A bright and fresh mango salad, with a zesty lime vinaigrette. Enjoy on its own or as a Summer side dish.
I happened upon the most lovely large and perfectly ripe Alphonso mangoes recently! And while I know there are a lot of ways to enjoy mangoes, this Mango Salad is my favourite. I’ve been making this salad for years and it never disappoints.
For the salad, fresh sliced mango combines with red bell pepper and red onion strips and is tossed with fresh basil and cilantro. The dressing is bright and fresh with lots of lime juice and zest, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of heat, from red pepper flakes.
Mango Salad makes a great salad on its own, or enjoy it as a fresh and bright side for BBQ’d chicken, pork or fish.
Ingredient Note
Mangoes: Alphonso mangoes are my favourite mangoes. I love their sweetness, flavour and subtle floral notes. These are the yellow mangoes. If unavailable, just 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 it is too strong for the delicate mango flavour, in my opinion.
Cook’s Notes
You can make both the mango salad and the dressing several hours ahead of time, just don’t combine the two until just before serving.
Not sure how to cut a mango? Mangoes can be a little trick to cut. If you’re not sure how to cut them into sliced, head on over to the Mango Board and check out this quick “How to Cut a Mango” page.
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, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Mango Salad Dressing:
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed (about 2 limes)
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, or other neutral tasting oil
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the Mango Salad in a large bowl. Toss to combine. *If making ahead, cover and refrigerate at this point, before adding the salad dressing.
- Prepare the Mango Salad Dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisking well to combine. Cover and refrigerate if making ahead or use immediately by drizzling over the salad and tossing to combine.
Notes
Recipe adapted from a Trish Magwood recipe
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!
It’s so yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
Love this recipe it’s the best.
So glad you are enjoying it, Rosslyn :) Thanks!
I’ve made this delicious mango salad several times and it’s always a hit. The tips on cutting mangoes got me past my reluctance to try cutting and peeling them. Thankfully the strips of mango have uniformly come out unscathed. Beautiful salad and the lime dressing is actually lip smacking good. 😋
So glad to hear, Lois :) Thanks so much!
I made this salad as a side with a lamb roast for Christmas lunch today. I substituted mint leaves for the herbs, used white nectarines along with the mango on top of a bed of lettuce, left out the bell pepper and made a red onion pickle in lime juice to use in the salad. I didn’t have chili flakes so used just a drop of Sriracha sauce. This made such a delicious & pretty salad! Yum, I will definitely be making it again. This goes on the top of my list of favourite salads, along with a delish mango calamari salad I’ve been making for over 10 years <3
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
can I substitute frozen mango chunks for the fresh in this recipe?
Hi Kathleen, while I think fresh would give you the best results, this should work with frozen and thawed mango.
This mango salad is amazing. Wonderful texture, colours and full of flavour! It’s a huge hit with everyone I make it for! Delicious!! Thanks for sharing this recipe Jennifer.
So glad you enjoying it, Heidi :) Thanks so much!
Hi there!
Would love to make this but I don’t have red chili flakes, would red chili powder be a good substitute?
Appreciate your thoughts, thanks!
Hi Tess, I think I might just omit the red pepper flakes. Chili powder is a mixture of other spices and might not produce the same flavour/heat profile. You’ll still have a lovely mango salad without the red pepper flakes :)
I made this salad for a dinner party last nite & it was such a success. Everyone wanted the recipe. Great to find a mango salad recipe since we have so many mangoes in So Florida. I loved it so much I put the leftovers on cottage cheese for breakfast this morning. I will be making this salad all summer long or until the mango tree stops producing. Thx sooooo much.
So glad to hear, Susan :) Thanks so much!
Yummy! I added spring mix greens to mine after eating some on its own to make it a full meal. I didn’t want to stop eating it! So delicious, and I didn’t have the herbs or red Chili flakes. Definitely making this again soon with the addition of mint.
So glad you enjoyed it, Jo :) Thanks so much!
I added ripe watermelon and mint in place of cilantro because my sister does not care for cilantro. So fresh and tasty!
Sounds nice, Carol. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Love this salad! One of my favorites.
Glad to hear, Karen :) Thanks!
Yum! Such a beautiful a healthy collection of flavors in this salad. And the colors! And textures! Love it.
Thanks so much :)
Amazing salad, flavourful and easy to prepare. It was a hit at a recent dinner party. Will make again. A big thanks!
So glad to hear, Hanan :) Thanks!
F A B U L O U S!!! This is my wife’s favourite salad so I wanted to make sure I got it right. Out of all the recipes I scanned, this one popped out to be the closest to her own version. She loved it!! 🙏
So glad to hear Alyze! Thanks so much :)
This is one of the best Mango salads we have had. We are mango purists, but this variation on the king was too yummy. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
Now that I have to stay home, I’m definitely going to be making a lot of your recipes starting with this one 😋
Enjoy! I love this salad :) Thanks.
This is wonderful!! My daughter’s favorite fruit is mango and she’s coming home this weekend…. Can’t wait to make it for her! Thanks for the idea!!
Thanks Annie! She will love this salad, for sure :)
What a terrific way to enjoy fresh, juicy mango! I’ve never tried it in a salad so this is a must make for me. Pinned!
Thanks Tricia! This is one of my favourite ways to enjoy mangoes!
Such a lovely, vibrant salad, Jennifer! Love mangos so this is a different way to enjoy them! So summery too :) Happy Friday to ya!
Thanks Dawn and to you, too!
I’m all about the fresh fruit in my salads this summer! I don’t often buy mangos, but this is inspiring me to pick one up and give this salad a try. It would definitely go nicely with some grilled fish or pork!
Thanks Leanne, when I find lovely, ripe mangoes, I snap them up. Such a treat!
This salad is the epitome of summer!!! So colorful, fresh and FULL of flavor! I’m a mango freak, so I will absolutely be trying this salad soon!!
Thanks Cheyanne and yes, it’s Summer in a bowl :)
What a refreshing looking salad Jennifer! My son Sean and I are huge mango fans, so next time he’s home we’ll need to give your recipe a try. Happy weekend!
Thanks Mary Ann! It’s a nice treat and a great change from the usual :)