Double Stacked Shrimp and Cheese Tacos

Name: Double Stacked Shrimp and Cheese Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds ripe tomatoes; 4 garlic cloves (peeled); 2 to 3 chiles de árbol (stemmed, keep the seeds (more to taste)); 2 teaspoons oregano; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (or to taste, plus more for seasoning the shrimp); 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided, plus more to cook the tacos); 2 pounds medium shrimp (rinsed, shelled, and butterflied); Freshly ground pepper (to taste); 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided); 12 to 16 corn tortillas; 3 cups melty shredded cheese (such as mozzarella, asadero, Oaxaca, quesadilla, or Monterey Jack); 1 large ripe avocado (halved, pitted, thinly sliced)

Tacos Bravos de Toño

Recipe Yield

6 to 8 double tacos

Cooking time

50 minutes

Rate this recipe

5 from 6 votes

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe tomatoes
4 garlic cloves peeled
2 to 3 chiles de árbol stemmed, keep the seeds (more to taste)
2 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or to taste, plus more for seasoning the shrimp
3 tablespoons vegetable oil divided, plus more to cook the tacos
2 pounds medium shrimp rinsed, shelled, and butterflied
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
12 to 16 corn tortillas
3 cups melty shredded cheese such as mozzarella, asadero, Oaxaca, quesadilla, or Monterey Jack
1 large ripe avocado halved, pitted, thinly sliced

To Prepare

Combine the tomatoes, garlic and chiles de árbol in a medium saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes and garlic are completely soft and the chiles are plump and rehydrated. Transfer to a blender with 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the oregano, tomato paste and salt, and puree until completely smooth.
Heat the 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the tomato puree, cover partially and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and darkened, and the flavors have intensified. Turn off the heat.
Season the butterflied shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Once the butter begins to foam, add half the shrimp and quickly sear for a minute or so per side. They should be browned and just cooked through. Be careful not to overcook or the shrimp will be rubbery. Scrape into a bowl. Melt another tablespoon butter and oil together and repeat with the second batch.
Heat a comal, griddle or large skillet, preferably nonstick or cast iron, over medium heat. Add a tablespoon or two of oil to the surface.
One by one, lightly sauce the tortillas: briefly dip them into the tomato sauce, making sure the entire tortilla is coated (I like to use a pair of rubber tipped tongs but you could also just use you hands) and lay as many as will fit on the comal or griddle without overlapping. Top each tortilla with 2 to 3 tablespoons shredded cheese. Leave for a couple of minutes, until the cheese begins to melt and the bottoms of the sauced tortillas begin to dry and brown a little. Then, using a spatula, stack two sauced, browned and cheese-topped tortillas, one on top of another.
Don’t worry if the tortilla that you scrape up to stack on top of the other one sticks and tears a little bit or if it is not sitting evenly on top. Spoon some seared shrimp on top of each stack, gently fold with a spatula and continue cooking for a couple of minutes, until the cheese has completely melted and begun to ooze out and create a crust.
Remove from the heat and serve hot. Top with slices of ripe avocado.

Comments

78comments inDouble Stacked Shrimp and Cheese Tacos

Tim Hartman

May 09

I just picked up all the ingredients.
I watched you make these the other day. They looked so delicious.
I can’t wait to try them.
Thanks for sharing this recipe

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 20
  
  My pleasure Tim, let me know how you like them!
  
Sylvain Quirion

Apr 28

Can’t wait to try this. Saw you on channel 8 pbs in Phx. Love your show/recipes
Love Mexican food!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 20
  
  Thanks so much Sylvain, hope you give these tacos a chance!
  
Joe in Denver

Feb 16

What I love about Pati’s show is it makes me look at Mexican cuisine so differently than what you think of it in the states and inspires me to cook more of it. I saw the episode with these tacos and had to make them. The sauce itself was spicy for me with only 3 chiles and I was afraid the tacos would be too, but it ended up being the perfect kiss of spice and these were super delicioso! Love the crusty outside and the soft gooey inside. I added green onion with the cheese, and can see really doing a lot of different things with the filling. This is a keeper! Gracias!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 27
  
  Thanks so much Joe, you made my day!
  
