Mango season hits in early summer, so typically June and July is the best time to buy mangos. While they’re yummy on their own, I LOVE sweet salsas, and this spicy-sweet mango salsa recipe is my very favorite. The juicy diced mangos are front and center, of course. Then I add just a little jalapeño and fresh lime juice. You can add flavor boosters (like hot sauce or brown sugar) or simply dig in.
I created this sweet mango salsa on a super hot summer day. I had jalapenos from my neighbor, fresh cilantro and mangos, and was making chicken tacos for dinner. At first I made a simpler version of it with a little bit of taco seasoning I was using for the tacos, but over time I tinkered with it and landed on this super fresh, vibrant mango salsa recipe.
Key Ingredients
- Fresh mango: The mango must be fresh! Frozen mango won’t work here, unfortunately.
- Red onion: Sharp red onion takes sweet mango into savory territory. If it’s too strong for you, just use less and dice it up as finely as you can.
- Cilantro: If you hate it, leave it out or swap in parsley.
- Jalapeño: Remove the seeds to make the spice milder, or leave them for more heat. If you’re serving this to kids, it’s OK to skip the jalapeño entirely, or make a spicy batch for the grown ups and a mild batch for the kids.
- Lime: Lime keeps the mango color bright and brings out the fruit’s natural acidity.
Variations + Add Ins
- Make it even fresher and juicier by adding some diced fresh pineapple.
- Make it spicier by stirring in a little hot sauce.
- Make it sweeter with a small pinch or two of brown sugar.
- Add more color and crunch with some diced red bell pepper
- Make it creamier by adding diced avocado. I especially love to do this when I serve it with fish or fish tacos.
What To Serve With Mango Salsa
Fresh and spicy, juicy and tart, a little sweet, a little salty, mango salsa is truly a superhero condiment. It’ll dress up even the most simple meals and make them special. Here are a few ways I like to serve it:
- With fresh fish! We love this with blackened salmon, but it also goes nicely with simply grilled white fish, halibut in particular. Try it on tilapia tacos, too.
- Chicken. Especially fresh off the grill! It’s really delicious with cilantro-lime chicken.
- On burrito bowls
- With tortilla chips! Serve mango salsa with chips just as you would a regular salsa, for an out-of-the ordinary chips-and-salsa experience.
Make It Ahead + Store
For best flavor, you’ll need to make the salsa 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld, so yes, you can definitely make it ahead of time. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but don’t try to freeze this sunny, fresh mango salsa! It just won’t do well. Mango salsa is all about freshness and vibrancy, the texture should be just-so, and the freezer will destroy it.
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