Mexican shrimp cocktail, or cóctel de camarones, combines chilled cooked shrimp with a tomato-lime base, crunchy vegetables and creamy avocado. Serve it by the spoonful with saltine crackers or tostadas. This version uses tomato juice rather than ketchup for a lighter, less sweet base.
What makes Mexican shrimp cocktail different?
Instead of shrimp arranged around a small portion of dipping sauce, the Mexican preparation mixes the seafood into a generous, spoonable sauce. Onion, cilantro and avocado add texture and flavor to the bowl. Restaurants and home cooks vary the tomato base, heat and garnishes.
Our recipe retains the original AmigoFoods juice-based proportions. We cross-referenced the preparation with Rick Bayless’s shrimp cocktail, which uses ketchup and clam juice. His version and ours share cooked shrimp, lime, onion, cilantro and avocado, but the sauces have different sweetness and thickness. This revision has not been independently kitchen-tested by AmigoFoods.
Choose the tomato base you prefer
- Plain tomato juice: Gives a lighter tomato flavor. Check its sodium before seasoning.
- Clamato: Adds clam flavor and its own seasoning. It contains clam ingredients, so it is not interchangeable for every dietary need.
- Ketchup-based versions: Are generally thicker and sweeter. Ketchup is not a one-for-one substitute for the cup of juice below.
Taste the tomato and lime together first. If the mixture is too tart, dilute a small portion with more tomato juice before adjusting the entire bowl. Adding extra lime makes an already acidic mixture sharper. If it needs heat, add hot sauce a few drops at a time.
Start with fully cooked, chilled shrimp
The recipe calls for 1 pound of shrimp weighed after cooking, peeling and deveining. Raw shrimp lose weight during cooking, so a pound of raw shrimp will not provide the same finished quantity.
Ready-cooked frozen shrimp can be convenient. Follow the package’s thawing directions, keep them cold and drain well. Excess thawing water can dilute the sauce. Chop large shrimp into pieces that fit comfortably on a spoon.
If cooking your own shrimp, use heat until the flesh is pearly and opaque throughout. The FDA’s seafood guidance recommends 145°F (63°C) for most seafood. Chill cooked shrimp promptly in a clean ice-water bath, then drain. Lime juice is seasoning, not a substitute for cooking.
Keep the vegetables crisp
Dice the cucumber, tomato and onion into small, even pieces. If your cucumber has a very watery seed core, scoop it out first. Rinse a particularly sharp diced onion with cold water and drain well.
Save the avocado for the last moment. Folding it in gently after chilling keeps the pieces intact and avoids turning the sauce cloudy with mashed avocado.
Useful serving tools
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Wide serving bowls make the shrimp and vegetables easy to scoop. A citrus juicer can help measure fresh lime juice without seeds. Ordinary bowls and a hand-squeezed lime work too.
Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe
Yield: 4 appetizer servings. Estimated time: 20 minutes preparation plus 30 minutes chilling, using already-cooked shrimp.
Shrimp and tomato-lime base
- 1 pound (454 g) cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp, chilled
- 1 cup (240 ml) tomato juice or Clamato
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lime juice
Vegetables and serving
- 1 medium cucumber, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 avocado, diced just before serving
- 1 jalapeño, minced (optional)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, measured after chopping
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Mexican hot sauce, to taste (optional)
- Tortilla chips or saltine crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Drain the chilled cooked shrimp thoroughly. Cut large shrimp into bite-sized pieces if desired. This recipe measures shrimp after cooking; do not substitute the same weight of raw shrimp without accounting for cooking loss.
- Mix tomato juice or Clamato with lime juice in a large nonreactive bowl. Taste before adding salt, pepper or hot sauce, because bottled juices vary in seasoning.
- Stir in cucumber, red onion, tomato and optional jalapeño. Fold in the cooked shrimp.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Keep the mixture at 40°F (4°C) or below.
- Fold in freshly diced avocado and chopped cilantro just before serving. Taste again and divide among 4 appetizer bowls. Serve cold with chips or crackers.
Use the matching printable card below, then continue for make-ahead and serving tips.
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (Cóctel de Camarones)
Chilled cooked shrimp with tomato-lime juice, cucumber, onion and avocado. A lighter, juice-based version without ketchup.
Ingredients
Shrimp and tomato-lime base
- 1 pound (454 g) cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp, chilled
- 1 cup (240 ml) tomato juice or Clamato
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lime juice
Vegetables and serving
- 1 medium cucumber, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 avocado, diced just before serving
- 1 jalapeño, minced (optional)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, measured after chopping
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Mexican hot sauce, to taste (optional)
- Tortilla chips or saltine crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Drain the chilled cooked shrimp thoroughly. Cut large shrimp into bite-sized pieces if desired. This recipe measures shrimp after cooking; do not substitute the same weight of raw shrimp without accounting for cooking loss.
- Mix tomato juice or Clamato with lime juice in a large nonreactive bowl. Taste before adding salt, pepper or hot sauce, because bottled juices vary in seasoning.
- Stir in cucumber, red onion, tomato and optional jalapeño. Fold in the cooked shrimp.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Keep the mixture at 40°F (4°C) or below.
- Fold in freshly diced avocado and chopped cilantro just before serving. Taste again and divide among 4 appetizer bowls. Serve cold with chips or crackers.
Notes
Uses the original AmigoFoods recipe proportions, clarified for cooked shrimp. Cross-referenced with Rick Bayless for cooked seafood, lime, tomato-base and avocado preparation; this juice-based version differs from his ketchup-based recipe. Not independently kitchen-tested by AmigoFoods. Contains shellfish; Clamato also contains clam ingredients. Check cracker and sauce labels for other allergens. Refrigerate promptly; do not leave out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C).
Serving and storage
Serve cold in individual bowls or wide glasses with tostadas, tortilla chips or saltine crackers. Put extra Mexican hot sauce on the table so each person can control the heat.
Prepare the base and cooked shrimp ahead, refrigerating them in covered containers, and add avocado at serving time. For the best texture, assemble on the day you plan to eat. Keep seafood at 40°F (4°C) or below; do not leave it out longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C).
Frequently asked questions
Does shrimp cocktail contain alcohol?
This recipe does not. “Cocktail” here refers to the seafood preparation and presentation, not an alcoholic drink.
Is this the same as ceviche?
No. This cocktail uses cooked shrimp in a tomato-based mixture. Many ceviches use citrus-marinated seafood and a different dressing.
Can I make it mild?
Leave out the jalapeño and optional hot sauce. Check the bottled tomato beverage too, since some versions are spicy.
Can I freeze the assembled cocktail?
Freezing is a poor choice for this finished dish: thawed cucumber, tomato and avocado lose their fresh texture. Assemble only what you expect to serve.
More Mexican Foods
See all →
Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.