Easy Mango Salsa

Change up your salsa game with this sweet and spicy mango salsa recipe! Scoop it up with tortilla chips, or top it onto tacos, burritos, and more.

With Cinco de Mayo coming up tomorrow, I thought I’d pop in to share this mango salsa. It’s one of my favorite recipes to make throughout the spring and summer because it’s refreshing, fun, and so darn simple. Follow the recipe once or twice, and you’ll be able to leave the measuring cups in the drawer and just eyeball the ingredients. 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…

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Mango Margarita

This frozen mango margarita recipe is my ideal warm weather drink. It's tangy, frosty, sweet, and refreshing. Pass the chips and salsa, please!

cocktail

It’s finally warming up in Chicago, so we’re cooling off with this mango margarita! To me, it’s the perfect warm weather drink – frosty, refreshing, and blissfully easy to make. Just toss 5 ingredients into the blender, puree until smooth, and enjoy! Yep, making this frozen mango margarita recipe is as simple as that. Another great thing about this recipe? It’s all about the mango. Instead of using mango juice or added sweeteners, I blend up frozen mango to create its thick texture and sweet, tangy flavor. Once you try it, you’ll never make a mango margarita any other way. It’s smooth,…

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How to Cut a Mango

Learn how to cut a mango with this step-by-step guide! Then, enjoy the sweet, juicy fruit as a snack, or add it to your favorite mango recipes.

cooking basics

Welcome to How to Cut a Mango 101! Here on Love & Lemons, we have recipes for mango salsa, mango tacos, mango margaritas, and even mango sushi. Suffice it to say, a simple guide on how to cut a mango is way overdue. Cutting a mango isn’t difficult, but if you’re attempting it for the first time, it can be perplexing. Should you peel it first? What shape should the pieces be? And what on earth should you do about that pit? If you’re asking these questions, you’re in the right place! Below, you’ll find my method for how to…

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Refried Beans

Learn how to make refried beans from scratch! They're thick, creamy, and bright - a delicious side dish or addition to tacos, burritos, and more.

vegetarian / side dishes

The first time I tried this refried beans recipe, I thought to myself, “What took me so long?!” After years of cooking with canned refried beans, I’d finally learned how to make refried beans from scratch. Let me tell you, I’m never looking back. These homemade refried beans are creamier, brighter, and more complex than any you’d find in a can. I love serving them as a side dish or a dip with tortilla chips, but they’re delicious in tacos, taquitos, burritos, quesadillas, and enchiladas, too. Start with canned pinto beans, and they’ll be ready in minutes. Start with dried…

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Pinto Beans

Once you learn how to cook pinto beans from scratch, the canned kind will never taste the same. Creamy and flavorful, they're a delicious side dish.

side dishes / cooking basics

“I’m never buying pinto beans in a can again!” I told Jack last week, as I savored spoonful after spoonful of pinto beans straight from a pot on the stove. Maybe I was exaggerating (canned beans are darn convenient, after all), but I’ll certainly reach for them less often than I used to. If the last year has taught me anything, it’s that cooking pinto beans from scratch will yield creamier, more flavorful beans every time. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m arriving late to the dried beans party. A few years back, I did try cooking them, but without…

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25 Taco Toppings for Your Next Taco Bar

Looking for a fun, flavorful dinner idea? Try a taco bar! Warm a stack of tortillas, and let everyone fill them with their favorite taco toppings.

dinner / snacks & dips

On nights when I have a bunch of odds and ends in the fridge – minced cilantro, sliced chiles, a container of cooked black beans – I warm a stack of tortillas and set out a taco bar for dinner. It’s a long way from traditional Mexican food, of course, but Jack and I still have fun piling our tacos with whatever toppings sound best. I love this kind of DIY dinner on weeknights. For one, it’s way easier to drum up taco toppings than it is to make one composed main dish, especially if you start with fixings that…

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Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

If you love easy recipes that pack a huge punch of flavor, these roasted cauliflower tacos are for you. They're healthy, delicious, and simple to make.

vegetarian / dinner

When I opened Julia Turshen’s new cookbook Simply Julia, I landed on a photo of these roasted cauliflower tacos. My first thought? “I want to eat that.” After trying them, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll want to eat these cauliflower tacos too. They’re jam-packed with flavor from nutty roasted cauliflower, aromatic spices, and a zingy avocado sauce, and they’re also super easy to make. Roast the veggies, whizz up the sauce, stuff it all into tortillas, and voila! Dinner is served. If you’re looking for more recipes that combine easy prep with big flavor, I highly recommend you…

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Avocado Sauce

This bright and creamy avocado sauce is delicious on tacos, quesadillas, veggie burgers, and more! With just 5 ingredients, it's a breeze to make.

dressings & sauces

This avocado sauce is the perfect topping for these roasted cauliflower tacos. Or any tacos, for that matter. It’s smooth, rich, and creamy, with a punch of bright flavor from lime. You only need 5 ingredients to make it, and it comes together in less than 5 minutes. I think it might be a new taco night staple in our house! The recipe comes from Julia Turshen’s new cookbook Simply Julia, which is packed with 110 recipes for healthy comfort food. Like this avocado sauce recipe (and these cauliflower tacos), each one is simple to make, but filled with flavor. They’re…

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What is Nutritional Yeast?

If you're wondering, "What is nutritional yeast?", you're in the right place! Read on to learn about what this tasty umami ingredient is and how to use it.

One of the most common questions readers ask me is, “What is nutritional yeast?”. I get it! At one time, this funky, flaky yellow powder seemed like a totally out-there ingredient to me. But today, it has a permanent place in my pantry. I use it for making “cheesy” vegan sauces and dips, punching up popcorn, and adding savory flavor to soups, scrambles, and more. Because so many of you have asked about nutritional yeast, I thought it deserved a post of its own. Below, you’ll find my Nutritional Yeast 101, complete with info on what nutritional yeast actually is,…

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Roasted Asparagus

This oven roasted asparagus recipe is such an easy and delicious spring side dish. The vibrant, crisp-tender spears bake in under 15 minutes!

spring / side dishes

Have you made roasted asparagus yet this spring? I’ve been making it left and right lately, serving it as a side dish multiple times a week. After a winter filled with root veggies and sweet potatoes, I can’t get enough of the juicy, tender spears, lightly crisp and browned from the oven. One of the best things about this roasted asparagus recipe, and one of the reasons I make it so often, is that it’s just so easy. Asparagus is a breeze to prep, and it bakes in under 15 minutes. If you want to keep things really simple, season…

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Avocado Dressing

This avocado dressing recipe is bright, creamy, and super easy to make! Toss it with a salad, drizzle it over roasted veggies, or add it to a grain bowl.

dressings & sauces

I could eat this creamy, dreamy, dairy-free avocado dressing on just about anything. A salad? Of course! Roasted veggies? Yes, please. A grain bowl? I’m hungry already. This avocado dressing is rich, smooth, and bright, with a subtle complexity from fresh dill. It’s made with a few basic ingredients, and it whizzes up in minutes. The next time you have a ripe avocado on hand, be sure to try it. You’re going to love this recipe! Avocado Dressing Recipe Ingredients Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe: Avocado, of course! I often make creamy salad dressings with nuts or…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.