This pineapple mango habanero salsa is the best version of a mango salsa! Its taste is sweet, light, refreshing with the perfect note of spice. It works beautifully paired with fish or chicken, yet simply delicious alone with a tortilla chip!
This sweet and spicy salsa is paleo, vegan, gluten free and it's also low carb and low in calories!
If I'm not eating this salsa with a tortilla chip, I'm adding it to my Korean shrimp tacos!
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📝Ingredients
Mango
Fresh pineapple
Red bell pepper
Red onion
Fresh lime juice
Habanero pepper puree- If you're like me and your local grocery store doesn't carry habanero peppers, fortunately there's a better alternative to a whole pepper. I find that a habanero pepper puree works best as it loses no heat in the pureeing process, it distributes the heat evenly, and you don't have to chop it, mess with the seeds and risk burning yourself by touching it or transferring it's heat anywhere else.
I love this orange habanero pepper pure because the only ingredients are pepper and salt. It's not to be used as a hot sauce or for dipping! You use it for any recipe that would require a whole pepper and it works fantastically!
Fresh cilantro
Pinch of salt
🌶Substitutions
Pineapple- While I much rather prefer the taste and texture of fresh pineapple, using canned pineapple will be just fine if you enjoy the taste of the canned version. You will need to cut the pieces of pineapple smaller, as the chunks from the can are too large for this recipe.
Mangos- You can swap out the mangos for fresh peaches.
Peppers- If you don't like red bell pepper you can definitely use green or just leave it out altogether. In place of the habanero puree, you can use up to one fresh diced habanero or jalapeño pepper. Just be sure to discard the seeds and be careful handling them. Make sure to wash your hands immediately after touching the seeds and do not touch your eyes or anything else afterwards.
You could also use a pinch (or to taste) of cayenne pepper powder in place of the habanero puree. If you aren't keen to spice then you can also leave out the habanero puree and just enjoy the sweet flavors from the salsa.
Lime- Fresh lemon juice will work just fine if you don't have a lime on hand.
🍍How do you slice a pineapple?
Step 1: Place the pineapple on a cutting board and slice off the top and bottom of it.
Step 2: Set the pineapple upright and slice the skin off one side. Cut it thick enough so that the brown pieces from the skin come off, but not too thick so that you don't lose a lot of pineapple.
Step 3: Rotate the pineapple and slice off the next side of skin.
Step 4: Repeat step 3 and continue to rotate until all of the skin has been removed.
Step 5: Discard the skins and prepare to slice around the white core.
Step 6: Take your knife and slice next to (not through) the core.
Step 7: Rotate the pineapple and slice next to the core in a 90 degree angle.
Step 8: Rotate again, repeating step 7.
Step 9: Slice off the last piece of pineapple and discard the core. Take your fresh pineapple and dice them into small pieces to enjoy.
🥭How do you slice a mango?
Step 1: Refer to the image with the checkmark. When holding the mango upright, you will notice that one side appears more narrow, looking like a vertical oval. This is the side you want to slice through. This is the direction of the core and it will allow you to slice next to it, instead of trying to cut through it.
Step 2: After slicing off one side, slice off the other side, leaving space so you don't cut against the core.
Steps 3 & 4: Not everyone does this, but I like to so I can try and get more of the mango. Notice the arrow pointing to the white core. I sliced very close to it, exposing it. It's very close to the edge here. Slice off a thin piece of mango from each side. You can see from the images this isn't much at all. Make sure your knife cuts it in a curved motion so you miss the core.
Step 5: Take your 4 slices of mango and with your knife, make vertical slices through it, making sure you don't slice through the skin! Then make horizontal slices going in the opposite direction. Again, make sure you don't slice through the skin.
Step 6: With your knife laying flat, move it in one direction, slicing the mango off the skin. Try to get as much of the mango off the skin without slicing the skin itself. Enjoy the freshly diced mango!
🔪Instructions
To make this tasty pineapple mango habanero salsa, dice the mangos and pineapples in small pieces, roughly ½ inch pieces. Place them in a medium size mixing bowl.
Next, dice the red bell pepper into even smaller pieces than the mangos and pineapples, making sure to remove the seeds and membrane. Add them into the bowl.
