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These crispy shrimp tacos, known as Tacos Gobernador or tacos governor, are the perfect recipe for a crowd. These shrimp tacos are cooked in batches of six, which means six people can eat hot, crispy tacos at the same time—no waiting for them to fry individually!
The filling is a mixture of tender shrimp coated in a saucy tomato-chile sauce and melty cheese. Out of the oven, they get topped with crisp shredded lettuce, cool avocado and cilantro before getting folded and served. Each bite is bold in flavor, slightly spicy, and wonderfully crispy. You’re going to LOVE these!
As the story goes, Tacos Gobernadora originated in Sinaloa Mexico. Sinaloa is known for incredible seafood and seafood dishes, such as their take on aguachile (shrimp ceviche). So of course they make a great shrimp taco.
It’s believed these tacos were created in the late 1980s by chefs at Los Arcos in Mazatlan to impress the governor of Sinaloa. Though some stories say the mayor preferred his shrimp tacos with cheese and chiles, thus Tacos Gobernador were born. Either way, it’s genius.
My recipe for Tacos Gobernador is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen (where I interned!) and is a bit untraditional. Traditionally, these crispy shrimp tacos are cooked, OK fried, in butter or lard in a hot skillet.
But for a quicker, more efficient method, I assemble them open-faced on oiled baking sheets. This method creates the beloved crispy, golden brown tortillas while also cooking six tacos at a time.
And instead of roasting and peeling poblanos, I opt for minced fresh jalapeño. It’s quicker and allows you to control how much heat is added by removing or including the ribs and seeds. Up to you!
And finally, for my version of tacos gobernador, I like to use shredded pepper Jack cheese—it melts well, adds a bit more heat and is easy to find at most grocery stores. Queso Chihuahua, asadero and/or Oaxaca are more traditional and also work well.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some things to note about the ingredients. The full ingredient list, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Jalapeño: these days, jalapeños are quite mild. If you’re serving a crowd, stick to jalapeños because most people can handle them. For a crowd who likes things spicier, use a serrano.
- Shrimp: It’s important to use large shrimp here. Opt for shrimp that are 26/30 in size. Bigger is better here so they don’t overcook.
- Oil: you’ll need a high-heat cooking oil to avoid it from smoking in the high-heat oven. Use canola, grapeseed or avocado oil.
- Tortillas: small 6-inch corn tortillas is what you want here.
- Cheese: I use pepper Jack cheese because it’s melty and easy to find. You can also use Queso Chihuahua, asadero or Oaxaca for something more traditional.
How to Make Tacos Gobernador
- Start by peeling, deveining and dicing the shrimp. Set this aside while you cook the tomato sauce.
- Cook the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, tomato paste, honey, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a skillet until it’s saucy and thickened (you still want it chunky!).
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the shrimp. Keep in mind, the shrimp do not need to cook through here. They’ll finish cooking in the oven so you actually want the shrimp a little undercooked.
- Prep the baking sheets by coating them with oil. You want them to have enough oil to lightly fry the tortillas.
- Arrange the tortillas in an even layer on the baking sheets. Now brush the tops of the tortillas with more oil. (Oil = crispness.)
- Sprinkle cheese evenly over the tortillas. Now, spoon the shrimp mixture evenly over each tortilla.
- Bake on the bottom rack, one sheet at a time (this is key for crispiness!), until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy.
- Immediately after removing the tacos from the oven, top them with shredded lettuce, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce and then fold in half.
Test Kitchen Tips
- It’s OK if the cheese melts and spreads onto the baking sheet. It will crisp up and edge the tortilla in frico (crispy cracker-like cheese).
- Once the tacos are out of the oven, top them quickly and fold them quickly! While testing this recipe, I found if you fold them while they’re still hot, they will hold their shape.
Storage, Reheating and Making Ahead
Start to finish, these tacos come together in 45 minutes. But you can prep some of the components ahead of time. You can the sauce up to 3 days ahead of time. Reheat the sauce and stir in the shrimp right before assembling and cooking the tacos.
- Storage: store any leftover tacos in an airtight container layered with paper towels. The paper towels will soak up excess moisture which should keep them from getting overly soggy.
- Reheat: reheat these tacos in a cast-iron skillet with a bit of oil over medium-high heat until crisp and warmed through.
How to Serve These Tacos
- Serve these crispy shrimp tacos with salsa verde or my fresh tomato and chipotle salsa. My go-to guacamole is also perfect for these.
- Pair tese with a margarita! I love this Hibiscus Margarita.
- Top tacos gobernador with Mexican slaw instead of lettuce and cilantro.
- A little cilantro chimichurri action drizzled over top would be delicious!
Sauces & Dressings
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Sauces & Dressings
Fresh Tomato & Chipotle Salsa
Drinks & Cocktails
Hibiscus Margarita
Tacos Gobernador (Crispy Shrimp Tacos)
Description
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Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes, cored and diced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño, stemmed and minced*
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, + lime wedges for serving
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound large shrimp (26/30), peeled and deveined
- 4 tablespoons high-heat neutral cooking oil, such as canola, grapeseed or avocado
- 12 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas
- 8 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
Toppings
- shredded romaine lettuce
- diced avocado
- fresh cilantro
- hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Cholula
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450ºF (232ºC) with rack set in lowest position. Combine 2 diced tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, 1 minced jalapeño, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 minced cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add tomato mixture and cook until liquid has thickened and mostly evaporated, and tomatoes begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut 1 pound shrimp into ½-inch pieces. Remove skillet from heat and stir in shrimp; set aside.
- Brush 2 rimmed baking sheets with 2 tablespoons neutral oil (1 tablespoon per sheet). Arrange 6 corn tortillas in a single layer on each prepared sheet. Brush remaining 2 tablespoons neutral oil over tortillas.
- Divide 8 ounces shredded cheese evenly among tortillas, then top with shrimp mixture. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until bottoms and edges of tortillas are golden brown and crisp and cheese is melted, 9–14 minutes.
- Top tacos with shredded lettuce, diced avocado, cilantro, and hot sauce. Quickly fold tacos in half and arrange, standing up, in a rimmed platter or dish.
- Repeat cooking, topping and folding with remaining 6 tortillas and filling. Serve with lime wedges and additional hot sauce.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was most recently updated on January 14th to be more consice and helpful for the reader.
