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Spicy Thai Mango Salad

Spicy Thai Mango Salad featuring fresh flavors of mango, cucumber, carrot and cilantro tossed in a flavorful spicy, sweet and savory dressing!

top down, up close view of bowl with a serving of spicy thai mango salad

This Spicy Thai Mango Salad is one of those simple delicious salads that I so enjoy! It’s my kind of easy, and so amazingly fresh, colorful & delicious!

Full of fresh flavors, including mango, cucumber, carrots, tomato, and cilantro, and topped with a simple dressing that is lightly sweet, salty, and spicy, it’s a bit of everything and will leave you feeling light and energized!

This Thai mango salad recipe is inspired by Som Tam salad, a very popular salad in Thailand that uses unripe green papaya. This is my version using ripe mango in place of green papaya, along with cucumber, carrots and tomatoes. And it’s terrific!

The spiciness, saltiness, and sweetness of the dressing stay close to the traditional Som Tam of Thailand. It’s easy to make, comes together beautifully, and is utterly crave-worthy!

top down view of prepped carrots, cucumber, mango tomatoes, cilantro and lime wedges on a wooden cutting board

Ingredient Notes

  • Cucumber – Use regular (American), English (hothouse), or Persian.
  • Carrots – We love using regular carrots so we can julieen them into ‘noodles’.
  • Mango – Use ripe or unripe. Ripe will add sweetness, while unripe will add tartness.
  • Cherry tomatoes – You can opt to use grape tomatoes or chop up regular sized.
  • Cashews or peanuts – optional
  • Cilantro – Feel free to omit if you don’t care for this herb.
  • Lime – Use regular or key limes. Sub with Meyer lemon if limes are not available.
  • Tamari – Feel free to substitute with soy sauce, or coconut aminos.
  • Coconut sugar – you can use your preferred sugar of choice; pure maple syrup is great, too.
  • Garlic – Fresh is preferred, but garlic powder or garlic paste can be used if needed.
  • Red pepper flakes – A dash of sriracha can also be used as a substitute.

Typically, unripe mango or papaya is used, but for this recipe, I’ve used firm, ripe mango. If you can find unripe mango or papaya, give it a try in this recipe. It should be just as fantastic, with a little more crunch, and not as sweet due to the fruit’s unripeness.

top down view of spicy thai mango dressing in a small glass bowl next to a wire whisk, garlic and lime wedges on a marble slabe

How To Make Thai Mango Salad

  • Start by making the spicy dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and lime juice.
top down view of a bamboo bowl with ingredients of thai mango salad surrounded by cilantro, cashews and dressing in a small glass bowl
  • In a large mixing or serving bowl, add the prepared mango, carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, and cilantro (shown above). Pour the spicy Thai dressing overtop and toss to coat (shown below).

Now you are ready to serve!

Serve in individual bowls with a squeeze of lime overtop and more red pepper flakes to taste.

Top Tips

  • For julienning the cucumber and carrots, I find this Julienne Tool and Mandoline to be handy. If your vegetables are on the thinner side, the julienne tool works great, but if they are on the wider side, the mandoline is a fantastic tool.
  • Before adding the dressing to the salad, be sure to give it a good stir to ensure the sugar has dissolved or at least is incorporated into the dressing before pouring. It has a tendency to settle at the bottom of the bowl.
  • Add a grain. This easy Cilantro Lime Rice would be a great side to this salad.

top down view of spicy mango thai salad mixed with dressing

Adjusting For Dietary Restrictions

  • Nut-Free: Simply omit the cashews or peanuts to keep this recipe nut-free.
  • Gluten-Free: For the dressing, use tamari or coconut aminos (no soy sauce) to keep this fruit salad GF.

How To Store Leftovers

This Thai mango salad is best fresh (or within a few hours), but if you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

side angle view of bowl with a serving of spicy thai mango salad

More Easy Summer Recipes!

If you try this mango salad recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

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SPICY THAI MANGO SALAD

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 14 reviews

A fresh thai salad with mango, cucumber, carrot, tomato, and cilantro in a flavorful dressing.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 English cucumber, julienned (or your favorite)
  • 2 large carrots, julienned
  • 1 mango, julienned or sliced
  • handful cherry tomatoes, halved
  • handful cashews or peanuts, optional
  • cilantro, as much as you like, to serve
  • 12 limes, to serve

Dressing

  • 2 tablespoons tamari, soy sauce or coconut aminos
  • 1 tablespoon coconut, pure cane or raw sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • juice of one lime

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together tamari, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes and juice of lime. Set aside. Mix before adding to the salad, we want the sugar to be as dissolved as possible.

Prepare your vegetables and fruit, place in medium sized bowl, pour the dressing and mix well. Serve in individual bowls with an extra squeeze of lime and nuts overtop.

Serves 2

Notes

You can sub in 3 – 4 Persian cucumbers in place of the English. Both of these types of cucumbers have less seeds making them ideal for being julienned. Regular cucumber works too if needed.

Add in red bell pepper to the mix, those will add a bit of sweetness and crunch.

In place of using sugar, opt for pure maple syrup instead.

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19 Comments

  1. I absolutely love the combination of flavors! Thank you for sharing such a vibrant and refreshing recipe!






  2. This was sooo good! Served with a grilled pork chop for complete light dinner! Definitely part of my favourite salad rotations. I did not put in tomatoes but in red pepper instead.






    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      Thanks for sharing, Susie!

  3. This was so delicious! Will def be making it again. 😍






  4. I just made this! OMG! This is so good!! Even without fish sauce, it replicates the flavor so well and healthier! This will be my to-go summer salad! Thank you so much for the recipe!!






  5. It was fun getting the ingredients ready, I’ve tried a couple of different variants of the sauce. I thought it was going to be terrible because of how salt the soy sauce was. I almost threw it out, but when I finally decided to mix the veggies in, it was actually pretty great!






  6. This was fabulous, a beautiful blend of sweet (honey and mango) and spicy (hot pepper flakes). I substituted honey for sugar and left out the carrots as they were in another dish tonight and I was tired of prepping. I also seeded the cucumbers. This dish is a keeper. It’s an excellent, low cost, high value side to a stir fry night.






  7. We made this for dinner tonight, and we loved it – fresh, vibrant, tart, sweet… With just the right amount of heat! Will definitely make it again!






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