Camarones en Crema Chipotle are juicy, large shrimp in a creamy chipotle sauce. This Mexican seafood recipe is absolutely delicious and ready in under 30 minutes.
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Watch the Video or follow the step-by-step picture to make this incredibly yummy dish.
I can’t make enough Mexican Shrimp recipes. People ask me for them all the time.
They are seriously the perfect protein.
Low in calories. Low in carbohydrates. And most recipes are done and ready in no time.
How to Make Camarones en Crema Chipotle
These are the only ingredients you need to make this dish. Love easy shrimp recipes!
You probably already have these ingredients sitting in your fridge right now.
It is the perfect recipe for busy weeknight because it comes together in a flash.
Camarones en Crema Chipotle starts with large cleaned shrimp.
How to Clean Shrimp
Rinse the shrimp.
Remove them from the shells.
Cut into the long curved back.
Remove the poop track. It’s a long, dark vein.
Do this for all the shrimp.
Yes, poop track is exactly what you think. This is shrimp poop. No one wants to eat poop.
Once they are ready, place the shrimp in the fridge until you are ready to use.
Shrimp can spoil quickly. You want to buy them and use them right away.
These are raw shrimp, and they look like they are cooked. So pretty in pink. 🙂
Shrimp sizes per pound:
Extra Jumbo 16/20 count
Jumbo 21/25 count
Extra Large 26/30 count
Large 31/35 count
Medium Large 36/40 count
Medium 41/50 count
Small 51/60 count
Extra Small 61/70 count
For example:
For every pound of extra jumbo shrimp, you get about 16-20 shrimp.
and so on…
To make this recipe, I suggest the bigger, the better. I used large shrimp.
You can leave the tail on or off. However, it is easier with the tail off, or you’ll get your fingers full of cream.
Licking fingers is not acceptable at the table… just wait until no one is looking. 🙂
The best thing to do is to freeze them right away. Even if you just brought them home. They thaw easily.
To thaw shrimp, just place them in a water for about 20 minutes.
If they are still not defrosted, let them sit in water longer.
Or, you can also drain the water and add more water. Then let them sit again until fully thawed.
Now time to work on the cream sauce for this scrumptious Mexican shrimp recipe.
This is a milk. You can also use evaporated milk if you prefer.
Milk (or just about any dairy product) will tame the heat to overly spicy dishes.
Remember that for next time you’re eating something that you can’t handle. Don’t reach for the water. Reach for the milk.
Got milk?
Chipotle is a dried and smoked jalapeño.
In Mexico, you can find the dried chipotle version very easily. In the US, they are a little harder to find.
Luckily, we need the canned chipotle in adobo sauce for this recipe for Camarones al Chipotle.
That seems to be more easily available. I’ve even found them in Europe.
Let me tell you, that’s a big deal. My German-American husband sometimes toys with the idea of moving back to Germany. My worry is not having my Mexican food.
If you can find a can of chipotle in adobo you can make several dishes like Chicken Tinga Tostadas or Chipotle Salsa.
Yum. Yum.
To a blender, add the chipotle.
If you’re not into spice, use only half the pepper. It will still give you the smoky chipotle flavor without the heat.
Sour cream also goes into the blender.
You can use cream cheese for a thicker consistency, but you will need to add a little more milk to get the blender going.
Salt is a must in any dish. My advice is always to start small.
You can always add salt, but you can’t take it out.
Blend until smooth.
Before adding the chipotle cream sauce to the skillet, taste it for salt and heat level.
For a sauce that’s too spicy, add more milk.
Or maybe add more salt, if needed.
In a large skillet, add the butter. You can also use olive oil, but I love shrimp cooked in butter.
Another option is to coconut oil, but it will give some of the coconut flavor to your shrimp.
Add the shrimp and cook for a 4-5 minutes. Please do not overcook the shrimp.
No one likes rubbery shrimp. Once they turn pink, immediately go to the next step.
Camarones en Crema Chipotle will come together fast.
I highly suggest to have all the ingredients ready to go.
Onion and garlic then go into the pan. I wouldn’t go too far away. Garlic tends to burn easily.
This will only take 1 minute, or until the onion is translucent.
That’s why we start with the chipotle cream sauce first. So it can be ready when we need it.
Next up is to add the chipotle cream sauce.
Let this cook for another minute, and the Camarones en Crema Chipotle are ready.
What an easy recipe!
Camarones en Crema Chipotle is an ideal dish for those nights that you just don’t want to cook, but you have to, or your family will order greasy take out… UGH!
I served it with rice and broccoli. You can also add green peas, corn, or calabacitas.
The veggies and the rice soak up the sauce. Mmmm!
How long will Camarones en Crema Chipotle last?
In the refrigerator, this dish will last 3-4 days.
I do not recommend putting this dish in the freezer because of the cream sauce.
In a pinch, the freezer might be ok, but just know that your sauce will be watery when reheated.
The other thing you can do is cook the shrimp, onions, and garlic. Freeze it. Then when you’re ready, defrost and make the sauce that day.
To reheat Camarones en Crema Chipotle:
Add the leftovers in a skillet and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, or until fully heated.
You can also reheat in a microwave in a container for 2 ½ minutes. Stir and enjoy.
Table of Contents
Camarones en Crema Chipotle
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp deveined and shells removed
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ onion diced
- 1 garlic minced
Instructions
- Rinse the shrimp.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- To a blender, add the chipotle pepper, milk, sour cream, and salt.
- Blend until smooth.
- Taste for salt.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter.
- Add the shrimp.
- Add salt.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes until they turn pink.
- Stirring occasionally.
- Add the onion and garlic.
- Cook for 1 minute, or until the onion is translucent.
- Stirring constantly.
- Add the chipotle cream sauce to the skillet.
- Stir to combine.
- Cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Mexican Shrimp Recipes:
Shrimp Ceviche (Ceviche de Camaron)
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, Coctel de Camarones
Camarones a la Diabla, Mexican Deviled Shrimp
Shrimp with Chipotle Cocktail Sauce
Caldo de Camarón – Mexican Shrimp Soup
Aguachiles
Tacos Gobernador
Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
The recipe “as is” is excellent. But, I “cheated” on it…just a little bit. I substituted cream for the milk, used only 1/2 cup of sour cream and added 4oz of cream cheese for the sauce. I also used 2 chipotle peppers, to spice it up a little more to my taste.
Glad to hear it. Your substitutions sound delicious, and I’m sure they added a lot of flavor to the dish, the nice thing about these dishes is that you can adjust them to your liking. Hope you make this recipe again soon.
Easy and delicious! I added pasta since I did not have a lot of shrimp and it was so good. I wanted spicy so I added 3 chipotle peppers, and it was spicyyyy!
With pasta sounds amazing! I like it spicy too. lol.
The family loved this dish!
Yay! So glad your family loved this dish. 🙂
Omg thankyou my husband’s birthday is this week too and he actually prefers my Mexican cooking better than the restaurant!
Perfect dish for your husbands bday! Glad you enjoyed this.
Made this today, it came out delicious!
This recipe is so yummy, I’m glad you liked it!