Get ready to fall in love with this Mexican Ceviche Recipe (ceviche de pescado)! Ceviche is a wonderful and refreshing appetizer dish made of fresh fish that is "cooked" in lime juice. Fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños are added with other spices and it is served with tortilla chips to make the best recipe for ceviche with fish ever!
Before having kids, I spent quite a bit of time travelling in Central America, and one of the things that I loved was trying the food (obvi)! Authentic ceviche is one of those dishes that stuck with me. I fell in love the first time I ever had it!
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Fast forward to just a few years back, a friend of ours from Mexico, made a very large batch of it for a party and I was yet again head-over-heels for this Mexican appetizer dish. This recipe is inspired by Antonio. Thanks, Friend!
Origins
It is true that traditional ceviche originated in Peru. Authentic Peruvian ceviche (also spelled seviche, sebiche, or cebiche) is usually made with fresh white fish that is cooked in lime juice. When I say "cooked" I don't mean that it's heated up at all. The acid from the lime juice "cooks" it, so technically it is raw.
So what's the difference between Peruvian Ceviche and Mexican Ceviche?
There are 2 main differences between Mexican Ceviche and Peruvian Ceviche recipes.
- When making the recipe for Peruvian ceviche, the fish is cut into much larger bites than it is in a recipe for Mexican ceviche. That's not to say it's large chunks of fish, but rather, fish for Mexican ceviche is cut so small it is actually smaller than size of a pea.
- The second difference between these ceviches, is the amount of time that the fish is "cooked" or marinated in the acid of the lime. Peruvian ceviche typically marinates the fish for a very minimal amount of time before serving, like 1-5 minutes. Authentic Mexican ceviche recipes call for it to marinate much longer, about 30 minutes or so.
🍅 Ingredients
So what is Mexican ceviche made of? The ingredients for ceviche are:
- fresh fish (halibut, tilapia, or tuna)
- tomatoes
- fresh lime juice
- red onion
- jalapeño pepper
- cilantro
- tomato
- salt
- vinegar
As we talk about ceviche ingredients, we must discuss what fish is best for ceviche. When talking about making fish ceviche, I recommend using a firm white fish. Some of my favorite and the best fish to use in Mexcian ceviche are: Halibut, mackerel, grouper, tilapia (some people don't like this but I do!), and mahi-mahi.
💭 Top tip
I think the most important thing to address in this post is food safety. Please be advised that you will be eating raw fish and you must use the best practices for choosing your fish.
First, I recommend that you use sushi grade fish in order to make the best ceviche recipe, and to make it safely. If you don't have access to sushi or sashimi grade fish, you can make this ceviche recipe, but at your own risk.
Purchasing the freshest fish possible is always advisable for food safety reasons.
🔪 Instructions
With a very sharp knife, dice your fish into very small pieces. You really want to make them so small that it nearly looks ground.
Add the diced fish to a medium sized mixing bowl and add the salt to the fish and the fresh squeezed lime juice. You can also add just a splash of distilled white vinegar also. Give it a little mix and let it marinate in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. You can let it marinate for up to 30 minutes.
*NOTE- some people do not recommend adding the salt to the fish yet, because it renders water off of the fish. I do recommend it, since it will help the lime juice penetrate the fish to cook the fish. You will see the fish change color to a more opaque white color, and it will look like it has been cooked.
Finely chop your tomatoes, cilantro, and red onions. Split the jalapeño in half and cut out the seeds and the membrane.
Let me be honest here, I don't normally seed my hot peppers because that is where all of the heat is. Because some people just can't take the heat and don't like the seeds in their ceviche, I am going ahead and recommending for the jalapeño to be seeded. I personally like spicy ceviche, so I don't take the seeds out.
After all of the other ingredients have been prepped and chopped, bring out the marinated fish and add the other ingredients to it, giving it a good mix. After it is mixed, go ahead and serve it cold with your favorite tortilla chips and enjoy!
Honestly, ceviche is so entirely tasty that you could just give me a spoon and I could just shovel it into my mouth. You really are going to enjoy this recipe!
