Ceviche is so fresh and loaded with shrimp, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados; all marinated in fresh lime juice. For this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, you can use raw shrimp or cooked shrimp meat (if you want to cut the prep time way down).

Ceviche is an appetizer we’ve probably made a hundred times and it’s among our favorites, right up there with Cowboy Caviar and the wildly popular Guacamole. Shrimp Ceviche is a major crowd-pleasing recipe.

Shrimp ceviche served on tostadas with lime wedges

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Shrimp Ceviche

We got this authentic Mexican ceviche recipe from one of our readers, Blanca Villasenor. The secret ingredient for the best ceviche is Clamato juice which melds the flavors together and makes it one of the freshest and most satisfying appetizers you will try. Thank you so much Blanca for generously sharing your traditional family recipe with us!

Watch the Video

Watch Natasha make this classic Restaurant-style Ceviche. We’ve been loving this recipe for years and have been fine-tuning it over the years. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this recipe. Also, it’s a true story that my husband and I can polish off the entire batch in one evening in lieu of dinner!

What is Ceviche?

Ceviche has many names including cebiche, seviche, or sebiche. The origin is debated but thought to have it’s roots in Peru. It is a seafood cocktail using fresh fish that is marinated or “cooked” in a large amount of lime juice. It also includes tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and some form of spice or pepper. We love bulking it up with fresh diced cucumber and diced avocado.

How to Cook Shrimp? If you are starting with raw shrimp and want to pre-cook it before adding it to Ceviche, see our Boiled Shrimp Recipe.

Ingredients for Mexican shrimp cocktail with cooked or raw shrimp, limes, jalapeno, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, cilantro and clamato juice

How to Make Ceviche

  1. Put chopped shrimp in a large bowl and stir in 1 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice. Refrigerate and marinate (1 1/2 to 2 hours for raw shrimp and 15 minutes for cooked shrimp).
  2. Dice remaining vegetables: cucumber, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.
  3. Once the shrimp are done marinating, stir in the diced vegetables and Clamato juice.
How to marinate shrimp for ceviche and how to assemble ceviche

Pro Tip: A speedy tip for making Ceviche is to dice everything up using a food chopper. You’ll get everything chopped up in less than 5 minutes. My husband literally puts everything he can on that chopper. He’s become super efficient with the many batches of ceviche we’ve enjoyed over the years.

Variations

There are so many ways to make this and different regions will make it differently (i.e Peruvian Ceviche versus Mexican Ceviche). The biggest differences are in the types of seafood used.

  • Fish Ceviche – instead of shrimp, you can try fresh white fish diced into small pieces. Some options include halibut, sea bass, or snapper. Scallops are also a popular option. Always use the freshest fish, keep it on ice in the refrigerator, and make ceviche the day you purchase it.
  • Raw Shrimp – If using raw shrimp, it should be super fresh and purchased from a trusted source (preferably shrimp labeled “wild caught”), and enjoy the ceviche the first day it is made.
  • Cooked Shrimp – I’ll be the first to admit that I love using cooked shrimp meat for ceviche. With a 15-minute marinating time, it’s a no-brainer for me. I also love that shrimp meat is often wild-caught and typically comes at a lower price tag than whole shrimp, plus there is zero peeling or deveining required. Sign me up!

Safety Tip: The USDA recommends cooking seafood thoroughly to minimize the risk of food born illness, especially for at-risk groups including pregnant women, children, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems. This is another reason we prefer using cooked shrimp.

Shrimp Ceviche in a mixing bowl with serving spoon

Is Ceviche Safe to Eat?

If you’re new to ceviche, you may be wondering – is ceviche still raw? Marinating shrimp in fresh lime juice essentially cooks the shrimp due to the high acidity of lime juice.

Use pre-cooked shrimp if you are uncomfortable with raw shrimp or want to save a ton of marinating time (and it will taste just as good). With small cooked shrimp salad meat, you don’t even have to dice it! In either case, rinse the shrimp and thoroughly squeeze or pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture so your cocktail isn’t watered down.

Make Ahead

Ceviche is best enjoyed the same day it is made since the cucumbers and tomatoes are vibrant and crisp, but leftovers do keep well.

