These coconut shrimp tacos are topped with irresistible, easy-to-make pineapple jalapeño salsa, they’re baked, not fried and take only 30 minutes to make! With a little sprinkle of lime and your favorite hot sauce, you won’t believe how much flavor is packed into these gorgeous, spiced coconut tacos!
I personally hate frying. I don’t like the mess and the lingering odors, so when I perfected this baked coconut shrimp recipe, I was simply delighted. They’re crispy, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy and such a fun, tropical twist on taco night!
I’ve added the full recipe for the pineapple salsa below, but if you want to see how to make it in more detail (exactly how to slice a pineapple, a nice trick to help you easily slice a jalapeño, etc.) take a look at the full recipe for pineapple jalapeño salsa first.
Why This Recipe is Special
They’re easy to make ahead – You can prep the coconut shrimp, cover them with cellophane, refrigerate for up to 2 hours and simply pop them in the oven when guests arrive!
They easily serve a crowd – This recipe makes 8-9 tacos, and believe me, just one is a full meal, so you can easily serve a big party of folks with little effort!
They’re baked, not fried! – Like I said above, I hate frying for a few reasons, but apart from avoiding the mess and lingering odors with this recipe, they’re also healthier, lighter and just taste cleaner than fried shrimp.
Ingredient Notes
For the Tacos
sweetened coconut – I like my coconut shrimp to have a little sweetness to them, but if you think the pineapple salsa will make them sweet enough, feel free to use unsweetened coconut.
shrimp – You can use either raw shrimp or cooked shrimp for this recipe. I’ve used cooked shrimp and it didn’t taste over-cooked at all. Just be sure whatever you use is fully thawed.
coconut oil – You can also use olive oil. If it’s chilly in your kitchen, you may need to melt the coconut oil first before adding it to the coconut and panko. You want it to be completely liquid.
panko – I like panco breadcrumbs but you can also use other kinds. Just be sure that they aren’t already seasoned, like Italian breadcrumbs, if you plan to substitute.
soft taco tortillas – I used whole wheat tortillas but feel free to use white flour tortillas. You can also use corn tortillas, but I find they’re less “structurally sound.” If you do use corn tortillas, plan to possibly have to double them up, especially if you’re adding other sauces or if the pineapple salsa becomes juicy.
For the Pineapple Salsa
pineapple – You can use pre-cut pineapple if you like, just make sure it isn’t too ripe or it will be tricky to dice.
jalapeño – This recipe only calls for 1 jalapeño, making this recipe medium-spicy. If you’re sensitive to spiciness and just want more of the jalapeño flavor than spice, just use half.
red onion – red onion looks pretty with the yellow and green, but you can also use white onion or even shallot if you please.
cilantro – You can also use mint for a lovely fresh flavor if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
lime – As always, use fresh lime juice, not juice from a lime-shaped bottle.
How to Make These Tacos – Step by Step
1. Finely dice ½ pineapple, 1 jalapeño, 1 tbsp. red onion and 1 tbsp. cilantro. Add ingredients to a mixing bowl. Add juice from ½ lime and stir. Set aside until shrimp is ready. To see how to correctly dice a pineapple and learn a nice trick to slicing jalapeño, take a look at the full pineapple jalapeño salsa recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 450 F. (230 C.) and line a baking sheet with tin foil. Wash and remove tails from 1 pound of shrimp (about 25 pieces). Set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes and ½ cup panko breadcrumbs. Thoroughly mix in 2 tsp. liquid coconut oil (or olive oil). Sprinkle with ½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning, about ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper and ⅛ tsp. chili pepper. Gently toss so the spices are distributed throughout.
4. Place the bowl of coconut mixture next to 2 other bowls on a table. In one, add ¼ cup all purpose flour, and in the other, add 2 beaten eggs. Dip shrimp first in flour, making sure it’s thoroughly coated.
5. Then, dip the shrimp in egg, again making sure it’s thoroughly coated, allowing a bit to drip off.
6. Then, dip the shrimp into the coconut-panko mixture, making sure to really press it down and thoroughly coat it.
7. Place coconut-covered spiced shrimp on your foil-lined baking sheet, and repeat the 3 steps with each shrimp. Once they’re all done, bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. When finished, remove and fill 8 tortillas with 3 shrimp each and add a nice helping of pineapple salsa. Spritz with lime and serve.
