This bright and fresh Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe will be one of your favorite easy Mexican recipes. It features a simple, zesty shrimp cocktail sauce that’s made with fresh ingredients, bright flavors, and a hint of spice… plus perfectly cooked juicy shrimp. It makes a healthy appetizer or snack that’s perfect for any party!
What Is Shrimp Cocktail?
Traditional shrimp cocktail serves up cold cooked prawns or shrimp in a glass with a zesty, spicy sauce. This Mexican shrimp cocktail pairs the same juicy shrimp with a salsa-inspired cocktail sauce. If you like flavorful mains like shrimp fajitas or appetizers like shrimp ceviche, this is the perfect dish for you.
Shrimp Cocktail Ingredients
This section explains how to choose the ingredients for the best shrimp cocktail, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
For The Shrimp:
Medium Shrimp – This will be labeled 41/50 at the grocery store, but you can use smaller or larger shrimp if you like. For larger or jumbo shrimp, it’s best to dip the shrimp into the cocktail sauce instead of stirring in. Choose peeled, deveined shrimp for convenience, or do it yourself. Fresh or frozen shrimp will both work — just thaw your shrimp if it’s frozen. You can also buy cooked shrimp to save time on the cooking step.Lime Juice – The acid is used for “cooking” the shrimp if you want to marinate it. This is not required if you’ll be poaching the shrimp to cook it.Sea Salt & Black Pepper
For The Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Sauce:
Red Onion – I prefer red onion, but you could also use white onion. If you want it a little more mild, soak in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry.Cilantro – I highly recommend fresh cilantro leaves here, but if all you have is dried, you can replace the 1/3 cup fresh cilantro in this shrimp cocktail recipe with 1 1/2 teaspoons (a.k.a. 1/2 tablespoon) dried cilantro instead.Tomato – Roma tomatoes work really well here, but you could also use any type, as they will be diced.Jalapeno – Remove seeds for less heat, or leave them in if you want it spicier.Ketchup – I used homemade sugar-free ketchup, but you can use any type.Hot Sauce – Any Mexican hot sauce, like Tabasco sauce, Valentina, or Tapatio, works well. Lime Juice – Use fresh lime juice for best flavor, or bottled lime juice for convenience. If you don’t have any on hand, lemon juice works fine.Sea Salt (or kosher salt) & Black Pepper Avocado – Look for a ripe and slightly soft avocado. Cut into cubes.
How To Cook Shrimp For Shrimp Cocktail
There are two main ways to cook shrimp for shrimp cocktail — you can choose which you like best.
Prep:
No matter which method you use, follow these steps first:
Poach Shrimp:
Shrimp is very easy to overcook, so we don’t want to cook it in boiling water. Instead, we’ll boil the water first, turn off the heat, and only then add the shrimp to let it cook using the residual heat. If you plan to stir the shrimp into the cocktail sauce (and dip with chips or crackers), go ahead and remove the tail. If you’ll be serving the sauce on the side and dipping the shrimp into it, leave the tail on.
Marinate Shrimp:
If you prefer a ceviche-style flavor, you can marinate the shrimp with lime juice to “cook” it — no heat required. Try bay leaves, fresh herbs (like parsley or cilantro), and lemon wedges (or just lemon peel).
How To Make Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
How To Serve Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp Cocktail Platter – Don’t mix the shrimp into the sauce. Instead, serve the cooked shrimp in a shallow bowl of ice (or a bed of greens if it will be eaten quickly), with the homemade shrimp cocktail sauce in the middle. Garnish with fresh lime wedges or lemon wedges.Chips – Tortilla chips are the classic Mexican choice. (You can also make keto tortilla chips if you like.)Crackers – Saltine crackers or almond flour crackers.Veggies – Mini bell peppers, cucumbers, or celery are excellent for scooping.
Storage Instructions
Keep Mexican shrimp cocktail in the refrigerator. Longer than that might make it mushy.
How Long Does Shrimp Cocktail Last In The Fridge?
Shrimp cocktail recipes will last up to a day in the fridge. If you want to make this dish ahead, don’t add avocado until right before serving to extend the shelf life.
Can You Freeze Shrimp Cocktail?
You can freeze many shrimp cocktail recipes, but this particular one is not great for freezing, since it has a lot of fresh ingredients and the textures can change.
More Healthy Shrimp Recipes
If you like this recipe, you might also like some of these other healthy shrimp recipes: Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram, or in our Facebook support group, too – I’d love to see it!
