Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

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This bright and fresh Mexican shrimp cocktail is one of the easiest impressive-looking healthy appetizers I’ve ever made. Most shrimp cocktail recipes have a traditional sauce with a base of horseradish and ketchup, but since Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines, I decided to add a spicy, fresh, and vibrant twist to mine. If it’s one of your faves too, you’ll love this version. It tastes so much like the ones I’ve eaten in Mexico.

Why You’ll Love My Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

• Light, fresh, zesty, and spicy flavor – By swapping in jalapeno, Mexican hot sauce, cilantro, and creamy avocado into the mix, I gave my Mexican-inspired shrimp the same bold flavors you’ll find in my shrimp fajitas, fresh salsa, and ceviche. If you like tang with a bit of heat, you’ll love this dish.
• 2 ways to “cook” the shrimp – You can choose how to cook the shrimp for my Mexican shrimp cocktail. Poach them for a tender texture, or marinate them for added flavor and juiciness — I’ve done both ways.
• Quick and easy – It may look fancy, but it comes together so fast! I like to make it for last-minute gatherings. It’s simple enough for your regular busy weeknights, too.
• Simple, fresh ingredients – You’ll find all you need at your local grocery store. And it shows with how the fresh flavors shine through.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Here I explain the best ingredients for my Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.

Shrimp:

• The Size – I used medium shrimp (labeled 41/50 at the grocery store), but you can use smaller or larger shrimp if you like. For larger or jumbo shrimp, I recommend dipping the shrimp into the cocktail sauce instead of stirring in, unless you want to chop it up.
• Peel & Devein – I always get already peeled, deveined shrimp for convenience, though you could do it yourself.
• Fresh Or Frozen – Both will work, but you’ll need to thaw your shrimp if it’s frozen. I prefer to use raw shrimp and cook it fresh, but you can also buy cooked shrimp to save time. Just skip the cooking step in my recipe for Mexican shrimp cocktail.

Seasoning:

• Lime Juice – You only need lime juice for the shrimp itself if you plan on marinating it instead of poaching. The acid “cooks” the shrimp in the marinade. I often use bottled lime juice for this step because it’s convenient and don’t notice a taste difference, but of course fresh is excellent.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Mexican Cocktail Sauce:

• The Sauce Base – I use a combination of ketchup, hot sauce, and lime juice for a balance of sweet, spicy, and tangy. I love this brand of ketchup with no added sugar, but you can use any kind that works for you. I’ve even made it with my homemade sugar-free ketchup. For the hot sauce, I usually use Tabasco, but Valentina or Tapatio also works well.
• Red Onion – For sharpness and crunch. If you want it a little milder, soak the onion in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry. White onion also works fine. Sometimes I add diced celery or cucumber for extra crunch.
• Fresh Cilantro – I love cilantro with Mexican flavors, so I use a lot (1/3 cup), but you can reduce the amount if you like it less. Dried cilantro is just not the same in Mexican shrimp cocktail, but if that’s all you’ve got, I’d use just a tablespoon. That’s not even the equivalent amount, but using too much would just ruin the texture.
• Tomato – Roma tomatoes work really well here. You could really use any type, though, as we’ll be dicing it.
• Jalapeno – I remove the seeds for less heat, as the hot sauce adds plenty. You can leave them in if you want it spicier.
• Avocado – I think the creaminess is a must to balance the heat! Cut it into cubes.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Variations For The Sauce:

If you want more depth, add 1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 2-4 teaspoons of horseradish, or 2-3 minced garlic cloves. I put garlic in practically everything, but felt that this Mexican cocktail shrimp was flavorful enough even without it.

How To Make Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.

Cook The Shrimp

There are two main ways that I cook shrimp for Mexican shrimp cocktail — poaching or marinating:

• To poach: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp, and wait for them to turn pink. Then, transfer the shrimp to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
• To marinate: This is similar to my shrimp ceviche. In a large bowl, marinate the shrimp with lime juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until the shrimp turns pink.

Make The Sauce & Serve

After you’ve cooked your shrimp, all you have to do is mix up the rest of the ingredients to create that spicy, zesty cocktail sauce!

