Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

Name: Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe (10 Minutes!)
Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3/4 lb Medium shrimp ((peeled and deveined)); 2 tbsp Lime juice ((optional, only for marinated shrimp)); Sea salt ((to taste)); Black pepper ((to taste)); 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 used sugar-free ketchup)); 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))

This easy Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe takes just 10 minutes, with simple ingredients. It has the best zesty, fresh shrimp cocktail sauce!

By Maya Krampf
Published May 20, 2022
Updated February 11, 2023

66 Comments

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Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe in a glass.

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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 tomato sauce. Mexican shrimp cocktail, called coctel de camarones in Spanish, pairs a salsa-inspired cocktail sauce with the same juicy shrimp.

If you like flavorful mains like shrimp fajitas or appetizers like shrimp ceviche, this is the perfect dish for you.

Why You’ll Love This Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

Light, fresh, zesty, and spicy flavor
Crunchy veggies, tender shrimp
Ready in just 15 minutes
Made with simple and fresh ingredients
Naturally low carb, gluten-free, and healthy

Mexican shrimp cocktail in a glass, side view.

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.

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 and skip the cooking step in this recipe for shrimp cocktail.
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

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.

Variations:

Other common additions to cocktail sauce for shrimp include Worcestershire sauce (1-2 tablespoons), horseradish (2-4 teaspoons), garlic (2 or 3 minced garlic cloves or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder), or finely diced celery (2 tablespoons).

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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:

Defrost. If you shrimp is frozen, defrost it in the fridge overnight, or in a bowl of cold water on the counter.
Peel. If your shrimp is not already prepared this way, go ahead and peel and devein it. Cut through the shell with kitchen shears, unless your shrimp is labeled “easy peel”, where this is typically already done. Hold onto the the tail of the shrimp and peel off the shell right next to it, then slide off.

TIP: Decide if you want to leave the tail intact.

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.

Option 1 – 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.

Prep. Peel and devein the shrimp if you didn’t purchase it that way.
Cook shrimp. Boil water and add shrimp to the pot. Turn off heat and let sit until shrimp is cooked through.
Chill. As soon as the shrimp is cooked through, immediately plunge it into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. This will also prevent rubbery shrimp.

TIP: For more flavor, add things to the water.

Try bay leaves, fresh herbs (like parsley or cilantro), and lemon wedges (or just lemon peel).

Option 2 – Marinate Shrimp:

If you prefer a shrimp ceviche-style flavor, you can marinate the shrimp with lime juice to “cook” it — no heat required.

Mix. Place the shrimp in a large bowl. Add the lime juice, salt, and pepper.
Marinate. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until the shrimp turns pink — this means it’s “cooked”.

TIP: You can marinate the shrimp for up to 8 hours.

Longer than that might make it mushy.

How To Make Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Mix. In a large bowl, stir together the vegetables (onion, tomato, and jalapeno), cilantro, ketchup, hot sauce, lime juice, salt, and pepper. (If you’ll be serving the shrimp on the side, you can use a small bowl instead.)
Finish. Gently fold in shrimp (if you want it mixed in) and avocado.
Serve. Divide the Mexican shrimp cocktail among individual glasses (I think the martini glasses shown here look so pretty!), or for larger shrimp, serve the shrimp on the side and dip into the Mexican cocktail sauce. See below for more serving suggestions.

VARIATION: Make a runnier consistency.

If you like your Mexican shrimp cocktail more runny, you can add clam juice a little at a time at the end. If you don’t have clam juice, the water you used to cook the shrimp would also work.

Finished shrimp cocktail recipe in serving glass.

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, sliced English cucumbers, or celery are excellent for scooping.

Storage Instructions

Store: Keep Mexican shrimp cocktail in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freeze: 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.

How Long Does Shrimp Cocktail Last In The Fridge?

Shrimp cocktail recipes will last up to 1 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.

Serving shrimp cocktail sauce with crackers.

More Healthy Shrimp Recipes

If you like this cocktail shrimp recipe, you might also like some of these other ways to make shrimp:

Juicy garlic grilled shrimp skewers with lemon and garlic

Easy Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

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