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Well hello my taco fans! If you’ve never had the opportunity to try a Rubio’s Gourmet shrimp taco, you can thank me later for this amazing copycat recipe.
These tacos are loaded with marinated shrimp, crumbled bacon, avocado, chopped onion, cilantro, and a creamy chipotle sauce, folded into a toasted cheese corn tortilla. Super yummy!
Rubio’s Grilled Gourmet Shrimp Tacos
Fun Facts:
- Rubio’s restaurants opened their first walk-up taco stand in Mission Bay, SanDiego in 1983. Rubio’s food is craft made with Baja California inspired flavors, innovative recipes, and sustainably sourced seafood.
- Rubio’s is home of the Original Fish Taco and has grown to having 160 locations in three states, California, Nevada, and Arizona.
Ingredients
What You Will Need
- Large raw shrimp
- Vegetable oil
- Cooked crumbled bacon
- Ground black pepper
- Garlic powder or minced garlic cloves
- Chili powder
- Sweet paprika
- Pinch of salt
- Lime juice
- Small onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Finely shredded Mexican blend cheese
- Corn tortillas
- Buttery Hass avocado slices
- Lime slices or wedges
Optional Toppings
- Creamy chipotle sauce (see recipe below)
- Red bell pepper
- A variety of salsas: mango salsa, pineapple salsa, red tomatillo salsa
- Cotija cheese
- Hot sauce
- Salsa verde sauce
Helpful Tools
- Heavy skillet
- Cast iron skillet
- Large bowl
- Small bowl
- Paper towels
- Baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
- Spatula
- Tongs
- Large sharp knife
- Cutting board
How To Make Grilled Gourmet Shrimp Tacos
- Cook bacon and crumble.
- Prep the raw shrimp: peel, devein, remove the tails, rinse, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine spices, lime juice, vegetable oil, and deveined shrimp in a large bowl.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- While the shrimp are marinating, prep onion, cilantro, avocado, and lime.
- After marinating time is finished, bring out the shrimp mixture from fridge and set it aside.
- Heat oven to 200 degrees (warm).
- Heat a large nonstick round or square skillet over medium heat.
- Sprinkle cheese directly onto the skillet.
- Press a tortilla on top of cheese and cook for about a minute.
- Flip with a spatula then transfer to baking sheet.
- Cover the cheesy tortillas with foil and store in warm oven.
- Repeat step with remaining tortillas.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat.
Add shrimp to pan.
Cook about 2 minutes per side until done.
- Build the gourmet taco by adding shrimp, bacon, avocado, diced onion, chipotle sauce, and cilantro.
- Squeeze lime over taco and serve immediately.
Substitutions
- Mexican blended cheese – cheddar cheese or Colby jack
- White onion – red onion
- Stone-ground corn tortilla – warm flour tortilla
- Juice of a lime – bottled real lime juice
What To Serve With Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Some great sides to serve with tacos are: black beans, pinto beans, Mexican rice, citrus rice, refried beans, fire-roasted corn, street corn, or even tortilla chips with mild salsa and queso dip.
Creamy Chipotle Sauce – Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I use regular but you can use light or fat free)
- 1-2 canned chipotles in sauce (if you are a fan of spicy foods, use 2 to 3 chipotles)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (if you want to use fresh garlic – 1 clove minced)
- Juice of 1 lime (approximately 2 tablespoons)
How To Make Chipotle Sauce – It’s super easy and delicious!
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Blend ingredients until smooth – That’s it!
- Drizzle it over the tacos or place in a small bowl and serve.
Looking for some sweet treats for dessert? Check these out from Join Me In The Kitchen:
- How To Make Delicious Homemade Classic Moon Pies
- How To Make An Easy Rustic Blueberry-Lemon Galette
- Mini Pecan Raisin Tarts
- Easy 3 Ingredient Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie With Carmel
Yield: 8 tacos
Rubio's Grilled Gourmet Shrimp Tacos Recipe (Copycat)
These tasty tacos are loaded with marinated shrimp, crumbled bacon, avocado, chopped onion, cilantro, and a creamy chipotle sauce, folded into a toasted cheese corn tortilla.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, raw, peeled, and deveined (approximately 24 - 32 pieces)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder or minced garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 small white onion, diced (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 cups finely shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 8 stone-ground corn tortillas
- 1 Hass avocado, sliced
- Lime slices or wedges
Instructions
- Cook bacon, crumble, place in small bowl and set aside.
- Prep the raw shrimp: peel, devein, remove the tails, rinse, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine spices, lime juice, vegetable oil, and deveined shrimp in a large bowl.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- While the shrimp are marinating, dice the onion, chop the cilantro, slice the avocado, and cut the lime.
- Make the creamy chipotle sauce if you are using it on the gourmet taco.
- After marinating time is finished, bring out the shrimp mixture from fridge and set it aside.
- Make the tortillas. Preheat oven to 200 degrees (warm).
- Heat a large nonstick round or square skillet over medium heat.
- Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of cheese into a circle slightly smaller than the tortilla directly onto the hot skillet. (I can fit two circles of cheese in the pan at one time).
- Press a tortilla on top of the slightly melted three-cheese blend and cook for about a minute. Flip with a spatula and transfer to baking sheet.
- Cover the cheesy tortillas with foil and store in warm oven. Repeat step with remaining tortillas until all have a melted cheesy layer on them.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Use tongs and remove shrimp from marinade and add to pan. Cook about 2 minutes per side until done.
- Now it's time to build the gourmet shrimp taco - add shrimp (3 to 4 depending on the size), crumbled bacon, avocado slices, diced onion, chipotle sauce and, minced cilantro.
- Squeeze a small wedge of lime over the taco or serve a slice of lime on the side.
- Serve immediately.
Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Duke's)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I use regular but you can use light or fat free)
- 1-2 canned chipotles in sauce (if you are a fan of spicy foods, use 2 to 3 chipotles)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (if you want to use fresh garlic - 1 clove minced)
- Juice of 1 lime (approximately 2 tablespoons)
How To Make Chipotle Sauce - It's super easy and delicious!
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a small bowl and serve.
- Store any leftover sauce, covered and in the fridge up to a couple of weeks.
Notes
Helpful Tools
- Heavy skillet
- Cast iron skillet
- Large bowl
- Small bowl
- Paper towels
- Baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
- Spatula
- Tongs
- Large sharp knife
- Cutting board
Substitutions
Mexican blended cheese - cheddar cheese or Colby jack
White onion - red onion
Stone-ground corn tortilla - warm flour tortilla
Juice of a lime - bottled real lime juice
Optional Toppings
- Creamy chipotle sauce (see recipe below)
- Red bell pepper
- A variety of salsas: Mango salsa, pineapple salsa, red tomatillo salsa
- Cotija cheese
- Hot sauce
- Salsa verde sauce
- Cilantro lime mojo sauce