Common Questions
The shrimp, themselves, are a tiny bit spicy because of the cayenne pepper, and the pineapple jalapeño salsa is “medium spicy.” If you want to reduce the spiciness, you can simply leave out the cayenne pepper all together, and use just ½ jalapeño (or no jalapeño at all). If you wanted to make them spicier, I wouldn’t add more cayenne as they’ll just taste over-spiced. I would just add a tasty hot sauce and you could always use more jalapeño in the salsa.
Yes. You can store them in a sealed container for 2 days, and simply reheat at 400 F. (200 F.) for 8-10 minutes. I wouldn’t suggest microwaving them because they’ll become rubbery and, worst of all, your microwave will become quite stinky.
You would follow the directions up until baking. When they’re all covered with the coconut mixture, you would simply fill a frying pan with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan fully (I use grape seed oil since it has a very high smoke point). Turn the heat to medium-high and place about 5-7 shrimp in the pan at a time. Allow them to fry on each side for 2-3 minutes. Remove them onto a paper towel to release some oil, and serve.
It will be perfectly tasty for 3 days if placed in a sealed container and refrigerated. It won’t look as fresh after a day however. If you want to keep leftover salsa for other recipes, feel free to freeze it for up to 3 months.
A Few Tips
1. Believe it or not, they’re actually just as delicious if cooked, refrigerated, and reheated the next day. So if you want to cook and store everything the day before, go right ahead! Simply reheat at 400 F. (200 F.) for 8-10 minutes.
2. The pineapple jalapeño salsa gets a little spicer the longer it sits in its juices, so just keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to spiciness.
A Few Topping Suggestions
- your favorite hot sauce
- sour cream
- Mexican crema
- crumbled queso fresco
- purple cabbage (that’s what I used in the pictures)
- lime juice
- sliced avocado
- lettuce
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A Few Recipe Pairings
Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa
Equipment
- 4 mixing bowls
- foil-lined baking sheet
Ingredients
For the Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa
- ½ pineapple – finely diced
- 1 jalapeño – finely diced
- 1 tbsp. red onion – finely diced
- 1 tbsp. cilantro – finely chopped
- juice from ½ lime
For the Tacos
- 1 pound shrimp – about 25 pieces (tails removed and deveined)
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp. coconut oil – liquified
- ½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning
- ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
- ⅛ tsp. chili pepper
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs – beaten
- 8 tortillas
- spritz of lime – optional
Instructions
- Finely dice ½ pineapple, 1 jalapeño, 1 tbsp. red onion and 1 tbsp. cilantro. Add ingredients to a mixing bowl. Add juice from ½ lime and stir. Set aside until shrimp is ready. To see how to correctly dice a pineapple and learn a nice trick to slicing jalapeño, take a look at the full pineapple jalapeño salsa recipe.
- Preheat oven to 450 F. (230 C.) and line a baking sheet with tin foil. Wash and remove tails from 1 pound of shrimp (about 25 pieces). Set aside.
- In a bowl, mix 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes and ½ cup panko breadcrumbs. Thoroughly mix in 2 tsp. liquid coconut oil (or olive oil). Sprinkle with ½ tsp. Old Bay seasoning, about ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper and ⅛ tsp. chili pepper. Gently toss so the spices are distributed throughout.
- Place the bowl of coconut mixture next to 2 other bowls on a table. In one, add ¼ cup all purpose flour, and in the other, add 2 beaten eggs. Dip shrimp first in flour, making sure it’s thoroughly coated. Then, dip the shrimp in egg, again making sure it’s thoroughly coated, allowing a bit to drip off. Then, dip the shrimp into the coconut-panko mixture, making sure to really press it down and thoroughly coat it.
- Place coconut-covered spiced shrimp on your foil-lined baking sheet, and repeat the 3 steps with each shrimp. Once they’re all done, bake for 10-12 minutes. When finished, remove and fill 8 tortillas with 3 shrimp each and add a nice helping of pineapple salsa. Spritz with lime and serve.
Stephanie Tomasini
This was PHENOMENAL!! Followed directions exactly and it was perfect!! Will definitely make again!!
Genevieve Morrison
Aww, thank you so much!
Em
You must surely mean UNCOOKED shrimp!
Genevieve Morrison
You know? I’ve used both, and the cooked shrimp didn’t taste over-cooked at all. But I updated the recipe because I have a feeling other people might be confused by that as well. Thank you!