Mango Salsa

This Mango Salsa recipe, whether served with chips or topped on fresh fish tacos, is light, refreshing, and insanely delicious. It’ll have you hooked.

This mango salsa recipe was inspired by literally the best taco I’ve ever had. While I love mangoes, I’ve only ever had it freshly sliced.

It was an unbelievable experience to partner with Princess Cruises for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

I recently had the pleasure of exploring Alaska on a Princess cruise with my sister and some of my dearest friends. Before leaving, I envisioned a trip full of snow, parkas and hot cocoa. Never in my life did I think I would have the best tacos in my life. But friends, that’s exactly what happened.

On our Princess Cruise, we had a few amazing port stops, including Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, and Anchorage. While I loved all of the destinations for various reasons – Strait Point’s amazing bike ride along the ocean, Skagway’s beautiful and quaint town, Anchorage for its breathtaking views – Juneau was a jewel because of two things: bears and tacos.

So today my friends, I’m sharing this recipe for mango salsa because I hope that one day, I can perfect that halibut taco I had in Juneau and share it here with you. Until that happens, this will just have to do.

I love all of the excursions you can select from when sailing with Princess Cruises. My sister Nicole and I decided that when we got to Juneau, we’d choose the Pack Creek Bear Viewing. We selected this because of the chance to see so much wildlife as well as experience a seaplane ride.

My sister loved the idea of the seaplane, and I didn’t hesitate because she was so excited. But I’ll be honest, I am scared of heights, so I was a bit apprehensive.

Hands down, the Pack Creek Bear Viewing was the best experience I’ve had outdoors, and I live in Colorado and have traveled to some pretty amazing places. So this is a big deal.

We saw countless bears, literally. While we were in our little seaplane, she flew over the mountains, hills, valleys, and ocean. Because the tide was low at that time of day, there were dozens of bears out feasting on the clams the ocean exposed.

Even typing this now, I get goosebumps. It was that amazing and still, the memories take my breath away.

I laugh now as when we first arrived at the airport, our adventure guide (self-proclaimed “Mountain Boy”) gave us guidelines and the 411 on what to do if we came within 20 feet of a bear. He assured us he wouldn’t get nervous until then, and at the 20-foot point, he would whisper us instructions. Ummm… yes, I was a little excited and extremely nervous.

When we got to our bear-viewing spot, we landed smoothly in the ocean and walked along the shore. Within minutes of being on the shoreline, we came across a black bear who was walking straight toward us. I was so excited; the nerves were gone, and I was hoping he would get within 20 feet.

But he didn’t. Instead, he meandered into the woods, and then surprisingly bolted back out on the beach like lightning. I didn’t think a bear could run that fast. Our “Mountain Boy” said there was most likely another bear, and he was expecting a brawl – but that didn’t happen. Instead, our bear walked the other direction while constantly checking over his shoulder. Listen carefully to the video below to see Nicole’s hilarious response.

We stayed at this destination for hours, and while we were there, we got to see a mama bear and two cubs. We were within 40 yards and even saw her nurse them! Nature at its best. While bear viewing, we also saw a ton of eagles. I never knew eagles were so big, and their wingspan is ridiculously large. I love that I could get a closer look with the telescope our guide provided.

Their strength and beauty is truly captivating in the wild. Watching the swoop down for fish, break open clams with their beaks and circle in the air made it seem like it was all being orchestrated by a conductor like in symphony.

My sister and I loved the Pack Creek Bear Viewing. To me, this bear print in the sand summarizes our trip because of the experience of seeing all the bears, eagles and ever-changing tide levels.

When we got back to the dock, I thought the day couldn’t get any better. Literally, I could have gone straight to bed and had wonderful dreams. That is til I tasted the tacos.

When we got back into town, we have a few hours to kill before needing to be back on the ship. We met up with a few of my friends and headed straight for Deckhand Dave’s Wild Alaskan Fish Tacos food truck {Drooling}.

Now, to the chagrin of my husband – a Louisianan & seafood lover – I am not a big seafood fan. But I decided to go out on a limb and try salmon and halibut tacos.

Friends, they were the best dang tacos I have ever had. With an amazing slaw, pico and tartar sauce, the combination alone has me wanting to jump on a plane.

While I haven’t nearly perfected the tacos, the pico or tartar sauce, this recipe for Mango Salsa is pretty dang delicious. In fact, I wish I could just ship this on over to Dave. I know he’d be proud.

So when you plan your next trip to Alaska, all I can say is be sure to do the bear viewing tour in Juneau and then stop for tacos. I honestly think that cruising is the best way to see Alaska. You see all the sights, get all the experiences and you aren’t paying for plane tickets from location to location.

How do you make mango salsa?

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

Serve with chips, on crackers, or in your favorite fish tacos.

How long does mango salsa last?

5-7 days if stored in an airtight container and kept refrigerated.