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This mango salsa recipe gives you chunky, impossible-to-stop-dipping magic in less than 15 minutes, and you barely need anything more than a cutting board. (Ok, a knife might help). Probably the fastest salsa you can get out on the table for your ravenous crew.
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I'm gonna level with you about this recipe. My older daughter had a boyfriend during the pandemic. We called him "Beef" (like, BF/boyfriend/Beef). Follow along, OK? Anyway, his mom came over one night and brought some mango salsa. This recipe is very much based on it, because we all seriously loved it, honestly a lot more than we loved Beef, who kinda turned out to be a dud (sorry).
Packing just a very-tolerable flicker of jalapeño heat, each bite rocks the perfect balance of sweet, citrusy, and with generous chunks of avocado and garlic. 100% your vegan taquitos that are stuffed with tofu chorizo, or whatever else you might want to serve this with, will be super grateful you spent 5-10 minutes throwing them together.
Love this mango salsa recipe!! It's so easy & quick to make. Lots of great flavor & the texture with the diced avocado gently mixed in really ties it all together!!
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🥰Why you'll adore this avocado mango salsa
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Mexican recipes, this one's not at all about animal-based ingredients or cholesterol. This is that rare unicorn salsa that deserves a spot on your list of favey gluten-free vegan recipes.
🥒 Quick as Heck: Chop, mix, chill. That's it. You'll be done before your ICP playlist hits track 2 (the song where they don't know how magnets work).
🌞 Summer Ready: No cooking, no sweating. This is legit something you can whip up poolside or when you are out camping.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this salsa has been mixed, munched, and loved by a massive number of recipe testers.
💣 Learn the bomb vegan Mexican recipes
This guide to my most popular vegan Mexican recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🥭Mango salsa ingredients
Tomatoes
Roma tomatoes are ideal; they're firm, flavorful, and don't release too much liquid. If using extra-juicy tomatoes, scoop out and discard some of their seeds and drain the tomatoes in a wire mesh strainer before dicing to avoid a watery salsa.
Mango
Mango is the star in this recipe. Ataulfo (AKA champagne) mangoes are soft, aromatic, and low-fiber, which means no stringy bits between your teeth. Any mango will work, but ataulfoes are the winner here.
Stuck with greenish, unripe mangoes? Don't use them in this, but DO use them to make amba sauce, Indian pickled mango, or asinan buah, a pickled mango salad from Indonesia that also rocks!
Avocado
Use a ripe but firm avocado so it holds its shape in the bowl. Skip those giant Florida avocados (also sometimes called Choquette), they're watery, a little waxy, and pretty bland compared to Haas, which have that rich, buttery texture you're after. If your avocado is too soft, it'll turn your salsa into guac real fast.
Jalapeño
Jalapeño brings the heat, but not in a "sweat-mustache" kinda way, or anything. Want to make your salsa more mellow? Scoop out those seeds and the pale membrane (that's where a lot of the spicy live). Or you can leave the seeds in or swap in a serrano for more of a bite. Whatever you do, treat your pepper like the seasoning it is-start small, then taste and build up to the level you are into.
Lime Juice
Lime juice is doing triple duty here: brightening the whole bowl, pulling sweetness into check, and keeping your avocado from looking like it partied too hard. Always squeeze it fresh, as bottled lime juice is silly and dumb, I don't like it, and it tastes like a dusty old robot warehouse. That's a hard pass for me.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Salsa Verde
This smoky tomatillo salsa verde leans into charred depth with blistered tomatillos, garlic, onion, and jalapeño, all pan-roasted before blending. Unlike the raw brightness of mango salsa, my salsa verde recipe delivers a toasty tang that is the straight-up winner to use on chilaquiles verdes.
Habanero Salsa
Built on fire-roasted tomatoes, onions, and both jalapeño and habanero chiles, my insanely popular habanero salsa finds a great balance of heat while keeping a smoky, fruity body (wait, did I just describe me and my dad-bod?)
