In this article, we will share some of the best side dishes to serve with ceviche.

Everyone loves the taste of fresh and delicious seafood, especially when served with other tasty ingredients. Ceviche stands among the most popular seafood dishes that bring out the best in raw fish with citrus juices.

It’s pretty simple to make and requires little preparation, all the while providing a filling meal.

What’s more, ceviche can be served with a number of sides, ranging from soups to crunchy tortillas, and others.

If you’re serving this seafood dish as a main entree, you’ll want to think of the best side dishes to complement its taste. 

Best Side Dishes for Ceviche

Wondering what to serve with ceviche? The list of sides is infinite but it’s important to choose something that will complement the taste of the seafood and acidic juice.

Check out this list for some tasty sides for this seafood entree.

1. Lettuce Leaves for Nachos

Want to go for a clean side dish that will encourage people to make their own ceviche tacos?

Serve the dish with a plate of lettuce leaves and you’re good to go. This will serve as a natural wrap to change the eating experience.

The lettuce complements the delicious and acidic taste of the seafood, making it both filling and a healthy meal.

2. Mango Salad

To add something sweet to the table, why not try a mango salad?

This sweet-and-sour combination is perfect for a filling meal, and seafood is always better with fruit.

If you’re using lime juice as a base for the ceviche, the mango definitely complements the strong acidic taste.

3. Tostadas

Another way to enjoy ceviche is to serve it with tostadas.

Because the seafood dish has small bits of onions and seafood, it’s a great topping for the crunchy tostadas.

The delightfully crunchy bite makes the meal filling and truly enjoyable.

4. Fresh Oysters

Fresh oysters are one of the best side dishes for ceviche because they’re another raw seafood.

They bring a new depth to the flavor, plus complement the raw fish or shrimp.

Origin of Ceviche

A lot of people know that ceviche is a South American seafood dish that originated in Peru.

It was later introduced to Spain, using lime as an additional ingredient for the acidic juice.

However, the original fresh citrus juice came from lemons. It was then spiced with chili peppers, some salt, chopped onions, coriander, and then ají.

Incans developed the dish as a means to preserve seafood. Marinating fresh shrimp or fish with fruit juice and salt can make it last longer.

The addition of other spices adds flavor to the dish, all the while preserving the taste and freshness of the seafood.

The dish is also known as Incan cured fish, fermented with a maize beverage.

It was the Spaniards who cured the fish with citrus bitter oranges and later limes, so the cooked texture was firmer.

Traditional Peruvian ceviche has red onions, peppers, choclo or Andean corn, sweet potatoes, and crunchy corn.

Modern ceviche is heavily influenced by Japanese immigrants to Peru, who did not fully cook the seafood. 

Do You Need to Cook It?

The question of whether to cook ceviche or not comes up often.

However, most cooks simply start off with the freshest fish and shrimp to avoid bacteria and parasites.

Heat obviously kills this bacteria, but the acidic juice can also do wonders in keeping the seafood safe to eat.

Marinating time also affects how one prepares ceviche.

In fact, the lime or lemon juice cooks the fish completely, depending on how long it marinates.

The citric acid easily changes the structure of the fish protein, making it firmer and more opaque—the same as when the seafood is cooked.

The only concern is the accumulation of bacteria and parasites, which heat has the advantage of killing in a matter of minutes.

Traditional ceviche relies heavily on marinating to avoid bacteria multiplying.

However, if the freshest seafood is used, the dish is definitely safe to eat.

Bottom Line

Serving ceviche as the main dish is even better when you can serve it with some of these side dishes.

Choose from these recommended sides to complement and balance out the taste of the main entree.

4 Best Ceviche Sides

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Check out these great Side Dish Recipes for Ceviche that have been shared on Pinterest.

• Author: Recipe Marker

Ingredients

1. Lettuce Leaves for Nachos
2. Mango Salad
3. Tostadas
4. Fresh Oysters

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Instructions

1. Click on each link above to view the pin and recipe.
2. Obtain all the necessary ingredients to make the recipe.
3. Follow the steps to create your side dish.
4. Enjoy your delicious meal =)