This easy ceviche recipe uses fresh fish (or shrimp), tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. It can be served as an appetizer with tortilla chips or as a light, refreshing summer meal. Watch the Video.
As a chef and caterer, I’ve always loved how this ceviche recipe has been one of the biggest crowd-pleasers at events. And honestly, I’m not surprised—ceviche is fresh, light, and bursting with flavor! It is one of my favorite things to eat in the entire world. We’ve made many versions of ceviche through the years; this one is simple, yet delicious! It can be served as an appetizer with tortilla chips or as a light, refreshing meal.
What is Ceviche?
Ceviche is a classic Latin American appetizer made with fresh fish or shrimp cured with lime juice and tossed with cucumber, tomato, red onion, cilantro, and optional avocado. It hails from the coastal regions of Central and South America and is popular from Mexico to Peru and beyond. There are many versions of ceviche, and depending on where you are, it will take on the local flavors.
Ceviche Recipe Ingredients
- Ocean fish – Look for fish that comes from the ocean. Wild red snapper, corvina, sea bass, mahi-mahi, halibut, scallops or shrimp. Tilapia will work in a pinch, but it is typically farmed. I try to stay away from farmed fish, but up to you.
- Limes- use fresh lime juice to cure the fish. FRESH IS BEST. Choose ripe limes– the more tender they are, the more ripe- so give them a good squeeze before buying. Rock-hard limes produce little juice and are overly tart.
- Red onion- Red adds nice color here, but yellow, sweet or white onions all work.
- Tomatoes – I love using cherry or grape tomatoes here for an extra sweet flavor.
- Cucumber – thinned-skinned cucumbers don’t need to be peeled. English, Turkish, Persian, etc.
- Fresh Cilantro- a must! But if you must sub, go with Italian parsley. Lime juice really mitigates the “soapy” flavor for those of you who have that gene. 🙂
- Jalapeno Peppers- and heat and a delicious “freshness.”
- Optional additions: avocado and radishes can be used as garnish.
How to make Ceviche (step-by-step Instructions)
Step one: Slice the red onions and place in a bowl. Add the salt and lime juice and let these marinate while you continue- this will help remove the bitterness from the onions.
Step two: Cut the fish into 3/4-inch bite-sized pieces and toss with the marinating onions.
Step three: Add the remaining ingredients- cucumber, tomatoes and cilantro and give a good toss. If adding avocado, wait until serving to add it.
Step Four: Refrigerate for 45-60 minutes. The longer you let the fish cure in the marinade, the more “cooked” through the ceviche will become. I find 45 minutes is perfect.
Chef’s TipS for the Best Ceviche
- Use wild ocean fish for the best clean flavor.
- Make sure your limes are “ripe”- squeeze them for softness, or let them ripen on the counter! Unripe limes will make your ceviche overly sour.
- Find the balance between salt and lime, adjusting both to taste.
Ceviche Variations and Ways to Serve it!
When we had our catering business, we served ceviche in a multitude of ways… here are some fun options- see photos below!
- Mini Ceviche Tostados
- Ceviche served in a coconut
- Mini Ceviche appetizer cups or shot glasses
- Ceviche lettuce cups
- Plated as a first course.
Or, for a special dinner, you could plate ceviche over a creamy avocado sauce (see the recipe card below) for a beautiful first course.
Or simply serve Ceviche in a large bowl with tortilla chips or lettuce cups.
How Long Does it Last?
Ceviche, like most seafood, is best served the day it is made but will keep 2-3 days in the fridge in a sealed container.
The Best Fish for Ceviche
Most wild ocean fish or shrimp or scallops will work perfectly in ceviche. River fish or farmed fish are not recommended. Tilapia tastes OK in ceviche, but it is typically farmed- so it’s up to you; I’ve used it in a pinch.
- sea bass
- red snapper
- halibut
- Wild Pacific rockfish
- Corvina
- dorado
- escolar
- mahi-mahi
- shrimp
- scallops
FAQS
- Is Ceviche Safe to eat? Ceviche, if made with fresh wild ocean fish is absolutely safe to eat. Think sushi! The lime juice cooks the ceviche on the outer edges and the longer it marinates the longer it “cooks”.
- How do you know if the fish is fresh enough to eat raw? It won’t smell fishy. It will smell clean and fresh with have a subtly sweet flavor.
- How long should Ceviche be marinated? Marination time can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of the pieces, but roughly 45-60 minutes for 3/4 inch pieces is a good rule of thumb. Remember when using a good quality, fresh, wild fish, it is not imperative that the fish is cooked all the way through, a little rawness is actually really quite good! Think sushi!
- How can you tell if ceviche is cooked long enough? The fish will look opaque on the outside, instead of translucent. If you prefer it cooked through more, you can marinate for 2 hours or more! Longer marinating will tend to make the fish chewier. See what you like best. There is no “right way”. If it tastes too raw for your own tastes, just marinate it longer.
- Is Ceviche healthy? Yes! Ceviche is high in lean protein, low in fat, and full of Vitamin C from the lime juice.
Can Ceviche be made ahead?
Yes! That being said, Ceviche is best made fresh on the day of serving- and is best up to 4 hours before serving- but I do save the leftovers for the next day. The fish will continue to cook in the lime juice, so the texture will change but the flavors are still great. I’ve been known to eat Ceviche 2-3 days after making -it won’t go bad, if kept in a cold refrigerator.
More Favorite Fish Recipes!
- Hearts of Palm Ceviche (Vegan!)
- Tuna Tostadas
- Shrimp Ceviche Verde
- 20 Healthy Fish and Seafood Recipes!
