Mexican-Style Shrimp Ceviche

By
Janet A. Zimmerman
Janet A. Zimmerman
An award-winning food writer, cooking instructor, and author of five cookbooks. She focuses on dinners for two and date night cuisine.
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Updated on 02/7/23
Mexican-Style Shrimp Ceviche

The Spruce / Qi Ai

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 1 mins
Total: 31 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

Ceviche, also spelled cebiche or seviche, is a South American seafood dish that likely originated in Peru but is now popular throughout coastal Latin America, including Mexico. It's a flavorful, fresh-tasting mix of chopped raw seafood marinated in citrus juices and tossed with vegetables and flavorings like onion and chile pepper.

This Mexican-inspired shrimp ceviche is based on a recipe by famed American chef Rick Bayless. It isn't a ceviche in the true sense of the word since it doesn't use raw fish—instead, the shrimp are lightly poached in lime-infused water and marinated in juice while they cool. This makes it a good option if you're nervous about eating raw shrimp, are pregnant, or don't have access to super-fresh seafood.

The addition of Clamato and ketchup make this ceviche similar in some ways to shrimp cocktail, and creamy avocado and crunchy cucumber add color and a contrast of textures. Serve as an impressive appetizer or as a main or side dish at lunch with crispy tortilla chips for dipping.

Ingredients

For the Shrimp and Sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from 4 limes

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 pound small shrimp, peeled, deveined

  • 1 cup Clamato, or other tomato-clam juice

  • 1/2 cup ketchup

  • 1/4 cup hot sauce

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

For the Ceviche:

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes, drained

  • 1/4 cup chopped cucumber

  • 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)

  • 1 avocado, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

  • Tortilla chips, for serving

Steps to Make It

Prepare the Shrimp and Sauce

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    shrimp ingredients

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  2. Bring a pot of water to a simmer and season with half of the lime juice and the kosher salt.

    pot of water with lime and salt

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  3. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or so (1 minute if you're using larger shrimp), just until the shrimp are turning pink/opaque. They should be almost but not quite cooked through—the shrimp will continue to cook as they cool.

    cooked shrimp in a pot

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  4. Drain and place in a bowl. Toss with remaining lime juice and refrigerate for 20 minutes or more.

    cooked shrimp in a bowl with lime juice

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  5. Add the Clamato, ketchup, and hot sauce to a mixing bowl and whisk until blended.

    Clamato, ketchup, and hot sauce in a small bowl

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  6. Slowly pour in the olive oil, while continuing to whisk, until the oil is incorporated.

    add oil to the sauce mixture

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  7. Taste for seasoning and adjust, adding salt or more hot sauce to taste.

    Taste sauce and add salt to taste

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

Assemble the Ceviche

  1. Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator. If you're using larger shrimp, cut them into 2 or 3 pieces.

    ceviche ingredients

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  2. Toss the cooled shrimp (including the lime juice) with the onion, cucumber, tomato, avocado, and cilantro.

    shrimp, onion, cucumber, tomato, avocado, and cilantro in a bowl

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  3. Pour the sauce over, toss again, and taste for seasoning.

    ceviche in a bowl with sauce

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

  4. Serve with tortilla chips.

    Mexican Ceviche-Style Shrimp Cocktail in a bowl

    The Spruce / Qi Ai

How to Store

  • You can make the ceviche up to 2 hours ahead of time. Chop and add the avocado right before serving.
  • Leftover ceviche will keep for a day or two in the fridge but is best eaten right away.

Tips

  • This recipe calls for cooking the shrimp for accessibility and safety. If you'd like to make it using raw shrimp, use extremely fresh, high-quality small shrimp and marinate in the lime juice until opaque, about an hour or more.
  • Try to find small raw shrimp (a 50-count bag is ideal) but, if needed, you can use a larger size and cut them into smaller pieces.
  • You can easily scale this recipe down to serve four or even two.

Do you drain the lime juice from ceviche?

Ceviche involves marinating raw or cooked seafood in citrus juice. Some recipes call for discarding the juice after marinating while others incorporate the juice into the sauce. This recipe uses the latter technique, adding the lime juice to the tomato-based sauce.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
409 Calories
25g Fat
33g Carbs
17g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 409
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 120mg 40%
Sodium 1256mg 55%
Total Carbohydrate 33g 12%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 17g
Vitamin C 29mg 144%
Calcium 80mg 6%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 997mg 21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)