Prawn cocktail mini tacos

Prawn cocktails, in canapé form! These one-bite mini tacos are fantastic finger food, and you’ll love the nifty trick for making the miniature taco shells – just use an upside-down muffin tin!

 Prawn cocktail mini tacos

Though you’ll catch me eating the leftover prawn filling by the spoonful, the star of today’s recipe, is not the prawns, but rather, the mini taco shells. Firstly – adorable! Versatile!

Secondly – how they’re made. It’s so nifty – just wedge tortilla rounds into taco shapes using upside down muffin tin, then bake. They come out crispy and really, truly, actually look like taco shells!

They are the perfect size for one-bite finger food, and can be filled with anything chopped small enough to fit inside. Try this Jalapeño chicken filling, spicy salmon, Thai chicken salad or even old school taco beef.

In the spirit of summer here in Australia (and an attempt to be grown-up cocktail party canapé worthy), I’ve gone for prawn cocktail with a classic Marie Rose sauce. You just can’t go wrong with that combo!

Ingredients in prawn cocktail mini tacos

Here’s what you need to make the mini tacos and prawn cocktail filling.

1. for the mini taco shells

I recommend using corn rather than flour tortillas for the mini taco shells. They have more flavour, plus they bake up crispier and have better crispy staying power (an asset, once filled with the prawn cocktail filling). However, I’d use flour tortillas in a pinch if that’s all I could get.

2. marie rose sauce for the prawn filling

The ingredients here are the same as a classic prawn cocktail. The only thing we do differently is chop the prawns up into small pieces so they fit inside the mini taco shells.

3. the prawns

Use any prawns you want. I used tiger prawns, known for their bright orange colour! See more here for information about different Australian prawn varieties.

Buy the prawns pre-cooked, in the shell. Most Australian prawns are cooked soon after being caught, which locks in freshness and flavour. As long as they are fresh, the quality is excellent!

You can also buy them raw and boil yourself, or cook raw peeled prawns (directions in recipe notes).

I recommend avoiding the frozen pre-cooked prawns. I know they are better value, but they don’t taste much like prawns, and they are much drier and and firmer than fresh prawns.

How to make prawn cocktail mini tacos

The mini taco shells will stay crispy for 2 days – super handy for getting ahead!

1. How to make the mini taco shells

Use the off cuts to make little crispy tortilla shards to sprinkle on salads. Spray with oil, sprinkle with salt and bake until crispy, then use like croutons!

1. Cut rounds from the tortillas using a 6cm / 2.4″ cutter. I get 3 out of each tortilla. Start with one tortilla at a time, then stack when you’re a pro!

   If you don’t have a cutter, use a glass and small sharp knife.

2. Warm – Spread half the tortillas on a dinner plate and microwave for 30 seconds on high to make them pliable. We need to do this because corn tortillas are stiff when cold so they will break when bent into taco shapes.

3. Salt and spray – Spray the warm tortillas with oil and sprinkle with salt.

4. Wedge into taco shapes in an upside down muffin tin! Put them in salt side down. (There is no need to salt the upper side because it gets filled with the tasty prawn cocktail filling.

   Then repeat with remaining tortillas (if you work fast, you can warm and mould in one batch).

5. Bake – Spray the surface lightly with oil (helps them brown) then bake for 12 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced) or until they are golden brown and crispy.

6. Cool in the muffin tin so they set and firmly hold their shape. Then they can be removed to use or stored in an airtight container for 2 days.

   Tip: If they soften slightly for whatever reason, just reheat in the oven on a baking tray. 5 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) should do the trick!

2. MAKING THE PRAWN COCKTAIL FILLING

This is simply a classic prawn cocktail with the prawns chopped into smaller pieces so it fits in the mini taco shells.

1. Peel the prawns.

   (I freeze the head and shells until I have enough to make prawn stock. Crush for freezer space efficiency!)

2. Chop into small 5mm / 0.2″ cubes. For large prawns, I cut them in half horizontally, then lengthways, then I dice (demonstrated in video).

3. Mix the sauce in a bowl. This can be done ahead – even the day before.

4. Add prawns – Stir the prawns in the sauce.

   Don’t do this more than 30 minutes ahead of using because the salt in the sauce = sweats the prawns = thins the sauce = coats prawns less plus soaks the taco shells faster (neither of these things are good).

3. assembling & serving

1. Fill the mini tacos shells with the prawn cocktail filling. Do this just before serving so the shells don’t become soggy. Though, if you use corn tortillas, they will stay crisp once filled for a good 30 minutes!

2. Serve – Sprinkle with chives, then transfer to a platter and serve!

Tip – keeping mini tacos upright for serving!

I’ve learnt over the years from the pros that details matter. In this situation, the detail that I never thought of previously was how to stop these mini tacos from falling over and sliding all over the plate as you pass them around. And slide, they do!!

A neat trick I learnt from JB is to use dried black beans as a bed to keep them upright. Heavy and large enough not to stick to the tacos (like rice would), and I think the black colour looks great against the tacos!

Restaurants and caters would typically opt for rock salt as a more upscale option, but dried beans are cheaper and can be re-used which is why I go for that.

You don’t need to use a bed of any kind though. You can just lie the tacos down on their side or use the tacos to hold each other up. Though if you do the later, sternly tell your guests to take from the edge, not the middle, else you will risk a mini taco domino toppling situation!! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Prawn cocktail mini tacos (shrimp)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 12 minutes mins

Cooling: 30 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 7 minutes mins

Appetiser, Party Food

Western

5 from 7 votes

Servings17 mini tacos

Tap or hover to scale

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Recipe video above. Prawn cocktails, in canapé form! These one-bite mini tacos are fantastic finger food, and you’ll love the nifty trick for making the miniature taco shells – just use an upside-down muffin tin!

