Name: Shrimp tacos with slaw and green apple
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8 tacos; 4 portions
Ingredients: 1/3 cup sour cream; 1/3 cup mayonnaise; 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice for sauce; 3/4 tsp garlic powder; 3/4 tsp sriracha; 8 small corn tortillas; 2 cups shredded purple cabbage; 150 g cored green apple, cut into matchsticks; 1 tsp lime juice for apple; 1 avocado, diced; 1/2 red onion, finely diced; 4 oz crumbled Cotija; 2 tbsp chopped cilantro; 1 lime, cut into wedges; 1 lb raw shrimp, 26–30 per lb, peeled and deveined; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1/2 tsp fine salt; 1/4 tsp each black pepper, cumin and cayenne; 1 tbsp olive oil

Shrimp tacos with slaw and green apple

Shrimp tacos with slaw made from purple cabbage and green apple, plus a separate creamy lime sauce. Makes eight tacos for four portions, with a 35-minute estimate.

Published October 11, 2026 · Updated October 16, 2026

8 tacos; 4 portions · Estimated 35 minutes

Two shrimp tacos with apple-cabbage slaw, creamy sauce and lime wedges on a plate.

Ingredients & method

Before you start: Use peeled, deveined shrimp. Shred the cabbage, cut apple matchsticks, dice the toppings and mix the sauce before cooking.

Equipment: Large skillet; thermometer; any pan required by bread/tortilla package

Need another measuring unit? Convert cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. Keep the ingredient’s preparation and the recipe’s stated amounts.

Check off ingredients and steps as you cook. Reset clears the check marks; quantities and instructions stay the same.

Method

Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice, garlic powder and sriracha.
Toss the 150 g cored green apple matchsticks with 1 tsp lime juice.
Add the 2 cups shredded purple cabbage, 1/2 finely diced red onion and 2 tbsp chopped cilantro to the apple, then toss to combine.
Pat shrimp dry and coat with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne.
Heat oil over medium-high heat.
Cook shrimp 1–2 minutes per side until opaque and 145°F. Use a thermometer suitable for thin foods, inserting from the side into the thickest center so its sensing area stays inside the shrimp and clear of the pan. Check each piece rather than using one shrimp to judge the whole batch.
Warm tortillas in a clean dry skillet over medium-high heat, turning them so both sides warm and develop a few golden spots.
Divide shrimp, apple slaw, avocado and Cotija among eight tacos.
Drizzle with sauce and serve with lime wedges.

Recipe note: Refrigerate perishable leftovers promptly in covered, shallow containers and use within 3–4 days. Store the shrimp separately from the slaw, avocado and sauce. If reheating, heat the shrimp to 165°F and add the cold toppings afterward. Count storage from the original cooking date when using previously cooked ingredients.

Make the apple slaw and sauce before cooking shrimp

These shrimp tacos with slaw use purple cabbage, green apple, red onion and cilantro as one component, with the creamy lime sauce mixed separately. Measure the apple after removing its core and cut it into matchsticks before tossing with its teaspoon of lime juice. Keep that lime portion apart from the larger measured amount for the sauce.

Prepare the avocado, Cotija and lime wedges before heating the skillet. The shrimp stage is brief, so leaving these tasks until afterward creates a pause between cooking and assembly. The sauce is drizzled over the filled tacos at the end rather than being stirred into the full slaw bowl.

Use the specified shrimp and its doneness check

Start with the listed raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, at the stated count per pound. Pat them dry before coating with garlic and seasonings. This recipe's short pan timing should not be transferred automatically to shrimp with a different starting size or preparation.

Keep the method's thin-food thermometer instructions and 145°F check with the skillet stage. The sensing area must stay inside each piece and clear of the pan; do not use a single shrimp to judge the whole batch. Use clean equipment for the ready-to-eat toppings and the cooked shrimp.

Divide the filling across eight warm tortillas

Warm the corn tortillas in a clean, dry skillet as directed, then share the shrimp and apple slaw across all eight. Each of the four portions receives two tacos. Dividing the main components first helps keep the last tortillas from receiving only slaw or sauce.

Add the avocado and Cotija, drizzle on the separate sauce and serve with lime wedges. If you have leftovers, retain the recipe's instruction to store the shrimp separately from the cold toppings and assemble after reheating. Filling every tortilla in advance would remove that separation.

Shrimp tacos with slaw and green apple

Ingredients & method

Make the apple slaw and sauce before cooking shrimp

Use the specified shrimp and its doneness check

Divide the filling across eight warm tortillas

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