Not so Midwest

Nov 27

I’ve made these a few times for my family adding Chile guajillo and Chile California peppers as I had to use canned tomatoes (whole & drained). I also at least doubled the chiles de arbol. They LOVE this recipe!!!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 27
  
  So glad to hear! These tacos must have come out really spicy, and I like that!
  
Brushjl

Jul 14

We made with fresh tomatoes. Somehow the proportions didn’t work out and we ended up with a ton. My normally spice averse son said they were bland. Anyway, a lot of work.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jul 27
  
  Sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work for you guys 🙁
  
Michelle K.

Oct 28

I altered the sauce a little because I didn’t have the right chiles. I had pasilla chilies and used those with the addition of 2 chipolte in Adobo. We ended up using the extra sauce to make a chicken and shrimp Mexican lasagna. We layered rice, beans, meat with the sauce and tortillas with Monterey jack cheese. It was amazing.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 28
  
  Wow, great ideas for your chiles Michelle, yum!
  
Anonymous

Oct 22

So I took some liberties with the sauce because I used what I had. I didn’t have chile de arbol, but added dried pasilla peppers with the tomatoes. Then while blending I added two chipoltes in adobo. I liked the depth of the pasilla and chipoltes. We will definitely try the original recipe next time…because this will be a regular meal.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 29
  
  Awesome ideas! Love it when you guys get creative with this recipes, un abrazo!
  
Nancy Farris

May 22

We discovered your show on PBS a few weeks ago and loved it! My husband surprised me with Treasures of the Mexican Table. Beautiful cookbook!
Tonight he made this dish (after watching you make it) and it was WONDERFUL!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 25
  
  Aw Nancy, so happy you guys found me and have been enjoying the show! Thank your husband for me for thinking of my book as a gift to you. If you send me your mailing address to hola@patijinich.com I will send you a signed and dedicated bookplate for your new book. Un abrazo to both!
  
Rafael Arce

Apr 08

Hola Pati!!!!
Por fin tuve la oportunidad de ser estos tacos!!!! OMG! I thought I was prepared…holy cow!!!! Really need to work on my patience. So lo me salieron dos a como te salieron…the rest I made them single. Yet, I am determined to make them again and after reviewing your directions I think I know what I did wrong. My husband enjoyed them as I did…the tomato sauce was delicious, and thinking I might use it for other dishes: chilaquiles, enchiladas sonorense, etc.
thank you for your recipes love your show and your new cook book. 😊

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 12
  
  Thanks to you for following Rafael, yep, cooking takes time and patience but these tacos are worth it. Saludos to you and your husband!
  
Dorothy

Feb 16

Love your recipes. This is absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 18
  
  My pleasure Dorothy, so glad you liked these tacos 😉
  
Vivian Limas

Feb 03

Those were one of the most amazing shrimp tacos!!! This instantly became a family favorite. Thank you for sharing and blessings to Tonio. Enjoyed his story and this new way to enjoy a bravo taco.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 07
  
  Thanks so much Vivian, these are indeed some amazing tacos. Un abrazo!
  
Debbie

Sep 09

Hi ,LOVE YOUR SHOW!!
Do you make these on an episode, if so, which one?

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 03
  
  I did Debbie! These tacos are from Season 9 from Sonora, Episode 7 “Legends of the Sonoran Sea”. Thanks for tuning in 🙂
  
Frank Or Leonor U. Nunez @ shoatnunez@yahoo.com

Sep 04

Great recipe different type of tacos , gracias

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 03
  
  Glad you liked them!
  