Fill with anything chopped small enough to fit – try Jalapeño chicken, spicy salmon, Thai chicken salad or even old school taco beef! In the spirit of summer here in Australia (and an attempt to be grown-up cocktail party canapé worthy), I've gone for prawn cocktail with a classic Marie Rose sauce.

Ingredients

Mini tacos:

• ▢ 6 corn tortillas ~13cm / 3" wide (Note 1 on flour tortillas)
• ▢ 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
• ▢ Olive oil spray

Prawns:

• ▢ 220g/7 oz cooked prawns/shrimp, peeled (ie 500g/1 lb whole cooked in shell, then peel yourself, Note 2)

Prawn cocktail sauce:

• ▢ 4 tbsp mayonnaise , preferably whole egg, or Kewpie (Note 3)
• ▢ 1 tbsp ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
• ▢ 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1/2 tsp horseradish cream , or better yet fresh horseradish (Note 4)
• ▢ 2 dashes of tabasco , for touch of spice (optional)
• ▢ 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper , for touch of spice (optional)
• ▢ 1/8 tsp garlic powder (or small garlic clove pressed using garlic crusher)
• ▢ 1 tbsp cornichons (or dill pickle), finely chopped

Garnish/serving:

• ▢ 1 tbsp chives , finely sliced (or parsley)
• ▢ Fancy options – salmon roe, caviar (not pictured)
• ▢ Dried black beans or rock salt , to keep upright when serving (optional, Note 5)

Cook ModePrevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe:

• Cut 17 x 6cm/2.4" rounds, microwave to soften, oil and salt, press into upside muffin tin. Bake 12 minutes, cool in tin. Fill!

FULL RECIPE:

Crispy mini taco shells:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Get a standard 12 hole muffin tin.
• Cut circles from the tortillas using a 6cm / 2.4" cutter. (Note 6 on using offcuts)
• Warm – Spread half on a dinner plate and microwave for 30 seconds on high (makes them pliable). Spray the warm tortillas lightly with oil, sprinkle with half the salt.
• Wedge – Turn the muffin tin upside down. Wedge the tortillas salt side down between the muffin tin holes – they fold into taco shapes! Repeat with remaining rounds.
• Spray the surface of the tortillas lightly with oil (no salt).
• Bake for 12 minutes, or until quite golden and crispy. Cool in the muffin tin so they set. (Stays crisp 2 days!)

Prawn cocktail filling:

• Dice the prawns into small 5mm / 0.2" cubes (for large, cut in half horizontally, lengthwise then chop – see video).
• Mix the Marie Rose sauce in a bowl. Then stir the prawns through, just before assembling.

Assembling:

• Fill taco shells with prawn cocktail filling, sprinkle with chives. To keep them upright, place on a bed of rock salt or dried beans for serving.
• Pass around, bask in praise, be coy when people ask how you made those marvellous mini taco shells!

Recipe Notes:

1. Tortillas – You’ll need more than 6 tortillas if yours are smaller or less if larger. Corn tortillas bake up crisper than flour ones, have better flavour and stay crisper for longer, but flour tortillas work too – no need to warm to make pliable & takes a few more minutes in the oven.

2. Prawns (shrimp) – Best to buy good whole prawns and peel yourself. Else, buy whole raw and boil, or pan fry – 250g/8oz raw peeled prawns, sprinkle lightly with salt then sear in a pan on medium high heat until just cooked, they will keep cooking as they rest. Cook time will vary with size: small – 1 minute each side, large – 2 minutes first side, 1 1/2 minutes second side.

I find frozen cooked peeled prawns rather flavourless. I’d use seafood sticks instead!

3. Whole egg mayonnaise – smoother, less sharp, not as sweet as regular mayo. Labelled as such on the jar – I like S&W and Hellmans. Else, Kewpie always works 🙂

4. Horseradish cream mainly adds tang here and tiny wasabi-like heat. Can be omitted, don’t sub with lemon juice (thins sauce).

5. Not essential to have a bed of something to keep them upright for serving, you can lie on side or arrange so they hold each other up. To re-use dried beans, rinse under hot water in colander, dry thoroughly tea towels, store in container indefinitely.

6. Cutting rounds – If you don’t have a round cutter, you can always trace around a glass using a small knife. Stack, to cut faster!

Use tortilla offcuts to make crispy tortilla shards for sprinkling on salads. Chop/cut into small random pieces, spray with oil, sprinkle with salt, bake 8 to 10 minutes until crispy. 

Making ahead – Mini taco shells will stay crispy for 2 days in an airtight container in the pantry (flour tortillas lose a bit of crispiness but still respectable, can re-crisp in oven for 5 minutes). For filling, prepare both sauce and prawns but don’t combine until <30 minutes before using (salt will extra juice from prawns which tins the sauce). Once filled, they will stay respectably crispy for 30 minutes, but I still scoff them down an hour later!

Nutrition per mini taco.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 36gCalories: 69cal (3%)Carbohydrates: 5.25g (2%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 4.6g (7%)Saturated Fat: 0.9g (6%)Cholesterol: 15mg (5%)Sodium: 183mg (8%)Potassium: 47mg (1%)Fiber: 1.1g (5%)Sugar: 0.9g (1%)Vitamin A: 300IU (6%)Vitamin C: 2.5mg (3%)Calcium: 20mg (2%)Iron: 0.2mg (1%)

Keywords: Appetizers, crispy rice finger food, Cucumber canape, mini tacos

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