Shrimp fajitas are one of my all-time favorite Mexican meals. Absolutely packed full of incredible flavors, the smell alone is enough to get my mouth-watering, and it’s the dish I always order when eating out at a Mexican restaurant.
I love this meal so much, I found myself spending an absolute fortune on shrimp fajitas any time my family went out to eat (and there have been more than a few takeaways over the years!). So, eventually, I realized that I needed to find a recipe to make at home.
After much scouring the internet and experimenting with different flavors and textures, I uncovered this delicious, authentic shrimp fajitas recipe. An immediate family favorite and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, this delicious recipe can be made in just 15 minutes and is packed full of all the tasty flavors you’d expect from a tasty shrimp fajita. I love to go fully authentic by making my own tortillas to serve this with, or you could pour it over rice. And don’t forget the guacamole, cheese, and sour cream!
What makes these fajitas so good?
Seasoning: It’s the combination of spices in this recipe that makes it one of my all-time favorites. The garlic and onion are so delicious together and immediately fill the kitchen with irresistible aromas, while the light heat from the chili powder combined with earthy cumin is impossible to resist. A little oregano helps lighten the dish.
Onions: By sautéing the onions and letting them char a little bit, the acidity from the onions really helps bring out the sweetness of the peppers and the flavors from the seasoned shrimp.
Peppers: Do not just go for one bell pepper color. A variety helps keep the dish bright and colorful and creates a flavor sensation that’s hard to beat! Remember, green bell peppers are less ripe and slightly more bitter than yellow, orange, or red peppers. Red peppers offer the sweetest and fruitiest flavors.
Dietary requirements
This recipe is ridiculously easy to amend to suit almost any dietary requirement. See below for my top tips on simple adjustments:
Whole30 or Paleo diets: Instead of tortillas, serve your authentic Mexican shrimp over cauliflower rice.
Gluten-free: Serve your shrimp in gluten-free tortillas or over rice.
Low-carb or Keto diets: Check for low-carb tortillas or serve with cauliflower rice. There are only 4g net carbohydrates per serving of the filling, so it’s the accompaniment you need to watch out for on a low-carb diet.
Mexican shrimp fajitas recipe
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1lb shrimp
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil, divided
- 1 large onion, halved, then sliced into ¼” strips
- 3 bell peppers, various colors, sliced into 1/4” strips
- 8-12 flour tortillas, to serve
Method
- Put your shrimp into a large bowl and toss with the garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, and salt until thoroughly coated.
- In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 ½ tbsp of oil. Once it starts to smoke, add the various colored peppers and onions and sauté until softened and slightly charred in places (around 5 minutes), then transfer to a plate.
- In the still-hot pan, add the remaining ½ tbsp of oil, then chuck in the seasoned shrimp and cook until each shrimp is just pink and opaque (2-3 minutes on each side).
- Put the onions and peppers back in with the shrimp, then cook everything together, stirring to evenly distribute.
- Once hot, remove the shrimp fajita filling from the pan and portion into tortillas or over rice and top with your favorite condiments (I love a generous helping of guac, sour cream, shredded cheese, and a squeeze of lime on mine, but feel free to experiment!).
Notes
I cannot get enough of these delicious Mexican shrimp fajitas, and they’re one of my most-requested dishes whenever I have friends or family over… Which is perfect, as they’re so quick and easy to make!
When I really want to impress, I love to bring out my Uno Casa cast iron tortilla press and make my own tortillas from scratch. I love doing this because homemade tortillas are unbelievably easy to master, but my friends and family always think I’m such a pro in the kitchen whenever I bring out 100% homemade shrimp fajitas! Sometimes I even make the guac and sour cream myself if I really want to wow.