These Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa are fresh, colorful, and loaded with flavor! Load up tortillas with tender strips of seasoned chicken, black beans, and a super fresh salsa made with sweet chunks of mango and avocado.
I’m always looking for an excuse to eat tacos and drink margaritas. And, it doesn’t take much to make it happen!
It can be as simple as walking through the produce section of the grocery store and finding the most gorgeous in season mangoes and perfectly ripe avocados. This combination creates a salsa that adds a ton of freshness and flavor to simple chicken tacos.
Mexican food doesn’t always have to be heavy, cheesy, and high in fat and calories. Sometimes it’s nice to lighten it up and this recipe for Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa is a great way to do it. These tacos are quick and easy, fresh and flavorful, and super wholesome.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – Boneless skinless chicken breasts that are thin-sliced or sliced through the middle to create thin cutlets. Thin-sliced chicken cooks much more quickly and evenly on the stove than thicker pieces.
- Seasoning – Mix up a batch of my Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix or use a store-bought blend.
- Mangoes – Ataulfo mangoes, sometimes sold as champagne mangos or honey mangos, are my favorite! The flesh is super sweet and not fibrous at all like the flesh of the red mango. Choose mangos that give just a little when you press them. Similar to avocados, they just be just slightly soft but not mushy. If they are not quite ripe, store them at room temperature for a day or two.
- Avocado – I like to use large Haas avocados when making salsa or guacamole.
- Tomatoes – Meaty plum tomatoes, like Roma tomatoes, work really well for salsa because they have less liquid than other varieties. Choose the brightest red, ripe tomatoes you can get your hands on.
- Onion – Diced red onion adds more color and great flavor to this salsa.
- Jalapeño – If you remove all of the seeds and membranes from the inside of the jalapeño, you will have no heat at all. I recommend leaving some behind, depending on your taste. A little spiciness is nice in this salsa to balance out the sweetness of the fruit.
- Cilantro – The flavor of cilantro complements the mango and avocado in a perfect way.
- Tortillas – We love these tacos with toasted corn tortillas. They are also delicious with flour tortillas and I frequently make tacos with low-carb tortillas.
- Black beans – Canned black beans.
- Optional toppings – Shredded cheese, shredded green cabbage, and sour cream.
How to Make Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa
There are a few steps involved but these tacos are actually very quick and easy to make.
Make the Mango Salsa
- Place the salsa ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the salt and fresh lime juice.
- Toss to combine then cover and refrigerate the mango salsa until you’re ready to serve.
Cook the Chicken
- Cook: Warm oil in a large skillet and add the seasoned chicken. Cook it on both sides until cooked through.
- Rest: Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board and squeeze the juice of half of the lime over the top. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice: Slice the chicken into thin strips that will fit well on your tortillas.
Warm the Black Beans and Toast the Tortillas
- Black beans: While the chicken is resting, warm the black beans in a small saucepan.
- Tortillas: Toast the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for about 30 to 60 seconds per side. Transfer the tortillas to a tortilla warmer or wrap in foil to keep warm.
Assemble the Chicken Tacos
- Stuff: Fill each tortilla with a small amount of black beans and some of the strips of chicken and top them with the mango salsa.
- Garnish: Top the tacos with cabbage, sour cream, and cheese or any taco toppings you love!
Storing Leftovers
Chicken: Transfer the cooked chicken to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Mango Salsa: Refrigerate the salsa in a separate airtight container. Avocado has a tendency to brown once it hits the air but the lime juice will help to extend its life for up to a day or two.
More Taco Recipes You’ll Love
- Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
- Blackened Fish Tacos
- Ranch Chicken Tacos
- Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Tacos
- Check out my entire collection of delicious taco recipes!
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Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa
Ingredients
For the Mango Salsa
- 1 mango, (Ataulfo/Champagne mango) peeled and chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes, (Roma) chopped
- 1 large avocado, chopped
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded as desired and diced
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ fresh lime, juiced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For the Chicken Tacos
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise to create 4 thin cutlets (or 4 thin-sliced)
- 2 tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
- 15 ounce can black beans, drained
- 8 corn tortillas, can use flour or low-carb tortillas
Optional Toppings
- ½ cup sour cream, light or regular
- ¾ cup shredded green cabbage, I use bagged angel hair coleslaw
- 1 cup shredded cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
Make the Mango Salsa
- In a small bowl, add the mango, avocado, tomato, red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. Squeeze the juice from half of a lime over the mixture, add the salt, and lightly toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate while preparing the tacos.
Cook the Chicken
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning evenly over both sides of each piece of chicken and pat it into the surface of the chicken with your hands.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with vegetable oil and place it over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the seasoned chicken. Cook on one side until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until browned and cooked through, about another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and squeeze the juice from the remaining half of the lime over the top. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.
Warm the Black Beans and Toast the Tortillas
- Meanwhile, place the black beans in a small saucepan and place over LOW heat. Simmer until ready to assemble tacos.
- Place a nonstick skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Toast the tortillas for about 30 to 60 seconds, per side, or until lightly toasted and warmed through. Transfer the tortillas to a tortilla warmer or wrap in foil to keep warm.
Assemble the Tacos
- Slice the chicken into thin strips that will fit well on the tortillas.
- Fill each tortilla with a small amount of black beans and some of the strips of chicken and top with some of the mango salsa, cabbage, sour cream, and cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published on April 29, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.
I will definitely be making these, they look amazing. I get so frustrated with corn tortillas because they always seem to tear apart. Do you have any tricks to stop this from happening? I love your blog by the way.
Hi Amanda! I haven’t had an issue with my tortillas tearing. I’d suggest trying another brand. You could always fry them to make them more substantial (and yummy). Best of luck and I hope you enjoy them!
Yummy, these look amazing Val, definitely going to try the mango salsa. We eat so much Mexican food at our house, its great to find a new recipe. Keep up the good work, I love ready your blog. 🙂