These Shrimp and Street Corn Tacos are the best and easiest Summer meal! Creamy Mexican style street corn topped with spicy juicy shrimp all tucked away in a charred corn tortilla. Yes please!
Sharing a taco recipe on a Friday – whaaaat! I don’t know about y’all, but it definitely doesn’t have to be Taco Tuesday for me to be craving tacos! I could eat a taco every day!
Tacos for breakfast. Tacos for lunch. And hi, these amazing Shrimp and Street Corn Tacos for Dinner!
What is Street Corn?
Also known as “Mexican Street Corn” or “Elote”, street corn is just AMAZING. When Ben and I travelled to Mexico City a couple years ago, there was this man selling elote on the side of the street in front of a gas station. He had a huge bubbling vat of corn in front of him that was steaming hot.
We went to go buy some one night – a cool breezy evening. It was AMAZING and it absolutely inspired my version of street corn.
That said – classic elote is normally made by street food vendors. This guy layered Mexican crema, cotija cheese, the steaming hot corn, chili powder, and fresh lime until the cup was full.
My version of street corn is slightly different but still packs SO much flavor. For one, my street corn isn’t piping hot. But, it is loaded with mayonnaise for extra creaminess, cilantro, crunchy red onion, spices and of course, cotija cheese and lime juice!
Mixed all together it’s insanely juicy, sweet, tangy, puckery and WOW. Just so many flavors and textures working all together to blend incredible flavor harmony.
Best Taco Tips:
So, when you combine the street corn with perfectly cooked juicy shrimp – you get the most Summery + delicious tacos you will ever eat!
The combination of the creamy corn along with the spicy shrimp…it all bursts in your mouth and is absolutely divine!
I used this delicious shrimp marinade which I highly recommend you use for ULTIMATE flavor! I combined a homemade spicy taco seasoning (find the ingredients down below) and tossed the shrimp in the spices along with a couple of tablespoons of avocado oil.
Make sure to use tongs when you are tossing the shrimp to make sure they are evenly coated.
Next, I added some freshly squeezed lime juice and finally, the best marinade ingredient: BEER! I used my go-to Mexican Beer – Dos Equis for this recipe but feel free to sub in your favorite!
The beer makes it extra savory + gives it a pop of flavor that might not be there without it!
After you marinate the shrimp for about 20 minutes, it only takes literally 5 minutes to cook the entire batch.
If you weren’t aware – raw shrimp cook SO quickly. How do you know if they’re done? They begin to turn opaque/pink! Here is a photo for reference:
Once you take the little bean blankie (shout-out for the Parks and Rec reference), and warm it/ char it slightly in the pan – you add the creamy corn right on top of the tortilla, followed by the juicy shrimp.
Top with your favorite taco toppings but I personally loved cotija cheese, red onion, jalapeno + a squeeze of lime! I even added a little hot sauce because I was feeling adventurous, ha!
Combined all together….it makes the most amazing taco. So let’s get into every single thing you’ll need for it!
Ingredients You Need:
- Fresh corn (or you can use canned!)
- Raw, deveined shrimp
- Cotija cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Homemade taco seasoning (cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cayenne, oregano)
- Cilantro
- Fresh lime
- Red onion
- Avocado oil (can use olive oil)
- Mexican beer
- Tajin seasoning (or any chili lime seasoning)
- Corn tortillas
Substitutions:
Not a fan of cooking raw shrimp? You can use fully cooked! Just be sure to marinate it without the beer in the fridge – it will lose a little bit of flavor but still taste delicious! You just don’t want the shrimp tasting like straight up alcohol! Ha!
You can use whatever Mexican Beer you like – I used Dos Equis but feel free to use your fave!
Not a fan of flour tortillas? No worries! Use whatever you like! Flour tortillas would be amazing with this. Or you could even just layer it together in a burrito bowl!
If you don’t have all of the spices for the homemade taco seasoning – feel free to use your own 🙂 Just adjust the amount of salt you add to the shrimp, because usually pre-made taco seasonings are very salty. So, instead of the 1 tsp of salt that the recipe calls for, start with ½ tsp and taste and adjust if needed.
