Mango Salad

This vibrant, fresh, and lively Mango Salad is loaded with fresh fruit, cinnamon almonds, and dressed with a cinnamon-yogurt dressing. Be prepared for a salad addiction!

Mango Salad Recipe

My husband absolutely loves Zupas’ Mango Berry Salad, but he’ll tell you there is never enough fruit on it! So, of course, I re-created my own version and loaded up the fruit—just for him. 🙂

One of the best things about making your own meals is that you can customize them exactly how you want and in our case, that means adding more fruit and doubling up on those cinnamon almonds!

While this salad is similar to the salad at Zupa’s, I wouldn’t say it’s a total replica. The dressing is quite a bit different, and we’re 100% obsessed with it. While cinnamon is not a common ingredient in too many dressings, it works so well in this yogurt-based dressing and beautifully complements the fruits, lettuce, and almonds.

Cinnamon-Yogurt Dressing

So let’s chat about this dressing. It’s unique, sweet, and completely crave-able! It’s also very easy to make with only four ingredients (plus a bit of salt and pepper). With so few ingredients, each one really counts, so here’s a quick look at them: 

• Mango yogurt. I tested this dressing with so many yogurts! While any sweet yogurt that you enjoy eating plain will work, test taster’s favorite was Chobani’s® Mango Greek Yogurt.
• Ground cinnamon. This might seem like a strange choice for dressing, but it’s so good! It pairs really well with the fruit and brings out the flavor of the cinnamon almonds in the salad.
• Honey. This dressing is on the sweet side, so feel free to use less honey (or add a bit more if using a less sweet yogurt).
• Mandarin oranges. The juice from mandarins/clementines is tart and sweet—it adds the perfect balance to this dressing. I felt like regular orange juice wasn’t as flavorful in this dressing.
• Salt and pepper. Just a small pinch of each helps bring out all the other flavors in this Mango Salad.

Mango Salad Toppings

I kept the toppings simple for this salad (see the next paragraph for ways to change it up). Here are the four toppings I used and some quick tips for picking the best fruit:

• Mango. I love honey mangoes (also known as Ataulfo or yellow mangoes) best in this salad, but regular mangoes work great as well. (Honey mangoes are sweeter and creamier than regular mangoes.) To tell if the mangoes are ripe, gently squeeze the fruit. If it’s ripe, it will give slightly. Wait to make this salad until the mango is at peak ripeness for the best flavor and texture. Here’s a quick and helpful visual guide on how to cut a mango.
• Blueberries. Look for berries that are firm, dry, and plump. Size isn’t an indicator of maturity, but the color is. Blueberries should be deep purple-blue or even blueish black.
• Strawberries. Look for bright red, plump berries—strawberries don’t continue to ripen after being picked (what you see is what you get!).
• Cinnamon-roasted almonds. Either make your own or pick up a bag at the grocery store! You can typically find candied almonds with other candied nuts, trail mixes, chips, and popcorn, not in the baking aisle where you’ll find plain nuts.

Variation Ideas

• Add a diced avocado for some creaminess and good-for-you fats.
• Sprinkle in some cheese. Goat or feta cheese make go nicely with the fruits in this salad.
• Change up the dressing. If you’re unsure of the cinnamon-yogurt dressing, try a poppy seed dressing instead; I love the dressing on this Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad.
• Swap fruit. Change berries to your taste preference, such as blackberries or red raspberries instead of strawberries and blueberries. Feel free to add in more fruit; I’ve added a kiwi to this salad and loved that!
• Adjust quantities. This salad has a high ratio of fruit to lettuce—which is exactly how I love it. Feel free to scale up or down the amount of fruit you add if you’d like the lettuce to be more central.

More Salad Recipes

• Chipotle Chicken Salad with a chipotle dressing
• Spinach Salad with an apple-Dijon dressing
• Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad with quick candied almonds
• Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with a lemon-balsamic dressing
• Quinoa Fruit Salad with a citrus dressing