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Camarones a la Diabla are juicy, large shrimp smothered in a bright red chile sauce that’s spicy, deeply flavorful, and so delicious. Also called diablo shrimp or Mexican deviled shrimp, the whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes.
Camarones a la diabla was one of the first Mexican seafood dishes that really won me over. Which is funny, because I didn’t grow up eating much seafood at all.
My parents are from a landlocked part of Mexico, and I grew up in Oklahoma City, which is also about as far from the ocean as you can get. Fresh seafood just wasn’t really on the table.
So Mexican seafood is something I came to as an adult, and I’ve had so much fun learning how it’s cooked by following folks like Rick Bayless and Pati Jinich. Shrimp was my starting point because it’s quick and pretty hard to mess up, and this was one of the first dishes that made me fall for it.
What makes camarones a la diabla so good is all in the sauce. It gets its color and flavor from guajillo and chile de árbol peppers blended with ripe Roma tomatoes. It’s spicy, yes, but not the kind of spicy that wrecks you, and it’s easy to dial up or down to your taste.
I like to serve it over Mexican rice with warm flour tortillas to catch every bit of that sauce.
How to Make Camarones a la Diabla
- Soak stemmed and seeded guajillo and árbol chiles in hot or boiling water for about 15 minutes. During this time, I like to cover the bowl or pot they’re soaking in with a lid or a large plate to help retain as much heat as possible.
- Puree softened chiles in a blender with Roma tomatoes, garlic, onions and salt.
- In a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat, add some olive oil and cook shrimp for 1 minute per side, until they are light pink.
- Add in the pureed red chile sauce, lower heat to medium and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and hot.
- Remove from heat, taste, season with more salt if necessary and serve.
Tips for Making Camarones a la Diabla
- Spice level: If you’re afraid the sauce may be too spicy for your tastes, I recommend soaking all the peppers as instructed but only adding in 1 chile de arbol pepper into the blender. Puree the sauce until smooth and then taste. If it’s still too spicy, add in a Roma tomato and puree. Keep tasting and adjusting until it’s just right.
- Salt: Don’t forget to season the sauce generously with salt. If you’re not used to cooking with dried chiles, you may find their earthy taste a little bitter. The tomatoes should help with that, but you may also find that the sauce needs more salt. Add it in gradually and taste after each addition to make sure you don’t accidentally over-salt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spicy, but not painful. Most of the heat comes from the chile de árbol, so you’re in control. Soak all the chiles like the recipe says, but only blend in one árbol to start, then taste and add more until it’s where you want it. The Roma tomatoes mellow things out too.
Fresh Roma tomatoes are what I use and I think they taste best here. If all you have is canned, about half a cup of crushed tomatoes works in a pinch.
Guajillo and chile de árbol are the traditional combo and what I’d stick with. If you want more depth, you can swap one or two of the guajillos for ancho or pasilla chiles. They’re milder and a little sweeter, so they round out the sauce without adding heat.
Large or jumbo shrimp are ideal since they stay juicy, but medium works fine. Fresh or frozen is fine too. Just thaw frozen shrimp fully and pat them dry before cooking so they sear instead of steam.
Camarones a la Diabla
Ingredients
- 8 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 árbol chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ½ medium white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1.5 pounds large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tail-on
Instructions
- Add the chiles to a small pot and cover them with water until they're completely submerged. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then remove it from the heat, cover, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles to a large blender. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and salt. Puree until completely smooth. Taste and season with more salt, if necessary. If the sauce is too spicy, add more tomatoes.
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute per side, or until shrimp is light pink.
- Pour in the blended red chile sauce and mix together to coat the shrimp. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and hot.
- Remove the pan or skillet from the heat and serve alone as an appetizer or with Mexican Rice as a meal.
Video
Notes
- Spice level: Want it milder? Soak all the chiles but blend in just one chile de árbol to start, then taste and add more. If it’s still too hot, blend in an extra Roma tomato to mellow it out.
- Chile swap: No guajillos? Swap one or two for ancho or pasilla chiles. They’re milder and slightly sweet, so the sauce stays rich without extra heat.
- Shrimp tip: Frozen shrimp work great. Just thaw fully and pat dry before searing so they brown instead of steam.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated with more helpful information and recipe tips!
A little disappointed in the receipe. Made this but i think 3 roma tomato was to much! Also you need to strain the sauce before pouring it that makes a difference. I’ll stick to our traditional one
I agree! What is your recipe?
What if I where to use Chile Chipotle in Adobe sauce instead of guajillo and chile de arbole
The sauce looks really tasty, but I am allergic to shellfish. Do you think it would taste good on chicken? Thanks!
Yes, I think it would be great on Chicken!
This is really tasty! I’m new to cooking Mexican food and this was my first effort. It was close to being a tiny bit heavy on the “diabla” side but in my defense I have no idea what kind of chiles I used. I bought them from a local tienda in an unlabeled bag. They kinda looked like guajillo chiles?! I’m pretty sure the arbol chiles were japonese though. I think I used too much onion. I used half of a large instead of half of a medium. Tasting the sauce alone it was onion heavy, which is saying a lot considering how much I love onions. But once mixed in the skillet with the shrimp that toned down a lot and turned out really well. Loved it!
you should actually try roasting the chile’s instead of soaking them! brings out a better taste!!
Not at all as hot as I wanted. This was a mild recipe compared to what I have had. I found another one that uses a habanero. I made it with butter instead of olive oil which made it miss any sort of tangy flavor so I have to try that next time and add the habanero.
Very tomanoty right? Onion over powered it too, i ended up throwing the sauce away and just ate salt pepper shrimp, maybe chipotle would of saved it?
Yes! Found myself cooking the sauce a few minutes longer so the tomatoes can cook a bit. I also quadrupled the amount of Chile’s de Arbol. And I still find it’s not as spicy as I wanted it. How ever it is delicious. And super easy to make. Next time I’ll broil the tomatoes and add an habanero or a chipotle.
It’s the real deal. The only thing that I will change is that I’d simmer the sauce for several minutes to bring out more of the flavors. Then I’d cook the shrimp for 4 – 5 minutes. It’s a beautiful tasting dish.
Super recipe! Although I don’t know that I can take full credit for Isabel posting this recipe, I had contacted her and requested she do one for Camarones a la Diabla. Followed the recipe to a T other than blooming the chilis in a pan before soaking and also broiling the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Very delicious recipe! Thanks so much!
How long did your broil them for?
wow, this was great! thanks!
Wow! Those shrimp look so flavorful! That sauce just sounds to die for. Could these shrimp be the base of a taco?
Ooh, absolutely! I think that’s a great idea. I like where your going with this, haha.