Mango Salsa is a flavorful salsa loaded with chunky bits of fresh mango, tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos. Serve warm over chicken or fish!
I adore this mango salsa recipe!
This mango salsa is a cooked, sweet, spicy, and flavorful salsa loaded with chunky bits of fresh mango, tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno, infused with the Spanish flavors of garlic, cumin, and cayenne pepper. This warm salsa is best served warm over chicken or fish.
David’s sister Connie, gave me a jar of mango salsa she had made. I ended up using the jar of salsa to pour over the Chicken with Mexican Rice. That chicken turned out really good; I asked her for the recipe.
Connie’s inspiration for the salsa came from the peach salsa recipe from the Ball Canning Cookbook. She modified the original recipe by substituting mangoes for peaches. She also cut back on the spice.
Since David and I like spicy food, I added jalapenos and cayenne pepper to the recipe. This gives it just enough spice so that it can stand up to the sweetness of the mango.
I love how this salsa recipe came out, and I’m excited to share it with you.
Let’s make some Mango Salsa!
Ingredients Needed To Make Mango Salsa
The recipe card at the end of this post lists the full ingredient list and measurements.
Mangoes: You’ll need 3 fresh mangoes cut into ½-inch cubes
Tomatoes: for this recipe, I use canned diced tomatoes. You want twice the amount of tomatoes than mango. You could use fresh tomatoes, but using fresh tomatoes will lengthen the cooking time.
Onion: I use white onion, but any onion will do.
Peppers: Both red bell pepper chopped and jalapenos add savoriness and warmth to this salsa. I remove the seeds and veins from the jalapeno. If you want your salsa to be spicy, slice the jalapeno leaving the seeds and veins intact.
Garlic: you’ll need 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic.
Cilantro: I love cilantro. David, not so much, but I swear if you do not like cilantro, you’ll never know it’s in the salsa. It adds brightness to everything savory.
White Vinegar: White vinegar adds acidity so that you can water bath can this salsa. White vinegar is mild and not as potent as other kinds of vinegar. I do not recommend you substitute the vinegar with another type of vinegar. You could use lime juice if you prefer.
Oil: I always use extra virgin olive oil, but you can use any cooking oil you prefer.
Sweetness: Brown sugar and honey are both used to provide a rich sweetness to offset the acid and heat.
Cumin: accentuates the sweetness and adds complexity to the salsa.
Extra Heat: Cayenne pepper gives you back heat. You can omit or add more at your discretion.
How To Make Mango Salsa
The hardest part of this recipe is chopping the mango and veggies. After that, it’s just combining and simmering. Detailed instructions are provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Peel and Chop:
Peel and chop the mango into equal-sized chunks. Then peel and chop the other veggies and have them ready to go in the pot.
Combine:
- Add white vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, and honey to a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and there are no clumps.
- Stir in the mangoes, diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir well.
Simmer:
Bring mixture to a low boil, cut back the heat and simmer uncovered for at least 1 hour.
Cool and Serve:
Once the salsa has thickened, allow it to cool and use it however you like.
Recipe Tips
- Chop the veggies and fruit the same size as the tomatoes.
- DO NOT cover with a lid while simmering. The fruits and vegetables have lots of natural juice. Evaporation needs to occur, for the salsa needs to thicken up.
- My version was a little spicier than what David’s sister had made, but not so spicy that it wasn’t enjoyable. If you don’t like spicy food, leave out the cayenne pepper, and be sure to scrape out the seeds and veins of the jalapenos.
Some unique flavors hit my mouth when I took a bite of my salsa: sweet, spicy, tangy, warm, followed by a ZIP-BANG-POW!
An actual flavor explosion in your mouth!
P.S. Try this salsa with chicken. Get my chicken recipe and serve it with Mexican rice for a great meal!
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 3 mangoes cubed into ½-inch chunks
- 56 ounces canned diced tomatoes You want twice the amount of tomatoes than mango and to chop all of the other veggies and fruit the same size as the tomatoes
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 jalapenos chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Peel and chop mango into equal sized chunks.Peel and chop other vegetables and have them ready to go in the pot.
- Add white vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, and honey to a large, heavy pot, over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Make sure there are no clumps.Add in the mangoes, diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir well.
- Bring mixture to a low boil then cut back the heat and simmer uncovered at least 1 hour.
- Once the salsa has thickened, allow it to cool and use it however you like.
Destiny says
It doesn’t say how long to process it for canning- but the recipe came from a Ball Cookbook? Do you know how long I should process this for?
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Destiny! Sorry, about the lack of information. This is an old post that I need to update. Yes, 20 minutes to process. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck! Debbie
Tonia says
Why use caned tomatoes?
I have an abundance of plum cherry tomatoes fresh. Can’t I just use those?
If yes do I have to adjust the recipe?
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Tonia! You can absolutely use fresh tomatoes. I don’t because I cannot grow a garden here on our mountain. I recommend you cook the rawness out of the tomatoes first, (maybe 30 minutes or so) before adding the other ingredients. Would love to hear how it turns out! Thanks for stopping by!