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This Mexican shrimp cocktail is perfectly tart, spicy, and fresh! Cold and refreshing this is a perfect dish for a hot day!
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail is the ultimate summer meal. Cold and refreshing, this dish is loaded up with shrimp, diced veggies, and jalapeno. All soaked in a spicy lime and Clamato juice. If you’re a fan of shrimp recipes then make sure you check out our Ceviche and Shrimp Boil recipes.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Clamato: A tomato based drink that is fresh, tangy, and loaded up with savory flavors. Use a store-bought version or try our Homemade Clamato Juice.
- Lime Juice: Fresh lime juice is best, there’s no additional sweetness or extras added.
- Hot Sauce: Use your favorite type, and pick the heat level you prefer.
- Avocado: This is an optional ingredient. If you are using this in your cocktail it is recommended to serve the dish the same day it is made, do not store leftovers.
What is the Best Type of Shrimp to Use?
For this particular recipe medium size shrimp is great, it’s not too large or too small. To help make the preparation/cooking quick and easy buying already peeled and de-veined shrimp is best. Use cooked shrimp to skip the step of boiling to cook the shrimp.
How to make Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
- Bring a medium size pot of water to boil (add any aromatics as desired: onion, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, etc). Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes until they are pink in color. Remove the shrimp from the water and place in an ice bath or rinse with cold water.
- In a large bowl combine the diced cucumber, jalapeño, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Stir this all together.
- Add the cooked shrimp to the bowl with the diced veggies and stir to combine.
- Pour the clamato and lime juice over the shrimp and veggies. Add the salt and pepper, then stir to combine everything. Taste and adjust if needed. Add sugar if desired to cut the acidity. Add hot sauce as desired.
Serving
Serve this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail as a chilled appetizer or as a light main dish. Serve with saltine crackers or tortilla chips for dipping.
Storage
- Store: Store leftover Mexican Shrimp Cocktail in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
- Freeze: It is not recommended to freeze this shrimp cocktail.
More Shrimp Recipes
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp (medium) peeled and deveined
- 1 cucumber peeled and diced
- 1 jalapeno seeds & membranes removed, diced
- 2 roma tomatoes diced
- ½ cup red onion diced
- ½ bunch cilantro diced
- 1½ cup clamato juice
- 2 tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½-1 tsp sugar
- hot sauce as desired
Instructions
- Bring a medium size pot of water to boil (can add any aromatics as desired: onion, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, etc). Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes until the shrimp is pink in color. Remove the shrimp from the water and place in an ice bath or rinse with cold water.
- In a large glass bowl combine the diced cucumber, jalapeno, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Stir together. Add in the shrimp.
- Pour the clamato juice and lime juice over the ingredients in the bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust if needed. Add sugar if desired to cut the acidity. Add hot sauce as desired.
Video
Notes
- Clamato: A tomato based drink that is fresh, tangy, and loaded up with savory flavors. Use a store-bought version or try our Homemade Clamato Juice.
- Lime Juice: Fresh lime juice is best, there’s no additional sweetness or extras added.
- Hot Sauce: Use your favorite type, and pick the heat level you prefer.
- Avocado: This is an optional ingredient. If you are using this in your cocktail it is recommended to serve the dish the same day it is made, do not store leftovers.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe first published June 10, 2020. Updated May 14, 2024.
Photography by the talented JessGaertnerCreative.com
This looks amazing! How long does it take for the shrimp to marinate? How far ahead can this be made? I cant wait to serve this at our next get-together – thanks for your help!
What’s the serving size?
All I have to say is …… delicious.
Just made it for myself and hubby and love this! Didn’t include cilantro though, how much do you suggest?
?Where is the avocado¿
You can absolutely add some in. We prefer our cocktail without the avocado, but do add it in when making ceviche.