I hope you guys enjoy this delicious recipe – it’s truly one of my favorites! Cheers to eating more tacos!
Are you a fan of tacos? Check out these other recipes you might enjoy!
Roasted Garlic Green Goddess Tacos
Ground Chicken Tacos with Chipotle Crema
Spicy Fish Tacos with Broccoli Slaw
Breakfast Tacos with Homemade Salsa
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Shrimp and Street Corn Tacos
These Shrimp and Street Corn Tacos are the best and easiest Summer meal! Creamy Mexican style street corn topped with spicy juicy shrimp all tucked away in a charred corn tortilla. Yes please!
Ingredients
Shrimp Marinade
- 1 lb. raw and deveined shrimp
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 cup Mexican beer (I used Dos Equis)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (don't add if you don't like spicy!)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 lime freshly squeezed
Street Corn
- 3 cups fresh corn (can used canned as well)
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
- 2 tbsp diced cilantro
- 1/2 cup full-fat mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp lime juice (more to taste if desired)
- sprinkling of cotija cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp tajin seasoning (or any chili lime seasoning - I also love the elote seasoning from Trader Joe's)
Tacos + Garnishes
- 8-10 corn tortillas, warmed on the oven
- diced red onion + jalapeno for toppings
- fresh cilantro + cotija cheese for toppings
- fresh squeezed lime for toppings
Instructions
Shrimp Marinade
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Begin by marinating the shrimp. Add the shrimp to a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine all of the spices listed above in the marinade section. Mix together with a spoon. Add the spices directly to the shrimp, making sure it is evenly coated. Next, add the avocado oil, making sure the shrimp is evenly coated.
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Lastly, squeeze 1/2 of a fresh lime over top of the shrimp and then pour 1/2 cup of the Mexican beer. Toss with tongs to make sure it's evenly combined and then place plastic wrap on top of the bowl. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes to let it marinate.
Taco Toppings
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In the meantime, chop/dice everything you would like for taco toppings. This could include red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, fresh lime etc. Also slice and dice the items you need for the street corn. Set these aside.
Mexican Street Corn
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Place a medium skillet on medium high heat and add a dash of oil. If you're using canned corn, DRAIN the cans. If you're using fresh, carefully chop it off of the cob.
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Add the corn directly to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, warming it through and giving it some flavor. Remove from the skillet.
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Next, add the corn to a medium sized bowl. To the bowl, add in the mayonnaise, diced red onion, cilantro, lime juice, cotija, tajin (or chili lime seasoning!) and salt. Mix and TASTE to adjust seasoning. Need more salt? Add more! More creaminess? Add more mayo!
Cooking Shrimp
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Once the marinating is done, heat back up the skillet you cooked the corn in on medium heat. Add a splash of avocado oil. Using tongs, carefully place the shrimp into the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until the shrimp become opaque (see photo above for reference).
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I cooked my shrimp in multiple batches as to not over-crowd the skillet and it took about 5 minutes total. Don't forget to remove the shrimp from the tail before eating/serving it in the taco!
Taco Assembly!
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Warm the corn tortillas up on the oven. Layer with the street corn first, followed by 3-4 pieces of the shrimp. Top with cilantro, cotija, red onion, jalapeno and a spritz of fresh lime juice! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
NOTE: If you're using pre-made taco seasoning, use only 1/2 tsp of salt in the shrimp marinade and then adjust for seasoning. Normally store-bought taco seasoning already has a bit of salt in it 🙂
With the street corn, taste and adjust seasoning as you go! Want it more salty? Add more salt! More tangy from the lime? Add more! More smoky? Add more chili powder! 🙂
Lastly, make sure that you take the tail OFF of the shrimp before you eat it in the taco!
I don’t know why I don’t have shrimp tacos more often. They’re so good!! Yours look fabulous, Haylie!!
I’m with you, Katherine! I love shrimp tacos 🙂 Thank you!!
I love this recipe. I cook bacon and use the grease to cook the shrimp and add the crumbled bacon to the corn.
Bill, This sounds AMAZING! Def trying that next time. Thanks for loving the recipe 🙂