Tostadas de Camaron is a Mexican appetizer featuring a crispy corn tortilla with avocado spread, topped with shrimp and vegetables, and drizzled with creamy chipotle salsa.
What are tostadas de camaron?
Tostadas de camaron is a flavorful Mexican recipe featuring a salad made of cooked shrimp, tomatoes, onions, and chilies. Everything is tossed with lime juice, cilantro, and salt to deliver a fresh mixture that is used to top crispy tostada shells.
This dish is served mainly as an appetizer or snack and is popular mostly in coastal states where seafood recipes are made daily.
I am from Colima (a small state in central-western Mexico), and it is pretty common to see carts on the streets selling all sorts of seafood snacks, and tostadas de camarón are absolutely one favorite.
Drizzled with salsa Valentina and topped with a few slices of avocado, these tostadas are very popular in my state!
What tostada shells to use
You can make homemade tostada shells just as I did for this recipe (instructions below), or you can buy them at any Latin American grocery store or Amazon.
It doesn’t matter what type of tostada you choose, such as unsalted, low carb, baked (low calories), etc.
How To Clean Shrimp
I have made tostadas de camaron using frozen pink shrimp and also with fresh shrimp, depending on what do I have available. If you feel like using fresh shrimp and want to clean them yourself, here is what you can do:
- Slice each piece lenghtwise from its head to tail and remove the legs and shell.
- Next, remove the head and tails.
- Using a toothpick, remove the blanck/green-ish veins and discard them.
- Cook the shrimp as suggested below and then cut them into small bites to make the recipe.
As for frozen shrimp, you don’t really need to thaw them before cooking them, you can boil them just straight from the freezer.
How To Make The Recipe
STEP 1 Make the shrimp (camarones) salad.
Fill a medium pot with water and place over medium-high heat. Add a bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of salt, then as soon as the water starts to boil, add the shrimp.
For small pink shrimp, you will need 2-3 minutes to be fully cooked, larger shrimp may take about 3 extra minutes.
Strain and place shrimp in a bowl. Allow to slightly cool down. Add tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, and cilantro. Add lime juice, salt, and pepper.
Mix well for 1 minute to combine all ingredients and flavors together. Cover and allow the mixture to rest for 15 minutes.
STEP 2 Make the tostadas.
If you use store-bought tostadas, skip to the next step, otherwise follow the instructions below to make your own.
- Heat a good glug of frying oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Carefully, add one tortilla and fry from both sides until browned and crispy (about 1 minute per side).
- Place the shell on a paper lined plate to absorb the oil.
- Repeat until you’ll have enough tostadas for your recipe.
STEP 3 Make the chipotle salsa.
Place yogurt, mayonnaise, chipotle chiles, lime juice, sugar, salt, and vinegar in a food processor, add water and blend until you’ll have a smooth sauce. Adjust salt to taste and transfer the sauce to a squeeze bottle or a jar.
Note: This sauce is very similar to my chipotle crema sauce!
STEP 4 Make the avocado spread.
Open an avocado and remove the pit. Use a fork and run it through the avocado pulp to “mash” it and remove it at the same time. Add it to a bowl.
Season with salt, pepper, and mashed or finely chopped garlic. Squeeze a few drops of lime juice and mix until everything is nicely combined.
STEP 5 Prepare the tostadas de camaron.
- Take one tostada shell and spread some avocado cream on it.
- Next, add a few spoonfuls of the shrimp mixture.
- Repeat with all tostada shells and shrimp until they’re gone.
- Serve with chipotle salsa drizzled over.
Variations
- Salsa. Use your favorite salsa recipe, it can be homemade or store-bought. Sometimes I like to add tomatillo salsa verde or chile de árbol salsa, both options are perfect for tostadas.
- Toppings. If you want other toppings, cabbage salad and Mexican pickled onions are a good idea.
- Cooked in lime. If you want, you can marinate for a few hours the shrimp in lime juice instead of boiling.
- Grill. Or you can season shrimp then make brochetas de camarón and use them to make this tostadas recipe!
Drinks to pair with
Whether you want to make tostadas de camaron for a party, or for a dinner family, there are always some drinks you can pair with this dish. Let me show you a few:
- Tepache (fermented pineapple drink).
- Agua de fresa (strawberry and chia fresca).
- Agua de Tamarindo (tamarind fresca drink)
- Mango michelada (boozy drink with a tropical twist).
- Tamarind margarita.
FAQ’s
Is shrimp raw in this recipe?
No. Even though the popular tostadas de camaron recipe is made by marinating the shrimp in lime juice, I decided to briefly cook them in hot water.
Is this recipe spicy?
Yes and no. Green chiles add a spicy touch that depends on which type of chilies you use, it will be from mild to strong. Also, you can control how many chiles you add, and if you decide to remove the seeds and veins or not. Therefore the result will be different for everyone.
What type of green chiles can I use?
You can use jalapeño, serrano, chilaca, Anaheim, or Hatch chiles for this recipe if you live in Mexico or USA. In other parts of the world, you can also use any green and spicy chilies you have locally available.
How to store?
The shrimp mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days in a glass container with a tight lid. Freezing is not recommended.
More Tostadas Recipes
Love the crunchy fun of this Mexican treat? Try any of those recipes below and let us know if you liked them!
Tostadas de Camaron
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen pink shrimp
- 4 medium tomatoes (seeds removed and diced)
- 1 small red onion (sliced)
- 3 jalapeño or serrano chiles (sliced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped)
- 1 lime (juice)
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 10 tostadas (6-inch large)
For avocado spread
- 2 avocado
- ½ lime (juice)
- 1 small garlic clove (minced)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
For the chipotle salsa
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 chipotle chilies in adobo (+ 1 tablespoon of the sauce)
- ½ lime (juice)
- 2 Tbsp vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
Make the camarones salad.
- Fill a pot with water and place over medium-high heat.
- Add a bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of salt, then as soon as the water starts to boil, add the shrimp.
- For small pink shrimp, you will need 2-3 minutes to be fully cooked, larger shrimp may take about 3 extra minutes.
- Drain shrimp and place in a bowl, allow to slightly cool down.
- Add tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, and cilantro.
- Add lime juice, salt, and pepper then mix to combine all ingredients and flavors together.
- Cover and allow the salad to rest while you continue with the recipe.
Make the chipotle salsa
- Place yogurt, mayonnaise, chipotle chiles + sauce, lime juice, sugar, salt, and vinegar in a food processor.
- Add water and blend until you’ll have a smooth sauce.
- Adjust salt to taste and transfer the sauce to a squeeze bottle or a jar. Set aside.
Make the avocado spread
- Cut in half and remove the pit of the avocado.
- Use a fork and run it through the avocado pulp to “mash” it and remove it at the same time. Add it to a bowl.
- Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Add a few drops of lime juice and mix until everything is nicely combined.
Prepare the tostadas
- Take one tostada shell and spread some avocado cream on it.
- Next, add a few spoonfuls of the shrimp salad.
- Repeat with all tostada shells and shrimp.
- Serve with the creamy chipotle salsa drizzled over.
This dish was amazing and so fresh!
My favorites! I made your recipe yesterday and they disappear in a snap! My son loved them and he said mom! They are like ceviche de camarón but better!
The creamy sauce is the top, so delicious and not overly spicy. Will make them again next week for friends that will come over. Thanks!
A like how colourful these shrimp tostadas are. I definitely will have to try them this summer, it looks like the perfect appetizer for a cookout!