Shrimp Taco Bowl with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Incredibly flavorful and easy to make in less than 30 minutes, this Shrimp Taco Bowl is guaranteed to become a new weeknight favorite! It's gluten free, dairy free and easily made whole30 and keto approved!

Step up your Taco Tuesday game with this Shrimp Taco Bowl! It's packed with flavorful ingredients like chili lime grilled shrimp, cilantro lime quinoa and creamy chipotle sauce!

But it's also super healthy, packed with protein and contains no gluten or dairy! With a couple simple swaps, you can also make it whole30 compliant and low carb, perfect for those on a keto diet.

You can swap in or out the toppings to make it your own. Or make it just as the recipe says for a bowl that's packed with a combination of creamy and crunchy toppings!

Jump to:

• Ingredients you'll need
• Step by step instructions
• How to make the bowls vegan
• How to make the bowls low-carb
• How to make the bowls whole30 compliant
• How to meal prep the bowls
• More Mexican style bowls to try
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients you'll need

• Tamari - gluten free soy sauce helps enhance the other flavors in the shrimp marinade.
• Lime juice - In this bowl, the shrimp is marinated in lime juice and the toppings for the bowl are tossed in lime juice. This adds a bright, zesty flavor to the bowls! I always recommend fresh-squeezed whenever possible as it has the best flavor.
• Olive oil - you could also use another vegetable oil if you prefer. But you will want to use one that can hold up to high temperatures, as you'll be grilling the marinated shrimp over high heat. Avocado, peanut, canola or sunflower oil will all work well for this recipe.
• Garlic cloves
• Chili powder
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Shrimp - I prefer to always buy already peeled and deveined shrimp at the grocery store. This cuts out a step and saves you time. For this recipe, I used 41-50 count shrimp size, this a medium shrimp size. What this means is you get 41-50 pieces of shrimp per pound. For this recipe, you can also use a 31-35 which is a large shrimp size, or a 21-25 which is a jumbo shrimp size.
• Cilantro lime quinoa - this fresh and zesty spin on quinoa is the perfect base for these bowls!
• Cabbage - for this recipe I used a combination of red and green shredded cabbage to top the bowls. Feel free to use one or the other, or both! The cabbage adds a delicious crunch to the bowls.
• Red bell pepper - green, orange or yellow bell peppers will also work for this recipe. I prefer the red for it's bright pop of color and crunch on top of the bowls!
• Jalapeno - fresh sliced jalapenos add a kick of spice to these bowls. Not a fan of spice? No problem, you can totally leave them out of the bowl!
• Avocado - what would a taco bowl be without fresh sliced avocado on top? This creamy addition is a can't-miss!
• Creamy chipotle sauce - this sauce was the most popular recipe on the blog in 2020 and it's only received 5 star reviews! It's incredibly delicious, easy to make and the perfect topping for these bowls!
• Cilantro - an optional garnish to finish the bowls, not a fan? No problem, just leave it out!

Step by step instructions

1. Marinate the shrimp (as seen in the image above).
   • In a large bowl, combine tamari, lime juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, chili powder and red pepper flakes.
   • Add peeled and deveined shrimp to the marinade and toss to coat the shrimp.
   • Place the shrimp in the refrigerator to marinate for 10-15 minutes, while preparing the other ingredients for the bowls.
2. Assemble the bowls.
   • Divide the prepared cilantro lime quinoa between the four bowls.
     • Note: Haven't prepared the quinoa yet? No problem, you can quickly and easily whip it up on the stove or in an Instant Pot.
   • In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, sliced bell pepper, jalapeno and lime juice. Divide this mixture between the four bowls.
   • Add ¼ sliced avocado to each bowl.
3. Cook the shrimp.
   • Heat a grill, or grill pan on the stove, to high heat.
     • Note: Don't have a grill or grill pan? No worries, use the heaviest skillet you have and cook the shrimp on the stove over high heat.
   • Use tongs to remove the shrimp from the marinade and add it to the grill, grill pan or skillet.
   • Cook for 2-3 minutes per side.
     • Note: The larger the shrimp, the longer they'll need to cook. So how do you tell when shrimp is cooked? When the shrimp starts to turn opaque white with some pink highlights, that's when you know it's time to flip or remove the shrimp from the skillet.
   • Divide the cooked shrimp between the four bowls.
4. Finish the bowls.
   • Drizzle the bowls with creamy chipotle sauce and top with fresh chopped cilantro.

How to make the bowls vegan

• Replace the shrimp with firm tofu. You'll want to marinate the tofu in the same chili lime marinade as you would the shrimp. The tofu can marinate for the same 10-15 minutes, as you would the shrimp. Follow this post for how to pan fry tofu or this post for how to grill tofu.

How to make the bowls low-carb

• Replace the quinoa with cauliflower rice or greens. This delicious Mexican Cauliflower Rice would be perfect for the base of these bowls. You could also use a combination of mixed baby greens, chopped romaine lettuce or spinach.
  • Replacing one cup of quinoa in each bowl with one cup of plain cauliflower rice will reduce the carbs from 49 grams per bowl, down to 15.5 grams per bowl. The net carbs will be reduced from 39 grams per bowl, down to 7.5 grams per bowl.
  • Replacing one cup of quinoa in each bowl with one cup of Mexican cauliflower rice will reduce the carbs from 49 grams per bowl, down to 25.5 grams per bowl. The net carbs will be reduced from 39 grams per bowl, down to 16.5 per bowl.
  • Replacing one cup of quinoa in each bowl with one cup of chopped romaine lettuce will reduce the carbs from 49 grams per bowl, down to 11 grams per bowl. The net carbs will be reduced from 39 grams per bowl, down to 6 grams per bowl. This is the best option for those on a keto diet.

How to make the bowls whole30 compliant

• Replace the quinoa in the bowls with plain cauliflower rice, Mexican cauliflower rice or greens.
• Substitute coconut aminos from the tamari in the shrimp marinade.

How to meal prep the bowls

• For storage:
  • Prepare the cilantro lime quinoa and divide it between four large storage containers.
  • Marinate and cook the shrimp according to the recipe instructions, then divide the cooked shrimp between the containers with the quinoa.
  • Toss the cabbage, bell pepper and jalapeno with the lime juice. Divide this topping between four small zipper bags. Add a bag to each of the containers with the shrimp and quinoa.
  • Wrap each ¼ avocado tightly in plastic wrap, then add them to the large containers.
  • Divide the creamy chipotle sauce between four small containers and add a container to each of the larger containers.
• To reheat and eat:
  • All of the ingredients in the bowl can be eaten cold.
  • If you'd like to reheat the shrimp and quinoa, remove the bag of cabbage, avocado and chipotle sauce from the large container.
  • Microwave the quinoa and shrimp for 2 minutes.
  • Top with the cabbage, avocado and chipotle sauce.

More Mexican style bowls to try

1. Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls
2. Tex Mex Egg Roll in a Bowl
3. Mexican Roasted Delicata Squash Bowls
4. Slow Cooker Green Chili Pulled Pork Bowl
5. Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl
6. Low Carb Vegan Fajita Bowl
7. Chipotle Chicken Bowl
8. Elote Bowl

Recipe