A new take on a classic appetizer, honey shrimp nachos are the best recipe for a delicious and unique dish. Featuring shrimp seasoned with paprika and aromatics, honey, cumin-lime crema and a quick recipe for trashy guacamole.
An incredibly quick recipe that takes only 5-10 minutes of prep work. Inspired by a honey shrimp quesadilla at a local restaurant called Mexicali Rosa's.
Jump to:
Ingredients and Substitutions
Let's be honest, nacho toppings are a work of art. These are the ingredients I find the most complimentary but you can use anything you have on hand. I'm sure bell peppers would be great on these, too, but I don't enjoy them. Here are my holy grail add-ons:
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 pound of Shrimp, de-veined and shells removed
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, for searing
Cumin Lime Crema
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ½ Lime, juiced and zested
- Salt, to taste
Guacamole
- 1 Avocado
- 2 tablespoons Sour Cream
- 2 tbsp Salsa
- Salt, to taste
Assembly
- 4 cups Tortilla Chips
- 2 cups Shredded Tex Mex Cheese
- 3 tablespoons Honey, plus more to serve
- 8 slices Pickled Jalapenos
- 1 cup Corn
- Parsley, optional
Substitutions and Diet Modifications
Can these be made healthier? Yes, probably. Is it worth it? No - probably not. Nachos are not what I think of when I think of clean eating. If you really want to cut back on (a few) calories, you can saute the shrimp in a bit of cooking spray instead of olive oil.
Keto Nachos? If you think this recipe looks delicious and you want to enjoy it on a keto diet, you could serve the fixings over cauliflower rice or in a bowl format. Leave out the honey and try to find a low carb salsa.
Vegetarian Nachos? These are based around shrimp, but if you like the idea of honey nachos but don't eat meat or seafood, substitute the shrimp for black beans, chickpeas or just serve them with no protein!
I don't have x - what can I use instead? This recipe is just a guideline. I don't eat bell peppers so I leave them out but they'd probably be delicious. Putting corn on nachos might not be everyone's cup of tea. I like it. Have green onions? Use them! Don't like spice? Skip on the pickled jalapeños. These nachos are endlessly customizable. Go crazy!
Instructions, FAQs and Other Tips
Most of my recipes have very detailed instructions. These are nachos and are pretty hard to mess up.
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients in a mise en place. This means "everything in it's place" and it's always my most important tip. Not only does it save time, it limits the chances that you mess up a recipe from being overwhelmed.
- If you're making the sauces from scratch (which I recommend), mix together all the ingredients for the guacamole and all the ingredients for the crema. The guacamole should be good as is - adjust the thickness of the crema with water as needed. Both of these sauces are best if they can rest in the fridge for at least a few hours up to overnight.
- Season and pan sear the shrimp over med-high heat (mostly for color).
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread the tortillas on a baking sheet and top with shrimp, toppings of choice and cheese finishing with a drizzle of honey. For best results, layer the nachos in 2 layers instead of loading the goodies only on top.
- Top the nachos with all sauces - guacamole, crema and salsa if desired. To finish, top with drizzled honey and parsley and/or green onions.
FAQ:
Can I make nachos in advance? How do I reheat nachos? Honestly I don't recommend making this in advance or reheating. If you want to do some work beforehand or have these on hand all week, you can store the shrimp for 3-5 days in the fridge. Also, you can make the sauces in advance. For best results, eat the nachos immediately.
I only have beef and chicken, can I still make these nachos? Sure! For chicken, you can follow the recipe as listed and just use cooked chicken in place of cooked shrimp. For beef, all the ingredients can be the same but I don't love honey and beef together.
Can I use other seafood for this recipe? Sure! I'd say some are better suited than others. White fish, for example may be a bit too soft and not give enough texture difference but would taste great. If you want to use crab or lobster go for it. Scallops may be okay but I haven't personally tried them. I'd stay away from clams, oysters or pink fish like salmon, tuna or trout.
Do I need any special equipment for this recipe? Not at all. I recommend either a baking sheet or mini cast iron pans if you want a cute presentation. Otherwise, an optional but nice to have thing is a food processor with a shred attachment to shred cheese. A plain old cheese grater will work fine, but often pre-shredded cheese doesn't melt as well (and it's expensive).
Zero Waste Tips
How Can I Make This a Meal + Sides?
Honestly, nachos are either an appetizer or a slack meal for me. I'm not eating nachos to feel balanced. If you want a side dish - my best and only recommendation is either a light beer or a sparkling lemonade.
If you want to feel healthy, serve it with a side salad. I like this simple and quick recipe from Christina's Cucina. I sub out the bell peppers for shredded carrots, though.
If you just want to feel more satisfied, just add more toppings to the nachos. It really is just an appetizer or a lazy dinner so don't get too worried about balance.
Help! I Have Leftover...
Parsley? Make a zero waste pesto! Just use parsley instead of radish greens. Don't have enough parsley for this recipe? Use any leafy greens or herbs you have on hand.