Refrigerate leftovers right away. Refrigerate for up to 1 day if you used raw seafood and refrigerate for up to 2 days if you used cooked shrimp.

Shrimp ceviche on tostada with clamato juice and limes

Fresh Ceviche always induces major cravings – it’s just mouthwatering good. I hope this becomes a new favorite for you! Let me know if you make your salsa differently. Do you use cooked or fresh shrimp or another type of seafood?

More Shrimp Appetizers

Can you tell we love Shrimp Recipes by now? These are some of our top-rated Shrimp Appetizers that we make on repeat:

Ceviche Recipe

4.98 from 174 votes
Author: Natasha Kravchuk
Ceviche is loaded with shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro; all marinated in fresh lime juice. You can use raw shrimp or cooked shrimp meat for this Mexican shrimp cocktail. Using cooked shrimp meat cuts down the marinating time significantly which is why we prefer it. P.S. This also keeps really well in the refrigerator and you'll be happy if you have leftovers!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Marinating Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 people
  • 1 lb shrimp , (raw or cooked) peeled, deveined and diced
  • 1 cup lime juice, from 6 limes
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
  • 2 avocados
  • 3 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
  • 1 cup Clamato juice, (use "picante" version for spicier salsa)

Options To Serve:

  • 16 Tostadas , (or tortilla chips)
  • Hot Sauce, (Tabasco or Cholula)

Instructions

  • Dice shrimp and place into a large glass (non-reactive) bowl. Squeeze 1 to 1 1/4 cups lime juice from 6 limes over shrimp. Stir to combine then cover and marinate in the refrigerator (marinate 1 1/2 to 2 hours for raw shrimp or until no longer translucent and marinate 15 minutes for cooked shrimp), stirring halfway through.
  • Chop the vegetables: cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno and cilantro. A food chopper will make this process much faster.
  • When shrimp are done marinating, add vegetables to the bowl along with clamato juice and stir to combine. Serve with hot sauce if desired along with tortilla chips or over tostadas.

Notes

*Nutrition label only calculates the ceviche and not tostadas or tortilla chips for serving. 

Nutrition Per Serving

156kcal Calories11g Carbs13g Protein8g Fat1g Saturated Fat1g Polyunsaturated Fat5g Monounsaturated Fat0.003g Trans Fat91mg Cholesterol77mg Sodium630mg Potassium4g Fiber4g Sugar470IU Vitamin A27mg Vitamin C61mg Calcium1mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Ceviche Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
156
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
8
g
12
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Trans Fat
 
0.003
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
5
g
Cholesterol
 
91
mg
30
%
Sodium
 
77
mg
3
%
Potassium
 
630
mg
18
%
Carbohydrates
 
11
g
4
%
Fiber
 
4
g
17
%
Sugar
 
4
g
4
%
Protein
 
13
g
26
%
Vitamin A
 
470
IU
9
%
Vitamin C
 
27
mg
33
%
Calcium
 
61
mg
6
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: ceviche
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $$
Calories: 156
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

Read more posts by Natasha

4.98 from 174 votes (117 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • kerry
    October 23, 2024

    must be a pretty new family tradition considering clamato juice wasn’t around until 1966 🙂

    Reply

  • Glenda
    October 12, 2024

    I love this recipe. A helpful tip I’ve learned is to mash avocado and spread on the tostada shell and then spoon on the ceviche. It helps to hold it on when you are eating.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      October 12, 2024

      Thank you for the tip, Glenda!

      Reply

  • Jocelyn
    September 25, 2024

    Love this recipe, thanks! I didn’t like the ingredients in the Clamato so I substituted it w/ V8 and clam juice then added more salt, some garlic powder and Tahin. Scoop some ceviche on a chip and top w/ Mayonesa (mayo w/ lime juice)..divine!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      September 25, 2024

      Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Jocelyn! I’m glad the substitution worked well.

      Reply

  • Kelsey
    August 4, 2024

    Loved this! Left out clamato, instead used one lemon and one orange for the juice. Although I’m not sure what kind of magical limes this recipe called for that 6 of them equal 1 cup of juice. More like 16 of them.

