Shrimp Ceviche
Tender shrimp marinated in lime with crunchy cucumber, tomato, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro and creamy avocado. A bright, no-oven summer dinner — the shrimp are briefly poached first for food safety.
Nutrition per serving
about 1½ cups- Net carbs
- 6.3g
- Calories
- 233kcal
- Protein
- 36g
- Fat
- 6.6g
- Total carbs
- 10 g
- Fiber
- 3.8 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Fish ceviche (raw): The classic Latin American style: cubes of very fresh, previously frozen white fish firmed up in lime juice with the same vegetables.
- Skip the poaching. Toss the raw fish with the lime juice and salt and refrigerate 20–30 minutes, until the cubes turn opaque on the outside. Lime firms the fish but does not kill bacteria, so use fish that has been frozen first, eat it the same day, and skip this version if you are pregnant or immunocompromised.
Aguachile-style (spicy green): Sinaloa-style aguachile: shrimp bathed in a fiery blended lime, chile and cilantro sauce with sliced cucumber and red onion — no tomato or avocado.
- Blend the lime juice with the extra chiles, half the cilantro and the salt until smooth and bright green.
- Pour it over the poached shrimp, then add the cucumber (sliced into half-moons) and red onion (thinly sliced) and leave out the tomato and avocado. Serve within 30 minutes, scattered with the remaining cilantro.
- Ceviche
- Nice to have (optional)
- Ceviche
- Nice to have (optional)
- Ceviche
-
3 Roma tomatoesleave out -
1 medium ripe avocadoleave out - Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $18.56 for 4 servings ($4.64 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water beside the stove. Add the shrimp, turn off the heat and let them sit 2–3 minutes, until pink, opaque and curled into a loose “C” (145°F/63°C). Drain and plunge them into the ice water.
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Drain the shrimp well, cut each into 2 or 3 bite-size pieces and put them in a glass or ceramic bowl. Pour over the lime juice, add ½ tsp salt and stir. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, stirring once, so the shrimp soak up the lime.
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Meanwhile, dice the cucumber, tomatoes and red onion, mince the jalapeño and chop the cilantro.
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Pour off about a third of the lime juice from the shrimp. Fold in the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, cilantro and remaining salt, then gently fold in the avocado last so it stays in cubes.
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Taste, adding more salt or lime if needed, and serve cold with lettuce leaves for scooping and hot sauce at the table.
Tips for success
-
Classic ceviche “cooks” raw seafood in citrus, but lime juice doesn’t reliably kill bacteria. Briefly poaching the shrimp first keeps the fresh, citrusy flavor and makes it safe for everyone. - Use a glass, ceramic or stainless bowl; aluminum reacts with the lime juice.
- For a party, serve it on keto tortilla chips or cucumber rounds.
Nice to have, not needed
- A citrus press gets every drop out of the limes quickly — squeezing by hand works fine.
Storage & meal prep
- Keeps 2 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Serve cold.
Prep tip: Poach the shrimp and chop the vegetables up to a day ahead, then combine them and add the avocado an hour before serving.
Best the day it’s made. Without the avocado, it keeps up to 2 days refrigerated; fold in fresh avocado before serving.
Variations
2 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosFish ceviche (raw)
ProteinThe classic Latin American style: cubes of very fresh, previously frozen white fish firmed up in lime juice with the same vegetables.
- medium shrimp → very fresh snapper, sea bass or halibut (previously frozen)
6.3 g net · 258 kcal · 37 g protein · 8 g fat · ≈$5.77 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Aguachile-style (spicy green)
FlavorSinaloa-style aguachile: shrimp bathed in a fiery blended lime, chile and cilantro sauce with sliced cucumber and red onion — no tomato or avocado.
- + 2 extra serrano or jalapeño chiles
- no Roma tomatoes
- no ripe avocado
4.6 g net · 166 kcal · 35 g protein · 1 g fat · ≈$4.15 per serving (−1.7 g net carbs vs the original)
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