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Switching things up with Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado. Crispy pan-fried avocado stuffed into warmed tortillas and topped with extra saucy, spicy-sweet, bang bang style shrimp. A fun take on a restaurant-style favorite. And the fried avocado…well it only takes things up a notch. Quick and simple, no deep-frying, saucy, and so delicious.
Bang bang shrimp tacos have been on my to-make list for a while now, but something was holding me back. They just didn’t feel quite special enough. Something felt like it was missing.
We all know I love to recreate restaurant-style favorites at home, so I knew these had potential. And that sweet, spicy, and creamy bang bang sauce sounded pretty darn delicious. It has sweet Thai chili sauce, which is always a favorite.
But when recipes don’t feel exciting enough, I usually hold off on making them or just forget about them altogether. So sometimes they never see the light of day, but other times, I’ll finally figure out that one missing element.
And that’s what happened with these tacos.
My cousin Maggie and I were walking to dinner in Vail the other night when she mentioned that she really wanted me to make fried avocado tacos.
When she mentioned it, I dismissed the idea, because to be completely honest, I’ve never understood why you’d fry an avocado. It’s awesome just as is, you know?
But the next day, I saw bang bang shrimp on my recipe list and something about the idea of the crispy avocado with the saucy shrimp sounded like perfection. And then, I was excited. Which was awesome, because recipes have been tricky lately.
Obviously, I made the tacos, and happily, they turned out sooo good. The avocado adds just the right amount of crispiness to the saucy shrimp. It’s a different taco, but it sure is delicious.
The details
Start with the sauce. Bang bang sauce is usually mayo, sweet Thai chili sauce, and hot sauce. I doubled the sweet Thai sauce and used an avocado oil-based mayo. You could also use yogurt, but I do think mayo is probably best here.
I also added a zest of lime. This gives the bang bang sauce just the right amount of zing.
For the shrimp, it’s actually pretty simple. Traditionally, restaurants will deep fry the shrimp and then toss them with the bang bang sauce. But I really hate frying, so I simply dipped the shrimp in flour and pan-fried them. It worked pretty perfectly, with no fried taste, which we prefer.
And then the avocado. It’s coated in Panko bread crumbs and then pan-fried. Truly soo delicious. The avocado on its own is reason enough to make these. Crunchy outside, so creamy inside.
Finish them up
Layer up some shredded lettuce or cabbage, cilantro, and then the fried avocado. Add the saucy shrimp, then drizzle over extra sauce. Looks fancy, and like these tacos took hours to prepare, but in reality, there’s nothing fancy about them.
Again, these aren’t traditional. Or even made in the traditional way of bang bang style shrimp. But they are fun, and they’re pretty darn delicious!
Looking for other taco recipes, try these:
Crispy Braised Chipotle Beef Tacos
Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos with Garlic Lime Special Sauce
Crispy Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos with Lime Crema
Lastly, if you make these Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Bang Bang Shrimp and Fried Avocado Tacos
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 791 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/2 cup olive oil mayo
- 1/3 cup sweet Thai chili sauce, or to taste
- 3 teaspoons hot sauce
- flaky sea salt
- 1 lime, zested + quartered
Tacos
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, or use gluten-free
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons mixed white and black sesame seeds
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 4 tablespoons avocado oil, or peanut oil, for cooking
- 12 warm tortillas, for serving
- shredded cabbage and cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- 1. To make the sauce. Combine mayo, chili sauce, hot sauce, and lime zest in a bowl. Season with salt. 2. To make the tacos. In a bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, and garlic powder. Dredge the shrimp through the flour to coat. Place on a plate. 3. In a bowl, combine the Panko and sesame seeds. Add the egg to another bowl. Toss the avocado slices with lime juice. Dip the avocado in the egg, then dredge through the Panko crumbs. 4. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the avocado slices, in batches if needed, and cook until golden, 1-2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining avocado. Season with salt. 5. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add the shrimp and sear until pink on both sides, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss with half the sauce. 6. Stuff the greens/cilantro, fried avocado, and shrimp into the warmed tortillas. Serve with the remaining sauce.
So delicious! Tastes like restaurant-quality! Would definitely make it again! Very filling.
Hi Maggie,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best day:) xT
Made this last night. It was amazing. So so good. My husband has eaten restaurant quality dishes at least 4 nights a week because my weekly menu is usually your full of your recipes. I’ve made notebooks with dividers and pocket pages filled with your recipes. We have several favorites. Wish you were coming to Indianapolis.
Hi Cindi,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best day:) xT
Absolutely LOVED this! Ate the leftovers on rice noodles with a few veggies the next day and it was still incredible! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Morgan,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Tasty, but really heavy, and it took a lot longer to make than written (not sure if I’m just slow or not, but still long).
Hi Kaley,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback. xTieghan
Making these for the 2nd time this month! So good and super easy!
Only thing we did differently is subbed TJ’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning for the sesame seeds since it’s what we had. Worked out well, and my boyfriend devoured his plate before I’d finished my first!
Hey Courtney,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
I’ve made this a couple times. The last time was when my college student was home last week for spring break. It was a huge hit. Will definitely make often.
Hi Pam,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it!! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Made these tonight for supper and wow so good! Loved everything about this recipe. Thank you for inspiring me to try new recipes! Can’t wait to get you new cookbook!
Hi Barbara,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
These were delicious!! Pretty simple, even with all the separate bowls for dredging! And the sauce would be good on all sorts of tacos or even for an egg roll dip.
Hey Noell,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! Have the best week:) xT
This was a great recipe – thanks so much. It was a simple dinner that seemed more fancy than it was. Sauce was great and we’ll use that in other dishes too! heated the tortillas in an iron skillet, and added a simple cabbage and cilantro slaw for some added crunch. These are definitely going into the rotation.
Hey Melissa,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! Have the best week:) xT
Wonderful!! Didn’t have olive oil Mayo but used regular Mayo. Loved the fried avocado in this recipe
Hi Kay,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a go! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Celebrating Taco Tuesday with these delicious tacos! I was too tired to fry the avocados, so I’ll have to make this again to try that out. The sauce is delicious! Everything came together quickly and was so good! Your recipes do not disappoint!!!
Hi Sally,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go!! ☘️Tieghan
Great recipe! Super fast and a fun variety on the usual taco night and tastes restaurant quality. Amazing flavors. Don’t skip the fried avocado- I’m not an avocado lover but it was great. Make the sauce ahead if making on a weeknight. Will be a part of the “taco” rotation!!!
Hi Marissa,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. Have the best week:)) xT
This was great! It seems like a lot but if you have your ingredients prepared it comes together really quickly. Made some cabbage slaw to go on it – you can even make this a day ahead (red cabbage/cilantro/lime zest/jalapeno/vinegar/salt)
Make sure your shrimp are fully thawed if frozen and dry, shake off that excess flour.
For the mayo I just used what I had on hand which was mayo, garlic chili sauce and gogochang for an extra kick.
I only had flour street taco tortillas… I’d recommend going bigger.
DONT SKIP THE CRISPY AVOCADO!
Hi Andrea,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Cette recette est délicieuse. Pour nous c’est un 10 sur 10.
Impressionnant!! J’aime entendre que cette recette a été appréciée, merci beaucoup de l’avoir essayée! xx
This was delicious! We throughly enjoyed this recipe and once we had the prep work done, it came together really quickly. This will definitely become part of our rotation. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Janay,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xx