Easy Mango Black Bean Salsa Recipe (Healthy!)
Looking for a healthy mango black bean salsa recipe? Try this easy recipe that’s great to pair with chips or your main dish!
Hi! My name is Chantal, and I’m the owner of Ironwild Fitness. I’m a mom and personal trainer – and I love food!
But I am on the struggle bus with my nutrition (just like anyone else), and I have decided to start focusing on more fresh fruit and veggies in my diet.
I have always used my blog as some form of accountability, and sharing my favorite healthy recipes is one way I’m doing that.
To give you a little backstory, I have long since been obsessed with mangos.
If you don’t like backstories, go ahead and scroll down to the recipe, friends. I like to talk. 🙂
Many years ago, I had a fresh-off-the-tree mango in Costa Rica, and it was OVER for me. (So good!)
Lol.
Mango is now my go-to smoothie flavor, and my favorite thing to have in salsa for chips. But that’s not all mango can do!
A few years ago, my little sister was experimenting with recipes and decided to throw together her own mango salsa.
Now, sometimes, these types of things don’t end well for her (I’m thinking about her botched brownies), but this time they did.
The result was an incredibly addicting salsa that you could literally eat plain – by the spoonful.
Related Reading: Yummy Red Chicken Pozole Recipe
So I want to share her recipe for black bean and mango salsa!
(With her permission of course.)
It’s so good with chips, atop grilled chicken, or just plain. I actually don’t think you can mess this recipe up. It’s truly a “throw together” recipe that’s pretty forgiving, and that’s part of what I love about it.
My favorite thing about these types of recipes is that you can *almost* omit or add anything you want.
For example, I love cilantro, but some people don’t have that gene that makes it taste good.
Seriously, I learned this in my college chemistry class. You either have the cilantro-loving gene, or you don’t! The people who don’t like it think it tastes like soap. Don’t believe me? There’s quite a bit of info on it out there, but here’s a good place to start.
Anyway, if you don’t love cilantro like I do, you can totally still enjoy this recipe. The same goes for avocado and basically every other ingredient. You could even make this into a true salsa with tomatoes and all kinds of peppers.
Sometimes we even add hot sauce or chili powder for an extra kick. If you don’t like mango though, I can’t help you. 🙂
Back to the salsa.
This is such a good summery recipe, that I think it makes a great BBQ addition. Grilled chicken with avocado salsa? Yes please! I’ll take that and a tropical island vacation, plus a coconut cocktail.
Anyway.
Now, being that I’m a personal trainer, I do have to talk about the nutrition here. (I’m also currently working on my nutrition coach certification, so there’s that.)
Here’s my piece: Not every recipe that you see on the internet is actually healthy.
And really, that depends on what you consider healthy, your personal goals, and all of that. (i.e., Keep in mind that even natural sugars like those in mango can be unhealthy for a diabetic.)
If you were to make this recipe as is, you’d be consuming a wide variety of nutrients. So that’s always a plus. Really, what you pair this recipe with is probably what makes or breaks it being labeled as “healthy.”
More on that in a minute. For now, let me brief you on the main benefits of the top ingredients.
Related Reading: Healthy Blackberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Ingredients + Nutrition
Mango – Mango is rich in….It does have a unique protein known as chitinase,
Cilantro – Cilantro is actually incredibly good for you.
Black Beans – While black beans do contain protein, they aren’t a complete protein, so you shouldn’t assume that they can replace animal proteins. However, they do contain
Avocado – One of the “healthy fats.” (Read about different kinds of fats and good vs. bad fats in this blog post.)
Corn – Corn has arguable nutritional value. While it really does taste pretty good and can sweeten things up, it can also cause
Lime – A little bit of lime adds the perfect amount of tang – especially if you add a little spice to your salsa. Plus, it helps the juices from all of the other ingredients start to come out.
If you were to pair this mango black bean salsa with some grilled chicken or another lean meat, you’d have a great meal for weight loss or weight maintenance.
You’d get a high-protein, low(ish) carb meal full of incredible nutrients.
If you choose to pair this recipe with chips or throw it in a burrito, you’d still get some great vitamins.
But the carbs in the salsa + the carbs in the tortillas/chips would probably be too much for weight loss. Plus, don’t forget that portions really do mater.
So keep these things in mind when you’re perusing Pinterest for your next “healthy” recipe. It’s all about moderation.
Easy Mango Black Bean Salsa Recipe
You can read the recipe card below – but here’s the gist: Cut it all up and mix! Add the lime juice last. 🙂
Easy Mango Black Bean Salsa Recipe
Equipment
- You just need a big bowl, a good knife, and a cutting board!
Ingredients
- 1 ripe mango
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 can whole sweet corn
- 1 can black beans
- 1 lime
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
- 1 bunch cilantro
Instructions
- Wash and chop cilantro.
- Score and cut up your mango & avocado.
- Open & drain beans + corn.
- Dump all ingredients in a bowl, add lime juice, and mix!
- Add salt, chili pepper, or hot sauce to taste.
- Enjoy!
Notes
I hope you enjoyed my easy mango black bean salsa recipe!
Do you have any favorite recipes that feature mango? Let me know by leaving a comment below!
-Chantal
