Easy Crab Ceviche (Ceviche de Jaiba)

This Mexican crab ceviche recipe is ready in a flash and only uses the freshest ingredients! Fresh citrus juices, real crab meat, fresh veggies and cilantro combine for a light meal or appetizer.

​If you’re a Mexican food lover, I think you will love this easy crab ceviche recipe! It’s a Mexican-style crab salad, made with fresh cooked crab meat, citrus juices, tomatoes, peppers, onion and seasoning. This delicious recipe showcases the light, sweet flavor of the fresh seafood.

Typically for ceviche, you use raw seafood like raw fish or raw shrimp. The citrus juices “cook” the seafood, making ceviche a no-cook dish!

Looking for other crab recipes? Try Buttery Ritz Crab Cakes | Cream of Crab Soup | Crab Fried Rice | Crab Carbonara Pasta | Crockpot Crab and Corn Chowder | Cajun Crab Dip

This technique would work for raw crab as well, but crab meat is almost *always* purchased cooked! So, this easy crab ceviche recipe takes even less time than traditional ceviche thanks to the pre-cooked crab.

If you’re making Mexican ceviche for the first time, you may be a bit apprehensive about the process. Trust that it will be delicious! 

I love making this authentic ceviche during the hot summer months. You don’t have to fire up the oven or grill! This dish is light, crisp and so refreshing on hot days.

Recipe Substitutions

Substitute lemon juice for some or all of the lime juice. 

For the tomato, you can use Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or a normal slicing tomato. 

Instead of real crab meat, you can use imitation crab meat to make imitation crab ceviche. I recommend chopping the imitation crab sticks into bite-sized pieces.

Substitute yellow onions or white onion for the red onion. 

Substitute serrano peppers for the jalapeno peppers. Or, make it super spicy with a habanero pepper! 

Omit the chili peppers for a more mild flavor. 

Recipe Additions

Add 1/2 cup of clamato juice for a more tomato-based sauce.

Add 1/2 pound of peeled, raw shrimp to the ceviche mixture. Place it in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, stirring frequently. This will allow the acidic juices to “cook” the shrimp before eating.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this jaiba crab ceviche as a light appetizer with corn chips or saltines. It is delicious with hot sauce dashed on the top! 

If you need additional things to serve alongside this ceviche, consider Perfect Pico de Gallo Dip, check out this list of cold appetizers for party or double up the crab goodness by making Deviled Crab!

Storing Leftovers Crab Ceviche

Store leftover ceviche in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. It makes a wonderful, easy lunch with saltine crackers!

I hope that you enjoy this crab ceviche recipe! If you end up making it, let me know how it went in the comments below.