This fresh mango salsa recipe is sweet, spicy, and easy to make with 8 ingredients! Scoop it up with tortilla chips or top it onto tacos and more.
This mango salsa recipe is one of my favorite appetizers to make throughout the spring and summer. It’s refreshing, fun, and so darn simple, made with fresh ingredients like sweet, juicy mango, red bell pepper, crisp red onion, cilantro, and lime. Ready in 10 minutes, it’s a quick and easy dip to serve with tortilla chips at potlucks and parties. I also love it on tacos, burritos, and other Mexican dishes!
After you follow this mango salsa recipe once or twice, you’ll be able to leave the measuring cups in the drawer and just eyeball the ingredients. And after that, you can change it up in all sorts of ways. Mix in avocado, or add some black beans. You could even toss in pickled jalapeños! Because this is such an easy, flexible recipe, it lends itself well to variations, and it never disappoints. Get your margarita (or mango margarita) ready—let’s make mango salsa!
Mango Salsa Ingredients
You just need 8 ingredients to make this sweet and spicy salsa recipe:
- Mangos – Any ripe mango will work here, but Ataulfo or Champagne mangos (pictured above) are my first pick for this recipe. They usually pop up in grocery stores in the spring. I prefer them to red mangos because they have a softer, juicier texture and sweeter flavor.
- Red bell pepper – For color and crunch.
- Red onion and garlic – For sharp, savory flavor.
- Cilantro – It flecks the salsa with green and adds fresh flavor.
- Fresh lime juice and zest – For a bright, tangy kick.
- Jalapeño – For heat.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Substitutions and Variations
This mango salsa recipe is super flexible! Feel free to change it up to suit your tastes or use what you have on hand. Here are a few of my favorite variations:
- Add avocado. Stir in 1/2-1 diced avocado to make a richer, creamier salsa.
- Pickle something. For an extra-bright and tangy salsa, replace the raw jalapeños with pickled jalapeños. Pickled red onions would be great here too!
- Bulk it up. Turn this mango salsa into a heartier dip by adding 1/2 cup cooked black beans.
- Skip the cilantro. Not a fan? Use chopped fresh parsley or mint leaves instead.
- Make it milder. Omit the jalapeño if you’re sensitive to spice, or remove its seeds and membranes before adding it to the salsa.
Let me know what variations you try!
How to Make Mango Salsa
The first step in this mango salsa recipe is prepping the mango. Here’s my favorite method for how to cut a mango:
- Slice the sides off the mango. Place the fruit on a cutting board with one of the long, skinny edges facing down. Make two cuts slightly to the left and right of the center of the mango to remove the flesh from the pit.
- Score the mango flesh. Place the mango halves skin-side down. Score the flesh in a grid pattern, stopping before you cut through the skin.
- Remove the fruit from the skin. Slice horizontally between the scored flesh and the skin. The fruit will come away from the flesh in small squares.
See step-by-step photos in my guide to how to cut a mango!
Next, chop the remaining ingredients—the red pepper, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño. Grate the garlic and zest and juice the lime.
Finally, mix everything together and season to taste. So easy!
Uses for Mango Salsa
This mango salsa recipe is a perfect appetizer. I love it on its own with tortilla chips, and it’s a great way to jazz up guacamole, too. Scoop some onto your next bowl of guac for a dressed up party dip!
But your options for serving it don’t end there. Here are a few more of my favorite ways to use it:
- On tacos. Spoon it over these vegan tacos, black bean tacos, or fish tacos, if you’re not vegetarian.
- Over a salad. Add a scoop to your next taco salad.
- On nachos. Try them on my favorite nachos recipe.
- In burrito bowls. Start with a base of cilantro lime rice and creamy pinto beans. Then, load up your bowl with fajita veggies, guacamole, and a scoop of mango salsa. Add a drizzle of chipotle sauce or cilantro lime dressing to take it all over the top!
How do you like to serve mango salsa? Let me know in the comments!
How to Store
This mango salsa recipe is best fresh, but if you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The mango will get softer and juicier as it sits.
More Homemade Salsa Recipes
If you love this mango salsa recipe, try one of these homemade salsas next:
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 medium ripe mangos, peeled and diced
- ½ red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- ½ jalapeño pepper, stemmed and minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
Made mango salsa & put on oysters in the shell, yum yum
yum!