Fajitas de Camarón makes a delicious, easy, and quick shrimp lunch or dinner in minutes! Tastes great with rice, guacamole, and salsa. Or wrapped in tortillas with all your favorite toppings!
Fajitas de Camarón is a variant of the traditional beef fajitas de res, which has gained widespread popularity around the world. In this recipe, we’re swapping beef for shrimp (camarón means shrimp).
The shrimp is nicely sautéed to create a delightful caramelized exterior and allow the seasonings to release their aromas into the oil, enhancing the delicious fragrance of this dish. It is a super easy and tasty recipe cooked in one pan in just about 10 minutes!
Serve them over cilantro lime rice to make a quick fajita bowl, or make some tacos with tortillas and salsa.
Ingredients
- Shrimp: I am using frozen shrimp in this recipe, but fresh shrimp is also an option, even though you’ll have to clean them before.
- Vegetables: Use yellow, green, and red bell peppers for a colorful dish, or add only one type if that’s the only one you have available. You’ll also need onions. All vegetables need to be cut into strips.
- Seasonings: For this fajita recipe I prefer to use powdered spices like garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Lime: Lime juice adds a delicious tangy flavor to shrimp fajitas. If limes aren’t available to you, use fresh lemon juice.
- Oil: Use a mild-flavored cooking oil, like sunflower or mild olive oil.
How to Make Fajitas de Camarón
Place shrimp in a mixing bowl and add garlic, cumin, paprika, pepper, and salt. Using your hands, mix well to nicely coat the shrimp with the seasonings.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you continue with the recipe.
Top Tip: For flavorful shrimp fajitas, allow shrimp to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
While the shrimp is marinating, rinse the bell peppers and cut them into strips discarding seeds and membranes. Then cut the onions into half-moon slices and keep aside.
When ready to make, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or cooking pan over medium-high heat.
Add bell peppers, season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly.
Then add onions and cook everything together until vegetables have the desired texture (I like mine with a little crunch so I cook them only for about 4-5 minutes minutes).
Remove peppers and onions from the pan and place them on a plate. Set aside.
Wipe the pan with a paper towel, add 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter and heat over high heat.
Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes or until nicely pink on all sides. Fully cooking the shrimp will depend on their size and the temperature of your pan, make sure not to overcook or they’ll become rubbery.
Return the vegetables to the pan and mix thoroughly. Adjust seasonings to taste and turn off the heat. Add a squeeze of lime and some chopped cilantro.
Serve your fajitas de camarón immediately with your favorite sides.
Notes & Variations
- Make sure you don’t cook the shrimp too long or they will become rubbery. Shrimp cook quickly, usually in 2-4 minutes, depending on their size.
- I like to cook the peppers and onions separately because this allows me better control over the doneness of the vegetables and prevents my shrimp from overcooking.
- For spicier fajitas, add 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers cut into strips. Or, if you want to add only the flavor but not the spiciness, remove seeds and membranes from chilies.
- Sneak in other veggies! Mushrooms, asparagus, and zucchini work perfectly for this recipe too.
Serving
This fajitas de camarón dish is delicious on its own, but you can also pair it with rice, quinoa, or flour tortillas.
Salsas are a must, but the ones that make the perfect combination are the ones with a creamy base. Try my chipotle creamy sauce or this delectable creamy jalapeño salsa.
For serving leftovers I recommend turning them into cheesy tacos, a sort of tacos gobernador, or shrimp taco-quesadilla.
Storage
If you have fajitas de camarón leftovers, place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge where they will last for up to 2-3 days.
I haven’t frozen the leftovers because these fajitas take a little time to make and they are a lot better when freshly made.
But if you have to, just allow the leftovers to completely cool down and place in a resealable bag taking out as much air as possible. Then freeze for up to 1-2 months, not longer or shrimp will become tasteless!
More Shrimp Recipes
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Fajitas de Camarón
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound shrimp (clean and deveined)
- 3 medium bell peppers (any color you prefer and cut into strips)
- 1 large onion (sliced)
- 5 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 lime (juice)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Place shrimp in a mixing bowl and add garlic, cumin, paprika, pepper, and salt. Mix well.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat.
- Add bell peppers, season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes stirring constantly.
- Then add onions and cook everything together until vegetables are cooked through (read notes).
- Remove peppers and onions from the pan and place them on a plate. Set aside.
- Wipe the pan with a paper towel, add 3 tablespoons of oil, and heat over high heat.
- Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until shrimp is cooked through.
- Return the vegetables to the pan and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste and turn off the heat.
- Add a squeeze of lime and some chopped cilantro, mix, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Make sure you don’t overcook the shrimp or they will become rubbery. Shrimp cook quickly, usually in 2-4 minutes, depending on their size.
- I like to cook the peppers and onions separately because this allows me better control over the doneness of the vegetables and prevents my shrimp from overcooking.
- For spicier fajitas, add 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers cut into strips. Or, if you want to add only the flavor but not the spiciness, remove seeds and membranes from chilies.