Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas

Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas are a crisp, bright, and festive appetizer that you can make in less than an hour. With this recipe, you’ll never get the soggy shells or rubbery seafood common in restaurant versions.

I love a good ceviche tostada, but I have had far too many that were a structural disaster. Most recipes have you pile watery ceviche onto a thin corn shell, which gives you about thirty seconds to eat it before the whole thing falls apart. I like to seed the tomatoes and use a quick aromatic poach for the shrimp instead of hours of soaking in citrus juice because it controls the moisture and guarantees a tender texture that won’t ruin the tostada crunch.

Recipe at a Glance

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Total time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 10 tostadas
• Skill level: Easy

Shrimp Ceviche Tostada Ingredients

• Medium Shrimp: I like to use medium shrimp for the best flavor and texture. Look for raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp to save yourself the prep work.
• Fine Sea Salt: Don’t substitute this for iodized table salt or you’ll notice it in the overall flavor.
• Whole Black Peppercorns: Just like the ones you fill your pepper grinder with.
• Roma Tomatoes: I love to use Romas for ceviche, they’re firmer than most tomatoes and hold their shape. Seed them to really minimize the liquid they add.
• English Cucumber: These have a thin skin and very few seeds, so they don’t need to be peeled and won’t make your topping watery. If you use a standard cucumber, be sure to peel it and scoop out the seeds.
• Radishes: Look for bright red, firm radishes. They add a pop of color and extra crunch.
• Red Onion: I like the touch of sweetness in red onion, but white onion works well too. Just be sure to finely dice either one so they don’t overwhelm the ceviche.
• Jalapeño: If you want a mild ceviche, remove all the seeds and membranes (wearing gloves). If you love heat, swap in a serrano chile.
• Cilantro Stems and Leaves: Don’t throw the stems away. They go into the poaching liquid to build deep flavor, while the leaves are chopped for the ceviche.
• Avocado: Choose a ripe avocado that still feels firm. You can dice it into the mix or use thin slices as a base layer to help the ceviche stay put.
• Tostada Shells: Look for thick, high-quality corn tostada shells that can handle a generous pile of toppings.

Why This Recipe Works

• Seeded vegetables: Removing the seeds from the tomatoes and using low-moisture cucumbers is an easy fix for the common problem of soggy tostada shells.
• Aromatic steeping: Steeping the shrimp with peppercorns, lime, and cilantro stems seasons the shrimp from the inside out, providing far more flavor than just an acid cure.
• 30-minute chill: Letting the assembled ceviche sit in the refrigerator gives the lime juice time to saturate the vegetables without turning the shrimp rubbery.
• Double crunch: Combining radishes with a crisp corn tortilla shell creates multi-layered texture that makes the tostadas much more interesting to eat.

How to Make Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas

Poach and shock the shrimp: Bring the seasoned water to a boil, turn off the heat, and steep the shrimp for 3 minutes before moving them to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Remove the shrimp and carefully pat dry with a paper towel, then chop.

Mix and chill: Toss the chopped shrimp with the diced vegetables, lime juice, and salt, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors develop.

Assemble and serve: Fold the avocado gently into the ceviche and spoon the mixture onto the tostada shells just before serving to keep the corn shells as crisp as possible.

Make-Ahead and Storage

You can poach the shrimp and prep the vegetables up to 4 hours in advance, but keep them separate in the refrigerator. Combine the shrimp, vegetables, and lime juice 30 minutes before you plan to eat. Once assembled, tostadas should be eaten right away.