Seafood Tacos with Lime-Green Chile Sauce + Grilled Corn Slaw.

Sunshine-on-a-plate tacos! These are all about sweet summer corn, juicy seafood, and a silky lime-green chile sauce that ties everything together. Think crisp, creamy, and a little spicy.

I fell for a version of these in San Diego…fresh seafood and a punchy green sauce. This is my easy, weeknight take at home with options for shrimp, scallops, or lobster.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Fast, bright, and weeknight-friendly…makes use of summer produce
• Crunchy shells or warm soft tortillas, your call.
• Sauce-first flavor that flatters mild seafood.

Ingredient Notes

• Seafood: shrimp, scallops, or lobster tails. Choose mild, fresh-smelling seafood…frozen/thawed works if patted very dry.
• Lime–green chile sauce: butter, store-bought green enchilada sauce or salsa verde, canned chopped green chiles, fresh lime.
• Grilled corn slaw: fresh corn, cabbage, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, lime.
• Off-season: frozen fire-roasted corn or thinly sliced cabbage works.
• Tortillas/shells: crunchy shells or warmed soft corn tortillas.

Recipe Inspiration

I recently had the opportunity to visit San Diego and eat my way through all the best local Mexican spots around town. It was beyond incredible.

The one thing I noticed was all the fresh fish and seafood dishes. It seemed that fresh catch was abundant everywhere, and it was so good. Coming from Colorado, I obviously don’t have access to fish that is literally right off the boat, so this was a big deal to me. I ate more fish and seafood than ever before, and loved every bite! My favorite dish was a seafood taco with a spicy green cream sauce. It was all the things any girl from a non-seafood eating family would love, buttery, creamy, spicy and ZERO fishiness!

I have to admit, fish that gives off a fishy smell and flavor is just not my thing, so I was really thrilled by the delicious flavors in these seafood tacos with lime-green chile sauce. The seafood was perfectly balanced with the spicy green cream sauce… oh my gosh – SO good.

So today I am showing you my easy version of those tacos. For my seafood, I used a mix of lobster, shrimp and scallops. If you are trying to keep the price down, an all shrimp taco would be great too! OR if you are like the rest in the people in my family and refuse to eat anything that does not breathe air, I would imagine that ground chicken or beef would be great with this cream sauce as well.

Once you’ve gotten your seafood together (or whatever you intend to use), next comes the sauce. This sauce is incredible, I cannot say it’s exactly like the sauce I had in San Diego, but honestly, I think it’s just as good…maybe even better. Creamy, spicy, buttery – the best sauce to pair with a seafood taco. You guys will love it!

There are a few special ingredients to this sauce, so let’s go over them.

1. Butter…It’s just a must. No negations. Do it.
2. Old El Paso Green Enchilada Sauce...This sauce is one of my favorites and gives off a nice creamy texture and so much flavor. Buy a can or two for these tacos, and then get creative and use them in things like rice, enchiladas, pasta sauces…so many options!
3. Old El Paso Chopped Green Chiles…the perfect amount of heat! Got to love um!

Step by Step

Make the lime–green chile sauce

• Melt butter; whisk in green enchilada sauce (or salsa verde) and chopped green chiles.
• Add lime to keep the flavor bright.
• Stir in a pinch of chili flakes or jalapeño to taste; balance heat with extra lime.

Cook the seafood

• Pat very dry; season lightly; hot skillet with a touch of oil/butter. Don’t crowd.
• Shrimp: Turns pink/opaque and curls into a “C” shape (not tight “O”).
• Scallops: Deep golden crust on the first side; centers turn just opaque and feel springy, not squishy.
• Lobster: Opaque and just heated through; remove before it tightens/turns rubbery.
• Toss seafood with a little sauce to gloss before assembling.

Grilled corn slaw

• Grill/char: Ears should have speckled char and smell toasty-sweet (indoors: cast-iron or broiler).
• Cut kernels off; toss with shredded cabbage, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, and a pinch of salt just before serving so it stays crisp.

Tortillas/shells

• Crunchy shells: Warm briefly so they’re fragrant and crisp, then fill right away to prevent sogginess.
• Soft corn tortillas: Warm until pliable (skillet or low oven); keep wrapped in a clean towel.

Assemble

• Layer slaw, seafood, generous drizzle of lime-green chile sauce.
• Finish with extra lime, cilantro, and a few jalapeño slices. + Avocado!

I also made a quick slaw with some fresh summer veggies and fruit. The slaw adds a nice crunch and an attractive snap of color too!

Oh, and one more important thing. I know in a lot of my taco recipes I often use a soft corn tortilla, but the truth is that I LOVE a crunchy shell. It’s what I ate growing up and it’s still what I prefer today. I especially love a crunchy shell with seafood and fish tacos, something about the soft fish with the crunchy shell is just so good!!

So what do you think, perfect summertime Sunday night dinner, right? I mean simple, delicious and healthy… can’t ask for much more than that!

Make-ahead, storage & reheat

• Make-ahead: Sauce and slaw can be made earlier in the day; keep chilled. Cook seafood right before serving for best texture.
• Storage: Store components separately. Seafood is best day-of but can be kept 1–2 days in the fridge; slaw is best within 24 hours.
• Reheat: Warm seafood over low heat just until heated through; re-crisp shells in a low oven.

Lets all prepare to face plant into these tacos, agreed? Cool, let’s do this!

**This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. Thanks for supporting the brand that allow me to create new content daily for Half Baked Harvest!