Pico de Gallo or Salsa Fresca is a Mexican salsa made with fresh ingredients. Our Mango Pico de Gallo is sweet, tangy, refreshing, healthy and the perfect salsa to add to your tortilla chips, nachos or tacos.
Pico de Gallo is really similar to a summer salad from Mallorca, where we live. When we travelled to Mexico and got our first Pico de Gallo it felt like home! After tasting it, I just realized this was a much better combination of ingredients and the balance between flavours and textures was perfect.
We made our own Pico de Gallo at home by adding mango. Mango gives the salsa the perfect sweet touch. It needs to be a ripen but still firm mango. When cut into small cubes with the rest of the ingredients, it blends perfectly into the salsa and in our opinion, it makes it even better!
This mango salsa is made using just fresh ingredients which makes it perfect for a spring or summer meal. We often make it as a snack, served with tortilla chips so the whole family can dip in. One tip we can give you is to make a big bowl of it. Even if you don't finish it all, keep the leftovers in the fridge and your Pico de Gallo will be even better the next day.
THIS RECIPE IS:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free.
- Spicy. One of the ingredients used to make this salsa is jalapeño pepper. You can of course leave this ingredient out but Pico de Gallo calls for spiciness. You can reduce the amount of spiciness by removing the seeds of the jalapeños, or choosing a milder pepper.
- Easy to prepare. This salsa comes together in 15 minutes. We recommend leaving it for at least 20-30 minutes in the fridge to have the right temperature to enjoy at its best.
- An appetizer, snack or add-on to your meals. Our Pico de Gallo can be served as an appetizer or snack with some tortilla chips or nachos. You can as well serve it as an add on to your meals such as tacos, salads or grilled veggies.
Ingredients
All you need are 7 ingredients that you will easily find in your local supermarket.
Fresh tomatoes. We are really lucky to live in Spain where we can get juicy and sweet tomatoes almost year-round. Try to get tomatoes that have a deep red colour and feel just a little bit soft on the inside.
Red onion. When adding raw onions to dishes, red onion is the one you are looking for. If you still find the onion too sharp-tasting, you can leave it soaking in some water while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Mango. For this recipe, you want to get a still firm but ripe mango. If your mango feels still too hard you can leave it at room temperature in a paper bag for 2 days or until ripe.
Cilantro. Fresh chopped cilantro gives this salad the perfect punch.
Jalapeño peppers. This type of peppers is our favourite to use when making Pico de Gallo. They are spicy but not too spicy if you remove the seeds.
Lime. Freshly squeezed lime juice makes Pico de Gallo a beautiful and tangy salsa. Don't leave this ingredient out!
Salt.
Method
One of the most important things when making Pico de Gallo is how you prepare the ingredients. You want to end up with mango salsa, not a salad. The tomatoes, onion, mango, cilantro and jalapeño need to be really finely chopped.
We recommend using a Mandoline to chop all the ingredients equally.
Once your ingredients are chopped, transfer them into a big mixing bowl and add the lime juice and salt and combine well. Leave in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes and your Mango Pico de Gallo or salsa will be ready to enjoy!
If you have trouble cutting your mango, you can have a look at Simply Recipes as they explain how to cut a mango step by step.
Variations
- Add pineapple instead of mango. We love mango, but we've made pineapple Pico de Gallo at home and it's equally delicious. If you cannot find the perfect mango, think about this alternative. Pico de Gallo with fruit it's just amazing.
- Add avocado to your Pico de Gallo. You can serve your Pico de Gallo with guacamole and tortillas or simply add some avocado cut into cubes to your mango salsa.
- Use cherry tomatoes. Cooking with cherry tomatoes is fun! Our Greek Salad is actually made with cherry tomatoes and we think it's delicious. They tend to be sweeter.
How to serve Mango Salsa
Our top serving suggestion is serving your Mango Pico de Gallo with tortilla chips, vegan cheese sauce and guacamole. This combination makes for a perfect snack or appetizer.
Another option is adding Pico de Gallo to your tacos or loaded nachos. If you are looking for the right Vegan Tacos recipe, don't miss ours!
Mango Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes
- ½ small red onion
- 1 mango
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- Juice from 1 lime
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Finely chop the tomatoes, onion, mango and cilantro. Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl.
- Add the lime juice and season with salt to taste.
- Chill for about 20 minutes in the fridge and serve.
Heather says
What kind/size of tomato did you use? Thanks. It looks awesome.
Laura says
Thank you Heather. We used medium size tomatoes, just make sure they are ripe and juicy! 🙂
Tash says
Is this 48 calories per tbs? What’s considered a serving size for this recipe?
Laura says
Hi Tash, our recipe for Pico de Gallo is normally served as a snack or appetizer. You can serve it with some tortilla chips and the recipe will be enough for 4 adults.