Shrimp? Use extra cooked shrimp on top of pasta, salads, rice bowls or any dish you'd use chicken in. If you have raw shrimp and don't want to use it, remove the shell and freeze it until you're ready to use it.
BONUS! Save shrimp shells in ziplock bags in your freezer and save them until you have enough to make shrimp broth. Of course, look at what else to use to bulk up your seafood broth in my Complete Guide on Making Homemade Stocks.
📖 Recipe
Honey Shrimp Nachos
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 lb shrimp de-veined and shells removed
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Cumin Lime Sour Cream
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ lime juiced and zested
- salt
Trashy Guacamole
- 1 avocado
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 tablespoon salsa
- salt
Assembly
- 4 cups tortilla chips
- 2 cups shredded tex mex cheese
- 3 tablespoon honey plus more to serve
- 8 slices pickled jalapenos
- 1 cup corn
- parsley optional
Instructions
Shrimp
- Combine shrimp and seasonings in a bowl, stir until fully coated - set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is heated, add in shrimp and cook about 2 minutes per side. Do not move the shrimp more than you have to. You want them to develop a crust and get slightly browned. Set aside.
Guacamole
- Combine all ingredients for the guacamole and mash until combined. You can obviously elevate this with better ingredients or even a store bought guacamole but this recipe is pretty flavourful anyway, you don't need a super flavour dense guacamole for this. Let the avocado shine.
Cumin Lime Sour Cream
- Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. You want the sour cream to be thin enough that you can squirt it from a bottle on the nachos.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Layer chips, toppings (minus sauces) and then cheese in either small cast iron pans or a baking sheet. The nachos taste best if you layer the nachos 2 times instead of placing all the toppings on top of the chips. Before baking, drizzle honey all over the nachos.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. If the nachos start to brown before the cheese is melted, use the broil feature. You probably will have the nachos be done at about the same time as the cheese.
- While the nachos are still hot, top the nachos with a few squirts of the sour cream and place a dollop of guacamole in the middle. Top with jalapenos and parsley if desired. The parsley can be skipped but it adds some nice color variety. You can also use cilantro but there are already a lot of strong flavours, you don't want to over-do it.
Nutrition
Liked this post?
Subscribe to our newsletter here to get weekly exclusive recipes sent to your email
Lidia Y De La Cruz
I love the images & nachos too!
Maritime Glutton
Thank you Lidia! Let me know if you try them ❤️
Rebecca @ Busy Mom.Smart Mom
These look so good! I've never tried shrimp nachos but this recipe looks great.
Maritime Glutton
Thanks Rebecca! They’re definitely untraditional but my favourite way to have them. Let me know if you give them a try 🙂
Karen | Online Blog & Business Help
These looks delicious! I don't eat meat but do make an exception for seafood. I'm always looking for shrimp recipes as it's something the whole family enjoys. I'll add this one to my list 🙂
Maritime Glutton
Seafood and shellfish is amazing, especially for quick meals. I hope you live them. Thanks Karen!
Yolanda
We are nacho obsessed in this house (well my son is) and these look like such an amazing alternative. I love shrimp but never get that creative with them so I am 100% trying this. The cumin, lime sour cream sounds amazing - in fact I'm going to make this for all nacho platters in the future. Yum! Can't wait to try 🙂
Maritime Glutton
I got the cumin lime sour cream recipe from my mom originally! I like to go heavy on the zest. Let me know how you like it, Yolanda! Thanks 🙂
Beth
That looks absolutely amazing, and I love those little cast iron pans! I need to get some of those... Ha ha. I'll look in to making this recipe for my 8 year old... He loves shrimp. Thanks for sharing!
Maritime Glutton
I’m so glad you liked the recipe, Beth! Shrimp is my favourite too. There’s a link to the pans for Amazon CA but imagine you can find them in the US store as well.
Andrea
Wow this look amazing. I want to try this!
Maritime Glutton
Thank you Andrea! Let me know if you do try it 🙂
Kimberly
Omg! These look amazing! I plan on making these next week for sure! Nachos are my favorite!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Maritime Glutton
Thanks Kimberly, you'll have to let me know how it turns out. They're my favourite too!
Gina Abernathy
Sounds different but worth a try. I love shrimp and nachos are a family favorite. I am a fan of guacamole.
Maritime Glutton
It definitely is a different recipe but delicious. Based off a quesadilla I had at a local Mexican-American style restaurant. Thanks for the comment, Gina. I'd love to hear how it turns out!
Rachel
Cumin is my ALL TIME favorite spice to use, but I’ve never thought to spice up sour cream with it! These are going in next weeks meal plan! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try them!
Maritime Glutton
I actually can't take all the credit - my mom served it to the family when we visited for a taco bar a few weeks ago and it was the finishing touch I needed to round out this recipe. Let me know how it goes, Rachel!
Mansa
Excellent. Try this recipe immediately!
Maritime Glutton
Thanks Mansa! You'll have to let me know how they turn out.
Christina Conte
Oh this is so delicious! A great anytime meal (or a big snack)! Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Maritime Glutton
Thank you Christina! I'm so happy to include your yummy salad as a side option. Thanks for the great content!