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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 with Fried Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

@halfbakedharvest

🍤 🌮 #tacos #sauce #shrimp #hotsauce #fried #friedavocado #avocado #tacoshop #spicy

♬ Little Bitty Pretty One – Bobby Day

Bang Bang Shrimp and Fried Avocado Tacos

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
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.

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Ingredients

Sauce

Tacos

US Customary – Metric

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.
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Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado | halfbakedharvest.com
This post was originally published on February 15, 2022
4.45 from 301 votes (236 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  2. 5 stars
    These were amazing!!! Made them for a bunch of our neighbors this weekend…yum…everything…the sauce…the fried avocado!! Perfection!

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I made these Sunday and they were so fun! Fried Avacado? AMAZING! I didn’t have the black sesame seeds but the natural ones worked great. Usually with fried things, I feel an urgency to eat them quickly (which I did). They were crunchy and delicious even 20 + minutes out of the pan. I know this because I was snacking on the remaining couple. 🙂 The shrimp were perfect and crispy as well. I had the little street taco tortillas and doubled them. I used my mandolin to shred the cabbage since I didn’t see any already shredded cabbage that looked good in the store. It was sliced so thinly and fit perfect on the tortilla. AND the extra sauce on top…. HELLO!

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    The combo of shrimp, shredded cabbage, fried avocado, cilantro, and bang bang sauce is so yummy! I had a tough time getting my GF panko and sesame seeds to stick to the avocado slices, so I wonder if a light dusting of GF flour before dipping in the egg would help? I had some leftovers the next day: put some fried avocado and shrimp on a corn tortilla, heated it in the microwave for 15 seconds, then added the greens and sauce = so good! And I think the leftovers may have tasted better than the dinner the night before. Maybe it was the cooler greens with a warmer tortilla. Either way, fresh or leftovers make a winner. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    1. Hey Douglas,
      Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Sure, you could do GF flour before the egg next time:) xTieghan

      Reply

  6. So so so good. I just discovered you (my bad) and have now made three of your recipes this week. Thank you so much for letting us have them! The avocado was the best part. Make the tacos creamy but still light. We loved them!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    We just made these. Very easy and turned out great! As you pointed out, the fried avocados were the highlight!

    Reply

      1. I bought your book for my wife on Valentines Day. We love your recipes and enjoy making them! Keep them coming!

        Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Perfect for stretching the small amount of shrimp in my freezer. Husband loved the fried avocado. Wasn’t the biggest fan of the sauce, pineapple salsa was a good sub.

    Reply

    1. Hey Noelle,
      Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Have the best week:) xx

      Reply

    2. 5 stars
      This was a nice change up for dinner. My husband who can be very picky loved everything about this recipe. I was worried the sauce would be too spicy, but we could have handled more. The fried avocado was the best part!

      Reply

    1. Hey Michelle,
      Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Riley,
      Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan

      Reply

  11. 5 stars
    This recipe is delicious and easy to make. I had never made fried avocado before and I wasnt sure if it was really going to add to the taco but it does, it gives it a special creaminess.

    Reply

    1. Hey Rose,
      Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! Have the best weekend! xxT

      Reply

  12. 5 stars
    Perfect Made it and the familie lovestory it

    Super lekker maar al haar recepten zijn heerlijk en makkelijk en net even anders
    Groetjes uit Holland

    Reply

    1. Hey Ursula,
      Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! Have the best weekend! xxT

      Reply

  13. I have my own favorite shrimp taco recipe but decided to add in your fried avocados and bang bang sauce. What fun and delicious additions! The bang bang sauce was a bit sweet for me ( maybe because of the chili sauce I used) so I doubled the hot sauce to cut the sweetness a bit. I loved the crunch and creaminess of the avocados—made the tacos very filling too! And just to mix things up a bit, I also made your creamy jalapeño sauce from another of your recipes and it was AMAZING!! New favorites for taco night! My husbands first comment after he took a bite was “ Is this another recipe from that Harvest girl?” ? Your recipes are on our menu at least twice a week now! Thank so much for sharing them!

    Reply

    1. Hey Judy,
      Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Thanks so much for your kind message! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Alex,
      Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks sos much for making it! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. I don’t love avocado but occasionally will eat guac. I used everything bagel seasoning on it and it was amazing!

      Reply