Shrimp Aguachile

By Kristina Felix

Published June 29, 2025

  • Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(339)
Comments
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Aguachile, the bright and punchy seafood dish from coastal Sinaloa, Mexico, gets its name (which translates to “chile water”) from the vibrant blend of chiles, lime juice and salt that transform the sweet flesh of raw shrimp into tender, tart flavor bombs. Unlike ceviche, where seafood marinates in citrus until it's fully “cooked,” aguachile hits the table soon after the shrimp meets the zesty chile water. While the aguachile is on your plate, the lime juice continues its work on the sweet, delicate shrimp, so each bite offers a slightly different texture without ever turning rubbery. Use as many serranos as your heart desires and your palate can handle.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 appetizer servings

  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half lengthwise (see Tip)

  • ¼ red onion, cut into small dice

  • Fine sea salt

  • 2 to 3 serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped

  • ½ cup fresh lime juice (from 5 to 6 limes)

  • 1 packed cup cilantro leaves and tender stems

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other vegetable oil

  • 1 ripe Hass avocado

  • Crushed red pepper, optional

  • 5 tostadas, broken into quarters (or use tortilla chips)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

7 grams carbs; 122 milligrams cholesterol; 157 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 335 milligrams sodium; 16 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place shrimp and red onion on a serving platter and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Toss to combine and spread in one layer.

  2. Step 2

    In a blender, combine chiles, lime juice, cilantro, oil and 1 teaspoon salt, and pulse until cilantro is broken into tiny pieces. Pour over the shrimp and red onion, toss to coat and spread in one layer.

  3. Step 3

    Cut avocado in half lengthwise, remove the pit, and then peel. Lay each avocado half cut-side down on a work surface and thinly slice lengthwise. Transfer to a serving plate, keeping the slices together so they’re easy to move. Fan out the avocado down the middle of the plate to create a row of avocado on top of the shrimp. Sprinkle the avocado with ½ teaspoon salt and crushed red pepper, if using.

  4. Step 4

    Serve immediately with tostadas so that diners can assemble their own bites.

Tips

  • While fresh-from-the-ocean shrimp is ideal, you can create incredible aguachile at home using high-quality frozen shrimp. In fact, properly thawed frozen shrimp often outshines what’s sitting in the seafood case, since most “fresh” shrimp has been previously frozen anyway — and by thawing it yourself, you ensure it’s at peak freshness.

  • To thaw frozen shrimp, place them in a bowl of cold water and check after 15 minutes. Change the water if the shrimp are still frozen and allow to sit for another 10 minutes. Drain and rinse.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
339 user ratings
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Comments

AG

@MJfromCali I make aguachiles quite often and my recipe is pretty similar to this one. I steam or boil shrimp until cooked through but not tough and don’t mix the shrimp with the lime juice mixture until it’s time to serve. I always get rave reviews and more people started taking it from the buffet table once they knew it wasn't raw.

JMC

I'm going to assume that this recipe calls for raw shrimp. I think the context clearly suggests that. However, I do think recipes should be explicit, and in this case it should be explicit about whether one is to use raw or cooked shrimp. After all, one can buy frozen cooked shrimp at the grocery store and then "thaw [the] frozen shrimp." Anyway, this recipe sound great. I'm going to try it.

Leslie

I used fresh raw, thinly sliced wild halibut. Not shrimp. Added extra lime juice. When I put it together I refrigerated it ( without avocado) for 30 min. The lime juice ‘ cooked ‘ the delicate fish. I pan fried thick corn tortillas, then put them in a 300 degree oven to get crunchy. Sprinkled the tortillas with garlic salt. Delicious!!!!

David Bell

This was good although I did make a few tweeks.to the shrimp. I used raw frozen shrimp. I Thawed them and then sprinkled with a half tsp of baking soda ( reduces the shrinking of the shrimp while cooking) and allowed to sit for 5 mins. Then I blanched in boiling water for 1 min. before mixing with onion and the cilantro marinade. I also added a half tsp of sugar as I found the marinade to be quite tart.

Cristine

Made as directed in the hopes it would stack up to what I ate at Mi Compa Chava in CDMX. It was just as good. This is a really spot on recipe. Cook your shrimp if you must but that’s not what an aguachile is.

Furmo

I have a glut of jalapeño peppers. Could they be a good substitute for Serranos?

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