Hey there lovelies!
How’s your week going? Mine got off to a bit of a nasty start with a trip to the dentist for a filling, but on the bright side, I’ve logged some great workouts over the past couple of days. As I type this, there is some serious ab burnage happening! Even though muscle soreness is never really pleasant, once in a while, that soreness helps to reassure me that I’m working muscles that were clearly being neglected before.
The gym isn’t the only place where great things have been happening. I can’t wait to show you what’s been coming out of my kitchen lately! Cinco de Mayo was last Sunday, but celebrations are still happening over here with this super simple, fresh and colourful appetizer.
Shrimp cocktails have always been one of my favourite appies, and a family gathering just isn’t complete without a great big tray of fresh shrimp with cocktail sauce – the red kind, not the creamy kind. While the shrimp on their own are delicious, I decided to add some more to this one.
Yes, avocados again. I can’t stop, I’m sorry.
Meet my new favourite shrimp dish (well, for this week anyway): Pico de Gallo Shrimp Cocktails. The key here is letting all of the ingredients sit together in a big bowl for at least 15 minutes so they can soak up the lime juice and soften a wee bit. You can even make this recipe ahead of time if you like – leaving in the fridge for a couple of hours will make the flavours that much stronger. Being patient isn’t easy when you’ve got a great big bowl of shrimp cocktail in front of you, but I promise that it’s worth the wait.
Pico de Gallo Shrimp Cocktails
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Bright, colourful and bursting with fresh flavours, these Pico de Gallo Shrimp Cocktails are perfect for summer parties, CInco de Mayo, or any time you need a crowd-pleasing appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tsp grated or finely minced ginger
- 12 large raw shrimp, tails removed
- 1/3 cup lime juice, divided
- 1 cup seeded, diced tomatoes
- 1/3 cup diced avocado
- 1 cup mixed sweet bell peppers
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and very finely minced
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- a few pinches of dried chili flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro, plus more to garnish
Instructions
- In a small non-stick skillet, heat the garlic, ginger and half of the lime juice for 1 minute on high. Add the shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes per side, or until completely opaque. Remove from heat.
- Chop all vegetables and combine in a bowl with the remaining lime juice, cumin, chili flakes, and cilantro. Toss to coat.
- When the shrimp are cool enough to touch, chop them into small pieces. Mix into the bowl. Allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.
- Divide the mixture evenly between cocktail cups and serve garnished with additional cilantro and lime wedges, if desired
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 4 mins
- Category: appetizer
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Are you running to the grocery store to hoard avocadoes and shrimp yet? 🙂 Have a great week!
vibrant colours in the photos, angela – beautiful!
in answer to your q’s…no and no!
i’ve only ever purchased tinned beans…and i can’t recall if i have tried fava! anyway, your recipe innovations are great!
have a wonderful day!
Your shrimp cocktail looks delish (thanks for making the recipe so easy to get to and pin!!). I love anything with avocado!!!
Thanks for pinning, Kim! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
yes
Ill say it again 🙂
they remind me of anthony hopkin so Ive not not not yet put them in my..bean hole 🙂
LOL! You’re the best Carla! 😉
Avocado is the best! Those shrimp cocktails look super tasty.
how colorful and awesome those look!
Haha I am also obsessed with avocados… who isn’t? Both of those recipes are so colourful (great pics btw). I’m going to have to make a vegan version of that salad; dill and beets are one of my favourite salad combos!
Agreed – dill and beets go so well together!! I’m sure this would be just as good with chickpeas rather than tuna.. Or maybe some tempeh? I’d take either!
I saw the other day on Dr. Oz (I was on vacation and vegging out on the couch) that fava beans are a great dopamine booster, which apparently can help supress cravings? Super interesting. They suggested pureeing the beans into a dip with veggies which sounded interesting… 🙂
Absolutely!! I’m really liking the dip idea… Although I might just buy the canned ones for making it because it’s going to be a lot of shelling in order to get enough for a reasonably sized batch!
This salad looks really good – although I don’t know if I would go through the effort to peel the beans. One summer I was back in Manitoba on my husband family farm and spent 2 hours on fresh peas. I was like “holy jeez, thank goodness for the organic frozen kind ’cause momma don’t have the patience for this!”
Wow, that sounds like a LOT of work for peas!! As for the beans, I honestly didn’t mind the skins. Extra fiber? Let’s go with that. 😉
Don’t get me started on avocados. I sincerely hope there is not a daily limit because I have been tossing them on my morning eggs, in my salad, on my fish…it is becoming a problem.
Also, your shrimp cocktail shot glasses are the cutest things ever.
Lol you and me both! Avo and eggs are the bomb, especially with salsa! And the shot glasses – I figured I might as well use them for something since they don’t see much alcohol!
Those beans are so darn cute! And that recipe… ahhhhh yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for the fava bean information! I just had the most INCREDIBLE Fava Bean Risotto in Paris (I know I know why did I come home?) and need to recreate is ASAP. The shrimp cocktail is so pretty! I will make it as soon as we have food in the house again!
Oh my goodness, that is awesome that you got to go to Paris! Fava Bean Risotto sounds amazing. Let me know if your re-creation turns out because I’d love to incorporate them into more recipes (and have fun grocery shopping!) 🙂