🎥 Video
Check out how to make fish ceviche video!
📖 Variations
Since there are so many different kinds of fish that can be used in Mexican ceviche, you can swap out any of the fish mentioned above to make it. I personally love to make tilapia ceviche and halibut ceviche. Tuna ceviche is also very popular in Mexico as well as ceviche made with shrimp.
If you are making a shrimp ceviche recipe, use the very small shrimp and it is totally delish!
When I was in Panama, I also had a mixed fish ceviche with octopus and calamari. It was really delish.
Of course there are different types of Mexican ceviche recipes. When I was in Mexico, it was also common to make fish ceviche recipe with avocado diced up in it.
🥗 Serving suggestions
After you have made your ceviche recipe with fish and it's all prepared, I recommend serving it right away with a bunch of fresh tortilla chips. You can also put ceviche on tostadas, which is glorious.
If you are wanting to avoid the corn tortillas, you can served fish ceviche on crostini or toast also. YUM!
Leftover ceviche can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Wanna some other recipes with seafood? Check out this recipe for Lobster Benedict and steakhouse style salmon burgers!
FAQ's
How long should ceviche be marinated?
I recommend marinating fish for this recipe for about 30 minutes. You can do it less than that since some people only marinate it for a few minutes. Technically as soon as the fish becomes opaque and more white, you can serve it.
Does mayo go on ceviche?
Let me be very clear, this is a resounding NO! I know there are alot of different fish ceviche recipes out there. In this recipe for fish ceviche, we've expounded on what fish for ceviche is good, how to marinate ceviche, and how to make ceviche Mexican and authentic. Please don't ruin it with mayo! ok?!
What are other side dishes to go with ceviche?
Other dishes that go well with Mexican ceviche are:
- Guacamole
- Mexican rice
- Refried Beans
- Other salsa recipes like this roasted tomato salsa
- Pan fried Mexican chicken (milanesa de pollo)
Can you get parasites from ceviche?
Yes you can. That is why you must use sushi or sashimi grade fish and only use non-parasitic fish when making your homemade ceviche recipe.
Is Ceviche gluten free?
Yes, ceviche is gluten free, grain free (without the tortillas), dairy free, Whole30 friendly, paleo and keto friendly.
Check out these other popular recipes by A Pinch Of Adventure!
- Disney Churro Bites Recipe
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- Mascarpone Frosting
- Dark Chocolate and Espresso Sea Salt Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Mexican Fish Ceviche (ceviche de pescado)
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes
- ⅓ lb fish of choice I recommended halibut, tilapia, or tuna
- 2 limes
- ½ teaspoon vinegar
- ¼ cup red onion
- 1 jalapeño
- ⅓ cup cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Begin by taking one small tilapia filet, or halibut or tuna (about ⅓ pound) and dice it into very small pieces. The fish should almost look ground by the time you are done dicing it.
- Place the cut fish into a medium sized mixing bowl and add the salt, vinegar, and squeeze the limes into is also.
- Give it a little mix, cover it with plastic and place it in the fridge to "cook" or marinate in the lime juice for 20-30 minutes while you prep the other add-ins.
- Wash and prepare all of the other ingredients. Dice the tomatoes finely, chop the cilantro, take the seeds and membrane out of the jalapeño and dice it up.
- Add all of the ingredients into the lime cooked fish and stir it together. Serve with tortilla chips, tostadas or on crostini.
Sherry
What a great way to use all my fresh vegetables coming out of our garden! I made your Mexican Ceviche Recipe for a family gathering and everyone really really loved it!!
Emily Ackerman
Glad everyone enjoyed!
Mandy Applegate
I marinated this for 30 minutes and the results were amazing! Will defo be making this again!
Kris
So easy and too good! Will make again! 🙂
Shilpa
This Mexican ceviche was so flavorful and easy to make. I’ll make a large batch for our next house party. I’m sure it will be a hit.
Shelby
I never knew the difference between the two ceviches! That was kind of cool, but also I loved the lime + jalapeno flavor combo in this!