Grilled Shrimp Ceviche

It’s a fiesta for the senses with this smoky, bright, crunchy, and tangy Grilled Shrimp Ceviche that begs to be scooped straight from the bowl. Combining beautiful, charred shrimp with an array of seasonal vegetables, this tropical treat is perfect for piling on top of tostada shells, shoveling with tortilla chips, just diving straight into the bowl with a fork.

Ceviche is the ultimate explosion of flavors, textures, and colors. This traditionally raw fish dish gets its sunny pop from plenty of citrus juice. Unlike halibut ceviche that relies on that citrus to cook the fish, this shrimp ceviche recipe grills the shrimp first. The result is tender, succulent shrimp with that additional layer of flavor you can only get from sizzling shrimp on the barbie. This dish is the perfect appetizer, light meal, or instant way to get any party started.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Celebration of Textures – Ceviche is truly about contrasting textures. Every bite gives you something crunchy, soft, and tender with the additional fun pop of corn. It truly is a full sensory experience.
• Customizable – You can easily adjust the ingredients in this shrimp ceviche with corn but adding what you have on hand or your favorites.
• Easy Process – There’s absolutely nothing complicated about any part of this recipe. The most labor-intensive part is simply the mise en place of chopping all of your vegetables.

Ingredients

This easy shrimp ceviche recipe is truly a celebration of fresh, in season ingredients. When you shop in season not only are you buying items with the maximum amount of flavor, but you’re also supporting your local farmers. You can read more about it as well as find more ways to support your local farmers in A Look into Florida Agriculture.

• Shrimp – Because the shrimp are first grilled and then diced, you want to pick slightly larger shrimp to prevent them from overcooking on the grill. I used 21-25 count, or jumbo, Key West pink shrimp for this recipe. Pick either a fresh caught shrimp or good quality frozen shrimp that have been defrosted overnight and well drained.
• Sweet Corn – The corn gets grilled at the same time as the shrimp. Skip the canned or frozen corn because you want that pop of pure sweetness you only get from in-season corn.
• Radishes – These not only add a peppery, bitter bite to balance the sweetness of the corn, bell peppers, and even shrimp, but they add that crunch we all crave.
• Bell Pepper – I used baby bell peppers for this but a full-sized bell pepper will work as well. Pick red, orange, or yellow for sweetness.
• Cucumber – This adds a refreshing, cooling crunch to every bite. Make sure to either use baby cucumbers, or a Persian or English cucumber that have had the seeds removed. This will prevent the ceviche form becoming too watery.
• Tomato – This adds acidity and a soft bite that contrasts with all of the crunchy vegetables.
• Onion – The recipe calls for sweet onion, but feel free to use a red onion if that is more your vibe.
• Jalapeno Pepper – Adds just a little note of back heat without overwhelming the rest of the ingredients.
• Limes – This gives the ceviche its signature crave worthy tangy. Fresh only, hand squeezed.
• Cilantro – Adds instant freshness to every bite.
• Seasoning Mix – The shrimp are simply seasoned with a combination of chile-lime seasoning, cumin for earthiness, and chipotle powder. The chipotle is optional if you don’t want the heat but it adds even more smoky flavor to the grilled shrimp.

How to Make Grilled Shrimp Ceviche

• Clean the shrimp. Peel the shrimp and devein them. Remove the tails from the shrimp. You may want to leave a few shrimp with the tails on for garnish.
• Allow the shrimp to marinate while you prepare your grill. Add the cleaned shrimp to a bowl along with olive oil, chili-lime seasoning, cumin, and chipotle powder if using and toss to combine. Skewer the shrimp.
• Prepare the grill for direct grilling. Prepare the grill for direct grilling. If using a charcoal grill spread the ashed over coals evenly over the bottom of the grill. If using a charcoal grill light most of your burners. You want to heat the grill to around 400-450 degrees, making sure your grates are clean and hot.

