A simple and easy to pull together Mango Avocado Salsa for scooping up with chips or spooning into tacos. It’s a fabulous appetizer to accompany BBQs, alfresco dining, Mexican food or simply as a snack. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free!
Table of Contents
Recipe Inspiration
Our trip to Costa Rica this past April captured our hearts. Rob and I had been planning this dream for what seems like forever. We finally made it happen.
The country is gorgeously green, with vibrant and generous culture, varied ecosystems of beach and cloud forests, volcanoes and jungle. Never did we imagine we’d see a sloth holding its baby, tent bats, Motmot, Jumping Pit Viper, Caiman, a variety of frogs like the Blue Jean Frog, and Capuchin and Howler monkeys. The birdlife alone is incredible and with birding being a daily activity, we spotted over 80 different species! Most new to us, but some familiar, like the Great Kiskadee, who were moving through on migration to North America.
While there was much wildlife watching and exploring jungle and river ecosystems, we swam in hot-springs fed pools, ate fabulous typical Costa Rican food and enjoyed locally grown fruit and veggies daily. Mango and avocado were two local favorites. These two fruits are abundantly grown in Costa Rica, with mango being a major exported fruit. We arrived shortly after mango peak season, so they were still in abundance at roadside stands, markets and local restaurants.
One morning I ordered avocado toast (so excited to see this on the menu! – it’s the simple things) but Carlos, our waiter said there were no avocados available, that the fruit on the tree wasn’t quite ripe. I was excited to learn how local our food was being sourced, even though I’d have to wait for avocado for a day or two. Totally worth the wait.
While we generally enjoyed mango simply, we found this succulent, juicy fruit to be served on tacos. Add a few avocado slices and wallah, Mango Avocado Salsa! I had something like this years ago, but had forgotten about it, and how delicious it is as a snack or appetizer.
A Few Recipe Notes
- How to choose a Mango and Avocado: I follow the same rules when it comes to these two fruits. Unripe fruit will be hard and not give to light pressure. To ripen, simply store them at room temperature. Test the fruits each day by giving them a gentle squeeze. When ripe, both fruits will give just a bit under pressure. Store ripe avocado in the refrigerator where it will stay ripe for several days. Enjoy the mango right away (else it tends to get mushy and brown inside).
- Cutting a mango used to stymie me. Here’s a video that shows how simple cutting a mango is! And for avocado, a quick video tutorial on how to dice one.
- Mango Avocado Salsa recipe is best enjoyed shortly after it’s made. It tends to get soggy and brown as it sets, so it’s not a recipe I recommend making in advance.
- This is a mild salsa as written. For a spicier salsa, add an additional jalapeño, with ribs in for even more spicy!
- Enjoy this Mango Avocado Salsa on tacos or simply with chips!
More Mango Recipes to Love
- Forbidden Rice Salad with Mango, Bok Choy and Coconut Curried Dressing
- Tropical Mango Almond Cake – from The Beach House Kitchen
- Matcha-Mango Coconut Popsicles
- Tequila Spiked Mango and Avocado Salsa – from Floating Kitchen
- Quinoa Mango Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette
the recipe
Mango Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 Mango large, diced
- 1 Avocado large, diced
- 1/4 C (30g) Purple Onion small dice
- Fist-full Cilantro leaves chopped fine
- 3 Tbs Lime Juice about 2-3 limes
- 1 Tbs Jalapeño seeds and ribs removed, diced fine (take this up to 2 Tbs for more heat!)
- 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt + more to taste
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the mango, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeños and salt. Gently mix together and taste for salt/lime/jalapeños adjustment. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes minutes before serving.