Jennifer S

Jul 07

I made these for dinner tonight and they were fantastic. Dipping the tortillas in the sauce added even more depth of flavour and texture to the dish. The recipe had a nice heat, next time I won’t shake out as many seeds from the chiles de arbol (I admit I was slightly worried)! My family affirmed that dinner tasted like the wonderful meals we have experienced whilst visiting Mexico. We love your show, books and recipes Pati, thank you for allowing us to travel virtually and culinarily (and plan where next to visit) when we couldn’t leave home.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jul 08
  
  Thanks to you Jennifer and to your family for following. So happy to know you guys are tuning in and enjoying the show, yay!!
  
Joe Sanchez

May 23

Tried them today, so I learned a couple of things when cooking these …..take your time and do one thing at a time and you’ll save the kitchen from exploding. I made a mess and set off the fire alarms a couple of times but in the end I ended up enjoying them, they were delicious. Now to clean up and keep my wife happy lol

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 23
  
  Haha! Yes, take your time 😉 So glad you liked the tacos Joe!
  
Katherine Edmiston

Apr 29

An amazing recipe I can’t wait to try it!!!!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 30
  
  Let me know how do you like these tacos when you prepare them Katherine 😉
  
Jen

Apr 03

Amazing! I had a can of good San Marzano tomatoes so used that instead of tomatoes and water (winter tomatoes here are awful anyway). Such a simple sauce with complex flavor. Thank you also for pulling me out of my usual fish taco rut!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 04
  
  So glad you decided to go for these tacos and loved them Jen, yay!
  
Anonymous

Mar 30

Wow! All that cheese yummy! Can’t wait to make these. Gracias ☺️

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 04
  
  Hopefully you will love them!
  
Laura Miller

Mar 27

Hi Patty I’ve watched your show for a long time now and very interested in what you do I’m going to try and make this shrimp tacos my son loves tacos and he also likes shrimp it looks great my name is Laura and I live in Paola Kansas in the rule area best of luck to you and keep on cooking

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 11
  
  Thanks so much for the kind words Laura, so glad you are making this tacos for your son, hope he will love them! Un abrazo to Kansas 😉
  
Francisco ramirez

Mar 20

They look delocious gracias por la receta

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Mar 20
  
  Con gusto Francisco, hope you’ll enjoy these tacos 😉
  
Bill & Ellen Schoenbeck

Feb 14

My wife and I really love your show and recipes. Why did the website change? It was so easy before to look up by season and episode. Now the recipes all seem jumbled together and searching by season and episode yields too may results and is difficult to find what you are looking for. Our local PBS station tells us the season and episode so that’s how we look up a recipe we want to save for later. Please fix the search function, 302 results for season 9 episode 7 is too many.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 15
  
  Thanks so much Bill and Ellen for your feedback. We are in the first stages of re vamping our website. So far is looking amazing and we are working on fine tuning it to offer you the best experience, thanks so much for your patience.
  
Barb

Feb 14

Cannot wait to make this. I made a similar version with what I had on hand. I had made fresh tomatillo sauce so I substituted the green sauce for the red. I was good.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 15
  
  Yummy, thanks for sharing Barb!
  
Rina

Jan 31

You are my inspiration to cook every week, I’ll try this, my American fiancé loves spicy sauce.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 31
  
  Thanks so much Rina, hope the tacos will not disappoint!
  
Jessica Diego Martinez

Jan 23

My husband and I made these tacos today after seeing this episode. Que Ricos!! Gracias por la receta.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 10
  
  My pleasure Jessica! Que bueno que les gustaron, saludos!
  
Lyle V.

Jan 10

These look amazing and I can’t wait to make them for my music buddies. We get together to talk music and enjoy tasty food. Tacos bravos promise to be a huge hit!
I’ve really been enjoying the new season highlighting Sonoran cuisine.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 17
  
  Thanks so much for the kind words Lyle, hope everyone in your group will enjoy these tacos!
  
