mango salsa

I have been on a major mango kick lately. With the juicy fruit coming into season in some places, the grocery store has been displaying huge bins of mangoes, and I just can’t resist grabbing a few every time I see them! Also, the weather is starting to warm up here in New York, and nothing screams summer louder than some tropical fruit.

So what have I been doing with my many mangoes to spare? Smoothies! Fruit salads! And, of course, salsas! I have a major fondness for mango salsa, not only because it incorporates one of my favorite fruits and reminds me of summertime, but also because my mom used to make it all the time when we were growing up. (I don’t think she’s stopped making it, but I’m home less often in the summer since Ohio is far.)

Anyway, when I think of mango salsa, I think of my mom dicing juicy ripe mangoes in the kitchen, and then all of us devouring it on the back patio at my childhood home. To elicit those memories, I’ve started making my own mango salsa. This is not the exact recipe my mom used to make, but it’s a pretty good one and very easy to put together. 15 minutes tops! But first, lest talk more about mangoes.

mangoes are great, but how do I cut them?

Not gonna lie, the first few times I tried to cut a mango I completely butchered it. What is that giant pit in the middle! It’s so weird! And once you peel a mango it gets all slippery and slides around my cutting board. I still don’t really know how my mom was able to dice a mango in like a minute tops and make absolutely no mess.

I think the answer partially comes from experience, but also from having the right technique for cutting mangoes.

There are different techniques for cutting mango, but for this recipe you’re going to want them diced up into little chunks. The first step is making sure your mango is the right level of ripeness. You want your mango to be slightly soft (or else it’s nearly impossible to cut through it), but you don’t want it to be too squishy or else your mango chunks will be mush.

Next, you will want to position your mango upright with the stem end facing up and the skinnier side facing toward you. With a sharp paring knife, make a cut slightly to the right of the stem, and slice the mango straight down, so the right half falls off the pit. Turn the mango 180 degrees and slice the other half of the fruit off of the pit.

Now, you should have two even mango halves, and you can discard the pit. On each half, cut a few lines vertically, about half an inch apart, and then cross over those lines horizontally, so you’ve cut a grid on the inside of the mango half.

From here, you can do a couple different things to remove the mango chunks from the skin. You can either flip the skin inside out and carefully use a knife to slice off the cubes of fruit. Or you can grab a large spoon and scoop out the chunks, leaving the skin behind. The second method will only work if you’re mango is at peak ripeness!

Again, this might take some practice, but after cutting mangoes and failing to cut mangoes many times, I’ve discovered this to be the best method for those nice little mango chunks.

a fresh ingredient list

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious mango salsa. And remember, the fresher the ingredients the better!

Mango As I mentioned earlier, make sure your mango is nice and ripe (but not too soft). That means if you’re making them the day of, feel around the grocery bin for a softened mango that is reddish-orange (not green). If you’re waiting a few days to make the salsa, you can place unripe mangoes in a paper bag at room temperature to speed up the ripening process

Jalapeño Make sure to seed your pepper before stirring it into the salsa, unless you want it super hot! You can dice up most of the pepper but leave a few rings on the top for presentation

Shallot You can sub half of a small red onion here if you’d like

Red bell pepper I love the coolness of the bell pepper to offset the hot jalapeño. It also looks so pretty add a pop of red to the salsa!

Cilantro Make sure it’s fresh and finely chopped!

Lime Please don’t use bottled lime juice if you can help it. A fresh lime will make your heart sing, I promise!

⟶ the recipe

mango salsa

ingredients

1 mango, peeled and diced

1 jalapeño, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

½ of a red bell pepper, chopped

Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

Salt and pepper

Prep time

15 minutes

Cook time

0 minutes

Total time

15 minutes

Yields 1 cup

instructions

Combine the mango, jalapeño, shallot, bell pepper, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Use a large spoon to stir the ingredients together.

Drizzle ingredients with the lime juice and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side or with tortilla chips.

⟶ recipe notes

You can double (or triple) the recipe if you’re serving a lot of people or want to make a big batch. The above recipe will serve about 4 people if using as a side or a dip

⟶ make it ahead and store it

You can chop and combine the mango, jalapeño, shallot, and pepper ahead of time. Just add the cilantro, lime, and seasoning when you’re ready to serve!
Cover and refrigerate salsa for up to 5 days after making