North America → Belize → Belize City
🥗 STARTER
Belizean Shrimp Ceviche
Chopped shrimp steeped in plenty of fresh lime juice with ripe tomato, onion, cucumber, cilantro and habanero, served cold with crisp corn tortilla chips.
Belizean · easy · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 5 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~133 cal · 20g protein · 14g carbs · 0g fat · 3g fiber · 5g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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In Belize, is the favourite appetizer of the coast and the cayes, set out with fried corn tortilla chips before a meal or with a cold drink. Shrimp and conch are the favourite seafood, alone or mixed, and conch is a treat of the open conch season.
The Belizean style is bright and chunky: the seafood is diced and steeped in a generous amount of lime juice with ripe tomato, onion, cilantro, cucumber and habanero, the fiery pepper of Belizean tables, and seasoned simply with salt and black pepper.
Some cooks flash-boil the shrimp before it goes into the lime and others let the juice do all the work. Either way, the rests in the fridge for a while so the flavours meld, and it is eaten cold, scooped up with the chips.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 450 g (1 lb) raw shrimp, peeled and deveinedHard to find? cleaned conch, pounded and finely diced - the other classic Belizean ceviche; cure it raw in the lime for about an hour
- 1 cup (from about 8 to 10 limes) fresh lime juice
- 2 cups ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced and rinsed in cold water
- 1 cup cucumber, seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced, use half for milder heat
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 large bag corn tortilla chips, to serve, check the label that they are made only from corn
Instructions
- 1Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, drop in the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just until they turn pink. Drain and plunge them into iced water, then drain again.✎ Chef’s noteFlash-cooking is the safer way when the shrimp have been frozen or come from far away. With very fresh shrimp you can skip it and let the lime cure them for longer.
- 2Cut the shrimp into 1 cm pieces and put them in a glass or ceramic bowl with the lime juice.
- 3Add the tomato, onion, cucumber, cilantro and habanero, season with the salt and pepper and stir well.
- 4Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavours meld. Taste for salt and lime, and serve cold with tortilla chips.
Belizean coastal tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Belize City. Rice and beans is not the same as beans and rice, and Belizeans will tell you so. Rice and beans means the two cooked together in coconut milk and is the national dish; beans and rice means them cooked separately and served side by side. Recado rojo, the annatto paste colouring the stew, has Maya roots.
🗺️
Belize. Belizeans distinguish rice and beans from beans and rice and mean two different things. Rice and beans is the two cooked together in coconut milk and is the national dish; beans and rice is them cooked separately and served side by side. Recado rojo, the brick-red annatto paste with Maya roots, is what colours and seasons the stew chicken.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belize
Belizean Stew ChickenChicken marinated in recado rojo, browned in caramelized sugar, and stewed dark, served with rice and beans.
Fry JacksPuffy, crisp triangles of fried dough eaten with refried beans, eggs, or jam, the golden centerpiece of a Belizean breakfast.
GarnachesCrisp fried tortillas topped with refried beans, cheese, and pickled cabbage, Belize's favorite street snack-lunch.
Browse all Belize recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Belize meal
Seaweed ShakeDrink
Belizean Bread PuddingDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Belizean Shrimp Ceviche?
Chopped shrimp steeped in plenty of fresh lime juice with ripe tomato, onion, cucumber, cilantro and habanero, served cold with crisp corn tortilla chips.
Where does Belizean Shrimp Ceviche come from?
Belizean Shrimp Ceviche is a Belizean dish from Belize City, Belize.
Can Belizean Shrimp Ceviche be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Belizean Shrimp Ceviche recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Belizean Shrimp Ceviche safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Belizean Shrimp Ceviche take to make?
About 1 h in all: 25 minutes prep and 5 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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