Tuna Ceviche • Two Purple Figs

Tuna Ceviche is a light, zesty, bright, and flavor packed appetizer made using Ahi Tuna. The best thing about ceviche recipes is that they come together in minutes, and make a crowd pleasing dish. Tuna Ceviche is a no cook recipe, so it’s a last minute party savior!

We have a thing for perfectly seasoned Ahi tuna recipes that can be served fresh. Tuna Carpaccio and Tuna Tartare are one of life’s simplest pleasures! I can’t urge you enough to make them! If you love Ahi, try our Tuna Steak Recipe. And if you have canned tuna, by all means this awesome Tuna Salad Recipe with Olive Oil Dressing is SO UNIQUE and TASTY!

I first had Tuna Ceviche a while ago in Miami and have been making it along with Shrimp Ceviche ever since. Both are perfect party foods and real crowd pleasers. There’s something super gourmet about seafood appetizers, and this ceviche recipe will not disappoint.

Why We Love Tuna Ceviche

• It’s really TASTY!
• This is a no cook recipe so you won’t need to mess up your kitchen one bit.
• Gourmet and fancy, yet super simple to make. 
• Last minute saver–all you need is 10 minutes of prep and serve it right away!
• We love serving it on individual spoons for a fancier look, however you can serve it with chips like the Shrimp Ceviche.
• It’s a light, fresh, bright and zesty appetizer.
• You can pair it with any seafood dish, or have it for lunch.

Ingredients You Need

• Tuna. Make sure to use fresh and quality Ahi tuna or sushi grade tuna for this recipe. Since this is a no cook dish, you need the fish to be super fresh. It’s best if you ask your fish monger and let them know you’re making a ceviche. As always, make sure your body can handle raw seafood first before making this recipe. 

• Avocado. Hass avocados are my favorite and they add a creamy cool texture to the recipe.
• Jalapeno. As always, this is optional but it’s super recommended for a kick to the ceviche.
• Cilantro. Bright and fresh, cilantro is a super fragrant herb for the ceviche. If you can’t really handle it, then by all means you can use parsley or dill or a combo of both.
• Green Onions and Red Onions. Pairs beautifully with the fresh tuna.
• Lime Juice. This is one of the essential components of any ceviche as the fish will cure in the lime juice. So while it may look like too much, it’s very important. Also make sure you’re using fresh lime juice and not the bottled one.
• Garlic. We love the flavor of it!
• Salt and Olive Oil. Seasoning.

How To Make Tuna Ceviche

1. To make the bite size appetizer spoon, start by placing a small piece of seaweed or chips at the bottom of the serving spoon.
   
2. Now add in a tablespoon of the tuna ceviche mixture right on top. 
3. And it’s ready to serve!
   
4. Complete with the rest alternating between seaweed and chips and you’re ready to grab that spoon!

Tuna Ceviche Recipe Tips and FAQ

1. When buying fresh seafood, make sure to tell your fish monger that you’re making a ceviche. We use Ahi Tuna for this recipe and we source it online. 
2. To cut the fish, use a super sharp knife otherwise it could mush. If you’re unsure about your knife, you can freeze the fish for just an hour to firm it a bit. This makes slicing it easier–similar to our trick when making Tuna Carpaccio and Beef Carpaccio.
3. The remaining ingredients should be preferably diced finer than the fish, so you can taste the fish flavored by the ingredients.
4. The jalapeño can be removed if you’re not a spicy food person, however it adds so much flavor. Consider removing the seeds to make it less spicy, or using just the top half of the pepper where no seeds are there.
5. If you’re not a cilantro person, you can substitute it with parsley. Dill is a great bold substitute if you love that herb, we LOVE dill and it pairs so well with seafood!
6. Use fresh lime juice for this recipe as it will cure the fish for you. 
7. When mixing the tuna with the lime and remaining ingredients, the curing process of the fish begins. So it’s preferable to eat it within the next hour. The longer it sits, the more the fish will cure and will feel like pickled tuna – if that’s even a thing 🙂 
8. Serve it with some Pita Chips, or your favorite chips. We love serving it with seaweed and chips on small spoons. 

Variations

Use a mix of citrus for an incredible flavor boost. Something like orange, grapefruit combined with lime and lemon is so GOOD! Also try making it with another type of fish like Shrimp Ceviche. 

What is Ceviche made of?

This classic seafood dish is mainly diced raw fish marinated in lime or lemon to cure the fish, and flavored with a variety of other ingredients.

How long can you marinate ceviche?

Preferably not more than 30 minutes. The acid from the lime will start to cure the fish by breaking down the protein and it will loose much of it’s fresh raw taste.

Is ceviche cooked or raw?

The most frequent question is this. The acid in the lime or citrus will start curing or cooking the fish as soon as you toss them together. You’ll notice the outside of the fish turning white with time, while the center would still be pink and raw. The longer the fish sits int he acid, the more it cures and cooks through. 

This also depends on how finely you cut the fish to start with. So the size of the fish along with marinating time will determine how raw or cooked the fish is. Ideally it should be raw and pink with hints of white on outside. So we cut our tuna into half inch cubes and let it marinate for no longer than 30 minutes before serving. 

Raw Seafood Recipes

Sushi Burrito
Poke Bowl
Tuna Tartare
Sushi Bowl
Salmon Tartare
Shrimp Ceviche
Tuna Steak Recipe
Tuna Carpaccio