Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe (Campechana)

If you follow Urban Cowgirl on YouTube you know I spend a lot of time in coastal Mexico, mostly the Yucatan, and I can never stop talking about these Mexican Shrimp Cocktails (also called Campechana), which are available at every beach club and seaside snackeria.

I find that this dish always tastes a little bit better in that part of the world, so I asked my favorite cooks to share what they think makes their mexican shrimp cocktail recipe (or as they say in Mexico, cocktail de camerones) taste so beautifully refreshing, and today I am sharing a secret ingredient with you!

What is a Mexican Shrimp Cocktail?

A mexican shrimp cocktail is a dish comprised of very fresh poached shrimp, diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and occasionally avocado (served within it or on top) bathed in a sweet tomato and lime juice. It’s eaten with a long spoon and freshly fried corn tortillas. This can be served as an appetizer or a light dinner.

This recipe has many colloquial names including campechana, cocktail de camerones, or mexican shrimp cocktail, and many versions include additional seafood such as fresh oysters, grilled octopus, fish, and crab meat.

It’s similar to another mexican dish, aguachiles, which is also shrimp submerged in a flavorful liquid marinade.

How To Make Authentic Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (Campechana)

The foundation of this dish is ultra-fresh, juicy shrimp. I have poached these shrimp with my signature method which we use in my catering and private chef business. I keep that poached shrimp recipe right here if you would like to review it. It’s good for a variety of recipes where perfectly seasoned, juicy shrimp are an ingredient.

All we need to do is chill the shrimp for 15 minutes, peel, and depending on the size of the shrimp, dice into bite-sized pieces.

I like to eat my campechana with corn chips so I dice the shrimp small enough to fit on my chip! If you like to eat yours with a spoon you might want slightly larger pieces, that’s totally up to you.

The Secret Ingredient for Yucatanian Style Mexican Shrimp Cocktails

Although this mexican shrimp cocktail recipe is served in Texas (where I am from) it tastes frustratingly different here!! That’s because most recipes call for clamato, V8, or lime brightened tomato juice. The authentic recipe in coastal Mexico is sweetened with Jarritos mandarin soda!!

My shrimp cocktail “juice” is comprised of bottled tomato juice, fresh lime juice for brightness, mandarin soda for sweetness, and a dash of ketchup for body. I wrote the recipe separately for the juice so you can make as much as you need if you are serving enough for a party.

It is good to let the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro seep into the sauce and infuse it with that pico de gallo essence.

The avocado can be added right before serving if you want the sauce to stay bright red, or you can add it to the marinade and the lime juice will protect the avocado from turning brown.

The avocado will make the sauce look a little muddy instead of bright red, but I didn’t mind one bit.

(Links are affiliate links to products we think are helpful and we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if purchased.)

How To Serve Campechana or Mexican Style Shrimp Cocktails

The traditional way to serve is in tall or large glasses. Here are some links to the different glasses I have seen mexican shrimp cocktails served in, and if you are a cooking enthusiast you will also likely need these for other projects…

Link to Schooner Glasses (the big beer goblets), also good for cocktail drinks

Vintage Soda Glasses (sundae-style glasses, rootbeer floats, etc.)

Old Fashioned Tavern Glasses