A quick, no-cook tropical salad with pineapple, mango, red pepper, red onion, mint and lime. Sweet, sharp, juicy and crunchy – the sort of thing you make when it’s too hot to cook properly, but you still want dinner to look like you made an effort.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Tropical Pineapple and Mango Salad
This pineapple mango salad is a fresh tropical fruit salad made with ripe pineapple, mango, red pepper, red onion, mint and lime. is a fresh, no-cook side dish made with ripe fruit, red pepper, red onion, mint and lime.
It’s sweet from the pineapple and mango, sharp from the lime, crunchy from the red pepper, and just punchy enough from the onion to stop it drifting into fruit salad territory. Because we’re not making dessert here. We’re making something to sit beside grilled chicken, fish, prawns, rice, curries, barbecue food, or whatever dinner has decided to become.
It takes minutes, needs no stove, and is very good at making a plate look brighter, fresher and less like everyone has given up.
Fruity and Savoury
Fruit in savoury salads is nothing unusual in warm-weather cooking. Across Southeast Asia and other tropical regions, sweet fruit often sits alongside salt, chilli, lime, herbs, nuts and sharp dressings. Think of the way apple, mango, pineapple and papaya turn up in salads, sambals and pickles.
It’s more of a quick tropical side salad, the sort of thing you can throw together when you want something cold, juicy and bright next to richer food.
The mango makes it softer and sweeter, the pineapple brings acidity and bite, the red pepper adds crunch, and the lime ties the whole lot together before anyone starts wandering off in different directions.
The Recipe
This is an assemble-and-toss recipe, which is exactly what we want when the weather is hot and the kitchen is not your favourite place to be.
It’s a very rough and ready recipe, so I’m not giving you actual weight of the fruit. A handful, a cup, a little more, a little less, it really doesn’t matter.
Use ripe mango and pineapple if you can. You want juicy fruit, but not fruit so soft it collapses into mush the moment you look at it. The red onion should be thinly sliced so it gives a little bite without taking over the bowl like a very confident guest at a dinner party.
Taste before serving. If the salad tastes flat, add a little more lime or salt. If your fruit isn’t very sweet, the pineapple juice or honey helps round everything out.
How to Serve
This pineapple and mango salad is lovely with grilled chicken, fish, prawns, rice dishes, curries and barbecue food.
It’s especially good with anything smoky, spicy or rich, because the fruit and lime cut through the heaviness. It also works well as part of a summer spread with flatbreads, skewers, noodles, roasted vegetables or a simple bowl of rice.
And if you eat a few spoonfuls straight from the mixing bowl before it reaches the table, that’s between you and your kitchen.
How to Store Leftovers
This salad is best eaten fresh, while the fruit is juicy and the mint still looks lively.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours in a covered container, but the salad will release more juice as it sits. Give it a gentle stir before serving.
If you’re making it ahead, add the mint and nuts just before serving so they stay fresh and crunchy.
Variations
- Add chopped cucumber for extra cool crunch.
- Add finely sliced red chilli if you want heat.
- Use coriander instead of mint for a more savoury flavour.
- Add toasted cashews, peanuts or almonds just before serving.
- Use extra lime if you want it sharper.
- Add a tiny pinch of chilli flakes if you want a little warmth without making it properly spicy.
Tropical Salad FAQs
Yes, absolutely! Drain before adding saving the juice to add to the salad.
Use a ripe mango that’s sweet and juicy but still firm enough to dice. If it’s too soft, it’ll turn the salad mushy.
You can make it a few hours ahead, but it’s best eaten fresh. Add the mint and nuts just before serving for the best texture and colour.
It goes well with grilled chicken, fish, prawns, rice, curries, barbecue food and spicy mains. It’s especially good with rich or smoky dishes.
Yes. Add chopped red chilli, bird’s eye chilli, chilli flakes or even a small spoonful of sambal if you want more heat.
It’s a savoury fruit salad. The pineapple and mango bring sweetness, but the lime, onion, pepper, salt and herbs make it firmly a side dish rather than dessert.
Tropical Pineapple and Mango Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large handful chopped pineapple fresh or canned
- 1 large handful diced mango
- ½ red pepper, diced
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- a few fresh mint leaves chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 Tbsp pineapple juice or honey pineapple juice if you're using canned pineapple
- Salt and pepper to taste
- a scattering of chopped nuts optional
Instructions
- Add the pineapple, mango, red pepper and red onion to a bowl.
- Add the chopped mint, lime juice and pineapple juice or honey.
- Season with salt and pepper, then toss gently.
- Taste and adjust. Add more lime if you want it sharper, a little more salt if it tastes flat, or a touch more honey if the fruit needs help.
- Scatter over chopped nuts just before serving, if using.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
