This post may include affiliate links; see our disclosure policy.

Do your tacos need a sauce? This shrimp taco sauce is like a creamy ranch dressing but with cilantro and cumin. And it’s GOOD.

Shrimp tacos recipe
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Are you a shrimp taco fan? Because we’ve got a shrimp taco sauce that will blow your mind! This creamy cilantro sauce is kind of like ranch dressing, except it’s made with chopped cilantro. It comes out creamy and tangy, a little rich from the mayo and a little creamy from the yogurt. It’s got the perfect blend of spices and will make your tacos taste DIVINE. Are you ready for this? Let’s go.

Related: Dairy free? Try our Creamy Cilantro Sauce.

Shrimp taco sauce

How to make shrimp taco sauce

Alex came up with the idea for this tasty shrimp taco sauce: he modeled it off of our Healthy Ranch Dressing recipe. If you haven’t made that healthy ranch dressing, run don’t walk over to that recipe and make it now! The combination of using yogurt for a healthy spin and a little bit of mayo for richness makes the ranch taste both light and satisfying at the same time. And the spices are the perfect blend to make even just crisp romaine lettuce taste AMAZING. It’s honestly one of my favorite recipes that we’ve created, and we make it constantly.

All that to say, of course a taco sauce that’s like ranch? It’s bound to be an instant hit in our household: and it was! This shrimp taco sauce is just like our healthy ranch recipe, but it uses fresh cilantro instead of dill and adds cumin for a Mexican-style vibe. Pair with juicy, savory shrimp and it’s out of this world good! And another plus: it takes only 5 minutes to make. You don’t even need to dirty a blender for this one!

Here’s how to make shrimp taco sauce:

  1. Finely chop cilantro.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk it together with Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion, powder, cumin, and salt.

And that’s it! Store it refrigerated until it’s ready to use. If you’re wondering if this shrimp taco sauce can be made without mayo: sorry, but no! The mayo adds just the right savory richness — and it’s only 2 tablespoons, so it’s a relatively low amount per serving.

This shrimp taco sauce makes enough for 8 tacos: enough for 4 servings! Get ready, because you’re about to WOW the judges with this one.

Shrimp taco sauce

Video: How to cut cilantro

Ever wondered the best way to chop cilantro? You’ll need to finely chop cilantro for this shrimp taco sauce recipe, and this method for cutting cilantro is slick and simple. Also, have you ever had issues with cilantro going bad in the plastic bag from the grocery store? We share our favorite herb keeper, too. Here’s our step by step guide for how to cut cilantro, including a video of me cutting cilantro in our kitchen.

How to serve it?

This shrimp taco sauce is of course best on our incredible Shrimp Tacos! But we can think of quite a few other ways to serve it:

Shrimp tacos with cilantro sauce

This shrimp taco sauce recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free. For dairy free, try our Creamy Cilantro Sauce instead.

Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Print

Shrimp Taco Sauce

How to make shrimp tacos
Save Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

Do your tacos need a sauce? This shrimp taco sauce is like a creamy ranch dressing but with cilantro and cumin. And it’s GOOD.

  • Author: Sonja
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: ½ cup (8 tacos) 1x
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Stirred
  • Cuisine: Mexican Inspired

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
  • ¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Finely chop the cilantro.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients together. Refrigerate until serving.

Did you love this recipe?

Get our free newsletter with all of our best recipes!

Looking for more sauce recipes?

Outside of this shrimp taco sauce, of course our Shrimp Cocktail Sauce is another perfect pair with shrimp! It’s a great option as a healthy appetizer recipe, perfect for celebrations like the holidays or New Year’s Eve. Here are a few of our other homemade sauces made from scratch:

Last updated: January 2021

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

Leave a Comment

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

1 Comment

  1. Amber Polvani says:

    This sauce was so easy & delicious! I hosted family dinner & used it on the shrimp tacos. Everyone loved it! I used a sheet pan recipe I’d found but this sauce recipe is a must. Can’t wait to try it on fish tacos!