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









Put some on top of smoked salmon on toast (spread with a bit of cream cheese). Super, just delicious. Trying it with pork chops next. What a keeper.
Love this recipe! So good with fish tacos. Tonight I’m gonna to put it chicken tacos. I could almost eat it by the spoon, but with chips or tortillas, it’s perfect.
It’s mango season and I am desperate to try this recipe soon.
I hope you love it!
So good with halibut!
Really liked this recipe. The ratios were perfect.
So glad you loved it, Oscar!
Would this work with frozen mango?
Hi Eliza, I’d recommend using fresh mango for the best texture! Thawed frozen mango would be mushier.
I just made this mango salsa, and it turned out fantastic! The sweetness of the mango combined with the heat from the jalapeños is perfect. I served it with tortilla chips, and everyone loved it! Definitely a keeper!
So glad you loved it, Delia!
Family loves it. Never ever are there leftovers. Used it as a side for Italian sausages and buttered pasta. The salsa has a beautiful color. Didn’t use the cilantro. Not a fan of the taste.
I’m looking for a mango chutney recipe from a trusted recipe source. Could you develop one purty pleeeease?!
Hi there! Making this for grilled shrimp tacos. Could I make this ahead of time? Maybe leave out the onion till right before serving? How long will the mango be good cut up?
Hi Kristen, you can totally make this recipe ahead! You could prep it up to 2 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
How & for how long can you keep TZAZIKI sauce does it freeze well? Thank you for the recipe looks delish CANT wait.
Hi Linda, I keep it up to about 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing it, I think it’s best fresh.
I can’t wait to make this salsa
But here out of the 4 of us only 1 eats cilantro ?
Do you think parsley would be a good alternative or just leave it out completely.
Hi Catherina, no I wouldn’t do parsley, I would just skip the cilantro – it’ll still be great without it!
Dried cilantro for the taste would work. I personally add finely chopped fresh celery with leafy tops in lieu of cilantro.
I made the mango salsa to serve with some vegan hash cakes. The salsa plus your Avocado Dressing (I had some of your Avocado Dressing leftover from your Asparagus Salad) were the perfect complements for my dinner!
Oh yum!
I made the mango salsa tonight and served atop Jamaican jerk rubbed salmon. It was delicious! Also great by itself with blue corn chips 🙂
oh yum, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Bright and delicious!
This salsa was delicious! The directions for how to cut a mango were really helpful as I had never done that before. I’d absolutely make this again all summer long!
Hi Carrie! I’m so glad you loved it!
Our local grocers had an exceptional deal on mangoes this month due to overstock, so this recipe challenge was well-timed and it turned out beautifully. Thanks for the inspiration!
The yellow champagne mangos are still in season and what a great way to use them! I bulked my salsa up with roasted red pepper and black beans. Made for a good beach dip on Memorial Day! I particularly liked the addition of lime zest with the juice. Tasty and will make again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Super easy and delicious! Works well with virtually everything – tacos, poke bowls, burgers, grilled or roasted veggies, etc.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Ok this one was amazing!!
Instead of chips, we paired the mango salsa with grilled red snapper and it was delicious!
Also – I didn’t get the chance to make the March Citrus Salad so we had a Memorial Day feast with both of them!
Absolutely loved it – for salsa we added more garlic and jalapeño because we like it spicy
Oh yum! I’m so glad you enjoyed both recipes!