Just a few years back, I would have never seen myself preparing arroz con camarones(shrimp and rice). The only times I remember Mom preparing any shrimp was for those fancy glasses filled with spicy coctel de camarones, Mexican shrimp cocktail. Ok, so the glasses were not really that fancy, but they were made of glass and were only used for the shrimp cocktail, lol!
Since those years, I have long gotten over my fear of cooking shrimp in a variety of ways. This arroz con camarones(shrimp and rice) recipe combines my love of rice with tender, steamed, savory chile limon shrimp. This is one of my favorite “go to” meals when I want a little something special for dinner, without the guilt of a heavy meal.
Tips~Again, here I am revisiting one of my older recipes. The dish pictured above did not include any bell pepper, carrots or potatoes. It did include a finely diced tomato instead. I also used some chile limon powder on the shrimp before I served it. Delicious! Try a few variations to suit your taste.

Arroz Con Camarones(Chile Limon Shrimp and Rice)
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp cleaned and peeled, leaving tails on is optional
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chipotle powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Juice of 1 key lemon or lime plus more for garnish
- Olive oil
- 1 cup jasmine rice or or long grain rice
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 small white potato diced
- 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/3 cup diced white onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 chipotle in adobo minced or 1/3 chipotle powder
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon chili ancho powder
- 1/3 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/3 teaspoon cumin
- Cilantro or parsley for garnish
- Hot sauce of your choice
Instructions
Directions
- Season the shrimp with old bay, cayenne pepper,pinch of salt, pepper, lime juice and just enough olive oil to coat, set aside.
- In a pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat to medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until rice starts to toast and becomes aromatic.
- Add the carrots, potato, bell pepper and onion. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chipotle, cook for another minute. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine.Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Lay the shrimp on top of simmering rice, spread out evenly. Cover and continue cooking, about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with fork to mix vegetables evenly before serving. Garnish with lime wedges, chopped cilantro and hot sauce.
Notes
Notes: The three pictures above are a refreshed version of this exact recipe. The pictures below are the original recipe as written.
Made this last night and the flavors were EXCELLENT.
Oh good!!! So happy to hear this Denise! Thank you for the feedback on the recipe. I really appreciate it.
This was the first recipe I made for my then boyfriend in 2014, he fell in love with it. 7 years later I still prepare this recipe for him. I even prepare the shrimp on skewers so he can grill them. Thanks for your amazing recipe.
That’s so wonderful Mayra! I so appreciate you taking the time to write to me!