• Mix the sauce: In a large bowl, stir together the onion, tomato, and jalapeno, cilantro, ketchup, hot sauce, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
• Combine: Gently fold in the shrimp (if you want it mixed in) and avocado.

You can eat it right from the bowl, but it’s much prettier to transfer to a glass dish. I serve it with tortilla chips and mini bell peppers for scooping.

My Recipe Tips

• Depending on how you’ll serve your Mexican shrimp cocktail, you can remove the tails or leave them on. Remove the tails if you’ll be mixing it into the sauce like I did, or leave them on if you’ll be dipping the shrimp into the sauce.
• Don’t cook shrimp with the heat on. Shrimp is very easy to overcook, so I never cook it in boiling water. To poach it instead, add it to the water only after turning off the heat. It turns out more juicy using only the residual heat.
• If you poach your shrimp, you can flavor the water. Sometimes I like to add bay leaves, fresh herbs (like parsley or cilantro), or lime wedges (or even just the peel).
• You can marinate shrimp for up to 8 hours. My bare minimum is 30 minutes for the shrimp to “cook”, but a couple more hours adds extra flavor. Don’t go past 8 hours, though, because after that it turns mushy.
• Add clam juice for flavor and a runnier consistency. If you like your Mexican shrimp cocktail runnier and with more briny flavor, you can add clam juice a little at a time at the end. If you don’t have any, the water you used to cook the shrimp would also work.

Storage Instructions

I don’t recommend making this appetizer too far in advance, because the acid in the lime juice continues to “cook” the shrimp and starts to make it tough, even if you refrigerate it. But if you have leftovers, you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 day (and add the avocado only right before serving).

More Healthy Shrimp Recipes

There are so many light and versatile ways to cook shrimp! If you’re a fan, here are some of my other easy recipes with it:

Creamy Shrimp Salad

Garlic Butter Shrimp

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Coconut Shrimp

Recipe Card

4.92 from 70 votes

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Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (15 Minutes)

This Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe takes just 15 minutes! It's fresh, zesty, sweet and spicy, and so easy to make with simple ingredients.

Prep: 12 minutes

Cook: 3 minutes

Total: 15 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from Wholesome Yum

Servings: 6 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.

Shrimp:

• 12 oz Medium shrimp (peeled and deveined) ▢
• 2 tbsp Lime juice (optional, only for marinated shrimp) ▢
• Sea salt (to taste) ▢
• Black pepper (to taste) ▢

Mexican Cocktail Sauce:

• 1/3 cup Red onion (diced) ▢
• 1/3 cup Fresh cilantro (chopped) ▢
• 1 medium Roma tomato (diced) ▢
• 1/2 medium Jalapeno (seeded and diced) ▢
• 6 tbsp Ketchup (I use sugar-free ketchup, but regular works) ▢
• 2 tbsp Mexican hot sauce (Tabasco, Valentina, or Tapatio) ▢
• 1 tbsp Lime juice ▢
• 1 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1 tsp Black pepper ▢
• 1/2 large Avocado (cubed) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.

To Poach Shrimp (Faster Option):

1. Bring a medium pot with salted water to a boil, then turn off the heat.

2. Add the shrimp to the hot water. Let the shrimp sit in the water for about 3 minutes, or until it turns pink and is cooked through. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water.

3. Remove the shrimp from the water with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge it into the ice water to prevent overcooking.

To Marinate Shrimp (More Flavorful Option):

1. Place shrimp in a large bowl. Add the lime juice, sea salt, and black pepper.

2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until it has turned pink, or for up to 8 hours.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the red onion, cilantro, tomato, jalapeno, sugar-free ketchup, hot sauce, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

2. Gently fold in the avocado and cooked shrimp. Serve with chips, crackers, or veggies. Alternatively, you can serve the Mexican shrimp cocktail by dipping the shrimp into the sauce instead.

LAST STEP: Leave a rating to help other readers, or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!

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Maya’s Recipe Notes

Serving size: 3/4 cup

Nutrition Facts

Amounts per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 104

Fat 4.3g

Protein 8.6g

Total Carbs 8.7g

Net Carbs 6.5g

Fiber 2.2g

Sugar 4.1g

I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.

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