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Author:
Isabel
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Ceviche is a popular Latin American dish that features fresh raw fish or shrimp “cooked” in tangy citrus and mixed with cucumber, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, avocado, and tomatoes.
This dish is perfect as a main course or as an appetizer for parties and is best enjoyed with tortilla chips or on tostadas for a delicious and refreshing taste.
I didn’t eat much seafood growing up, so whenever I make fish, I gravitate towards easy and foolproof recipes.
And this Mexican-style ceviche is just that!
It’s bright and full of fresh ingredients, a great toss-and-go recipe, and perfect for when you just want to throw something together for dinner or a snack. My kind of meal.
I love eating this on some tostada shells with a little hot sauce, but I’ve also been known to enjoy it with homemade tortilla chips and a cold glass of horchata or a frozen margarita. 😉
What Is Ceviche?
Ceviche is a traditional Latin American dish made of fish or shrimp that’s “cooked” in a lemon and lime juice marinade and then mixed with lots of bright and fresh ingredients like cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, and diced avocados.
Ceviche is actually Peru’s national dish! The difference between Peruvian and Mexican ceviche is that Peruvian ceviche keeps things simple and includes red onion, peppers, and cilantro, whereas Mexican ceviche is made with a lot more vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, peppers, and avocado.
Mexican ceviche, like I’m making here, is usually served with tostadas or tortilla chips (similar to aguachile) and makes a great dinner or appetizer for your next party.
Using Raw or Cooked Seafood
When making ceviche, it’s common to use raw seafood, which is then “cooked” in a mixture of lemon and lime juice that is highly acidic. The acidity from the citrus cures the fish, transforming its proteins and causing it to become firm and opaque while also absorbing flavor.
For this recipe, raw shrimp is used, but if you prefer, you can use cooked shrimp, you can.
If using cooked shrimp, you only need to marinate everything for 15 minutes.
You can also use other seafood, such as sea bass, snapper, mahi mahi, tuna, cod, scallops, and halibut.
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Ceviche Ingredients
- Raw shrimp: I used medium raw shrimp that already comes peeled and deveined to save some time. You can really use any size shrimp you prefer; just make sure they’re peeled and deveined. See notes if you want to use cooked shrimp.
- Lemon and lime juice: Ceviche needs large amounts of citrus juice to cure the shrimp and fully “cook” it with the acidity. I used fresh lemons and limes for the best flavor.
- Red onion: Has a great flavor when eaten raw and adds color and brightness.
- Jalapeño: I added jalapeño for a touch of spice. You can leave the seeds in if you like it spicy, or you can omit this altogether. Use serrano peppers if you want it extra spicy.
- Garlic: Adds more depth of flavor and helps bring all the flavors of the vegetables together.
- Roma tomatoes: Adds a garden-fresh flavor that isn’t overpowering.
- Cucumber: I love adding cucumbers for their refreshing taste and crunch.
- Cilantro: Adds a fresh herb flavor to the ceviche.
- Salt and black pepper: I use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Tostadas or tortilla chips: Ceviche is traditionally eaten with tostada shells or tortilla chips since all the ingredients are finely chopped.
How to Make Ceviche
Prepare the shrimp and citrus marinade: Start by dicing your shrimp into small bite-size pieces and placing them into a glass bowl. Add lime juice, lemon juice, red onion, and garlic to the shrimp bowl and give it a light toss.
Marinate the shrimp: Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes until the shrimp is bright pink and opaque. Once the shrimp has gone from gray and translucent to bright pink and opaque all the way through, that is how you know it is fully “cooked”.
Add fresh ingredients: Add the tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro to the bowl. Toss lightly to combine, then cover and refrigerate for an additional 10 minutes to fully meld the flavors together.
Add avocados: Add diced avocados, salt, and black pepper to taste last so that the avocado does not brown and stays fresh. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Eat immediately. Ceviche is best when eaten as soon as possible. You can make it up to 4 hours in advance, but I do not recommend storing leftovers for more than 1 day since the shrimp continues to “cook” the longer it is in the citrus marinade, making it rubbery.
- Use fish. Ceviche can also be made with other seafood instead of shrimp. Fish like cod, mahi mahi, tilapia, and halibut work best.
- Add sweetness. Stir in some diced mango for a little added sweetness that pairs well with the fresh and savory flavors.
- Make it spicy. To add some heat, use a serrano pepper instead of a jalapeño.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
Just remember that the longer it sits, the tougher and more “rubbery” the seafood will become.
More Mexican Recipes
- Baja Fish Tacos
- Camarones al Mojo de Ajo
- Camarones a la Diabla
4.88 from 8 votes
Ceviche
servings: 4 servings
Print Pin Review Save
Prep: 15 minutes minutes
Marinating Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total: 45 minutes minutes
Ceviche made from raw fish or shrimp "cooked" in tangy citrus and mixed with cucumber, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, avocado, and tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
- ½ cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and deveined, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Tostadas or tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
Dice the raw shrimp into small bite-size pieces and add them into a large non-reactive bowl. Glass or food-grade plastic bowls are both good options.
Add the lemon juice, lime juice, red onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the bowl and lightly toss together with the shrimp to combine.
Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes until the shrimp is bright pink and opaque.
Add the tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro to the bowl. Lightly toss to combine, cover, and refrigerate for an additional 10 minutes.
Add in the avocado, salt, and black pepper. Lightly toss to combine, taste, and add more salt as needed. Serve immediately with tostadas or tortilla chips.
Notes
- If using cooked shrimp, toss together all ingredients minus the salt, black pepper, and avocado. Let marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes. When ready to serve, add salt, black pepper, and avocado.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 197kcal (10%), Carbohydrates: 15g (5%), Protein: 18g (36%), Fat: 9g (14%), Saturated Fat: 1g (5%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 143mg (48%), Sodium: 650mg (27%), Potassium: 627mg (18%), Fiber: 5g (20%), Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 695IU (14%), Vitamin C: 38mg (46%), Calcium: 91mg (9%), Iron: 1mg (6%)
Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore
Category: Mexican
Photos by Erin Jensen of The Wooden Skillet.
4.88 from 8 votes (5 ratings without comment)
Leave a Reply
Alice Carlson
I made this for a light dinner for my husband and I. My husband loved this! Definitely a keeper recipeReply
Darya Flores
Made this last night and it was so simple! Scrumptious and simple, yum yum!!Reply
Paul
Made this last night and it’s delicious! Super easy to make, too.Reply
Joe Molen
made the ceviche, love it! Ingredients ran me say $16 so glad it made a lot. All in all, it makes me want to head back to Mazatlan where I’m sure you’d pay less than half, and you could enjoy it on the beach with a bunch of cold Coronas!
Reply
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