Mango pico de gallo is a sweet, fresh, and juicy salsa that pairs perfectly with all your favorite Mexican recipes. Use it in tacos, with beans, over rice, or with tortilla chips.
There's nothing this salsa can't do!
Table of Contents
📖 About
This salsa is quick to make, full of vibrant flavors, and works well with almost every dish. You'll want to have this one on hand to freshen up all your lunches and dinners.
What is mango pico de gallo?
You may hear pico de gallo go by other names like salsa fresca, salsa cruda, or salsa bandera. They all describe the same type of recipe — chopped tomatoes, onion, spicy green chiles, lime, and cilantro.
This mango pico de gallo is just like the usual recipes, but with sweet and juicy chunks of golden fruit added in. It's super simple, versatile, and adds a fun little twist to your typical pico de gallo recipe.
History
Tracing the beginnings of salsa is not an exact science, but we do know that it was a staple amongst the Mayans and Aztecs.
Some form of crushed tomatoes, chiles, and vegetables were the most common choices to garnish foods like meat and seafood.
Although salsa was popular amongst the Aztecs, it wasn't internationally accepted until Spaniards colonized Mexico and this style of sauce grew in popularity.
But, where did the term "pico de gallo" come from?
Pico de gallo is a witty name given to this dish that translates to "rooster beak" in English. People theorize that this name was chosen because of the way it used to be eaten — with the index finger and the thumb.
The shape of the fingers resembled a beak, and the name eventually caught on. Whatever theory you believe to be true, this one definitely has a little humor to it!
Serving
Once you cut up the ingredients, this mango pico de gallo is ready to be served ASAP. You can eat it with freshly made tortilla chips, or try it with dishes like:
You'll be snacking on this completely vegan and gluten-free salsa in no time. Do you have a favorite food to serve mango salsa with? Let us know in the comments!
🍲 Key ingredients
For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.
Mangoes
Taste: with juicy, sweet, floral, and slightly tart flavors, mangoes steal the show in this pico de gallo recipe. We use Haden mangoes (or mango petacón) because they are readily available and cheap where we live, but any mango will do the trick! Another one of our favorites is Ataulfo.
Health: mangoes are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, but the one we're most fond of is beta-carotene. This compound is responsible for the yellow-orange color, and it's needed for our bodies to make vitamin A, which supports eye health.
Tomatoes
Taste: an essential for any pico de gallo recipe is ripe, fresh, and flavorful tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are always our first choice when it comes to salsas since they contain a low water content. If you can't find Romas, use whatever variety is available to you (your salsa will just be runnier).
Health: have you heard of lycopene before? If not, you'll be interested to know tomatoes are full of it! This phytochemical isn't just responsible for making tomatoes red, it's actually thought to reduce heart disease risk factors.
Spicy green chiles
Taste: to balance out the sweetness of mango, you need a fresh and spicy element from chiles. Depending on your heat tolerance, you can use jalapeño peppers, serrano peppers, or even habaneros. We opted for serranos because we wanted a spicy salsa, but not quite as hot as mango habanero salsa.
Health: these chiles are full of two important antioxidants — vitamin A and C! Antioxidants play a crucial role in reducing free radicals, which are correlated with increased risk of disease. Time to up the chiles in your diet!
Red onion
Taste: these deep reddish-purple onions are the perfect choice for salsa fresca because they carry a mildly spicy flavor and provide a crisp texture. Plus, they make this dish look extra-vibrant amongst the green, red, and gold colors.
Health: onions aren't just a pretty face — they contain a whole host of health benefits. Along with many different antioxidants, onions have been shown to help control blood sugar in people with diabetes.
🔪 Instructions
If you have questions about this mango pico de gallo recipe, don't forget to check out our FAQ section at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: quarter the tomatoes and remove the inner seed portion. Dice what's left of the tomatoes and add them to a mixing bowl. Peel and cube the mangoes into small pieces, and add them to the same bowl.
