Mango Habanero Salsa
Mango habanero salsa strikes the balance between sweet and spicy. Serve it chunky or blended, whichever style you prefer. This recipe is perfect with tortilla chips, tacos, quesadillas, or anything grilled!
Mango habanero salsa strikes the perfect balance between sweet and spicy. At first bite, you’ll get the sweet mango—then the habanero heat kicks in. You can control the heat by adding more or less of the habanero pepper.
I recommend using a food processor to evenly distribute the habanero. Trust me, you want to even out the spice!
I love this recipe with tortilla chips and a cold beer. On a hot day, of course! But I have also topped grilled zucchini with it. Some of my other recommendations include putting it on top of tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and burrito bowls. You can also add it to proteins like tofu, tempeh, salmon, or chicken. If you are not too sure about the spice, I do have a pineapple mango salsa, which is perfectly tropical, or try my habanero salsa if your feeling bold.
Mango Habanero Salsa
At a Glance
EASE: Very easy!
COURSE: All day
TIME: 5 minutes
DIET: Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
Ingredient Notes
Fresh Cilantro
I made cilantro optional because it’s a flavor that not everyone likes. But if you do like cilantro, I recommend adding it. The freshness adds complexity!
Habanero
These little peppers have a very high spice level. First, working habaneros requires a couple of safety steps. Trust me, if you get their oil on your hands and try to take your contacts out even a day later, you will feel the burn! I have a section titled ‘How to Handle Habanero Peppers Safely’ that I recommend you read if this is your first time.
Next, I recommend starting with 1/4 – 1/2 of one habanero. Then add in 1/4 increments until you reach the desired heat. When it comes to habaneros, a little goes a long way!
Fresh Lime Juice
Lime wakes up all the flavors and gives this recipe a fresh zing! Lime also helps the salsa last longer while stored in the refrigerator.
Mango
Mangos are very sweet, which is the perfect flavor to offset spicy habaneros. You can use fresh mangos or frozen. I prefer frozen, they are precut. In other words, no mess, no fuss!
Tomatoes
Tomatoes will add a touch of sweetness that is different from the mango. Before adding the tomatoes, scoop out the watery seeds. This will help keep your salsa from becoming watery!
Watch How to Make Mango Habanero Salsa
Personalize This Recipe
- You can add fresh or frozen peaches for more flavor. If you have doubts about mangoes in general, replace them with peaches.
- Add avocado to add a creamy texture. But, do not recommend blending the avocado. I Instead, dice it into very small pieces and toss it into the blended salsa.
- Habanero peppers can be up to 140 times hotter than jalapeños! So, if you’re not too sure about the spice, substitute jalapeño peppers for spicy habanero peppers.
How to Handle Habanero Peppers Safely
Many consider habanero peppers to be one of the hottest chili peppers in the world. Habanero peppers score between 100,000 and 350,000 on the Scoville Heat Scale. This scale measures how spicy chili peppers are. For comparison, jalapeño peppers range from 2,500 to 8,000 SHU. This means habanero peppers can be up to 140 times hotter than jalapeños!
To be safe, I recommend removing your contacts. Once my contacts are out, I wear gloves! These guys are so hot that even a day after touching them, the oil can stay on your hands. You will feel it when touching your face and your eyes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade Salsa Recipes
- Red tomatillo salsa (Chipotle copycat)
- Pineapple mango salsa for you sweet lovers
- Spicy habanero salsa for my spice lovers
- Colorado green chile for those of us who use green chile as a salsa too!
If you tried this sweet and spicy mango habanero recipe leave a star rating and let me know what you paired it with in the comments
Mango Habanero Salsa
Equipment
- 1 Knive
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
- 2 cups (330g) mango, roughly chopped
- 1 to 2 habanero peppers
- 2 large tomatoes seeds removed and roughly chopped
- ½ red bell pepper roughly chopped
- ½ red onion roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 fresh lime
- Optional Add salt, pepper, roughly chopped cilantro, and lime for additional flavor.
Instructions
Step One – Blending:
- Combine mango, habanero peppers, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a food processor or blender. Pulse the mixture until it reaches your desired texture, whether chunky or smooth.
Step Two – Serving:
- Transfer the salsa to a serving bowl. Adjust the flavor with salt, pepper, cilantro, and/or lime juice to personal preference. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges, if desired.