    Reply

  • Victoria
    August 4, 2024

    Hi Natasha, love your recipes
    Was wondering if the shrimp can be left out, have a few friends that are allergic to seafood, how would I be able to do the shrimp on the side for those who enjoy it

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      August 4, 2024

      I’m glad you’re enjoying them! Instead of shrimp, you can try fresh white fish diced into small pieces. Some options include halibut, sea bass, or snapper. Scallops are also a popular option. Always use the freshest fish, keep it on ice in the refrigerator, and make ceviche the day you purchase it.

      Reply

  • JoyRS
    August 3, 2024

    Trying Bloody Mary mix instead of Clamato, will let you know how that works!

    Reply

  • Raul
    July 19, 2024

    Natasha love your recipes and more than that your energy. Regarding this recipe I would suggest a healthy glug of avocado or olive oil to coat the avo so it won’t won’t brown out! May want to also check out Camaronazo Lime Spicy®, a tomato and shrimp based product instead of Clamato, several varieties available, Salud!

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      July 19, 2024

      Thanks for sharing, Raul!

      Reply

  • Jennifer Smith
    July 15, 2024

    At first I followed the recipe exactly, using 9 limes to get the 1 cup lime juice, and using homemade Clamato juice so I didn’t have msg in it from store bought. When I tasted, the sour was way overpowering so perhaps the homemade Clamato is a bit more sour than store bought. To remedy, I used another 1/2 cup Clamato and whisked in some Heinz Simply Ketchup to taste and then added to the Ceviche. Was terrific! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you for the recipe. I did rewrite this, because my internet connection was freezing (in case the original message comes through at some point).

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      July 15, 2024

      Hi Jennifer! Thank you for sharing that with us.

      Reply

  • Kendra
    July 10, 2024

    Hi Natasha,
    Quick question-in the recipe it states 2 cups of lime juice from 6 limes (this is not enough limes for 2 cups) for 16 people but in your instructions, it states 1-1 and 1/4 cups from 6 lines. Would you clarify what amount of lime juice is correct for this amount of servings? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 11, 2024

      Hi Kendra, the recipe states “1 cup lime juice, from 6 limes” If you adjust the recipe, you would need to also adjust the note, in your case adjust the limes by doubling them from 6 to 12. When using the recipe slider only the recipe amount will change, not the ingredient notes). I hope that helps.

      Reply

  • Sheela
    July 9, 2024

    I wasn’t sure about cucumber in ceviche but followed the recipe as written and it was great! The perfect summer dinner when it’s 100o !!

    Reply

  • Dellie
    July 8, 2024

    Thank you. I do enjoy this dish. Your receipes are fun and easy to follow.

    Reply

  • carly
    June 25, 2024

    Excellent! I made this for my husband and I, but I’m looking forward to making this for a group.

    Reply

  • Tom Kirk
    June 5, 2024

    This was next level good. My wife could not stop eating it! This will definitely be in the rotation from now on. Can’t wait until we go on vacation to the beach and get some really fresh shrimp!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 5, 2024

      That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Tom!

      Reply

  • Holly Lynn Loussaert
    May 30, 2024

    I’ve never made anything like this before. I did use cooked shrimp. It’s definitely in a rotation now. My friends love watching your videos. We watched it together to make make the recipe.

    Reply

  • Wendy
    May 21, 2024

    I like your recipe, but I always make extra. I use bay scallops, and also add a bit of coriander and cumin. If I don’t have jalapeños, I use hatch green chili’s. Ceviche is my favorite dish to take to a party. When I do have leftovers, I use it for fish tacos!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 21, 2024

      Sounsd good, Wendy! Great idea to use leftovers too!

      Reply

  • Michael
    April 30, 2024

    Made this delicious ceviche, but it took three sittings to finish. Kudos to you and her hubby for polishing it off in one sitting. I cooked raw shrimp instead of using pre cooked shrimp.

    Reply

  • Kathy
    April 22, 2024

    That looks delicious MINUS the cilantro (yuck). I don’t have a particular favorite totilla chip but it must be salty and I would probably add salt to my serving.

    Reply

  • Dina
    April 12, 2024

    I made this and there was so much liquid in the bowl. Should I be draining the shrimp from the lime juice after it’s done marinating? The 1 cup of lime + 1 cup of clamato was a lot of liquid for this bowl.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      April 15, 2024

      Hi Dina, that is normal for ceviche – you can use a slotted spoon to serve it which is what we normally do.

      Reply

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