Take the red onion and dice it up even finer than the red bell pepper and add those in next.
Finely chop the fresh cilantro and sprinkle it in the bowl.
Then, add in the habanero puree, lime juice and salt.
Mix well and enjoy immediately or refrigerate for an hour and serve!
🧊Storing
You can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about two days for best quality.
🌮What to pair it with
This pineapple mango habanero salsa can really bring balance to a dish and works really well with fish and other meats. You can enjoy it over salmon, tilapia, chicken or pork.
My favorite way to enjoy them is topped over my Korean shrimp tacos.
Additionally, you could simply eat it with tortilla chips or even on a pizza, if that's your style.
✅Pro Tips
- When choosing a fresh mango, you want one that is nice and ripe. It should be soft and sweet with a deepish yellow flesh. When grabbing the mango, it should leave an indentation when you squeeze it with your thumb. If your mango isn't ripe yet, leave it out on the counter for a couple of days or until it's ready. Then place it in the fridge to slow down the ripening process, if needed.
- When choosing a fresh ripe pineapple, there's a few methods to consider.
- Check the color of the pineapple. You want it to have healthy green leaves, and the outside of the fruit should have a yellowish-green hue. Sometimes, green pineapples can be ripe so it's good not to rely on color alone.
- Squeeze it. The outside should be firm but slightly soft when squeezed.
- Pull on the fronds (leaves). Typically, fronds that pull out easily when plucked are ripe. If they are difficult to pull, it may not be ripe yet.
- Pineapples that feel heavier can mean that it's more ripe. It can be a sign that the pineapple is more juicy.
- You can also smell the bottom of the pineapple. If there is a sweet scent, that means that it's ripe and ready to eat. No scent can mean that it isn't ripe yet.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You should be able to dice it up while it's frozen, as long as it's easy to do so. But this gets a little bit cold on your fingers. You can also leave it out and wait about 10-15 minutes before dicing. Frozen mango thaws pretty quickly at room temperature.
Yes, but only by a day for best results. You could make it two days in advance, but just remember the longer it's refrigerated, it releases more water and the fruit softens.
Yes. To thaw, just leave it on the counter in its container at room temperature for about 2-2.5 hours until completely thawed.
Yes. But the spice level depends on how much of the habanero puree you use. It's good to start off with a ¼ teaspoon, taste, and then increase by ¼ teaspoon increments if desired. ¼ teaspoon has a light spice level, so when paired with another food such as a tortilla chip or a taco, the heat may get lost a little bit. So add and taste to your liking.
The habanero pepper is an incredibly hot pepper, and at one point was named the hottest of them all, until the ghost pepper was deemed the hottest (at up to 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units). The habanero peppers Scoville rating can range from 100,000-350,000 SHU. For additional comparison, a jalapeño pepper ranges from 2,500-8,000 SHU.
📖 Recipe
Pineapple Mango Habanero Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 cups ripe mangos (2 large mangos) diced small
- 1 cup fresh pineapple diced small
- ½ cup red bell pepper (about ½ of a medium bell pepper) diced small, seed and membrane removed
- ¼ cup red onion finely diced
- ¾ teaspoon orange habanero puree or to taste**
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Dice the mangos and pineapples in small pieces, roughly ½ inch pieces. Add them to a medium size mixing bowl.
- Next, dice the red bell pepper into even smaller pieces than the mangos and pineapples, making sure to remove the seeds and membrane. Add them to the bowl.
- Take the red onion and dice it up even finer than the red bell pepper and add those in.
- Finely chop the fresh cilantro and sprinkle it into the bowl.
- Then add in the habanero puree, lime juice and salt.
- Mix well and enjoy immediately or refrigerate for an hour and serve!
Nutrition
**Nutrition label is just an estimate. Amounts may vary.
Ashley says
Listen! I just made this tonight and I was afraid to leave it unattended for too long because I didn’t want anyone to eat it! Next time I need to double this because it was so good everyone loved it!
Kayla says
Yes! This is a tough one to share for sure! Lol.
Kristina says
Delicious! Tried it on Easter and it has great flavor.
Kayla says
Awesome! Thanks for the review 🙂