This easy shrimp ceviche is a Peruvian dish that marinates shrimp, onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, and avocado in bright, zesty citrus marinade. It’s a delicious meal that is super simple to put together and you don’t even have to turn on the stove!

bowl with Shrimp Ceviche


 

Fresh shrimp ceviche is one of those healthy dishes that tastes so good you forget it’s good for you. It’s low calorie, keto, and just plain delicious.

This easy recipe for uses fresh shrimp, citrus juices from orange, lemon, and lime, and a little red onion, tomatoes, and spicy jalapeno for added flavor.

Once all of those bright, zesty flavors are absorbed we add some fresh avocado and cilantro to round it all out and that’s it. Dinner is served.

Eat it with some tortilla chips or, if you’re keeping it keto just grab a fork and dig in. This simple meal is one that will have you coming back for seconds.

If you love shrimp as much as we do you need to try our citrus marinated grilled shrimp, shrimp salad, or Instant Pot shrimp boil. You can even throw them in an air fryer quick and easy air fryer shrimp!

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ingredients for Shrimp Ceviche

What is Ceviche?

Ceviche is a healthy Peruvian dish that seafood lovers will instantly gravitate towards. It uses fresh, raw fish or shrimp that you cure in a variety of citrus juices, such as lemon, lime, and orange. 

Once cured, you mix the shrimp with fresh veggies that you often find in a salsa. Often, this is served as an appetizer and it goes great with some of your favorite dippers, like tortilla chips. 

Or you can spoon it on top of a salad for a healthier meal.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You’ll need these ingredients or can make some substitutions as needed:

  • Shrimp The shrimp “cooks” without heat in this recipe, so you want to make sure to use the freshest shrimp you can find.
  • Citrus juices – You’ll need lime juice, lemon juice, and orange juice for this recipe. 
  • Kosher salt – You could use sea salt instead if you prefer.
  • Red onion – You could use a different type, like white, if you prefer.
  • Jalapeno pepper – You could substitute in other hot or even sweet peppers if you prefer. Buy a few extra and make some buffalo chicken jalapeno poppers, jalapeno corn dip, or jalapeno cornbread as well!
  • Grape tomatoes – You could use another type of tomato, such as plum.
  • Avocado – No good substitute for an avocado in this.
  • Cilantro – Cilantro adds a freshness to shrimp and salsa-like mix.
glass bowl with Shrimp Ceviche with limes

Instructions

Step 1 – Make the citrus bath. In a small bowl, whisk the lime, lemon, and orange juices with a ½ teaspoon of a salt until well combined.

Step 2 – Cure the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a shallow baking dish, bowl, or container and then pour the citrus mixture over top of it. It doesn’t matter what container you use, but you need to make sure that the shrimp completely submerge in the cocktail. Once submerged, cover the container with plastic wrap and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the shrimp turn a pink and white color.

Step 3 – Marinade the shrimp and veggies Toss the cured shrimp, juice blend, red onions, jalapenos, remaining salt, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Cover the mixture and place back in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will allow the flavors to come together.

Step 4 – Serve with a fresh avocado. Before serving, peel and cut your avocado into small chunks and mix into the ceviche along with the cilantro. Once the avocado is mixed in, serve it immediately.

Shrimp Ceviche on a black spoon

Is Ceviche Cooked or Raw?  

Ceviche often refers to the shrimp as “cured,” which basically means that it cold “cooks” in a citrus bath before serving. In this recipe, “cooking” means that it denatures the protein in the shrimp, which means it will have a similar appearance to cooking.

One of the reasons you need the freshest shrimp you can find is that the citrus bath does not kill bacteria living in the shrimp. But it is no more dangerous than eating sushi as long as you start with quality ingredients, you should be fine. 

How Long Should Shrimp Sit in Lime Juice? 

We find that leaving the shrimp in for about 30 minutes is just about perfect. 

You want the juice to cook the shrimp, but if you leave the shrimp in too long, they can become tough. 

When in doubt, we recommend going by the look of the shrimp. Uncooked shrimp is translucent and gray. Once it has cooked in the juice, it will turn a bright pink and white.

Using Cooked Shrimp 

Uncooked shrimp not your thing? That’s OK! Not everyone likes the idea of shrimp that has only cured.

Here’s what you can do instead: buy fully cooked shrimp.

If you prefer, you could buy fresh or frozen shrimp and then boil a pot of water and cook the peeled shrimp for 2 minutes or until it is pink and white. Once cooked, remove from water carefully and pat dry with a paper towel. 

You can then follow the rest of the instructions using cooked shrimp in place of raw shrimp. 

Is Ceviche Keto? 

Our recipe for ceviche is almost keto friendly. You will want to omit the orange juice due to the high sugar content.

The other ingredients all fall under a keto diet, so you should get the majority of the flavor of the regular recipe, minus the orange juice.

Otherwise, the high protein shrimp and avocado make a great keto combination of protein and fat. 

That’s not our only keto shrimp recipe. Make sure you try our dill shrimp appetizer, chili garlic shrimp, and one pot low carb shrimp Alfredo too!

bowl filled with Shrimp Ceviche

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Servings: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Shrimp Ceviche

This easy shrimp ceviche is a Peruvian dish of shrimp, onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, and avocado marinated in bright, zesty citrus juice.
glass bowl with Shrimp Ceviche
Print Recipe
3 from 1 vote

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/2 cup Lime juice
  • 1/4 cup Lemon juice
  • ¼ cup Orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
  • 1 clove Garlic, finely minced
  • 1/2 cup Finely diced red onion
  • 1 tablespoon Finely diced jalapeno pepper
  • 1 cup Diced grape tomatoes
  • 2 Avocado, diced
  • 1/2 cup Finely chopped cilantro

Instructions

  • In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and garlic.
  • Place shrimp in a shallow baking dish or container and pour the citrus mixture over it. You want to make sure all of the shrimp is in the juice. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The shrimp is done when it is no longer translucent and has turned a pink and white color.
  • Add “cooked” shrimp and juice to a large bowl with the red onions, jalapenos, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and toss together. Cover and put it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
  • When ready to serve peel and dice the avocado and add to the bowl along with the fresh cilantro. You can add a bit more salt if needed.
  • Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 6ounces, Calories: 194kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 183mg, Sodium: 432mg, Potassium: 654mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 340IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.
Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy shrimp ceviche, shrimp ceviche, shrimp ceviche recipe
Handwritten signature for Kat & Melinda