Shrimp Ceviche

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Shrimp Ceviche is a refreshing salad made with raw shrimp “cooked” in citrus juice and tossed with fresh herbs and vegetables. It’s delicious on tostadas, crackers, or tortilla chips with plenty of hot sauce!

A tostada with shrimp ceviche on top.


 

Ceviche is a dish whereby raw seafood is “cooked” in an acidic marinade of lime juice and lemon juice through the process of denaturation. This works for an assortment of fish and seafood including tilapia, salmon, and sea bass.

Variations abound, but this easy Shrimp Ceviche recipe is from Aguascalientes, a state in the heart of Mexico. In Aguascalientes, ceviche is popular year-round but especially during Lent.

This version has the usual suspects: onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and lime. I love their special twist of adding carrots, though, which gives some much-needed crunch to the dish. Pineapple is also a popular addition if that sounds good to you.

Serve this refreshing dish on tostadas or with tortilla chips and saltine crackers (the salty crunchy pairs nicely with the citrus flavor of the ceviche). Add your favorite hot sauce (Valentina is always a good pick for ceviche) and serve with mayonnaise, avocado, and some ice-cold cervezas.

Recipe ingredients

Labeled shrimp ceviche ingredients.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Shrimp: Thaw frozen shrimp in a bowl or on a tray overnight in the refrigerator. For quicker thawing, thaw in a bowl of cold (not warm) water. Turn the faucet on and let a thin trickle of cold water run into the bowl, letting the excess water overflow out of the bowl and down the drain. The “cook times” for shrimp ceviche vary depending on the size of the shrimp you use:
    • 60-80 shrimp per pound:  2 hours and 30 minutes
    • 41-60 shrimp per pound: 2 hours and 50 minutes
    • 31-40 shrimp per pound: 3 hours and 30 minutes
    • 21-25 shrimp per pound: 4 hours
  • Citrus juice: Lime juice or a combination of lemon and lime juice is a great choice. You can also use grapefruit juice or even orange juice (orange juice will add a sweetness you may or may not enjoy).
  • Carrots: A common ingredient in Mexican ceviche, and they also add great color and crunch.
  • Jalapeños: Remove the seeds for less heat. At family gatherings in Mexico, they prepare a separate bowl of spicy chiles (like serrano and habañero chiles) so the adults can add them to taste and the kids can easily avoid them.
  • Cilantro: Cut off the main batch of stems at the bottom of the bunch, then cut up the remaining stems along with the leaves. Please omit if you hate cilantro (parsley or chives are good substitutes).

Step-by-step instructions

  1. To peel and clean shrimp, start by pinching off the tail, then the rest of the shell should peel off fairly easily. Use a knife to make a shallow slice on the shrimp’s back, from its head to its tail. Carefully pick out the black or green vein that runs along the back and discard it, then rinse out the vein with water. Chop the shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces.
Raw shrimp on a cutting board.
  1. In a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, add shrimp and citrus juice and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until the shrimp is opaque and “cooked” through, about 2 to 4 hours depending on the size of the shrimp.
Raw shrimp in citrus juice for ceviche.
  1. Drain off and discard excess citrus juice. Add onion, carrots, tomatoes, jalapeños, and cilantro and toss until evenly coated. Season to taste with salt and more fresh citrus juice if desired.
Shrimp that has been "cooked" in citrus juice for ceviche.
  1. Serve with tostadas, tortilla chips, or saltine crackers, passing hot sauce and mayonnaise separately. 
An overhead shot of shrimp ceviche.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This recipe will make about 4 cups ceviche.
  • Storage: Ceviche is best consumed the same day you make it. Leftovers will most likely still taste good the next day, but they don’t last too long beyond that.
  • Cooked shrimp: To substitute cooked shrimp, thaw, peel, and clean the cooked shrimp (if needed), then add it to the bowl with the other ingredients. It is ready to eat immediately.
  • Denaturation: The technical term for the reaction between the citrus juice acid and the proteins in the muscle fibers of the shrimp. The fish or seafood is marinating while “cooking” without any heat.
  • Avocado: Mixed in or scattered on top, avocado tempers the heat and a creamy texture to ceviche. Guacamole is a great option, too.
  • More mix-ins: Get creative with cucumber, jicama, red bell pepper, red onions, pineapple, or a chile pepper such as a serrano chile. You can also add clamato juice to your final ceviche.
  • Fish ceviche: Tilapia Ceviche and Salmon Ceviche are delicious variations to try if you love fish. You can also make ceviche with white fish, sea bass, scallops, octopus, and other raw seafood.
An overhead shot of taliapa ceviche in a pink bowl on a white platter with tortilla chips.
Tilapia Ceviche with tortilla chips, mayonnaise, avocado, and Valentina hot sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should you buy fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp?

