6 Fresh & Healthy Ceviche Recipes

Are you looking for a healthy ceviche recipe or how to make ceviche at home? Here you'll find the best tips to create beautiful fish, shrimp, or seafood ceviche in your own kitchen plus 5 tasty ceviche recipes, plus a master recipe to turn any fish or seafood into a tasty ceviche.

Serve it with my Homemade Salsa and Easy Guacamole.

Fresh Ceviche Recipe

Are you looking for the best Ceviche recipe?  Here you'll find 5 classic variations - Tuna Ceviche, Salmon Ceviche, Shrimp Salsa Ceviche, Pineapple Halibut Ceviche, and Vegan Ceviche, plus a master recipe to turn any fresh fish into a tasty ceviche that you can enjoy.

If you've tried ceviche out at restaurants and want to recreate the fresh, tasty meal or appetizer at home, this is your guide!

What is Ceviche?

Ceviche is a classic dish in Spanish-American countries along the Pacific Ocean in South America where fish or shellfish is cubed and marinated in a combination of citrus and seasonings.  The dish originated in Peru but is part of many cuisines including Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and more.   The citrus, most commonly limes and lemons, cause the proteins in the fish to become denatures, giving them the appearance of being cooked.

It's often served as an appetizer with tortilla chips in coastal areas where fresh fish is plentiful.  Here's one from a restaurant on the North Carolina coast.

Ceviche might seem like one of those recipes you should leave to the experts, but it's actually really easy to prepare at home, and this guide will get you started.

Ceviche Ingredients

Here are the basic components to make most classic ceviche recipes.  Below you'll find 5 unique ceviches, plus a template recipe to turn any fresh fish into ceviche.

• Fish or Seafood: You'll need fresh fish or seafood.  Some of the more popular fishes to make ceviche with are snapper, corvina, cod, sea bass, halibut, mahi-mahi, tilapia, or tuna.   It's also made with shellfish including shrimp, scallops, squid, octopus, or even conch.  The fish should be cubed into small ¼-size bites.  Make sure to use a nice, sharp chef's knife to cut the fish.
• Citrus Juices: Fresh citrus juice is a key component to making a ceviche recipe and making the marinade. Peruvian ceviche traditionally uses a combination of lime, lemon, and orange juice, so I did the same for this recipe.  I used more lime juice since that's the most familiar flavor in more American-prepared ceviche.  For the best results, use freshly squeezed juice. I love using this juicer.
• Vegetables: Most ceviche recipes include a basic combination of tomato, red onion, and avocado, much like fresh salsa or pico de gallo.  Some versions of ceviche include corn or sweet potatoes.  Other ideas are cucumber, jicama, shallots, radish, green onion or bell pepper.
• Cilantro: Cilantro is a key flavor for homemade ceviche. Use fresh cilantro for the best results.
• Pepper: A pepper with a little bit of heat is traditional.  You can use a serrano or jalapeno pepper to add some heat to this dish.  If you like mild food, leave it out.  If you want it spicy, add more and leave the seeds.
• Salt: To taste for the best results.
• Optional Fruit: Some ceviche also includes tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, or orange.

How to Make Ceviche

Fresh ceviche requires getting super fresh seafood and fish because you are still eating it somewhat raw and the denaturing process.  Here are the rest of the steps.

1.  Start by preparing the citrus juice to "cook" the fish. Whisk together ½ cup lime juice, ¼ cup lemon juice, and ¼ cup orange juice in a medium glass bowl.
2. Next, all your diced fish to the citrus and carefully toss. Make sure the fish is completely covered in the juices with some room to move.  You want the citrus juice to be able to hit all surfaces of the fish, if they are in a bowl too small the sides will not get cooked.  If it's not, add more juices.
3. Take your bowl of fish and transfer it to the fridge to "cook" or cure for 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your preferences for doneness.  30 minutes will give you rare fish, 1 hour will give you medium rae fish, 2 hours will give you medium fish and 4 hours will be well done.
4. Remove the fish from the refrigerator and check for doneness. Drain the liquid and throw it away.
5. In a fresh bowl, add the marinated fish and toss with your vegetables, cilantro, and fruit, if desired. Add the last ¼ cup of lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon and orange juice. Gently toss them together.
6. Carefully fold in the avocado. Add more salt, if desired.
7. Serve immediately with chips, crackers, or a toasted baguette.

