Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, in Spanish, called Coctel de Camarones is a festive, fresh, and colorful dish that you would want to make all year long. Marinated shrimp, tomato, cucumber, onion, serrano chili, and creamy avocado are combined in a tomato-based sauce. A little bit of hot sauce for some kick and lots of lime juice.
Although Mexican Shrimp Cocktail is an all-year-round dish. In our family, this recipe is always on the menu for Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, Fathers'Day, and New Year's Eve. But especially perfect for hot summer days. It is a bright, refreshing, no-cook meal. It's everything I want out of a summer meal!
INGREDIENTS FOR MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL
- 1 pound cooked shrimp
- tomato ketchup
- vegetable juice (I recommend V8 original)
- clamato juice
- worcestershire sauce
- horseradish
- vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, red onion, avocado, serrano chili, and fresh chopped cilantro
- salt & pepper
- lemon or lime juice
- tapatio sauce
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL
Whether you make this shrimp cocktail for the holidays, or as a refreshing summer meal, you're sure to love this family favorite!
It is super easy to prepare. I use pre-cooked shrimp either fresh or frozen works. After they are thawed, I like to season them with salt, and pepper. Then let them marinate in some lemon/ or lime juice for at least 1 hour. I never liked when eating shrimp cocktails in a restaurant and the shrimp tastes like the water they were defrosted in. Most of them are also not flavorful at all and need a ton of extra lemon and hot sauce. I developed my own recipe with all the fixings that I would love in a shrimp cocktail, and most of all it had to taste flavorful so that you could actually drink the whole juice if you want to ๐
The rest comes together quickly. Chop up some fresh tomato, cucumber, and avocado. Dice some red onion, and serrano pepper.
Traditionally, Coctel de Camarones is served with a side of saltine crackers, and a bottle of Tapatio to spice up your own cocktail.
Notes:
- If using raw shrimp. Cook shrimp in boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink in color. Drain and transfer the shrimp to a bowl of ice water and chill completely.
- If you want to serve this for a party, you can double up this recipe. In the recipe card below, you can change the "Servings" and it will calculate the measurements for you.
- If time-pressured, you can marinate the shrimp the night before in the seasonings and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate.
- I recommend chopping your vegetables right before assembling, especially the tomato and the avocado so they don't oxidize.
Coctel de Camarones is how I get through the hot California summers. Lounging by the pool with a cocktail glass full of my Mexican shrimp cocktail and an icy cold Corona Beer ๐
If you tried my recipe for Coctel de Camarones (Mexican Shrimp Cocktail), please be sure to let me know how it turned out by rating and reviewing it below!
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Recipe
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 lbs cooked shrimp (about 32 count)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon pepper
- 3 big limes, juice off (or, 2 large lemons)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup clamato juice
- 2 cups v8 original tomato/vegetable juice
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon horseradish, prepared (or 2 tablespoons if you prefer a bit spicier)
- 1 tablespoon Tapatio Sauce
Vegetable add-ins:
- ยฝ cup red onion, diced (about half of a medium-sized red onion)
- 1 chile serrano, seeds removed, and finely diced
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1 cup Roma tomatoes
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- 1. To a shallow bowl add tail off and deveined shrimp. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon/ or lime juice. Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.2. Prepare the sauce: To a large bowl add ketchup, clamato, v8 vegetable juice, worchestershire sauce, horseradish, and tapatio. Stir to combine.3. Chop all your vegetables into small pieces. Finely mince the serrano chili. Add the vegetables to the tomato-based sauce. Then add the marinated shrimp with their juices. Stir and check for seasoning and flavor balance. Make adjustments if necessary.4. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Serve with saltine crackers, or tortilla chips, extra lime, and tapatio sauce to add more spice.
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