Thai Mango Salad is a light, refreshing salad made with thinly sliced mangoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers, and onions. It's topped with crunchy peanuts and tossed with a bright lemon-lime vinaigrette. It makes a delicious accompaniment to any Thai dish.
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❤️ Why this recipe works
- Thai cuisine: If you're looking for a salad to accompany a Thai meal, this Asian mango salad is a perfect choice!
- Balanced flavours: Sweet mangoes, crisp peppers, cool cucumbers, and tangy red onions are all tossed with a lemon-lime vinaigrette (the same one I use in this Mango Black Bean Salad) that has a touch of honey and a hint of heat. A sprinkle of salty roasted peanuts adds a crunchy element, making this a salad you'll want to make on repeat!
- Delicious dressing: I tested this recipe with a more traditional spicy dressing made with fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice, but my taste testers preferred this simple lemon-lime dressing instead, agreeing that it had the best flavour.
- Make ahead of time: You can prepare both the salad and the dressing ahead of time. Store them separately and toss just before serving.
🛒 Ingredients and substitutions
You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But before we get to the full recipe, here are a few notes about the ingredients.
- mangoes: any variety like Alphonso, Ataulfo, Haden or Kent or whatever is available where you live will work in this Asian mango salad recipe. Thai green mango salad is the traditional way of preparing this recipe in Indonesia. You can choose to use unripe mango if you like. This salad is equally as delicious made with green mango or fully ripe mango. You'll peel and seed the mangoes and cut them into very thin strips.
- red bell pepper: seeded and thinly sliced. Red pepper adds vibrant colour to this salad.
- cucumber: Remove most of the seeds, or the salad may become too watery. If the skin is tender, leave it on as it adds a beautiful colour that contrasts with the red pepper and golden mango!
- red onion: thinly sliced. You can substitute thinly sliced green onion if you'd prefer.
- fresh cilantro leaves: coarsely chopped
- red Thai chili pepper: deseeded and chopped very finely. (optional, but it adds a kick!)
- lemon-lime vinaigrette: This favourite dressing has a hint of sweetness that perfectly complements this Asian mango salad. It's made with lime zest, lemon juice, honey, olive oil, dried red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
🔪 Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside to allow the flavours to blend.
- Prepare the ingredients: Wash the mangoes to remove any dirt or labels. Slice the cheeks off, then use the "drinking glass method" to peel them. (See below)
- Remove the stem, core, seeds, and white pith from a large red bell pepper. Use a sharp knife to slice it into very thin long strips.
- Use a julienne tool to slice the cucumber into long shreds. Alternatively, you can remove the seeds and slice the flesh very thinly into long strips.
- Slice the red onion into thin strips, then chop the cilantro.
- If you're using a Thai red chili pepper, you may wish to wear gloves. Remove the stem and seeds and chop it very finely into tiny pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mango strips, sliced bell pepper, cucumber, and sliced red onion.
- Chill the salad until serving time.
- Pour the dressing over the mango salad and toss until everything is coated evenly.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, optional Thai chili pepper, and coarsely chopped salted, roasted peanuts.
❓Two ways to cut a mango
1. The "drinking glass method"
Mangoes can be a little tricky to cut if you've never done it before. They have a large almost flat seed in the center of the fruit. If you look carefully you can usually see a slight bump or ridge in the skin, indicating the direction in which the seed is lying.
The "drinking glass method" for slicing a mango works best if you want long slices or whole mango cheeks. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Wash the mango and pat it dry with a towel.
2. Hold the mango upright on a cutting board with the stem end facing up.
Take a sharp knife and cut vertically along one side of the mango, just off center, and cut as close to the seed as possible. Repeat on the other side.
You should now have two halves of mango, each with the seed in the middle.
3. Take a drinking glass and hold it upside down. Place the rim of the glass on the edge of one of the mango halves, just inside the skin.
4. Push the glass down towards the bottom of the mango half, separating the flesh from the skin.
5. Continue to push the glass down towards the bottom of the mango half, sliding it along the skin, until the flesh is completely separated from the skin.
