This Avocado Mango Salad recipe is delightful with fresh ingredients and irresistible textures. Topped with blue cheese and bacon bits, a honey lime jalapeno dressing sends this one over the top. It’s simply a salad you won’t forget.
Why Is This Avocado and Mango Salad So Good?
This is a Rick Bayless salad recipe that I’ve been making for years. It’s a beautiful Mexican themed salad that pairs well with about any entree.
- This salad is tropical, bright and lively drizzled with a jalapeno pepper, lime dressing.
- The savory aroma of garlic and a hint of sweetness from honey combined with salty bacon and bold tangy blue cheese makes this a very compelling salad.
- The textures are a combination of buttery, creamy and crisp.
I adore mangos on so many levels. Puree’d as a base for a Jamaican themed Mango Dressing, or simply sliced over cottage cheese for a healthy snack.
If you’re like me and can rarely walk by those huge bins of bright colored mangoes without picking up a couple, this avocado mango salad will be a great way to enjoy them.
Tip: Choose a ripe sweet mango to make the most of the flavors here.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Butter Lettuce: Butter lettuce is a type of green lettuce related to Boston Lettuce. It has a soft leafy texture that feels like it’s melting in your mouth. The flavor is mild with somewhat of a sweet nuance.
- Ripe Mango
- Ripe Creamy Avocado
- Jalapeno Pepper
- Bacon
- Garlic
- Limes, for juice and garnish.
- Blue Cheese: Choose a soft blue cheese, like Maytag.
- Olive Oil, either virgin or extra virgin olive oil works well here.
- Honey
Ingredient Swaps and Subs
- Lettuce: Substitute Romaine lettuce or Red Leaf Lettuce.
- Cheese: Crumbled goat cheese is a good stand-in or try Mexican Queso Fresco.
Questions You May Have
Mangoes are best when they’re ripe. Some mangoes change color when they’re ripe, but the most common mango found in our markets is the Tommy Adkins which keeps its green and red coloring throughout its shelf life. It’s ripe if it’s somewhat flexible with a gentle squeeze and has a sweet smell at the stem end.
What a job! But it’s worth every single curse word muttered. First of all, don’t peel the mango before you try to slice it. The flesh is too slimy to handle. And then follow these instruction on Mango.org.
Ripeness is best determined by pressure not the color of the avocado. Press down on the avocado with your thumb. A good one will have a little give rather than feeling like you’re pressing against a wall. If your thumbprint stays indented or the flesh feels squishy, skip it, as it’s likely overripe. Overripe avocados simply won’t slice well for a salad. Save them to make guacamole
Unfortunately, aside from preparing the vinaigrette ahead of time, this isn’t a great “make ahead” recipe. It’s so easy to throw together, it’s best to assemble right before serving. If made ahead, the avocado will turn color. You can assemble all ingredients on individual plates and refrigerate covered with plastic wrap, then add the avocado at the last minute, but that seems like more work than it’s worth.
Avocado Tip: Cold air is an avocado’s best friend. Store avocados in the refrigerator to keep them from further ripening. However, If you have a harder underripe avocado, leave it at on the counter at room temperature to ripen.
Tip: Purchase a Mango slicer. It works like a charm to slice the flesh away from the pit. Once the two halves are separated, use a sharp knife to cut the flesh into slices. I’ve hardly mangled a mango since I purchased mine.
Step by Step Instructions – It’s Easy
Prepare The Honey Lime Vinaigrette
- Step 1: Heat a small fry pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the jalapeno slices and whole garlic cloves. Cook until jalapeno slices are starting to soften and garlic is starting to brown. About 4 – 5 minutes.
- Step 2: Scrape all of the ingredients from the saucepan into a food chopper or food processor. Add honey and ½ teaspoon salt and lime juice. Blend until smooth.
- Step 3: Build the salad. Place three leaves of butter lettuce on a plate. Alternate slices of avocado and mango over the lettuce. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and crumbles of blue cheese. Garnish with rings of jalapeno pepper and lime wedges. Drizzle with honey lime dressing. A bit of freshly ground black pepper is always welcome. Enjoy.