Erin

Dec 27

These were amazing. I used some left over chile from making tamales, so not quite the same sauce but still arbol based and garlicy. I used a vegan cheddar in mine (Miyokos brand) which was delicious; husband got the real queso and it was so melty! He gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up. We used corn tortillas, but this would be great with a fresh, thin flour tortilla. May try this with pork…and an egg…

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 06
  
  So glad you enjoyed these tacos Erin, and also amazed at how many great ideas you have to give this recipe your own twist, enjoy!
  
Anonymous

Dec 19

Really great recipe, I watched the episode in tv couple of weeks ago and my husband was drooling and saying he wants those tacos:). They did not disappoint! So different from other taco recipes!
Thank you Pati,
Marketta

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 21
  
  Thanks so much to you and your husband Marketta, for tuning in and for giving these tacos a chance!
  
john r

Dec 01

made these and they are amazing. have you ever tried with soft shell crabs?

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  I have not, but what a great idea, yum!
  
  1. john r
    
    Dec 02
    
    flour tortillas?
    
    1. Pati Jinich
      
      Dec 02
      
      Sure John, if you like them better, flour tortillas work as well 😉
      
Desi

Nov 30

My father in law and I made these tacos 🌮 tonight after watching ur show, they were everything you said they would be pati!!!!! Super delicious 😋 thank you for sharing these recipes with all of us….

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Thanks so much for giving this recipe a chance Desi, un abrazo to you and your suegro 😉
  
Helena

Nov 29

Made these for dinner tonight Pati…absolutely amazing!!!!!!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Yay! Thank you Helena 😉
  
Paul

Nov 29

Hi Pati,

I am such a big fan of your show! I learn so much from you. The recipe was fantastic! I followed your instructions exactly and the tacos didn’t disappoint. Mexican cuisine unfortunately gets misrepresented (tacos, burritos, rice, beans). Thank you for showing your fans that Mexican food has as much versatility as any cuisine in the world.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Thanks for your kindness Paul, so glad you enjoyed the Tacos Bravos!
  
Paul Diaz

Nov 24

Pati,

Your the best!!! I always look forward to learning something different from your episodes. We really, really enjoyed the tacos!!! We followed the instructions exactly and they didn’t disappoint. I wish I could have posted of a photo!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  So glad to read this Paul!
  
jrc

Nov 22

hola pati’ can this recipe be made with guajillo salsa with dried arbol’ for heat? i make guajillo sauce all the time

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Of course yes! Spicy Guajillo salsa, yum!!!
  
Sandra

Nov 22

I made the shrimp taco delicious. Got a thumbs up from my family and want me to make more.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 22
  
  Yay Sandra, thanks so much for letting me know, SO happy the family approved 😉
  
Gary

Nov 18

😋🤪

Susanna

Nov 18

Hola Pati!! Hope you’re well. I enjoy watching your cooking show & all the places you take us to! How can I store cilantro so that it keeps fresh? I’m continually buying it & tossing the old one(s) out without the fragrance or blacken twigs. Cilantro is expensive & not always fresh!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 22
  
  Hi Susanna, try to wrap the stems in a moist paper towel and then in a plastic bag, you will give you cilantro few more days of life 😉
  
  1. Helena
    
    Nov 29
    
    You know what works really well.
    After purchasing, cut stems, like you do fresh flowers. Then put in jar of water, cover with a dry plastic bag (I use a ziplock) put elastic around the bottom , refrigerate. Mine lasts for a few weeks this way.
    
David Bieger

Nov 15

We have often visited Guymas, camping on the beach and diving and swimming. But the thing we looked forward to most was the shrimp! Non better in all of Baja or the Sea of Cortez.
I can’t wait to make the shrimp tacos Brava.
I think we can make these at the beach on New Years Day in San Diego.
Thanks Patient.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 22
  
  Thanks to you David, enjoy the shrimp and the tacos 😉
  
Lucille

Nov 14

Looks so good, can’t wait to make them.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 22
  
  Hope you like them Lucille, thank you!

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