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Goodness, I absolutely LOVE ceviche, especially this shrimp ceviche. It’s light, healthy, fresh, tangy, and just plain-old delicious!!!
I am surprised to say that this is the first ceviche recipe I’ve shared on my blog. How is that even possible? And, y’all… this ceviche is bright, beautiful and has fabulous flavor.
I’ve always made ceviche using shrimp. I personally prefer the texture of it in ceviche but, again, ceviche is ceviche and I’ll eat it with *any* fish I can find. The trick to using shrimp and it not being too tough is how I cut it (see in the recipe my trick), it just really makes a huge difference in the texture. Resulting in the most amazing shrimp ceviche.
Now, this recipe has a bit of a kick to it, so it’s not for the faint of heart. I love spice, y’all know that so I do prefer my ceviche with a kick to it. If you want a more mild touch to your ceviche, see my notes at the bottom of the recipe! Now, if you like some heat to it, you’re going to love the extra step of blending the serrano pepper with the lime and lemon juice. It really does add an element of flavor to this ceviche to really make it a *home run*!
Now, if you’ve never made ceviche before– yes, you chop the shrimp up raw. It actually ‘cooks’ from the acidity from all of the lime juice!
To keep this dish Whole30, simply eat with a fork or over some greens as a ceviche salad! I used Siete Foods Grain-free Tortilla Chips to keep this Paleo.

Shrimp Ceviche
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and tail-off
- 1/3 cup red onion, very finely diced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 serranos peppers *see notes
- 1/3 cup english cucumber, seeds removed and diced small
- 8 tbsp fresh lime juice or 2-3 limes
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice or 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 avocado, diced small
Instructions
- Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise (so it makes two thin slices of shrimp) and then cut each half into 3-4 smaller pieces (depending on how chunky you want).
- In a food processor, add the lime juice, lemon juice and 1 serrano pepper (seeds removed). Blend until smooth.
- Place shrimp a large bowl. Add the serrano pepper mixture, red onion, cilantro, the remaining serrano pepper (seeds removed and diced small) cucumber, oregano, salt and pepper. Gently toss the ceviche (I use a rubber spatula to do this). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors come together and for the shrimp to cook through in the acid from the lime juice.
- Before serving, add the avocado and adjust salt and pepper, as desired.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Every time I get ceviche I always say I want to make it at home, but I always get scared! This recipe was amazing! I doubled it and followed the instructions exactly. I did 1/2 of a Serrano to keep the heat down just in case as I was having guests. I was amazed that the shrimp really does cook perfectly in the lime & lemon! I chilled it for 2 hours before serving. I served it with, Grilled Salmon Tacos with Jalapeño Tartar Sauce & Mezcal Mules, all of which are Alex’s recipes that you must try!
Everyone was raving about the dinner and wanted the recipes for all of it! Thank you for making such amazing recipes that give me confidence to be in the kitchen 🤣
So glad this was a hit! Great menu
I’m making this for a party and one of the guests has a shellfish allergy. What fish would you substitute for the shrimp?
Red snapper/red fish works well!