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How to Make Homemade Mango Salsa

Click here for a PDF print version

If you like mango salsa like you've had in restaurants and bought in the stores, then you'll LOVE your own home made mango salsa.  you can impress friends and family with this easy and tasty recipe! You can refrigerate it or can it to have in the winter! Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated.

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of about 12 to 18 months, and aside from storing in a cool, dark place, require no special attention.

You may also be interested in How to make GREAT mango chutney! or Mango-raspberry jam or how to can mangoes.

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Directions for Making and Canning Mango Salsa

Yield: 7 to 9 eight ounce jars

Ingredients

• 6 cups diced unripe mangoes (you'll need about 4 large, hard green mangoes or slightly under-ripe - just not soft and mushy)
• 1½ cups diced red bell pepper or roaster red peppers
• ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion  (I like Vidallia's)
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (puree is fine)
• 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro (or dried cilantro)
• 1 teaspoon diced or dried mint leaves (optional)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger (ginger paste works well)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1¼ cups cider vinegar (5%)
• ½ cup water or lime juice

Equipment

• At least 1 large pot
• Large spoons and ladles
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
• Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sanitize them. ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
• Jar funnel ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
• Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box" stores carry them - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings)
• 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack to sanitize the jars of mangoes after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates) You CAN use a large pot instead, but the canners are deeper, and have a rack top make lifting the jars out easier. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment.

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the mangoes

Choose ripe, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. They should not be mushy, but they also should not be rock hard: just as ripe as you would eat them fresh.  You can also use solid green mangoes. Select firm, non-fibrous fruit. Caution: Handling green mangoes may irritate the skin of some people in the same way as poison ivy. (They belong to the same plant family.)  (see this page for more information) To avoid this reaction, wear plastic gloves while working with raw green mango. Do not touch your face, lips or eyes after touching or cutting green mangoes until all traces are washed away. 

Step 2 - How many mangoes and where to get them

You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.  But for large quantities, you'll find that Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's seem to have the largest mangoes and best prices.

Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

This is a good time to get the jars ready! The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle. Otherwise put the jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. I just put the lids in a small pot of almost boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" (available from target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) to pull them out.

 

Step 4 -Wash the mangoes!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the mangoes in plain cold or lukewarm water.

 

 

 

 

Step 5 - Peeling the Mangoes

Green mangoes are fairly firm, so a regular vegetable peeler works pretty well. This is probably the most tedious step of the process, though. 

 

 

 

 

Step 6 - Cut up the mangoes

Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Slice the mangoes in 1/4 thick slices! It just takes practice to figure out where the pit is.  the pit is sort of flat, rather than egg-shaped, so you'll get more flesh of some parts of the mango than others. 

Then chop the mango slices up into ¼ to ½-inch cubes.

This mango splitter works great!

Step 7 - Add the spices

To the 6 cups of diced mangoes, add the spices:

1½ cups diced roasted red peppers or diced red bell pepper ½ cup finely chopped onion ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger or ginger paste 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro (or dried cilantro)  (optional) 1 teaspoon diced or dried mint leaves (optional) 1 cup light brown sugar 1¼ cups cider vinegar (5%) ½ cup water or lime juice

 

Step 8 - Cook the mango salsa

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and mix the spices. Reduce to simmering, and simmer 5 minutes.  We don't want to overcook this!

 

 

Step 9 - Fill the jars

Wipe rim and screw threads with a clean damp cloth. Add lid, screw band and tighten firmly and evenly. Do not over tighten.

 

 

Step 10 - Process the jars in the water bath

Put the sealed jars in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. Boil them for at least 20 minutes (and no more than 30 min).

 

Step 11 - Remove and cool

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight), here they won't be bumped. You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Mangoes, pears and apples may also show a blue, red or pink color change after canning. This is the result of natural chemical changes that sometimes occur as fruits are heated. It is harmless and won't affect flavor!

Also, avoid storing canned food near heat sources such as a furnace, water heater, hot water or sunny areas. Jars need to be kept cool and dark for longer storage life and to protect against spoilage. Be sure to store in a dry place. If the lid or band rusts, that can cause the seal to break.

Your salsa will probably be darker in color than this.  It depends upon how much spice you use and how long you cook it.

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Picking Tips

[General picking tips and a guide to each fruit and vegetable] [How much do I need to pick? (Yields - how much raw makes how much cooked or frozen)] [Selecting the right varieties to pick] [All about apple varieties - which to pick and why!]  [Picking tips for Vegetables] [ Strawberry picking tips] [ Blueberries picking tips]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes

[ All About Home Canning, Freezing and Making Jams, Pickles, Sauces, etc. ] [FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems] [Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!] [Free canning publications to download and print]