6. Repeat the same process with the other mango half.
7. Cut the flesh into your desired shapes and sizes.
The drinking glass method is a quick and easy way to remove mango flesh from the skin without creating any mess, and to minimize the amount of mango wasted.
2. The "crosshatch method"
If you want to dice a mango into bite-sized pieces, the "crosshatch method" is easy and effective.
1. Wash the mango and pat it dry with a towel.
2. Hold the mango upright on a cutting board with the stem end facing up.
Take a sharp knife and cut vertically along one side of the mango, just off center, and cut as close to the seed as possible. Repeat on the other side.
You should now have two halves of mango, each with the seed in the middle.
3. Place one half of the mango with the flesh facing up on a cutting board and make a series of lengthwise cuts, about ½ inch apart, through the flesh, being careful not to cut through the skin of the mango.
4. Turn the mango half 90 degrees and make another series of lengthwise cuts, perpendicular to the first set of cuts, to create a crosshatch pattern.
Use a sharp paring knife to slice the diced mango pieces away from the skin.
5. Repeat the same process with the other half of the mango.
🔁 Possible Variations
Add a protein: Add thinly sliced grilled chicken breast or grilled prawns or shrimp to make this a balanced complete meal.
Change the dressing: use a traditional dressing made with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or soy sauce), 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or coconut sugar) and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar.
🍽 What to serve with Thai Mango Salad
Here are a few suggestions of dishes that will pair well with this Asian mango salad:
- Simple Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce - marinated chicken skewers with peanut sauce. An easy-to-make meal that's packed with flavour.
- Easy Thai Baked Chicken: slightly spicy Thai baked chicken marinated in coconut milk, garlic, ginger, cilantro, basil, coriander and lime!
- Nasi Goreng: quick Indonesian fried rice.
- Thai Red Curry with Shrimp or Thai Red Curry with Chicken - spicy Thai curry made with coconut milk, and red chili paste.
- Thai Coconut Rice - mildly flavoured coconut rice.
- Thai Grilled Turmeric Kabobs or Easy Thai Chicken Skewers: These make a casual meal that's fun to eat.
- Thai Chili Sheet Pan Salmon: all baked on one pan in the oven.
- Spicy Thai Mussels in Coconut Milk: mussels steamed in an aromatic coconut broth
- Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Thai Mango Chicken: a family favourite. Make ahead and freeze for busy days.
- Pad Thai or Zoodle Pad Thai with Shrimp
⏰ Storage Instructions
Thai Mango Salad is best served on the day you make it, as cucumbers tend to become a little watery by the second day. Store it in a covered container in the fridge and store the dressing separately.
Enjoy this simple Thai mango salad next time you serve Thai cuisine! Bon appetit!
🗒 More salad recipes to try
- Greek Chicken Salad with Mint
- Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad with Cranberries
- Strawberry Kale Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
- Mango Black Bean Salad with Lemon Lime Vinaigrette
🌟Did you make this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Thai Mango Salad with Peanuts
Ingredients
- 2 large mangoes, seeded, peeled and very thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and very thinly sliced
- 1 medium long English cucumber, julienne cut or very thinly sliced, seeds removed
- ¼ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ to 1 small Thai red chili pepper, seeded and minced
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup peanuts, roasted, salted and coarsely chopped
Lemon-lime Vinaigrette
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
- ½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside to allow the flavours to blend.
- Prepare the ingredients: Wash the mangoes to remove and dirt or labels. Slice the cheeks off, the use the "drinking glass method" to peel them. (See instructions in the post.)
- Remove the stem, core, seeds and white pith from a large red bell pepper. Use a sharp knife to slice it into very thin long strips.
- Use a julienne tool to slice the cucumber into long shreds. Alternatively, you can remove the seeds and slice the flesh very thinly into long strips.
- Slice the red onion into thin strips, then chop the cilantro.
- If you're using a Thai red chili pepper, you may wish to wear gloves. Remove the stem and seeds and mince it very finely.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the mango strips, sliced bell pepper, cucumber, and sliced red onion. Chill the mixture until serving time.
- When you're ready to serve, pour the dressing over the mango salad and toss until everything is coated evenly. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, optional Thai chili pepper and coarsely chopped salted, roasted peanuts.
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