Step 2: finely dice the red onion and mince the cilantro. Cut the serrano chiles in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and finely mince them (leave the seeds in for an extra-spicy salsa). Add these to the mixing bowl with the tomatoes and mangoes.
Step 3: squeeze in the lime juice and add a pinch of sea salt. Mix the salsa fresca, then taste and adjust seasonings to your preferences. Add chiles for more spice, lime for more tang, or cilantro for a more herbaceous flavor.
Step 4: serve this mango pico de gallo alongside tacos or with homemade tortilla chips for a tasty snack or appetizer. Happy eating!
🌡️ Storage
This fresh mango salsa is so quick to make! Just make sure you follow these steps to make sure it lasts longer.
Fridge
Store your pico de gallo in a glass container or jar so no other flavors seep into the salsa. The recipe will keep in your fridge for up to 1 week.
💭 Tips & variations
We'd like to share some tips and variations we learned while experimenting with this mango pico de gallo recipe:
- Use ripe mangoes. This dish is 10x better when you use ripe mangoes. The more sweet and juicy flavors, the better.
- De-seed the tomatoes. Although not entirely necessary, this salsa is less watery and tastes better without the tomato seeds mixed in.
- Add more spice. If your mangoes are extra sweet, try adding in another serrano or haberno if you're feeling risky!
- Make your own tortilla chips. There's nothing better than warm tortilla chips to go alongside a salsa fresca. Try your hand at making a batch.
🍴 Tasting notes
We love making mango pico de gallo to serve with all our favorite meals, and we know you will too. It's:
- Fresh
- Sweet
- Juicy
- Vibrant
- Summery
If you try this fresh mango salsa recipe, please rate it and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
📋 Recipe
Mango Pico de Gallo
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 large Roma tomatoes ($0.36)
- 1 ½ large mangoes* ($0.41)
- ½ red onion ($0.24)
- 2 serrano chiles ($0.04)
- 3 tablespoon minced cilantro ($0.10)
- 3 tablespoon lime juice ($0.27)
- Sea salt to taste ($0.01)
Instructions
- First, quarter the tomatoes and remove the inner seed portion. Dice what's left of the tomatoes and add them to a mixing bowl. Peel and cube the mangoes into small pieces, and add them to the same bowl.
- Next, finely dice the red onion and mince the cilantro. Cut the serrano chiles in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and finely mince them (leave the seeds in for an extra-spicy salsa). Add these to the mixing bowl with the tomatoes and mangoes.
- Squeeze in the lime juice and add a pinch of sea salt. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasonings to your preferences. Add chiles for more spice, lime for more tang, or cilantro for a more herbaceous flavor.
- Serve this mango pico de gallo alongside tacos or with homemade tortilla chips for a tasty snack or appetizer. Happy eating!
Video
Notes
- We used 1 ½ Haden mangoes, but use more if you're using a smaller variety like Ataulfo.
- Optional ingredients are not reflected in the price or calories of our recipes.
- We calculate nutritional information for our recipes with Cronometer.
- Recipe cost calculations are based on ingredients local to us and may vary from recipe-to-recipe.
- All prices are in USD.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more tasty salsa recipes, check out our:
- Mango habanero salsa for an extra spicy sauce with notes of sweetness that will give any dish an instant makeover.
- Salsa fresca if you want a fresh salsa that's similar to this one, just without the added fruit.
- Salsa taquera to try a fiery, but flavorful salsa that's our go-to for any taco recipe.
- Salsa verde for a tomatillo-based salsa that is a Mexican staple you must know how to make!
💬 FAQ
This mango pico de gallo recipe is not overly spicy, especially when using very ripe mangoes. We personally rate it about a 2/10, although this is very subjective.
Yes, you can make this mango salsa ahead of time. It lasts in the fridge for up to one week.
We don't recommend freezing mango pico de gallo as the texture and flavors change quite a bit in the freezer. If you do freeze it, try straining the salsa once it's thawed to get rid of excess liquid.
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