• Grill the shrimp and corn. Place the shrimp skewers and corn on the hot grates. Allow the shrimp to cook for about two minutes on the first side before flipping the skewers over and allowing the second side to cook for another 2 minutes, or until they’re pink, slightly charred, and no longer translucent. Pull them when they are just at 120, or slightly before. Continue to rotate the corn until all sides are charred. Remove from the grill and let cool.
• Cut up all of the vegetables, creating your mise en place. Cut the shrimp into about 1/2″ pieces or slightly smaller. Remove the corn from the cob.
• Add all of the vegetables and chopped shrimp to a large bowl. Add everything to the bowl including the lime juice and chili lime seasoning. Gently toss to combine.
• Let refrigerate for an hour. Cover the bowl and allow to refrigerate for an hour.
• Taste and serve. Taste the ceviche and make sure it doesn’t need any additional seasoning or salt. Serve with your favorite dippers.

Variations

The options on additional ingredients you can add to this shrimp ceviche with radishes is endless. Let what’s in season guide you.

• Add diced avocado just before serving, or add sliced avocado to the tostadas.
• Replace the one of the vegetables with a sweet element like diced mango or pineapple. You can also grill the pineapple.
• Use a combination of citrus. 50/50 lemon juice and lime juice creates a flavorful combination. You will still need half a cup total of juice.
• Bring the heat and add an additional jalapeno or a diced serrano pepper.

Storage

This grilled shrimp and corn ceviche needs to be kept covered and refrigerated at all times unless it’s being served. Because the acid in the lime juice will continue to break down the shrimp it’s not recommended to keep this past 2-3 days.

Tips From the Beach

• Allow the ceviche to refrigerate and marinate for at least an hour, up to two hours prior to serving and then give it a taste. You may need to add a little additional seasoning, or even a pinch of salt.
• An easy and mess free way to remove the corn kernels from the cob is to invert a smaller bowl into a larger bowl. As you slice down the kernels will collect in the bottom without going all over your kitchen counter.
• If using frozen shrimp, make sure to check the ingredients. Aside from maybe salt there shouldn’t be anything else. It should be free of chemicals and preservatives.
• Always allow frozen shrimp to gently defrost overnight in the refrigerator for the best texture and then pat them dry.
• If you’re using bamboo skewers soak them in water for 20-30 minutes prior to grilling.

Grilled Shrimp Ceviche

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It’s a fiesta for the senses with this smoky, bright, crunchy, and tangy Grilled Shrimp Ceviche that begs to be scooped straight from the bowl.

• Author: Nicole Stover
• Prep Time: 10
• Marinating Time: 60
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 1x
• Category: Appetizer
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound 21-25 count shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
• 1 ear of corn
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced, red, yellow, or orange recommended
• 1 cup tomatoes, seeds removed, diced (about 2 Roma or 1 beefsteak)
• 1/3 cup radish, cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cup cucumber, diced (baby cucumbers, English, or Persian recommended)
• 1–2 jalapenos, finely chopped, remove seeds for less heat if desired
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chile-lime seasoning plus 1 teaspoon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, optional

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Instructions

1. Peel and devein your shrimp. Pat them dry and add them to a bowl.
2. Add 2 teaspoons chile-lime seasoning, the cumin, and chipotle powder to the bowl along with the olive oil. Toss to combine.
3. Skewer the shrimp.
4. Prepare your grill for direct grilling. Spread the charcoal evenly over the bottom once ashed over. If using a gas grill preheat the grill to between 400-450 degrees. Make sure the grates are clean and hot.
5. Place the shrimp skewers and corn on the hot grill. Rotate the corn regularly until all sides are charred.
6. Allow the shrimp to grill for 2 minutes on the first side before flipping. Let the second side grill another 2 minutes or until the shrimp is pink, lightly charred, and no longer transparent. It should be 120 degrees. Remove the corn and shrimp from the grill and allow it to cool.
7. Once cooled chop the shrimp into bite sized pieces, 1/2″ or a little smaller.
8. Remove the corn kernels from the cob.
9. Add the chopped vegetables, corn, and shrimp into a large bowl along with the lime juice, cilantro, and remaining teaspoon of chile lime seasoning. Toss to combine.
10. Cover and let refrigerate for an hour.
11. Taste and add additional seasoning if needed.

Notes

1. If using wooded skewers soak them in water for 30 minutes prior to grilling.
2. Leave the tail on a few shrimp for garnish if desired.
3. The acid in the lime will begin to break down the shrimp. Don’t keep leftovers for more than 2-3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions