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As I write this post today it’s cold and rainy and a hint of fall is in the air. I’m so not ready yet. I love fall but I always want to hold on to long, hot summer days until September 22nd tyvm!!!! Who else is with me?!
It’s still August, so I know there are some beautiful hot sunny days left before fall is truly upon us. Let’s just pretend that it’s one of those days right now, and maybe by Monday (when this post goes live) it will be a beautiful hot August day and we can enjoy this refreshing Mexican shrimp co*cktail together. Sound good?
Yes, let’s make plans!
I bet a lot of you think of shrimp co*cktail as being an appetizer that’s served with cold shrimp and a red co*cktail sauce for dipping, right?! Yes, it’s delicious. I am a fan because I love anything with shrimp. But let’s just forget about that shrimp co*cktail for a moment and let me tell you all about this Mexican shrimp co*cktail because once you try it you will never think about plain old, regular shrimp co*cktail the same way again.
Mexican shrimp co*cktail is a whole different experience!!! Instead of dipping shrimp into a sauce, the shrimp is already inside the sauce along with a ton of crunchy veggies and a tomato-y sauce with orange juice, and there is even AVOCADO in there – and you dip a saltine cracker into this glorious concoction and shove it into your mouth!!!
Oh and did I mention it’s served cold – hello refreshing – and in a margarita glass, or martini glass, or other kind of fun stemmed glass?!?! This is very exciting, isn’t it?!
Be excited with me!!!
I mean you could serve Mexican shrimp co*cktail in a bowl if you’re in a pinch, it’s better than not eating it at all – but a bowl makes me think it’s going to be soup, or gazpacho and this is far from a soup. It’s MEXICAN SHRIMP co*ckTAIL!!!!!
Best part is that if you are making this during a hot summer day, as you should, it doesn’t require much cooking. The only cooking that’s involved is boiling the shrimp in clam juice, which only takes 3 minutes! The rest is chopping veggies and mixing and waiting for it to chill in the fridge.
UMM CLAM JUICE!!! WHAT?!?!
I know, it sounds weird but trust me, it adds a layer of flavor that you would miss if it wasn’t there. Don’t worry, you won’t actually taste the clam juice. Just sweet and salty, tomato-y, orange-y, refreshing goodness.
Let’s talk about the saltine crackers for just a sec. They are essential to eating Mexican shrimp co*cktail. You dip/spoon the shrimp co*cktail onto your plain and perfectly salted cracker and pop it into your mouth.
I have tried eating this dish with both tortilla chips and other types of crackers and it pretty much ruins it. There is something about that flaky cracker that melts in your mouth and mingles with all the other textures and flavors of the Mexican shrimp co*cktail.
That being said, I have left a link to a gluten free saltine type cracker option in the notes below. I haven’t tried them myself but others online have said they are similar to saltine crackers. Let us know in the comments below if you give them a try or know of any other suggestions. Because I don’t want anyone to have to miss out on this amazing recipe! Thanks!
Loaded with crunchy summertime veggies, tender sweet shrimp, and creamy avocado I know you will enjoy this refreshing Mexican shrimp co*cktail! Seriously, you’ll be hooked! I got Paul hooked, and it might be one of his new fave recipes…at least for now ha!
We have usually eaten shrimp co*cktail as an entree, it’s surprisingly filling. But I think it could make a fun appetizer for a party or friends. Especially if you can find some cute mini stemmed glasses of some kind to serve them in.
Someone please make this happen and snap tag me on Instagram?! I wanna see! Okay?!
Seriously, look at it! How do you not want to serve that cute thing at a party?! Just make sure you also serve it with a margarita because every time I have made this recipe it has left me craving a good margarita ha!
My wish is that you are having a hot summer day while you read this post and are inspired to make this Mexican shrimp co*cktail to help keep you cool.
Just let me know if this is you because I will be right over! I can bring the tequila for the Margarita!!! Cause we’re friends who share tequila! Right?!
