Ceviche Recipe with Shrimp or Seafood

Ceviche is a famous South American dish of seafood cooked in an acidic marinade mixed with fresh spicy chilis, onions, and herbs.

This classic ceviche recipe (also known as cebiche and seviche) makes an easy and delicious light meal or an impressive appetizer, especially if you’re serving Mexican Food.

What you’ll Love About this ceviche recipe

• The flavors are perfectly balanced — it’s a bit spicy, fresh, and crisp, with savory onions and creamy avocadoes.
• If you’re a fan of a good seafood cocktail, you can’t go wrong with this easy ceviche recipe.

Don’t forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!

What You’ll Need

• A large glass bowl
• A sharp chef’s knife
• Serving glasses.

FRESH INGREDIENTS

This is an easy recipe that requires simple ingredients. Fresh fish or other seafood, like shrimp, scallops, and octopus.

The vegetable ingredients used to make are similar to what you need to make a salsa recipe.

• Fresh, juicy tomatoes. I like ripe Roma tomatoes for this recipe. Deseed the tomatoes and dice them.
• Onion. Red onion adds great flavor and color to this ceviche recipe. Quarter an onion and slice one-quarter as thin as possible. You’ll want about a quarter of a cup.
• Garlic. Use two to three cloves of garlic, minced or pressed.
• Fresh cilantro. Finely minced cilantro adds flavor and color to ceviche. Use two to three tablespoons.
• Chilies. Use two to three serrano peppers or jalapeño peppers, depending on your desired heat.
• Cucumbers. I like to use a few seeded Persian cucumbers in this recipe
• Fresh lemon juice and fresh lime juice. You’ll need about 1 cup of citrus juice. You can use any combination of lemon and lime juice.
• Seafood. This recipe calls for one pound of seafood. I used shrimp. But you can use a mixture of fish, shrimp, and other seafood in this recipe.

The best type of fish for ceviche

This recipe uses fresh shrimp, but you can use other types of seafood to make an authentic Mexican ceviche. Buy 1 pound of the freshest seafood available.

Some of my favorites are:

• cod
• tilapia
• halibut
• mahi-mahi
• scallops
• octopus

You can use one or more seafood options to create different flavors.

HOW TO MAKE CEVICHE

Step 1 – Combine the lemon and lime juice with the shrimp.

Marinate for about 30 minutes.

How Does Cooking With Acid Work?

Here’s the food science behind cooking with an acid marinade.

The method of cooking with acid is perfectly safe. You end up with fish delicately cooked with the acid from lemon and lime juice. Peruvian recipes also use orange juice.

Protein is denatured during the cooking process (heat or acid). In the case of ceviche, citric acid is used to cook the protein.

Cooking with acid takes about 30 minutes or less. Remember that you can “overcook” fish despite no heat. If the proteins are overcooked, you eat dry and tough meat. So once the seafood is firm, strain off the acid marinade.

Step 2 – Cut the vegetables

Step 3 – Combine the Veggies with Shrimp

Drain off the excess citrus marinade and combine the veggies with the cooked shrimp.

Tips for Making the best ceviche

• Buy the freshest seafood you can find. Frozen is the next best option if you can’t find fresh seafood in your area.
• Use a glass or plastic bowl.
• Cut fish into small pieces.
• Shrimp can be whole or cut into small pieces.
• Don’t overcook the seafood.

RECIPE VARIATIONS

There are many different ways to make ceviche recipes, but the general preparation is the same. Seafood, shrimp, or fish is cooked in citrus juice. The cooking solution is drained off, and then fresh veggies are added.

SHRIMP CEVICHE RECIPE

Shrimp ceviche is made with fresh shrimp. The raw shrimp is cooked in lemon and lime juice and served with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and chilies.

MEXICAN SHRIMP CEVICHE RECIPE WITH CLAMATO

I like adding a little clamato to the marinade in this recipe. Clamato juice is a tomato juice cocktail made with clam juice. It adds extra flavor and helps round out the acid from the lemon and lime juice.

SEAFOOD CEVICHE RECIPE

Other fresh fish are commonly used in ceviche recipes, most commonly cod, tilapia, sea bass, halibut, and mahi-mahi. Delicate white fish works best.

In addition, scallops and octopus are fantastic in a ceviche recipe.

PERUVIAN CEVICHE VS. MEXICAN CEVICHE

Peruvian ceviche is a little different from Mexican ceviche. While both versions are essentially raw seafood cooked in an acidic marinade, the Peruvian version incorporates orange juice and uses hotter chilis.

Peruvian ceviche has also gained Japanese influence in handling raw fish and skips the longer “cooking” step. Peruvian recipes plate the raw fish with the citrus and forgo, cooking it in acid for 15 to 30 minutes.

Mexican recipes are usually made with serranos, while habeñeros and Thai chilis make the Peruvian varieties.

In addition, Peruvian ceviche is often made with sweet potatoes and corn, while Mexican ceviche is made with tomatoes and avocado. Both are fantastic!

Serve Ceviche With

• Creamy Avocadoes
• Lime wedges
• Crackers
• Tostadas
• Tortilla Chips
• Plantain chips
• Lime Wedges
• Hot Sauce

Frequently Asked Question

Hungry For More Mexican Food

Mexican ceviche is the perfect appetizer course for your favorite Mexican Food Recipes.

Try out some of my favorite recipes like Carne Asada Tacos, Enchiladas, or my favorite Fish Taco Bowl with Mango Salsa if you’re hungry for more.

Don’t forget the homemade tortillas with a side of guacamole and a serving of Mexican Rice.

You are sure to find something to satisfy your Mexican food cravings.