrimp tacos
Turn these tacos into a whole feast and serve with some of these favourites.
Equipment
Storage
Shrimp doesn't really keep well and tends to turn a rubbery texture when it's reheated. But the chicken can be kept for up to 2 days in the fridge.
The slaw will keep well for 2-3 days in an airtight container for 3 days.
Top tips
Make sure the shrimp are properly defrosted and dried before being tossed with the spice mix.
Need help with meal planning? You can find our (Aldi ingredients only) weekly meal plans here! Sign up to receive them free every week or take our quick meal planning course and grab the blank meal planner and use all these recipes to create your own meal plans. Follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
The Best 30-Minute Spicy Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 medium boneless skinless chicken breast, about 250g, diced into bite-sized cubes
- 165 g bag king prawns, defrosted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the spice mix
- 1 tablespoon chilli and garlic seasoning
- ½ tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For the avocado lime cream
- 1 avocado, flesh scooped out
- 150 ml fat-free Greek yogurt
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ bunch coriander
- 100-200 ml water *see notes
For assembling
- 150 g white cabbage, shredded *see notes
- 8 small corn or flour tortillas
Instructions
- Place the spices in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Use a paper towel to dry the shrimp and toss with the spices. Add in the chicken and use tongs to toss in the spices to coat everything evenly.
- In a cast iron or large frying pan heat the vegetable oil or olive oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, it will shimmer, place the chicken cubes in the pan and fry for about 5-6 minutes. Once the chicken has been frying for about 6 minutes, add the shrimp to the pan and continue to cook until the shrimp and chicken are both cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, make the cabbage and avocado slaw.
- Add the avocado, coriander leaves, lime juice, and fat-free Greek yogurt to the bowl of a food processor and blend until it's a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper. Using a sharp knife thinly slice the cabbage into ribbons and add to a large bowl. Spoon some of the avocado sauce into the cabbage and toss until well all the cabbage is coated well. Add as much or as little avocado sauce as you like.
- To assemble the tacos:
- Lay the tortillas flat and place some of the cabbage avocado slaw into the shell. Layer with some of the chicken and shrimp mix and drizzle with some more avocado sauce.
James
These were insanely good!
Deborah Rainford
Thanks, James! And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating! 🙂