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I made this for dinner…RIDICULOUS…LY…DELICIOUS!!!! Winner, winner, shrimp dinner! I’m making this again! <3
Sheree
You guys, Shrimp Veracruz is so good, and it’s also so strange, and also so good. Did I say that? Just MEGA DELICIOUS.
And so this is where I test your allegiance to Pinch of Yum. Trust?
It’s hard for me to articulate why I love this seemingly bizarre-o combination so much. But I think it has something about the therapeutic nature of sauteing lots of peppers and tomatoes and garlic, the sizzle of the red wine in the hot pan, the briny bursts of capers (my favorite) followed by sweet bites of golden raisins, plus just enough heat from the pickled jalapeños to playfully bite back. Also: since the shrimp just get gently cooked – almost kinda poached – on top of the whole sauce, they maintain a super delicate and sweet flavor that is just… YUM.
Heaped over rice, hot out of the skillet? DONE. Game over.
I learned of Shrimp Veracruz by way of a Blue Apron meal, and I have just been hot on the trail of this ingredient combination ever since. The internet tells me that Shrimp Veracruz normally has green olives and normally doesn’t have golden raisins. But dang, those bites with the plumped up golden raisins are not something I’m willing to sacrifice at this point in my life.
Here are the noteworthy players in the Shrimp Veracruz game:
- Shrimp
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Garlic
- Red wine
- Oregano
And just when you thought life was normal, this happens:
- Capers (!!!)
- Pickled jalapenos (!!!)
- Golden raisins (!!!)
Let’s walk this out. First, you saute your tomatoes and peppers and garlic and stuff.
WITH RED WINE DUH.
Then, once you have a bubbling skillet, you add your shrimp on top and just let them cook ever so gently.
When they’re done, stir them in and squeeze lemon over the entire thing because you’re an adult and you know how to love yourself.
Plate up some steaming rice and scoop your shrimp and sauce mixture over the top.
Lemon wedge – check.
Parsley sprinkles because you fancy – check.
Spicy, briny, bold flavors bringing you to a whole new world – CHECK CHECK CHECKCHECKCHECK.
As you know, I don’t ACTUALLY know what I’m talking about when it comes to Shrimp Veracruz, so for more authentic Shrimp Veracruz recipes, check out this recipe from Gabriela Cámara and this video from Paul Sanchez.
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Spicy Shrimp Veracruz
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
Shrimp Veracruz – my new favorite recipe!! Juicy shrimp in a pepper / tomato spicy, briny sauce served over rice. Oh my gosh, THIS IS SO GOOD.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8–10 sweet mini peppers, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños, minced
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons red wine
- 1 cup water (see notes)
- 1 pound uncooked shrimp (see notes)
- 1 cup rice
- lemon or lime (optional)
Instructions
- RICE: Get your rice cooking according to package directions.
- PEPPERS: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute peppers for 5-10 minutes until they’re nice and soft.
- TOMATOES AND STUFF: Turn the heat down to medium (to avoid burning the garlic). Add the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeños, capers, raisins, oregano, and salt. Saute for 5-10 minutes until it’s all fragrant and yummy and the tomatoes have released some of their juices.
- SAUCE HAPPENING: Add the wine – sizzzzzzle. Add the water, a little at a time, and simmer for another 5-ish minutes until it’s moderately saucy.
- SHRIMP: Place the shrimp on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with more salt / pepper. Cook on one side for 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes.
- DONE! Serve the saucy, briny, moderately spicy goods over hot steaming rice. Squeeze a lemon or lime over the top to be totally extra.
Notes
I recommend using a very wide skillet so you can fit all your shrimp in a beautiful single layer on top! If you can’t fit them, you can also just stir them into the sauce and let them cook for a few minutes that way.
I like to add the water a little bit at a time, so I start with about 1/2 cup, and then add 1/4 cup as it simmers down. You can play with the texture of the sauce by adding liquid – wine, lemon juice, water, etc. But you can’t take OUT liquid, so just add carefully. 🙂
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition Facts
- Daily value: 11% Total Fat 8.3g
- Daily value: 61% Cholesterol 182.5mg
- Daily value: 23% Sodium 540.4mg
- Daily value: 7% Total Carbohydrate 20.4g
- Daily value: 17% Dietary Fiber 4.8g
- Sugars 13.8g
- Daily value: 51% Protein 25.5g
- Daily value: 30% Vitamin A 265.9µg
- Daily value: 226% Vitamin C 203.5mg
- Daily value: 11% Iron 1.9mg
- Daily value: 19% Potassium 885.4mg
- Daily value: 25% Phosphorus 315.1mg
Keywords: shrimp veracruz, spicy shrimp veracruz
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy shrimp recipes. Check it out!
One of my friend suggested me this spicy Shrimp Veracruz recipe, can’t wait to try making this. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
Oh wow. This is delectable. Made it exactly in accordance with the recipe and it was an explosion of flavours.
Super excited to try this Spicy Shrimp Veracruz recipe, thanks for sharing this one with us.
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What kind of red wine would you recommend? I don’t typically have red wine with shrimp so this one stumps me a bit. I’m guessing something light bodied?
We’ve tested this with a variety before and they all turn out well, so whatever red wine you have on hand should be great!
Super excited to try this one Spicy Shrimp Veracruz, thanks for sharing this one with us.
Thanks Lindsay for sharing this delicious Spicy Shrimp Veracruz recipe. Super excited to try this one.
Love this Spicy Shrimp Veracruz, this one seems super delicious and amazing . Super excited to try this unique one. Thanks for sharing this one with us .
W O W. I stumbled across your bowls this week and this one was insanely delicious!! I was hesitant at first from just reading the ingredients, but it all came together and was SO packed with flavor and that little bit of spice my husband and I love. Will be making again for sure!
Actually I am pure vegetarian but my little ones will love this
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, will definitely gonna try it for sure
Thanks for sharing this recipe , will definitely gonna try it by my self.
YUM! Healthy & delicious with depth of flavor. Served it with cauliflower rice, grilled bread & the rest of the red wine 👌🏼
This was wonderful! It will go into my rotation.
Hello Lindsay!
I’m curious to know what red wine you used for the shrimp. Really like your recipes.
Sincerely,
Vera.
I don’t recall the specific brand we used, but we tend to use full-bodied red wine in our recipes.
Sliced green olives are a must! In all veracruzana seafood recipes. Believe me and add them!
This was amazing!! Another unbelievable recipe from you – thank you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Carolina!
This sounds so good, but I’m wondering if anyone out there has made it over pasta, rather than rice! I’m not a rice girl, LOL
We haven’t tried that before, but we don’t see why not. Might be good over orzo!
Keto? with carbs and sugar carbs??
Love the Recipe Great flavor combination I’m an avid follower of your site did substitute Mexican oregano for oregano since it’s readily available here in Dallas I would recommend lime over lemon for authenticity
Thanks for sharing, Joe!
I think we just might be kindred (palate) spirits. This was so delicious!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Jeanette! 🙂
Nice.
Interesting combination!
Okay, can we talk about how friggen’ DELICIOUS this recipe is? Like, where was this all of my life????
I made this last night for dinner and it was the perfect mixture of spicy and briney/salty with a smidge of sweet. I’m seriously obsessed. My boyfriend suggested I use the base and add chicken to it next time so I’m going to try it out with shredded poached chicken breast. I seriously can’t wait, the flavors for this were perfectly balanced and sooo good!
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This Vera Cruz recipe is the best and very versatile!