Mango Salad Recipe: How to Make a Mango Salad

Mango salad is a style of fruit salad that pairs cut mango with various secondary ingredients—typically, vegetables, like onion, cucumber, and peppers, and savory fruits like avocados. The earthy sweetness of the mango works to balance the more acidic or sharp salad ingredients, like raw onion or citrus.

The salad dressing for mango salad can be as simple as fresh citrus juice and olive oil or incorporate more complex flavors—like soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, or gochujang—into a classic vinaigrette recipe.

Serve this summer salad as a gluten-free appetizer or side dish at your next BBQ, or use it as a condiment with grilled seafood and fresh flatbreads. Here are some of the most common mango salads found throughout global cuisine:

1. 1. Mango kachumber: Indian-style mango salad, kachumber, can be a condiment and a side dish. It typically features ripe or unripe mango with fresh green chili peppers, like Thai bird’s eye chili, sliced red onion, and fresh lime juice. Similar to chutneys and yogurt relishes like cucumber raita, kachumber is a common sight at any meal of the day.
2. 2. Mango salsa: Like Indian kachumber, Mexican-style mango salsa pairs the tropical fruit with jalapeño or serrano peppers, red bell pepper, white onion, and fresh cilantro—a perfectly balanced and bright accompaniment for fish and seafood.
3. 3. Thai mango salad: In Southeast Asian cuisine, green mango often stands in for green papaya in som tam, a combination of shredded unripe fruit, long beans, and cherry tomatoes seasoned with fish sauce, shrimp paste, fresh lime juice, and palm sugar. Try swapping unripe mango for the papaya in this papaya salad recipe.
4. 4. Tropical fruit salad: While you can add mango to any fruit salad, lean into its tropical roots: Combine the tropical fruit with diced dragonfruit, pineapple, and the juice and seeds of ripe passion fruit.

When preparing mango salad, think about the final presentation: Is it meant to complement a specific dish, play the field at a potluck, or stand on its own? Here are a few more things to consider:

1. 1. Choose ripe, firm mangos. Mangos should be ripe and aromatic, but not so ripe that they’re too soft to dice or fall apart when mixed with other ingredients. To test for ripeness, feel the skin—it should be soft but unwrinkled and give just a little when pressed with a finger. Once you’ve chosen the perfect fruit, here’s how to peel a mango.
2. 2. Or, use an unripe mango. Consider the unripe mango if you prefer sour flavor profiles over sweet ones. Unripe mangos lend a uniquely juicy crunch to salads when cubed or shredded, making mango salad a great way to use up a fruit that you’ve cut into and found not ripe enough to enjoy on its own.
3. 3. Incorporate heat. Because mango is naturally sweet and refreshing, consider it an opportunity to use more spice than usual. Combine fresh mango with chamoy sauce for a popular Mexican street food snack, or incorporate finely diced fresh chili pepper into your fruit salad. Alternatively, simply add a pinch of your favorite red pepper flakes or chili powder.