Bursting with color and light, fresh flavor, our Caribbean Mango Salad is simple and healthy, and goes together in just minutes!
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Why You Will Love this Recipe
Caribbean Mango Salad makes a light and refreshing side dish for any chicken, pork, or vegetarian entry, and can be ready to serve in just minutes.
There are four basic components to this simple salad: mango, avocado, cucumber, and red onion, all dressed in a simple lime vinaigrette.
This is a salad that you can make your own: dice the mango, avocado, and cucumber into sizes that make most sense for your use. This may vary depending on how and with what you plan to serve it.
This recipe was inspired by a menu item from one of our favorite Portland eateries, El Cubo de Cuba.
What Goes into this Recipe
For this recipe, you will need:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Red wine vinegar: Apple cider vinegar will also work.
- Lime juice:
- Canola oil: Any neutral cooking oil will work; grapeseed oil, light olive oil, sunflower oil, organic vegetable oil are all good choices.
- Mangos: Mangos should be ripe, but firm. Dice them as big or small as you want.
- Avocados: Same as the mangos: ripe, but firm.
- Cucumber: We prefer to use an English cucumber when they are available, but any cucumber will do. Be sure to seed the cucumber before you dice it.
- Red onion: A sweet onion will also work for this recipe.
How to Make this Recipe
Pickle the Onions
Pickle the onions by combining the thinly sliced red onion and 1-2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar in a small bowl. Cover and chill for an hour or so.
Drain onions and discard any vinegar remaining in the bowl. '
In a medium serving bowl, whisk together one tablespoon red wine vinegar and lime juice. Slowly whisk in oil.
Mix the Salad
In the salad shown, we diced the fruit relatively small, but you can decide how big you want your salad pieces. The texture of the salad is totally up to the salad maker.
Put the cut mangoes, avocado, cucumber and red onion in the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently to coat. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
FAQs & Expert Tips
The best way to choose a good, ripe mango is to smell it. Color is not a good indicator for mango ripeness: the aroma of a mango will tell you far more about its readiness than does its appearance. A ripe mango will smell sweet, and the flesh will give just slightly (like a ripe peach) when pressed.
We recommend the hedgehog method for dicing a mango. Pop over for more about how to dice a mango, and learn how to make a mango hedgehog, too!
It might surprise you to learn that mango skin is a common allergen. It contains urushiol, the same itch-inducing compound found in poison ivy. Always remove the mango skin prior to eating the fruit to avoid itchy, red, inflamed mouth and lips. (Click here for more Fun Facts about Mangos)
We love this salad with fish! Mango salad also pairs well with foods that include chicken, coconut, ginger, jalapeños, legumes, oranges, pineapple, and pork.
Related Recipes
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Caribbean Mango Salad
Equipment
- 1 paring knife
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar divided
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or neutral cooking oil
- 2 large mangos diced, 12 ounces
- 2 large avocados diced; 8 ounces
- 1 medium cucumber peeled, seeded and cubed; 8 ounces
- ½ small red onion sliced very thin stem to root; 1½ ounces
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Pickled Onions
- Pickle the onions by combining the thinly sliced red onion and 1-2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar in a small bowl. Cover and chill for an hour or so. Drain onions and discard any vinegar remaining in the bowl.
Assemble Mango Salad
- In a medium serving bowl, whisk together one tablespoon red wine vinegar and lime juice. Slowly whisk in oil.
- Put the cut mangoes, avocado, cucumber and red onion in the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Originally published April 29, 2014.
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
This looks SO yummy and simple and healthy! Super excited to try it - Thanks so much for sharing!
Mary @ Fit and Fed says
I love mango and avocado in combination! Now that the Keitt mangos are gone, I'm going to have to wait until early spring for new mangoes to try this out!
Crystal A. says
I love both mango and avocado! I will have to try this because it sounds really yummy! I have trouble cutting mangoes into perfect little cubes though...maybe you could do a tutorial on that?
Renée ♥ says
Great suggestion, Crystal! Here you go! How to Dice a Mango.
Mary Ann says
Fresh avocado is one of my most favorite things. I'll have to try this salad!
Catherine says
I love the presentation! My daughter loves mango and avocado, so I bet she'd be really into this salad, too.
Melissa Kaylene says
Mmm that looks delicious! My all time favorite Salsa is a Mango one that we actually purchase from Costco, so this salad recipe with the mango in it caught my eye! 🙂