Tajín Mango Cucumber Salad
Published August 6, 2025
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 5 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 large lime
⅓ cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon Tajín
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces (or 12 to 16 ounces pre-cut mango; see Tip)
2 Persian or mini cucumbers, cut into small (¼- to ½-inch) pieces
½ head romaine lettuce (about 6 ounces), chopped into ½-inch pieces
Preparation
- Step 1
Finely grate the zest from the lime into a large bowl, then cut the lime in half and squeeze in juice. Add the cilantro and Tajín.
- Step 2
Add the mango, cucumbers and romaine to the bowl and toss very well to coat. Serve immediately or keep covered and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to about 4 hours.
Pre-cut mangoes from the store are convenient, but they may not always be very sweet or fully ripe. A dash of sugar can help enhance their flavor and bring out their natural sweetness.
Private Notes
Comments
Frankly inedible. Too sour with a whole lime and zest. Make the lime vinaigrette separately with olive oil or neutral oil at a ratio of 2:1 or 2.5:1 oil:acid and taste before dressing the salad. The dressing also needs a touch of honey or maple syrup.
I agree you absolutely must make the vinaigrette separately and taste it first! Does "juice of one large lime" translate to 3 T, 3 tsp, or how many mL?
Made this last night. Definitely makes more than 4 servings in my opinion. Also, the dressing needed a little bit of sweetness, since the mangos sweetness didn’t transmit to the cucumber and lettuce, which ended up way too tart. Recommend a (1/2-1 teaspoon) of maple syrup, and maybe 1-3 teaspoons of EVOO to help distribute it more evenly in the salad.
As a Latina, this recipe is perfect to me as-is, conjuring memories of growing up and asking the frutero for extra cucumber, mango and tajín in my little bag of fruit, or absolutely drenching my cucumbers in lime and tajín as a summertime snack. It reminds me of those feelings distilled into salad form. The amount of lime seems authentic, but I could see how if you aren’t used to it, it may be a bit too sour. I agree with the comment that a bit of oil would help cut the acidity, if that’s an issue for you. You don’t need extra sweetener, just make sure to use extra ripe mangos. Serve with some pollo asado, if you can. A perfect summer meal.
I ended up using cabbage instead of romaine, and that worked great. I used a generous amount of olive oil as a base for the lime-tajin dressing because I know enough about making salad dressings to know just lime, zest, and tajin weren’t going to work.
What could I sub for mango---there's an allergy. Thanks.
@Valerie Peeled peach or nectarines with plenty of lime juice to add the sweet-tartness of mango and to prevent browning. Or possibly cantaloupe? Also with lots of lime.