What To Serve with Avocado Mango Salad
- Perfect for any Traditional Mexican Entree, enchiladas, tacos, burritos, etc.
- Ideal for a Mexican themed dinner party.
- It shines when served next to grilled chicken, seafood, pork or beef.
- And don’t forget those burgers.
Variations
- Bacon can be replaced with flaked smoked salmon or trout.
- Top with grilled chicken breast for an entree salad.
- Leave out the bacon to make the salad vegetarian, or replace it with pan-grilled onion slices.
- The luscious texture of mango works well with avocado, but so would ripe peach or nectarine.
- The jalapeno could be replaced by hot ground red chile (like New Mexico Chimayo Chile)—sprinkle it over the salad rather than blending it with the dressing.
- Over-the-Top Crab-Avocado-Mango Salad: Sprinkle a generous portion of crab meat over the avocado mango salad before drizzling with dressing.
- Sprinkle with toasted pepita seeds.
- Chopped cilantro is always welcome.
This avocado mango salad is one I can never get enough of. Fresh, vibrant and just eating it makes me feel healthy and energetic.
The dressing is light and bright. Made with olive oil and beautifully seasoned with honey, lime juice, garlic and jalapeno. It’s a fresh topping for the tender butter leaf lettuce and a perfect flavor for this mango avocado combo.
More Popular Salad Recipes
And if you’re salad fans like us, don’t miss my post on 9 Secrets To A Remarkable Tossed Salad. A step by step guide on how to make the best tossed salad ever. And don’t miss my Salad Category, you’ll find lots of healthy meal options, including the most popular on my site for Taco Salad Made with Catalina Dressing.
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Avocado Mango Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese
Equipment
- Food Processor or food chopper
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- ½ cup fresh lime juice about 4 limes
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 small jalapeno stemmed, seeded, sliced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Salt to taste
- 1 large Butter Lettuce Boston or Bibb Lettuce. Leaves separated
- 2 large ripe avocados peeled and sliced
- 2 ripe mangoes peeled and sliced
- ¾ cup Blue Cheese Gorgonzola, or queso fresco works great here
Instructions
- Cook the bacon slices your preferred method. Either in the oven, stovetop in a skillet or between a double layer of paper towels on a microwavable plate. Microwave on high for 2 ½ to 3 ½ minutes, until crispy.
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic cloves and sliced jalapeno chile. Cook, stirring regularly, until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Scrape the oil, garlic and jalapeno into the blender or food chopper or food processor. Add the honey, lime juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Process until smooth. Taste and season with more salt if you think necessary. (It should be highly seasoned.)
- Divide the lettuce between 4 dinner plates. Pit and the avocados, scoop flesh from the skin and cut it into slices. Cut the flesh of the mango from the pit. Peel, and slice to match the avocado pieces.
- Arrange the avocado and mango in the center of the lettuce. Drizzle everything with the dressing, then sprinkle with the cheese. Crumble the bacon over the top, and the salad is ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Avocado Mango Salad … It’s What’s For Dinner
This recipe for avocado mango salad was first published January of 2019 and updated August 2022 with new photos and step by step instructions.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
Lea Ann, I needed an inspiration recipe for mangoes. It’s mango season and living in Florida this tropical fruit is abundant. I have two ripe mangoes on my counter. I have a mango slicer on my list to purchase too.
Best,
Velva
I’ll save this recipe for when it is mango season here in Florida. Love the flavors and textures going on in this salad.
I think it’s a texture thing, but I’m not a fan of Mangos but Bev and Cindy would be all over this salad
Mango are a little on the slimy side aren’t they – but sure are tasty.
I made this salad last week for a ladies. luncheon I had to use diced Papaya instead of Mango as I could not find the Mango, it turned out great & had compliments about the dressing. I served it along with stacked enchiladas & refried beans. Great luncheon for 15 friends.
Fabulous, and thanks for letting me know. Great thinking about that papaya. And easier to cut. 🙂