Cilantro Lime Shrimp

This Cilantro Lime Shrimp is a family favorite. Juicy shrimp over cilantro lime rice with black beans, avocado, and a cilantro lime sauce. Filling, fresh, and packed with flavor.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

How One Favorite Taco Recipe Turned Into This!

For almost two full years, my Shrimp Tacos have been one of the most popular recipes on my site. Out of over a thousand recipes, they keep making the top 10, and I totally get why. The charred tortillas, saucy slaw, seasoned shrimp, and that cilantro-lime sauce are just so good together.

So I wanted to take everything It is satisfying to about those tacos and turn it into a dinner bowl. This Cilantro Lime Shrimp Recipe has the same kind of bold, fresh flavor, but with a heartier base of cilantro-lime rice, black beans, avocado, and plenty of sauce.

And yes, this is the same cilantro-lime sauce from those shrimp tacos. It is creamy, tangy, herby, a little garlicky, and honestly good enough to drizzle over just about anything. If you already love the taco version, I think you are going to be obsessed with this bowl version.

Quick Tip

Shrimp are labeled with numbers like 21/25 or U/15. “U” means “under,” so U/12 means fewer than 12 shrimp per pound. 21/25 means 21 to 25 shrimp per pound. The smaller the number, the bigger the shrimp.

How To Make Cilantro Lime Shrimp

The full recipe is below, but here are our top shrimp cooking tips!

• Pick the right shrimp. Save yourself some work (and hassle) by picking shelled, peeled, and deveined shrimp. If using frozen shrimp, be sure it has fully thawed before cooking it. (Rinse under cold, not warm water, to keep the firm texture.)
• Pat it dry. Whatever shrimp you’re using (fresh or frozen), be sure to thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. The cilantro-lime marinade spices won’t adhere to wet shrimp and the shrimp won’t cook properly.
• Shrimp cooks really fast, so we recommend cooking the shrimp quickly at higher temps and using tongs instead of a spoon to place, flip, and remove the shrimp. This allows the shrimp to get a nice char (char=flavor). It’s straightforward to overcook shrimp, so watch them closely and remove from the skillet promptly. (Even off heat, the skillet is still retaining heat.)

What To Serve With Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Once the shrimp is cooked, it’s time to build the bowls! Here are a reliable additions:

• Black beans: Saucy Black Beans are amazing here, but canned black beans work great too.
• Avocado or guac: Adds creaminess and fresh flavor. Use a ripe avocado that gives slightly when pressed near the stem.
• Cilantro lime rice: Use a box mix for ease, or make your own by stirring 1–2 tablespoons lime juice, 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, and salt into 1 cup cooked rice.
• Other toppers: Fresh lime, cilantro, and jalapeño add so much flavor. Mix diced jalapeño into the rice for extra heat.

Variations

• Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp grilled (on skewers): Use the seasoning blend in my recipe below and use this detailed breakdown on how to evenly grill it!
• Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad: Add a base of finely chopped romaine lettuce to the bowl. You can still prepare the rice and add it on top of the lettuce (home cooks enjoy a good grain salad recipe!) or replace the rice with the lettuce.
• Air Fryer Cilantro Lime Shrimp: Follow the directions to marinate the shrimp in seasonings and then cook in the air fryer according to your fryer’s directions. (Each air fryer typically comes with a manual breaking down cooking times for proteins in their specific model.)

Shortcut Ideas

Bowl recipes can be overwhelming — preparing all the components for the bowl and then a sauce to top it all off. It’s a lot.

So here are my top shortcut suggestions. Yes, from-scratch is always best, but use convenient store shortcuts when needed right!?

• Prepared Cilantro Lime Shrimp. I honestly have not tried already-prepared shrimp, but have heard great reviews on it. Costco and many other stores sell it, and it’s already seasoned and cooked so you can just throw it on your bowl.
• Use a cilantro-lime rice mix. Nothing beats the ease of already cooked, packaged rice or a seasoning mix!
• Make the cilantro-lime sauce ahead of time. Not really a shortcut per se, but it sure makes dinner assembly a breeze when the sauce is already made. Plus, the sauce only gets more flavorful as it sits in the fridge.

More satisfying Shrimp Recipes:

Dinner

Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Dinner

Shrimp and Sausage Recipe

Seafood

Shrimp Foil Packets

Dinner

Honey Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
• 1 pound extra large shrimp (12 ounces, see note 1)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
• Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (skippable)
• 1 (8 to 10-ounce) package cilantro-lime rice mix (see note 2)
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 large ripe avocado (chopped)
• Limes (cut into wedges, skippable, for serving)
• 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (loosely packed, plus more for serving if desired)
• 1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeño (seeds/ribs removed)
• 1/2 cup mayo (full-fat)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (lite/fat-free works great)

Method

1. Prepare the rice according to package directions. As soon as the rice is done cooking, fluff and mix in the drained and rinsed black beans. Or warm beans separately if you want to serve as a side in the bowl (as pictured).
2. Pat both sides of the shrimp completely dry, then gently toss in a large bowl with the cumin, garlic powder, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Hold off on salt/pepper for now. Cover and place in the fridge while preparing the rest of this dish.
3. Sauce: Zest and juice 1–2 limes to get 1/2 teaspoon zest and 4 tablespoons juice. Add the juice and zest to a blender or food processor along with the minced garlic, cilantro, jalapeño (add more for a spicier sauce or add slowly if you’re worried about the heat), and mayo. Add salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper). Blend or pulse until smooth. Add sour cream and pulse once more to combine. check the seasoning and adjust the sauce to preference (more lime, garlic, salt/pepper). Refrigerate until ready to eat.
4. Remove shrimp from fridge and add salt and pepper. (Creole seasoning has salt, so don’t add too much extra—I add 1/4 teaspoon of each.) In a wide skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over a hot burner. Once butter is melted, using tongs, add half the shrimp in an even layer so the shrimp is not overlapping. (It will steam if the pan is too crowded.) Cook for 1 minute, then use tongs to flip each shrimp and cook the other side for 1 more minute or until cooked through (shrimp cooks quickly—see note 4!). move cooked shrimp to a clean plate.
5. In the same pan, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 more tablespoon butter. Add in the remaining shrimp, cooking for 1 minute per side (or until cooked through). Use tongs (never a spoon) to place shrimp in the pan and flip. move all the cooked shrimp to a plate.
6. Layer the ingredients into bowls, beginning with the prepared rice mixture. Then add shrimp, desired bowl toppings (avocado, additional cilantro, black beans), and finally a good drizzle of the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed and enjoy promptly! Drizzle some extra lime over bowls if desired.