crispy buffalo ranch shrimp tacos
Too long since our last Taco Tuesday here. Olé!
Funny, but not actually funny story about these tacos. Yeah, it’s not funny at all, actually. But the day I baked these bad boys up I actually went out and got tacos for lunch/dinner. I only find slight humor in this because shit often goes like that: I scare up a recipe concept, execute it, then wander off to nosh on a similar variation of the thing at a restaurant.
Guess that means I have a double whammy of culinary awesome. Sometimes it serves as a decent comparison point, too. Who taco’d better? Though, not really a fair thing to judge. Homemade shit and restaurant shit serve different purposes, methinks.
Cooking at home is fabulous – it’s the whole reason FMG exists in the first place – but dining out is special in its own right. A treat. Sometimes a vessel of inspiration.
Anyhow. Ya’ll probably don’t care about that. Just my obligatory diatribe to optimize my SEO and pretend there’s an elaborate narrative behind my taco-making. In reality, I thought of these right before grocery shopping on Monday, did some time crunching since I had in the afternoon, and figured I could whip these up before dashing out the door. And so I did.
Crispy Buffalo Ranch Shrimp Tacos are a swell weeknight dinner. Quick prep time, probably quicker eating time (if you chow down on your meals like some folks I know). Easy and accessible ingredients make this a relatively budget-friendly recipe as well. You could even buy some extra shrimp and prep some buffalo shrimp bowls if you need a little meal prep to tide you through the week.
Get (Buffa)lo
TO THE WINDOW
TO THE WALL
Ahem.
When I say these are simple, I’m not shitting you. They’re simple.
First, grab a bag of jumbo/colossal/mega shrimp – by that, I mean the 13-15 count variety, sometimes called U15. Make sure you peel and devein them. I find most shrimp come deveined, which is the bigger pain in the ass in the prep realm.
Dry the shrimp with paper towels and toss with a quick spicy seasoning blend of smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and some salt and pepper.
Melt a little butter in a big skillet along with olive oil. Sear the shrimp 2-3 minutes per side until juicy and crisp. Pour in a good helping of buffalo sauce and stir around to coat. You can make your own sauce if you want, but I usually have multiple bottles of Frank’s Red Hot because I’m inept and keep buying more when I really don’t need it.
The Dress’n Room
I’ll admit: I tweaked my homemade ranch a bit over the past couple weeks because I found that adding a little vegan mayonnaise (regular is fine too) and not skimping on the chives makes it even better than it was before. Yay improvement!
Last week we enjoyed a kicky jalapeno cilantro ranch with the Mango Crunch Salad, but here we’re going back to basics. Greek yogurt and the aforementioned mayo create the creamy base for the dressing; then, add in chives, dried parsley and dill, garlic and onion powders, and a scoche of lemon juice.
Now, for taco assembly. The hard taco shells are certainly okay storebought, but if you have time I definitely recommend making your own. They’re pretty no-fuss: roll up some aluminum foil into tubes and place on a baking sheet. Heat your yellow corn tortillas in the microwave for about 20 seconds, spray both sides with a bit of oil, and drape over the foil tubes. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes until crispy. You can do this at pretty much any point in the prep cycle.
Okay, now for taco assembly. Stuff each shell with some pepper jack cheese (to tone down the spice level, use monterey jack or white cheddar) and throw on a few of the shrimpies. Top with shredded lettuce and avocado. I like to finish off with a couple slices of jalapeno, some cilantro, and a squeeze of lime, then drizzle extra buffalo sauce and of course plenty of ranch.
Components can certainly be prepped ahead of time and assembled later. The taco shells are sensitive to humidity and probably won’t be very crisp after 1-2 days, so keep that in mind. The ranch will keep for up to a week in the fridge, so you can slather it all over whatever you please if you have some left.
Easy, breezy, beautiful…covershrimp?
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
More for Taco Tuesday. Or whatever day. I don’t give a damn:
Sheet Pan Blackened Shrimp Poblano Tacos
Barbacoa Jackfruit Tacos with Garlic Lime Crema
Crispy Salsa Verde Jackfruit Tacos
Weeknight Spicy BBQ Shrimp Tacos
Crispy Jerk Shrimp Tacos with Coconut Pineapple Salsa
crispy buffalo ranch shrimp tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 8-10 hard taco shells (see note)
- 1-2 avocados, sliced
- 1 cups shredded romaine lettuce
ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup vegan or regular mayonnaise
- 1/3-1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Pat the shrimp very dry with paper towels and add to a medium bowl. Toss with the smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Melt the butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer – do not overcrowd the pan – and sear for 2-3 minutes per side. If needed, cook the shrimp in batches. Pour in the buffalo sauce and toss the shrimp to coat.
- To make the ranch, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, buttermilk, chives, parsley, dill, garlic and onion powders, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle each taco shell with cheese and add 2-3 shrimp. Garnish with shredded lettuce and avocado slices. Drizzle with ranch and extra buffalo sauce, as desired. Serve warm.
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