A bright and fresh mango salad with bell peppers, red onion and a delicious homemade zesty lime vinaigrette. Enjoy on its own or as a great Summer side dish.
This delicious mango salad combines ripe mango slices with red bell pepper and red onion and is tossed with fresh basil and cilantro. The zesty mango salad dressing combines lime juice and zest with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of heat from red pepper flakes.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Mangoes – Alphonso mangoes are my favourite mangoes. I love their sweetness, flavour and subtle floral notes. These are the yellow mangoes. If unavailable, use the nicest, ripe mangoes you can find.
Basil – If you don’t have fresh basil to use here, just use more cilantro.
Cilantro – If you don’t like cilantro, substitute flat-leaf parsley. If you don’t have cilantro, more basil or a bit of mint is a nice substitute.
Red Pepper Flakes – The red pepper flakes in the mango salad dressing adds a nice spicy note. Reduce, increase or omit depending on your taste.
Vegetable Oil – Any neutral-tasting oil is fine here. I don’t recommend olive oil, as its flavour is too strong for the delicate mango flavour, in my opinion.
Recipe tips!
- Not sure how to cut a mango? Mangoes can be a little trick to cut. If you’re not sure how to cut them, head on over to the Mango Board and check out this quick “How to Cut a Mango” page.
- Be sure to use perfectly ripe mangoes, for the best salad. Sometimes mangoes are sold quite firm, so just leave them on the counter until they ripen and soften before use.
- Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes in the dressing to your taste.
Serving suggestions
You can enjoy this mango salad on its own or as a side dish. Mango salad is perfect for Summer meals! Mango salad is also great as a topping for fish tacos or spooned on top of BBQ chicken.
Making ahead and storing
You can make both the salad and the dressing several hours ahead of time, but don’t combine the two until just before serving.
Store leftover mango salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
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Get the Recipe: Mango Salad
Ingredients
Mango salad:
- 3 mangoes, ripe, Alphonso recommended, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Mango Salad Dressing:
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed (about 2-3 limes)
- 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, adjust amount to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, or other neutral tasting oil
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the mango salad in a large bowl. Gently stir to combine. *If making ahead, cover and refrigerate now, before adding the salad dressing. The mango salad can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated.
- Prepare the mango salad dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisking well to combine. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate the dressing separately for up to 3 days. To use immediately, drizzle over the salad and gently stir to combine.
Notes
- Not sure how to cut a mango? Mangoes can be a little trick to cut. If you’re not sure how to cut them head on over to the Mango Board and check out this quick “How to Cut a Mango” page.
- Be sure to use perfectly ripe mangoes, for the best mango salad. Sometimes mangoes are sold quite firm, so just leave them on the counter until they ripen and soften before use.
- Leftover mango salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
More fruit-filled salad recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I mistakenly only had 1 lime so I used fresh lemon juice to supplement the dressing. It was fantastic!!!!!
So glad to hear, Arnie :) Thanks so much!