Now that we know the basics for making ceviche at home, let's dive into all of the recipes to make it!

6 Ceviche Recipes

Tuna Ceviche

Fresh Tuna Ceviche is a classic pick because of the prevalence of frozen tuna to make this!  This tasty and unique dinner or appetizer uses Mexican flavors and is a winner!

Pineapple Halibut Ceviche

Halibut is a more traditional fish to make this Pineapple Halibut Ceviche with.  This tender white fish pairs perfectly with the marinated fish and tropical fruit like pineapple.

Salmon Ceviche

Salmon Ceviche is another great choice for ceviche at home because you can find it in most grocery stores.  This fresh and tasty ceviche is a winner!

Shrimp Salsa (Shrimp Ceviche)

Here's another unique taste on Ceviche, this Shrimp Salsa uses all the flavors of ceviche, but uses already-cooked shrimp to eliminate the possibility of any foodborne illness, which is always a very slight risk with ceviche. This tastes so similar to shrimp ceviche.   If you want traditional shrimp ceviche, follow my template recipe below to cook the raw shrimp in the citrus.

Vegan Ceviche

You can make ceviche without fish!  Although, not traditional, my Vegan Ceviche uses hearts of palm instead of fish and tastes so similar!

Basic Ceviche Recipe

If these ceviche recipes aren't exactly what you are looking for, you can turn most any fresh fish or seafood into a ceviche recipe, by following this template recipe below!

Serve it With:

• Sheet Shrimp Fajitas
• Honey Lime Melon Salad
• Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges
• Caribbean Couscous Salad
• Creamy Avocado Pasta
• Mexican Macaroni Salad
• Shrimp and Goat Cheese Quesadilla
• Black Bean and Avocado Quesadilla
• Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

If you make this Ceviche recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!

Basic Ceviche Recipe

Julie Wunder

Turn any fresh fish into a ceviche recipe, with this tempate recipe. for ceviche at home.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Dinner

Cuisine American, Mexican, Puruvian

Servings 4

Calories 144 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound fresh fish or seafood
• ¾ cup lime juice, divided
• ¼ cup +1 tablespoon lemon juice, divided
• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon orange juice, divided
• 1 cup tomato, diced
• ¼ cup red onion, diced
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon serrano or jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 optonal: avocado, diced
• ½ cup optional: tropical fruit, pineapple or mango, diced

Instructions

 

• Whisk together ½ cup lime juice, ¼ cup lemon juice, and ¼ cup orange juice in a medium glass bowl.
• Add the fish or seafood to the citrus juices and gently toss. Make sure the fish is completely covered in the juices with some room to move. If it's not, add more of the juices.
• Tranfer the fish in the citrus juice to the refrigerator and allow it to "cook" for 30 minutes to 2 hours. You can check it for preferred "doneness."
• Remove the fish from the fridge and drain.
• In a fresh bowl, toss together the marinated fish or seafood, tomato, red onion, cilantro and pepper and other ingredients. Add the last ¼ cup of lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon and orange juice. Gently toss. If you are using avocado, add that in last.
• Serve immediately with chips.

Notes

Storage and Leftovers

Fish and seafood ceviche are best enjoyed fresh right when you make it for the best taste and texture.

The problem with making it ahead is once you add the citrus to the fish, it will continue to cook in the juices.  So if you put it back in the fridge to eat later, the fish can be tougher and more well done.  That being said, you can safely store leftovers to eat later but for no more than 24 hours, but it will be more cooked.

 

Freezing

I would not recommend freezing this as the texture would be bad.

Nutrition

Calories: 144kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 24gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 63mgPotassium: 560mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 439IUVitamin C: 36mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Ceviche Recipe

Tried this recipe?Mention @Julie_Wunder or tag #RunninginaSkirt!

Pin for later: