Easy Mango Salsa

This easy mango salsa recipe uses only a few ingredients and is full of tangy flavor! Serve with fish, veggie tacos, or with tortilla chips.

Mango salsa was one of the first things Alex and I made together as newlyweds. And for two novice cooks, the combination of tart lime, juicy sweet mango, and savory tilapia tasted overwhelming gourmet! Ever since then, we’ve had a passion (borderline obsession) with the stuff. It’s tangy, sweet, salty and spicy all at once, and always goes over well with a crowd. So here’s everything you need to know about how to make mango salsa! Keep in mind, it’s even more perfect with homemade tortilla chips warm from the oven.

Mango salsa ingredients

Mango salsa is similar to our best salsa recipe: except instead of fresh tomatoes, you’ll use fresh mango! You also won’t need a food processor or blender: for this recipe you’ll hand chop all the ingredients. The ingredients you need for mango salsa are:

• Ripe mangoes
• Red onion
• Cilantro
• Jalapeño
• Lime
• Kosher salt

How to tell when a mango is ripe

Make sure your mangoes are nice and ripe for this salsa recipe! There’s nothing worse than tough, tart mango cubes. You’ll know they’re ripe when they’re fragrant and give a little when you gently press your thumb into them. Hard mangoes won’t have the right taste or texture, so avoid making mango salsa with unripe fruit.

How to make mango salsa

It always surprises people when they find out how simple it is to make homemade salsa. This easy mango salsa recipe is truly simple, and tastes amazing with fish, veggie tacos, or enjoyed plain with tortilla chips. Here’s what you need to do:

• Chop the mango, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. Dice the ripe mangoes (more instructions below) and finely mince the red onion. Roughly chop fresh cilantro and seed and chop the jalapeño pepper (wash your hands afterwards!). The chopping step is the longest part of the process.
• Mix with lime and salt. Then simply mix everything together in a bowl along with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some kosher salt. Feel free to adjust the ingredient ratios to your liking. To make this easy mango salsa recipe spicier, add in more pepper, and for a brighter flavor, add more lime juice. 
• Rest for 15 minutes. After you’ve made the mango salsa, let it rest on your counter for a good 15 minutes to let the flavors come together. You can skip if you just can’t wait, but it really does improve the flavor!

Video: How to cut a mango

The hardest part of this mango salsa recipe? Cutting the mango! This is the biggest barrier to recipes with mangos, for most people. To learn how to cut a mango, here’s a fun video Alex and I put together to show you how to do it. While there are many methods to cut a mango, this is the one we use most often:

1. Stand the mango on its side, with the stem facing away from you.
2. Using a large chef’s knife, cut around the pit on one side. Start about 1/4″ from the center, following the curve of the pit.
3. Repeat the same cut on the other side of the pit.
4. Use a paring knife to score the mango into squares, without cutting through the peel.
5. Use a large spoon to scoop between the fruit and the peel to remove the diced mango.

Varieties of mangos

Did you know that there are six main types of mangos you can find at the grocery here in the US? Each variety has a slightly different flavor and texture profile. From the left in the photo below, the mango varieties are: Tommy, Haden, Francis, and Honey. You can use any variety of mango in this mango salsa recipe: each one will bring a different flavor profile! Here are the flavor differences:

• Tommy: Mildly sweet
• Haden: Rich, with aromatic undertones
• Francis: Rich, spicy and sweet
• Honey: Sweet and creamy

Love mangos? Try all our Easy Mango Recipes, like Mango Salad, Mango Margaritas, Easy Mango Sorbet, and more.

Mango nutrition facts

Mangos are super nutritious foods! So basically, eating this mango salsa recipe is giving you all sorts of necessary vitamins and nutrients, at the same time as being delicious. Here’s what you’re getting when you eat a mango:

• Mangos are low calorie foods. One mango has 100 calories. 
• All mangoes are very high in vitamin C: one mango provides 100% of your daily vitamin C needs!
• Mangos are also a good source of vitamin A and fiber.

How to store mango salsa

Once you’ve made this mango salsa recipe, it’s best enjoyed right away. But it will keep in the fridge for a few days in a tightly sealed container. Just keep in mind that the ripe mango will soften the longer it sits in your fridge, so the texture of this salsa will change over time. But it still tastes delicious!

This mango salsa recipe is…

Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, and refined sugar-free.

Print

Looking for more salsa recipes?

Outside of this easy mango salsa recipe, here are a few more salsa recipes we love:

• Best Salsa Recipe
• Pico de Gallo Recipe
• Black Bean and Corn Salsa
• Salsa Fresca
• Tart Cherry Salsa
• Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)
• Heirloom Salsa Cruda
• Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa
• Heirloom Tomato Salsa Cruda
• Black Bean Salsa

Looking for more Mexican recipes?

Here are a few of our favorite Mexican inspired recipes:

• Incredible Vegan Nachos
• Loaded Mexican Pizza
• Grilled Mango Tacos with Dream Sauce
• Avocado Black Bean Vegetarian Quesadillas 
• Homemade Sopes with Black Beans

Last updated: June 2020