This Mango Habanero Salsa is the perfect combination of spicy, sweet, and tangy. Use it as a dip or topping for all your favourite dishes – it’ll add an amazing burst of flavour! This is no ordinary salsa!
What comes to mind when you hear the words mango habanero salsa? The tropics? You laying on a beach with a piña colada in one hand and tortilla chips in the other, dipping away in this refreshingly tangy dip? Yeah, me too.
I just can’t help it. I mean, juicy chunks of mango, diced red onion, sliced fresh habaneros, cooked red peppers and lime juice. All the flavours I want in a dish while laying on the beach. But this salsa is too good to save just for beach days.
This is the easiest and quickest recipe giving you absolutely no excuse not to go whip up a fresh batch right now! Having it on hand for quick snacks, sandwich, or salad toppings is a lifesaver, I tell ya! It’s good on tacos, burgers, and pairs just amazing with any kind of meat or fish. It’s even good by the spoonful! And, absolutely PERFECT for meal prep! Have I sold ya yet?
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO GO MAKE THIS MANGO HABANERO SALSA RIGHT NOW
This fresh and flavourful mango habanero salsa only requires a few simple ingredients to make. Let’s discuss them in a little bit more detail down below:
- Mango: The “DUH” for this salsa! The refreshing balance from the mango after getting a bite of the spicy habanero is nothing short of Heavenly.
- Habanero: They have a kick, people and add quite a nice touch of heat to this salsa! Surely, they ain’t for the weak hearted. Therefore, use more or less depending on spice preference. You could omit them altogether but then we couldn’t go around calling this mango habanero salsa, now could we? You could also substitute a milder pepper instead (i.e. jalapeño). But whatever you do, remove the seeds. Unless you are the self-proclaimed Queen (or King) of spice. Or else, it’ll get ya.
- Red Onion: For crunch, extra flavour, and texture. I personally prefer using red onion to make this mango habanero salsa. However, yellow, white or even green onion would also work in this recipe.
- Red Pepper: Adds crunch, flavour, and texture to this mango habanero salsa. Lightly sautéed before adding to the salsa to bring out it’s maximum flavour. I used red pepper here but feel free to use a different coloured pepper, if you prefer.
- Parsley: Adds a herby freshness to the salsa. Fresh chopped parsley is best in this recipe. And, y’all. Let us just get something straight up in this kitchen. I’m a cilantro hater. Yeah, I said it. I hate cilantro! I’m part of the some odd 4-14% of the Cilantro haters that make up the universe.
Now, I’m not going to lie… spending a year in South America a few years back almost gave me no choice but to convert over to the other side. They just use it in everything and I was basically forced to convince myself I like it (which actually kinda worked, by the way). My point is: Feel free to use fresh cilantro in place of parsley in this recipe if that floats your boat. Who knows, maybe one day it’ll float mine.
- Lime Juice: Adds a bit of tang, acidity, and extra flavour to the salsa. Fresh is best in this recipe.
- Olive Oil: Only makes an appearance for cooking the red pepper for a couple minutes and does not actually get mixed in with the salsa. Use a different oil instead, if you prefer.
- Salt/Pepper: As always. Balances out the flavours of the rest of the ingredients.
HOW TO MAKE MANGO HABANERO SALSA (IT’S EASY AS 1, 2, 3)
First, you’re going to chop up all the ingredients so mixing them together is quick and easy! The mango, habaneros, red onion, red pepper, and fresh parsley.
PRO TIP: Handle the habanero peppers with care! Either wear gloves if you have them kicking around or wash your hands with soap immediately after touching. I swear I *almost* had to call the ambulance on myself once. It was in my earlier cooking days, I swear. But let me just tell ya, cutting hot peppers, forgetting you cut hot peppers and then touching your eyes is definitely not a fun experience.
The second thing you’re going to do is cook the diced red peppers in a little bit of olive oil. You could skip this step entirely but I love the way the soft peppers go with the rest of the ingredients. They don’t need more than a couple minutes, stirring frequently, in a hot skillet. Then set them aside to cool, just a bit, before adding them to the rest of the ingredients….you don’t want the heat from the peppers to ruin everything else.
And the third and final step of this mango habanero salsa process is to mix all the ingredients up until they’re well combined. And that’s it, you’ve got mango habanero salsa to spice up any dish you make all week long!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I mean, surrrrrre. You could go ahead and just make this a mango salsa or a mango pineapple salsa, instead.
The options are endless, my friend. Getting yourself a bag of pita chips or tortilla chips (or making your own at home!), snuggling up under a blanket and watching a movie is the obvious answer. But, if you wanna get real crazy and creative, you can put this salsa on any kind of fish (simple broiled cod, anyone?) or meat, tacos, burgers, sandwiches…did I mention that the options are endless?
This salsa will stay fresh when sealed in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you still happen to have some hangin’ around after the first 3 days, don’t fret. It’ll still taste good but might look a little ‘wilty.’ Simply give it a good stir and you’ll be good to go.
LOVE SALSA? Try my corn and black bean salsa recipe or my homemade tomato salsa next!
MORE GREAT CONDIMENTS TO ALWAYS KEEP ON HAND
JAPANESE STYLE ROASTED SESAME DRESSING
LOVE THIS RECIPE? PIN IT FOR LATER!
MANGO HABANERO SALSA
Ingredients
- 1 Mango peeled and diced
- 2 Habaneros seeded and minced
- ½ Red Pepper seeded and diced
- ⅓ cup Red Onion diced
- 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley chopped
- Juice of 1 Lime
- ½ tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the red pepper and sauté a few minutes, until soft and browning. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, add the mango, habaneros, red onion, parsley, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Add the cooled cooked red peppers.
- Stir until well combined and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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