Halibut Ceviche

Bring a taste of the tropics to your table all year long with this easy, vibrant, fresh, and tangy Halibut Ceviche begging to be scooped with chips. Pile up a tostada, dive in with tortillas chips, or shovel it up with crispy tostones, but just make it!

Halibut Ceviche

There’s something about fresh ceviche de pescado that instantly makes you feel like you’re on vacation. The burst of sunny citrus, the sweet freshness of seafood, and all of the colorful accents of beautiful produce make you feel like you’re at the beach. There’s no need to book a trip with this easy recipe that requires absolutely no cooking. Put Jimmy Buffett on repeat, get out your cutting board, and let’s make this simple ceviche recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Halibut Ceviche
  • No Cooking Required – If you are looking for a simple way to prepare seafood, this is it. There’s no need to heat up the kitchen or fire up the grill. Ceviche utilizes the technique of denaturation. The acid of the limes restructures the amino acids in the fish causing it to go from soft and translucent to firm, white, and opaque in the same way as if it was cooked. If gives you the mouthfeel of cooked fish while retaining its fresh, raw flavor. Who knew science could be so tasty?
  • Texture – This hits all of the fun combinations of textures. Tender fish, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumber. Toss in the crispy bite of tortilla chips or a tostada shell and you have the ultimate snackable experience.
  • Customizable – Not a fan of heat? Swap the habanero in this Mexican ceviche for a jalapeno or a serrano pepper. No halibut? Swap it or mahi-mahi, grouper, or cod. You can customize this recipe to not only what flavors you like but also what ingredients you have.
  • Simple Ingredients – Aside from the fish, everything else is simply fresh produce. There’s nothing complicated about making this Mexican ceviche recipe or shopping for it. It’s a dish that feels like summer but utilizes ingredients that can easily be found year-round.

Ingredients

Ceviche de Pescado
  • Fish – You want to pick a firm, white fish for this ceviche with tomato and cucumber. The lime juice softens the fish so starting with a firm fish will prevent it from becoming mushy. Halibut, grouper, bass, and mahi-mahi are all great options. If in doubt, ask your seafood monger.
  • Limes – Bright, sunny, and tongue tinglingly tangy, this wakes up all of the sense while “cooking” the fish. It also mellows the heat of the habanero and bite of the onion. Fresh is the only way.
  • Tomatoes – You want to pick ripe but firm tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are great for this as they don’t have as many seeds and are meatier, less watering.
  • Cucumber – Just like you want less watery tomatoes for this go with cucumbers like either English or Persian that contain less seeds and more meat. This skin is also thinner and will give that additional snappy bite.
  • Red Onion – This adds a savory, pungent, sharp bite. The lime helps soften the flavor while still keeping it fresh.
  • Habanero – The fruity heat of the habanero compliments the natural sweetness of the halibut. It gives this easy halibut ceviche a kick without taking over as the rest of the ingredients balance its spice.
  • Cilantro – Citrusy and verdant cilantro perfumes the entire dish.
  • Avocado – I save the avocado for topping, adding a creamy element, but you can also dice it and mix it in with the halibut ceviche with tomato and cucumber.

How to Make Halibut Ceviche

Ceviche Recipe
  • Cube your fish. Cut your fish into half inch cubes. You want to keep them small so the lime can evenly marinate them.
  • Marinate the fish. Place the halibut in a non-reactive bowl with the lime juice. Make sure that all of the fish is covered. You may need to squeeze a little extra lime juice depending on the amount of fish and size of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to refrigerate for thirty minutes.
  • Check on the halibut. After thirty minutes check the color and texture of the fish. Give it a stir. All of the cubes should be white, opaque, and firm to the touch. If they aren’t, allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for an additional fifteen minutes.
  • Marinate the onions and habanero in a separate bow. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the red onions and finely diced habanero and sprinkle them with salt. Allow them to sit while the fish refrigerates.
  • Drain the fish. Once your fish is fully white and opaque drain off the lime juice.
  • Combine the ingredients. Add the fish, onion, habanero, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cilantro to a bowl. Season with salt and squeeze a little more lime over the top. Gently fold to combine. Serve immediately.

Additional Ingredients

The possibilities of what you can add to this halibut ceviche with tomato and cucumber are endless. Feel free to replace any of the ingredients with some of the suggested options below. Just keep in mind you want a balance of textures and also flavors.

