The Bold 20-Minute Mexican Shrimp Dinner My Family Makes Every Week

Growing up, there weren’t many mainstays in my family’s dinner rotation. The dish camarones a la diabla—deviled shrimp—however, was my parents’ favorite, so it showed up at our table at least once a week. The dish is everything its name promises: plump shrimp seared until just browned, then coated in a fiery, glossy red sauce that begs to be scooped up with warm tortillas or spooned over a pile of rice. As a toddler, I couldn’t handle the heat, so my mom would omit the chiles for a mild version. These days, I happily add as many chiles as my guests can handle. And since the dish comes together in under 30 minutes, it’s the weeknight dinner I often reach for when I want something fast but big on flavor.

Camarones a la diabla is a dish enjoyed across Mexico, but it’s particularly popular in coastal states like Sinaloa, Veracruz, and Nayarit. As the name implies, it’s a dish that pulls no punches—it’s traditionally blisteringly hot, and a plate of it should leave you panting with a runny nose. 

There’s no single “correct” recipe for camarones a la diabla; instead, cooks draw from a common pantry of ingredients. Dried and fresh chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, ketchup, canned chipotles in adobo, and orange juice all make appearances in different versions. The sauce can range from deep crimson to bright orange, and its consistency varies just as widely—some versions resemble thick marinara, while others are more like a thin butter sauce.

Camarones a la diabla is a dish enjoyed across Mexico, but it’s particularly popular in coastal states like Sinaloa, Veracruz, and Nayarit. As the name implies, it’s a dish that pulls no punches—it’s traditionally blisteringly hot, and a plate of it should leave you panting with a runny nose. 

There’s no single “correct” recipe for camarones a la diabla; instead, cooks draw from a common pantry of ingredients. Dried and fresh chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, ketchup, canned chipotles in adobo, and orange juice all make appearances in different versions. The sauce can range from deep crimson to bright orange, and its consistency varies just as widely—some versions resemble thick marinara, while others are more like a thin butter sauce.