Spoiler alert: Unless you’re on a fishing (shrimping?) boat, any shrimp you come across were, almost certainly, previously frozen. They can thaw it for the seafood case at your local grocery store, but it is not “fresh.” It is just “thawed.” To that end, just buy the IQF (individually quick-frozen) shrimp and don’t feel bad about it at all. It was likely frozen on a boat just after being caught, and it’s as fresh as you can do.

More shrimp recipes

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A tostada with shrimp ceviche on top.

Shrimp Ceviche

Shrimp Ceviche is a refreshing salad made with raw shrimp "cooked" in citrus juice and tossed with fresh herbs and vegetables. It's delicious on tostadas, crackers, or tortilla chips with plenty of hot sauce!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings 4 servings (1 cup each)
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Calories 118
5 from 8 votes

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound raw shrimp thawed (see note 1)
  • 1 cup citrus juice (see note 2)
  • 1 medium onion finely diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped (about ½ cup, see note 3)
  • 1-2 roma tomatoes seeded and finely chopped (about ½ cup)
  • 1-2 jalapeño peppers minced (seeded if desired, see note 4)
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro stems removed, minced (see note 5)
  • Salt
  • tortilla chips or tostadas or saltine crackers
  • mayonnaise and hot sauce, for serving

Instructions 

  • To peel and clean shrimp, start by pinching off the tail, then the rest of the shell should peel off fairly easily. Use a knife to make a shallow slice on the shrimp’s back, from its head to its tail.
  • Carefully pick out the black or green vein that runs along the back and discard it, then rinse out the vein with water. Chop the shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces.
  • In a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, add shrimp and citrus juice and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until the shrimp is opaque and “cooked” through, about 2 to 4 hours depending on the size of the shrimp (see note 1).
  • Drain off and discard excess citrus juice. Add onion, carrots, tomatoes, jalapeños, and cilantro and toss until evenly coated. Season to taste with salt and more fresh citrus juice if desired.
  • Serve with tostadas, tortilla chips, or saltine crackers, passing hot sauce and mayonnaise separately. 

Recipe Video

Notes

  1. Shrimp: Thaw frozen shrimp in a bowl or on a tray overnight in the refrigerator. For quicker thawing, thaw in a bowl of cold (not warm) water. Turn the faucet on and let a thin trickle of cold water run into the bowl, letting the excess water overflow out of the bowl and down the drain. The “cook times” for shrimp ceviche vary depending on the size of the shrimp you use:
    • 60-80 shrimp per pound:  2 hours and 30 minutes
    • 41-60 shrimp per pound: 2 hours and 50 minutes
    • 31-40 shrimp per pound: 3 hours and 30 minutes
    • 21-25 shrimp per pound: 4 hours
  2. Citrus juice: Lime juice or a combination of lemon and lime juice is a great choice. You can also use grapefruit juice or even orange juice (orange juice will add a sweetness you may or may not enjoy).
  3. Carrots: A common ingredient in Mexican ceviche, and they also add great color and crunch.
  4. Jalapeños: Remove the seeds for less heat. At family gatherings in Mexico, they prepare a separate bowl of spicy chiles (like serrano and habañero chiles) so the adults can add them to taste and the kids can easily avoid them.
  5. Cilantro: Cut off the main batch of stems at the bottom of the bunch, then cut up the remaining stems along with the leaves. Please omit if you hate cilantro (parsley or chives are good substitutes).
  6. Yield: This recipe will make about 4 cups ceviche.
  7. Storage: Ceviche is best consumed the same day you make it. Leftovers will most likely still taste good the next day, but they don’t last too long beyond that.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 118kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 16gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 658mgPotassium: 353mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 3544IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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