Salsa Roja
Salsa Roja brings that traditional taquería heat with charred tomatoes, garlic, and toasted chiles like guajillo and árbol. It's smokier and a whole lot smoother than this chunky mango stuff.
Salsa Macha
This salsa macha recipe is a crunchy, nutty infusion of toasted garlic, peanuts, sesame, and dried chiles. It's got a totally different vibe from the juicy texture of mango salsa. Almost like a Mexican version of chili crisp!
📖 How to make mango salsa
Yes, these Jalapeño salsa pin-up photos are nice, but we all know salsa waits for no one. Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card if you're ready to get chopping.
Step One
In Drain In The Membrane:
If your tomatoes are juicy, pop them in a wire mesh strainer and let them drain for 10 minutes.
Step Two
One Small Prep for Man:
In a medium mixing bowl, put the diced tomatoes, mango, red onion, garlic, avocado, and jalapeño together.
Step Three
Herb Your Enthusiasm:
Add the chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice.
Step Four
The Fault in Our Stirs:
Sprinkle in the salt and gently mix it to avoid smashing the avocado.
Step Five
Cool Runnings:
Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately. Keeps alright for up to 2 days in the fridge, but it's way better consumed within a few hours of being mixed for sure, as the avocados will brown, and the tomatoes will continue to excrete liquid, making the salsa a little watery as it sits
💡Serving Ideas
Spoon this mango salsa over your vegan tamales for a wake-up call, or top your vegan tostadas or vegan fajitas with the stuff.
Or for something low-effort on your next snack board, rock it out with creamy vegan nacho cheese and some vegan sour cream, and have to sneak out to the garage to grab another bag of chips in record time.
👉Top tips
- Ripe But Firm Mangoes: Use ripe but still-firm mangoes to get clean dice and avoid a mushy, mucky salsa. If at all possible, use champaign mangoes, and ideally not those sometimes-stringy Alphonso mangos.
- Even Dicing Matters: Dice ingredients evenly and kinda small so you get lots of little bits of everything in most bites.
- Gentle Mixing Game: Mix very gently to preserve avocado texture. Think fold, more than "Hulk smash".
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you actually can get away with that! Just thaw and drain it dry in a wire mesh strainer first. It might be a bit softer, but still super-tasty.
Totally. Black beans or grilled corn make great additions for a more filling side dish or taco filler. If you have leftover grilled corn from making vegan elotes, this is a great place to sneak it in!
It's soooo much better consumed within a few hours of being prepped. But if you have to save leftovers, store mango salsa in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Stir gently before serving to redistribute any juices and revive the texture.
Don't freeze or can this one.
✌️You'll love these salsa recipes too:
Master the art of vegan Mexican cooking in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Mango Salsa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups ripe tomatoes diced
- 1 cup mango diced (atluflo, AKA champagne mangoes are best)
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 medium ripe avocado diced
- ⅓ cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 1 jalapeño seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- If your tomatoes are very watery, drain them for 10 minutes in a wire mesh strainer.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, mango, red onion, garlic, avocado, and jalapeño.
- Add the chopped cilantro and lime juice.
- Sprinkle in the salt and mix very gently to avoid mashing the avocado.
- Refrigerate and store for up to 2 days if not using immediately.
Notes
Use ripe but still-firm mangoes to keep your salsa vibrant and chunky, not gloopy. Champagne mangoes work best for clean, silky dice. 🔪 Slice Slice Baby:
Dice everything evenly so each scoop hits you with sweet, savory, creamy, and spicy all at once. 🌀 Foldy McFoldface:
Mix with a light hand to keep the avocado from becoming mush. Think a quick stir, not smashing guac with the force of 1,000 ponies.
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Patty says
Love this mango salsa recipe!! It's so easy & quick to make. Lots of great flavor & the texture with the diced avocado gently mixed in really ties it all together!!