It’s spiked with fresh ginger, orange juice, and lime juice for a bright, tropical flavor
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Yield: 2 cups
This salsa is an immediate flavor trip to the tropics and it’s so easy to make. I started making a version of it years ago when I was in Kauai and there were loads of ripe tropical fruits fresh for the picking where I was staying. I’ve been tinkering with the recipe ever since. You can use any medium ripe mango for this recipe, as long as it yields 1.5 to two cups of finely diced fruit.
The Key To This Salsa Recipe
Speaking of finely diced fruit, chopping the mango into very small pieces brings all the flavors together and makes dunking and topping a tortilla chip with it that much easier. Less finely diced, more pico-de-gallo-type mango salsas typically aren’t as well-rounded in flavor, and they’re also hard to get to your mouth from the salsa bowl without a little salsa falling on the table or, worse, in your lap!
How To Use Mango Salsa
This salsa is super flavorful with a good amount of lime plus orange zest and fresh grated ginger. It’s delicious on tacos, especially fish tacos, with a snacky spread, or as a sweet and spicy garnish for grilled meats and seafoods. It’s also really tasty on nachos (did someone say breakfast nachos?!) and as a topper for braised or refried beans. The goal is a good balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty, so adjust the flavor accordingly after tasting.
Salsa Swaps
Be sure to pick a nice ripe mango and tomato for this. You can always substitute canned tomato or frozen or canned mango—see below—if one or both isn’t readily available. And, although we like this summery salsa with habanero best, if that’s too hot to trot, you can use a portion of a less spicy chili pepper like a jalapeño or serrano.
Making the Most of Your Mango
Chopping mangoes is fun and easy, but also a little slippery, so be careful. And, don’t forget to suck on the mango stone! There’s often plenty of flavorful flesh close to the stone that you can’t fully slice off but that you can (and should!) still enjoy.
Tips for Making Mango Salsa
- How to cut a mango — Here are detailed instructions on selecting and cubing fresh mango. To select ripe mangos, look for heavy, slightly fragrant fruit that gives somewhat when you press on it.
- Ripening a mango — If your mango is unripe, store it at room temperature until it softens and ripens. To speed things up, wrap it up in a paper bag. This can take up to 1 week.
- For a milder salsa — If you want a less spicy salsa, simply use a quartered or halved jalapeño or serrano.
«This salsa was so refreshing with mango as the primary ingredient. The ripe mango combined well with the citrus elements, the heat level was perfect, and I loved the addition of ginger! I let the salsa sit in the refrig for about 30 minutes before serving to meld the flavors and served it with tortilla chips.» —Diana Andrews
A Note From Our Recipe Tester
Ingredients
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1 medium (ripe) mango
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1 medium tomato, finely diced
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2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
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1/4 medium habanero, seeded and minced, more to taste
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1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
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1/4 teaspoon fine salt, more to taste
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1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar, more to taste
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Freshly grated zest of 1 lime, about 2 teaspoons
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1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
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Freshly grated zest of 1/2 orange, about 2 teaspoons
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1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
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1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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To prepare the mango, hold it upright and with your knife slice down and around the stone, curving around the stone as you do so on each side.
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Score both of these sliced off sections lengthwise and crosswise until your knife reaches the peel, then scoop out the cubed mango.
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Slice the peel off from around the stone and cut off the remaining mango.
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Finely dice all of the cubed mango. You should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups.
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Place the mango, tomato, scallions, habanero, ginger, salt, sugar, lime zest and juice, orange zest and juice, and cilantro into a medium bowl and stir well to combine.
Taste and adjust the habanero, salt, and sugar to your liking. Enjoy with tortilla chips, on tacos, etc.
How To Store Mango Salsa
Tightly cover and refrigerate this salsa for up to 3 days.
Feeling Adventurous? Try This:
These easy recipe variations will help you make this dish your own.
- For a blended salsa — Transfer the salsa (minus the cilantro) to a food processor or blender and puree it in short bursts 15 to 20 times, until the salsa is fairly pureed but still slightly chunky. Stir in the cilantro.
- Make any tropical fruit salsa — Do you have other ripe tropical fruits on hand? If so, consider adding up to 1/2 cup finely diced to the salsa. Papaya, kiwi, and pineapple are great. Simply adjust the seasoning and citrus to accommodate.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 4 to 6 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 62 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 0g | 1% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 92mg | 4% |
| Total Carbohydrate 15g | 6% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 8% |
| Total Sugars 12g | |
| Protein 1g | |
| Vitamin C 51mg | 255% |
| Calcium 21mg | 2% |
| Iron 0mg | 2% |
| Potassium 259mg | 6% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
