Sweet, tart, spicy, and crunchy — this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail hits all the right notes!
Have you ever gone to brunch at a restaurant with a build your own Bloody Mary bar and loaded up your glass with everything they had? That’s what Mexican shrimp cocktail reminds me of, only without the booze — or the guilt of taking all of the shrimp. Sorry, not sorry.
What Is Mexican Shrimp Cocktail?
Most people describe this classic dish, also known as Coctel de Camarones, is a cross between shrimp cocktail and ceviche. It’s a little sweet, a little tart, a little spicy, and a little crunchy.
Like the shrimp cocktail most Americans are familiar with, this Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe features shrimp in a spicy, tomato sauce. Instead of horseradish though, this recipe gets its heat from jalapeno peppers.
But it doesn’t end there! In addition to shrimp, coctel de camarones is loaded with crunchy celery, cucumber, red onion, avocado, cilantro, tomatoes, and jalapeno. It’s basically a full-on salad. It’s usually served as an appetizer, but can easily double as a light lunch.
If you’re looking for another twist on shrimp cocktail, try my Tropical Shrimp Cocktail recipe with mango and pineapple in the cocktail sauce. And if you can’t get enough of recipes with a Mexican twist, try my Easy Mexican Bruschetta.
Type of Shrimp To Use
Unlike shrimp ceviche, which is a salad made from raw seafood that gets “cooked” by its acidic marinade, you’ll want to use cooked shrimp in this recipe. I prefer to cook the shrimp myself, straight from frozen. That’s the freshest way to do it. Shrimp are frozen on the boat when caught, so if they’re still frozen when you take them home, that is the closest to the ocean-flavor they’ll have. You just boil water, take it off the heat, and add your frozen shrimp for about 5-6 minutes. Done!
The fish counters at stores tend to defrost the shrimp there and then sell them, so they’re freshest if you buy them frozen and cook them yourself. But, you can totally get them already cooked to keep things simpler. I won’t judge you for that, ever!
Which shrimp should you get for this? Anytime that shrimp are going to be in sauce, I prefer to get ones that are peeled, deveined, and have the tail removed. That way, we don’t have to be tugging at the saucy, messy tail to eat. But if the ones with the tails are on sale, get those. You can just leave the tails on and deal with the sauce, or remove the tails yourself from all the shrimp before mixing them with the sauce. It’s not a difficult thing to do, really. You just hold the meaty part of the shrimp firmly in one hand, squeezing with your fingers just above where the tail ends, and then with your other hand, grab the tail and pull. Done! Repeat for all of the shrimp.
What Is Clamato Juice?
Clamato is a drink made from tomato juice and clam juice. It’s more seasoned than regular tomato juice and has a rich, salty flavor. No, it doesn’t taste like fish!
A lot of people really like the flavor that it adds to Mexican shrimp cocktail. But if you’re not feeling it, go ahead and use regular tomato juice or even V8. It will still be delicious.
Serving Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Traditionally, coctel de camarones is served with saltine crackers. You can also serve it with tortilla chips — or just eat it with a spoon. It’s such a great appetizer to serve for another classic Mexican dish, like this Carne Asada. That’s going to be such an amazing meal!
Once prepared, this Mexican shrimp cocktail will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container. Enjoy! -Christine xo
More Shrimp Appetizers
You can browse my full collection of appetizer recipes, but here’s some more great shrimp recipes for you to try.
Podcast Episode On Making Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this shrimp cocktail, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Refrigerate: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: Mexican
DESCRIPTION
Sweet, tart, spicy, and crunchy — this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail hits all the right notes!
Ingredients
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1/2 cup ketchup
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1/2 cup Clamato juice or tomato juice
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4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
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1 Tbsp. hot sauce, plus more to taste
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1 lb. medium cooked shrimp
- 3 plum tomatoes, diced
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 1 English cucumber, diced
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1 avocado, diced
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1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, clamato, lime juice, and hot sauce. Stir to combine.
- Mix in the shrimp and stir.
- Add the tomatoes, celery, cucumber, avocado, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. Stir gently to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to help the flavors come together.
- Taste and add additional hot sauce and lime juice to taste, if desired. If you’ve used something other than Clamato juice, you may also want to taste and add salt, if needed.
- To serve, scoop the shrimp, veggies, and juice into bowls or glasses. If you want less of the liquid, as pictured, use a slotted spoon to strain it a bit as you scoop. If you want more liquid, use a regular spoon so you’re getting everything.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
This post originally appeared in February 2020 and was revised and republished in August 2023.
Love this recipe; was just what I’ve been looking for, tastes so similar to what I’ve had at nice restaurants. I boil the shrimp with old bay in a bottle of mexican beer and actually cut them into smaller pieces so I can use this like a dip. Everyone always loves it and asks for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Tammy!
Great shrimp cocktail recipe. Just like my Abuela make on summer picnics. Five stars!!
I love to hear that! Thank you, John!
I love this recipe. I thought it could be more saucy so I added another 1/2 batch of the sauce.
Perfect seasoning.
So happy you liked it, Tammy! I might make it with extra sauce next time too. The sauce is so good!
This is now my go-to for appetizer potlucks. When someone says, “Bring an appetizer or dessert” I bring this. Everybody raves about it every single time, and then I give them your website to go find it. Hi friends of mine reading this review! I know you’re there! lol
Thanks for sending readers my way, Tammy! This one is always a hit when I make it too. :)
This was so good! I used your shrimp cocktail recipe (from frozen) and it was foolproof and delicious. I never thought I could make shrimp this good. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Cilka! Cooking the shrimp from frozen makes things so easy. I have plenty of shrimp recipes for you to explore and enjoy. :)
Great stuff. Appreciate
Thank you, Lon. Enjoy!
This Mexican Shrimp cocktail is simply divine!!! I fixed it for 8 ladies for a card luncheon, and WOW the compliments!!! It tastes exactly like a Mexican Shrimp cocktail that I used to order at Abuelos Restaurant. They’ve long since taken it off the menu – STUPID – but this is even better! I can make it as often as I want to at home!!
Thanks, Sharon! Glad you can now recreate it at home.