- Poke Bowls
- Peruvian Ceviche
- 35 Fresh and Tasty Mexican Recipes
I hope you love this as much as I do. Please don’t forget to rate the recipe!
xoxo
More from feasting at home
Watch How to Make Ceviche!
The Best Ceviche Recipe!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: appetizer, salad, main, fish
- Method: marinated
- Cuisine: mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
How to make the Best Ceviche! Ceviche is made with fresh fish (or shrimp) cured with lime juice, then tossed with onions, cilantro, tomato and cucumber. Serve it as an appetizer with tortilla chips or as a light, refreshing summer meal. Watch the video.
Ingredients
Ceviche Recipe
- 1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced, with the grain.
- 1- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, start with 1, add more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup fresh lime juice (4-6 limes) freshly squeezed ( try to use ripe limes)
- 1-2 garlic cloves very finely minced (use a garlic press)
- 1 fresh serrano or jalapeño chili pepper seeded and very finely chopped. Start conservatively, more to taste.
- 1 pound fresh fish- sea bass, red snapper, corvina, halibut, dorado, escolar, mahi-mahi, tilapia, or hamachi – diced into 1/2 inch cubes.
- 1/4–1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced or cut in half (or 1 cup diced tomatoes)
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
- optional: 1 semi-firm Avocado, diced, or make the Avocado Sauce
Serve with tortilla chips, or lettuce cups, or see more options in the post above.
Optional Avocado sauce:
Instructions
- Slice the red onion thinly with the grain, and toss in a bowl with salt, pepper and lime juice, coating well.
- Add the fish, garlic and fresh chilies, and gently mix.
- Add the tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro and olive oil, and give a stir and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving (45-60 minutes is ideal). The longer you marinate the firmer and more “cooked” the fish will become.
- Before serving, taste and adjust the salt and heat. Add more salt or chilies if you like. If adding avocado, gently fold it in right before serving- you may need to add a pinch more salt.
- To make the optional Avocado Sauce, blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth, adding a bit more water or oil, if needed to get the blades going.
Notes
To Serve: Serve ceviche in a big bowl with tortilla chips on the side, or as mini tostadas (on a round chip or homemade) or make ceviche tacos or ceviche lettuce cups. Ceviche can also be served in small appetizer cups or shot glasses with a mini fork. Or plate it up with a little Avocado Sauce as a salad course.
To make crispy mini tostadas: lightly spray mini corn tortillas (3-inch tortillas) with olive oil and season generously with salt. Bake in a 300 F oven on a sheet pan until crisp (not chewy, but crisp like a cracker) about 25 -30 minutes, turning halfway through. Let cool completely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: -includes one diced avocado
- Calories: 149
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 637.1 mg
- Fat: 6.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 15.5 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
So good! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed!
You don’t say whether the fish is cooked or not. You leave the impression that it’s raw. Also you don’t give shrimp as an option when most ceviches I know use shrimp. You say cook time is 45 minutes – so long? What is being cooked? This recipe is not helpful
Hi Julie, I encourage you to read through the post, I think you’ll find most of your questions answered there. The raw fish is cured by the lime juice which is actually a way of cooking it. Shrimp is definitely an option, as stated several times throughout the post :). Hope you give it a try!
I’m so confused to Julie’s comments. Ceviche is a marinated “raw” seafood dish, essentially “cooked” in the lime juice. This is a beautiful recipe and using prawns (as suggested) it incredible delicious. Thanks for sharing! and Julie- perhaps read thoroughly before commenting.
Easy, fresh, delicious!
Great to hear!
This recipe is perfect!
Sometimes I serve with plantain chips instead of corn chips.
Yum, love plantain chips!
How long will this keep?
Hi Lynette, It is best served the day it is made but will keep 2-3 days in the fridge in a sealed container.
This recipe was great!
why would you add cherry tomatoes lol
i have had ceviche before and cherry tomatoes don’t go with it lol 😂
Feel free to use regular diced tomatoes if you prefer!
I just combined everything and will serve tonight. I used shrimp, scallops and halibut.
It was straight forward to prepare and smells amazing. I will post my tasting notes tomorrow.
I added some thinly sliced radishes for more colour and zest. I like the mango idea but did not have any on hand. Next time!
Great! Look forward to hearing how you like it!
I think I ate this almost all to myself in one sitting, it was really good and I liked the avocado sauce recipe too. I used tilapia, and substituted white onion and heirloom tomato because that’s what I had on hand and it came together nicely.
Great to hear Ellen! So addicting isn’t it.
Great recipe. I used fresh Trigger fish and copied the serving idea using the avocado cream. Delicious!
Awesome to hear Cindy! So happy you enjoyed it and thanks for circling back by and rating it for us. 🙏
LOVE this recipe. Very easy and quite tasty. Thank you.
I also appreciate the ability to modify with different flavors. Highly recommend this dish.
Great to hear! Appreciate the review!
Excellent! And easy! Made it with fresh cod and it was great. Thanks for the recipe!
Great to hear Janae!
so yummy
Very delicious 😋
Great to hear!
I love this recipe, especially with halibut. The last time I made it, I added a chopped mango. Delicious!
Love that idea!
I LOVE this recipe! My family and friends’ eyes light up when I say I made ceviche. So yummy.
Glad to hear it Mary!
This recipe is perfect. We used our own fresh caught bay scallops and the ceviche was devoured in minutes just served with chips! Next time I will make the mini tostadas! The lime juice totally cooked the scallops so they were tender moist and juicy.
Oh that sounds wonderful!!