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- Author: Emily Koch
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 3 mins
- Total Time: 23 mins
- Yield: 4 entree servings or 6-8 appetizer servings 1x
- Category: 1 Pan, 30 Minutes, Entree, Appetizer, Seafood
- Cuisine: Dairy Free, Mexican
Description
Mexican shrimp co*cktail is a refreshing summertime entree or appetizer. It has a tomato based sauce that’s loaded with crunchy veggies, avocado, and perfectly cooked shrimp.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
- Shrimp
- 1 pound shrimp, deveined and peeled
- 8 ounces clam juice (only ingredients should be clam juice)
- salt
- co*cktail veggies/sauce
- 1/2 seedless cucumber, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- optional: 1 Jalapeno, diced (seeds removed for less heat)
- 1 tomato, diced
- Juice of 1 lime
- Juice of 2 oranges
- 1/4 cup clam juice that has been reserved from cooking and chilled
- 1 cup organic Ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional : hot sauce, to taste
- 1/4 cup Cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 just ripe avocado, cubed
- Optional toppings
- 1/2 to 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- Orange or lime slices
- a few reserved cooked shrimp, left whole
- For serving
- saltine crackers
Instructions
- Cook the shrimp: Add the clam juice and a good portion of salt to a medium sauce pan. Add the shrimp and turn on the heat to medium high. Stir the shrimp constantly until they curl up and turn pink and opaque – about 3 minutes. Immediately use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp from the clam juice and spread out on a plate or baking dish so that they can cool off fast – DO NOT DISCARD THE CLAM JUICE. Transfer the clam juice to a container and once it’s cooled slightly place it in the fridge to cool completely. Once shrimp are cooled more place them in the fridge to keep chilled until ready to use.
- Prepare the co*cktail sauce and veggies: Chop all of the veggies as instructed above EXCEPT FOR THE CILANTRO AND AVOCADO. To a large mixing bowl add the ketchup, 1/4 cup chilled clam juice (strain if there are any shrimp fragments), orange juice, lime juice, and salt – stir to combine. Add all of the veggies that have been chopped. Cut the chilled shrimp into bite sized pieces, removing any tail pieces (you can reserve a few whole shrimp for garnishing the dish if you’d like). Add the cut shrimp to the bowl with the veggies stir to combine everything together, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or until well chilled.
- Finish: Once the shrimp co*cktail has been well chilled stir in the cilantro and avocado chunks. Give it taste and add more salt if needed or hot sauce if you want it a little spicier.
- Serve: Spoon the shrimp co*cktail into a tall glass, such as a margarita glass or martini glass (or a bowl will work if in a pinch) and garnish with sliced avocado, lime or orange slices, and a few whole shrimp on the rim – if desired. Serve with tons of saltine crackers for dipping. A spoon is recommend for spooning all of the goodies onto the crackers.
- Leftovers: Any leftovers will keep for upt o 2ish days. Anymore than that and the avocado gets mushy and the shrimp gets a little “overcooked” from all of the acid in the sauce (think cheviche).
Notes
Clam Juice: I found clam juice near canned tuna. Okay, I know this sounds weird but when I researched the recipe a lot of people used clamato juice – a tomato and clam juice combo. Clamato juice contains high fructose corn syrup which i wanted to avoid. Ketchup and clam juice have the same affect. The clam juice isn’t a strong flavor in the final dish but it adds a layer of complex flavor, so try not to skip it.
Saltine Crackers: Saltine crackers are the only way to eat this dish. I have tried tortilla chips and other seedy crackers and neither are nearly as good – there is something about the texture and the taste of the saltine crackers that goes so well with all the other shrimp co*cktail flavors. Just trust me!
Gluten free option: For a gluten free option try Schar table crackers. I haven’t personally tried them but Amazon reviews say they taste pretty close to a saltine cracker. If you try them or have any other gluten free saltine type cracker options please share in the comments below. Thanks, friends! 🙂
Recipe adapted from Food Wishes
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