  • Fresh pineapple, grilled or raw
  • Mangoes
  • Jicama
  • Charred corn
  • Red bell pepper
  • Papaya
  • Hearts of palm
  • Kiwi
  • Green olives

How to Serve Halibut Ceviche

How to Make Ceviche
  • Serve with a bowl of crispy tortilla chips.
  • Instead of tortilla chips you can serve this with crispy tostone chips, either homemade or storebought.
  • Top crispy tostada shells. The traditional way is with a smear of mayonnaise on the bottom and a splash of hot sauce on top.
  • To make this party ready, serve in individual shooter glasses or margarita glasses.

Tips From the Beach

Halibut Ceviche
  • Make sure that you know the source of your fish. Because the fish isn’t actually cooked you want to make sure that it’s incredibly fresh. This halibut was sourced from Salmon and Sable.
  • You can make your dices smaller for a more pico de gallo like texture to the ceviche. If you do check on your fish after 15-20 minutes of marinating as it will cure faster in the lime juice.
  • If you don’t plan on eating all of the ceviche cut down on the recipe. Because the lime doesn’t actually cook the fish and kill off all of the bacteria you don’t want to save leftovers.
  • The steps of allowing the red onion and habanero to sit in salt and lime juice isn’t necessary, but it does mellow the bite and heat.
  • To make it easier to cut your fish into uniform cubes, you can partially freeze the fish.
  • If adding the avocado to the ceviche add it at the very end just before serving. I like the texture better of adding it to the top.

Looking for more habanero recipes? Make sure to check out Roasted Habanero Tomato Salsa and Habanero Mojo Chicken. And for a new twist on ceviche check out Grilled Shrimp Ceviche.

How can I tell the fish for ceviche is done marinating in the lime juice?

It will be white and opaque and a little firm to the touch. You don’t want it to be white all the way through. The middle should still be slightly transparent.

How do I store leftover ceviche?

It’s recommended that you eat the ceviche within 24 hours. Not only will the lime continue to break down the fish making it become mushy, but because the fish isn’t cooked with heat, there is a risk of bacteria. But don’t worry, once you taste the bright flavors you will devour this.

How hot is the habanero in this ceviche?

It depends on the pepper, but on a scale of 1-10 it’s about a 6-7. The acid really mellows it and the fresh brightness of the other ingredients balances it out. If you want it spicier add an additional habanero or leave the seeds in.

How long should I marinate the ceviche for?

Some people like to leave their fish in the lime juice for as long as four hours but the flavor of the lime will not only take over the fish but will make it become mushy. For 1/2″ cubes start with 30 minutes. If you make them smaller check at the fifteen-minute mark.

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Halibut Ceviche

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Bring a taste of the tropics to your table all year long with this easy, vibrant, fresh, and tangy Halibut Ceviche begging to be scooped with chips.

  • Author: Nicole Stover
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Marinating Time: 30
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Marinating
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 pound halibut
  • 11 1/2 cups fresh lime juice, plus 2 extra limes
  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced
  • 12 habaneros, seeds removed, finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 cup English cucumber, diced
  • 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 avocado, sliced or diced*

Instructions

  1. Cut your fish into even sized 1/2″ cubes. Place the fish into a glass or nonreactive bowl.
  2. Pour enough freshly squeezed lime juice over the top of the fish making sure it’s completely covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it t refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. After 30 minutes check to make sure the fish is cooked. It will be completely white, opaque, and more firm to the touch. The center of the fish should still be slightly transluscent. If cooked continue on to the next step. If not give it a stir and allow it to marinate for another 15 minutes in the refrigerator. 
  4. While the fish is marinating add the onion and habanero to a separate bowl. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over them and squeeze the juice of half a lime into the bowl. Stir to combine. Allow this to sit while the fish marinates.
  5. Remove the fish from the refrigerator and pour it into a strainer, removing the lime juice.
  6. Add the fish, onions, habaneros, cucumber, tomato, and cilantro to a bowl. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt over the top and squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the top. Gently fold to combine.
  7. If adding the avocado to the ceviche gently fold it in now.
  8. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if needed.
  9. Serve with tortilla chips, tostada shells, or tostones. 

Notes

  1. The avocado can either be added to the ceviche itself or served on top.
  2. You can use other firm white fish such as grouper, cod, mahi-mahi, or bass. Use what is fresh and looks good.
  3. You can dice the fish smaller if desired for a more pico de gallo like texture. The marinating time will be reduced so check the fish at the 15 minute mark.
  4. You don’t have to do the step of allowing the onions and habanero to macerate in the lime and salt. It simply mellows the bite of the onion and heat of the habanero. 
  5. You can replace the habanero in this recipe with either a jalapeno or serrano pepper. 

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