Pineapple Salsa

Each bite of this pineapple salsa recipe is an explosion of sweet, savory, salty and spicy! Eat with chips or spoon over grilled fish.

Need an appetizer to impress? Try this Pineapple Salsa! It’s one of the best ways to use a fresh pineapple (other than eating it in chunks off the cutting board, of course). The zing of the lime and heat of the jalapeno are the ideal pairing for this sweet fruit. Grab a juicy, ripe pineapple for this one: scoop it up with chips and each bite is an explosion of sweet, savory, salty and spicy.

Ingredients in pineapple salsa

Salsa simply means “sauce” in Spanish, and refers to a wide variety of sauces that can be made with or without tomatoes. The most popular is the classic tomato salsa, but some of the more interesting salsas are spins with alternative ingredients like mango salsa or peach salsa.

There are many variations on pineapple salsa, depending on the cook. But it often follows the template of a mango salsa and includes the following ingredients:

• Ripe pineapple
• Red pepper or tomato
• Red onion
• Cilantro
• Jalapeño pepper
• Lime juice
• Salt
• Sugar (optional)

How to cut pineapple

The most time spent in this pineapple salsa is cutting the pineapple! In fact, this salsa recipe does require quite a bit of chopping. It may feel like it takes forever, but it’s worth it! The most challenging part is how to cut a pineapple. Here’s the easiest way to tackle this spiny fruit (or see the video below):

• Place upside down 30 minutes (optional): Use a large chef’s knife to cut off the top of the pineapple. Turn the pineapple upside down and place it on a plate; allow it to rest 30 minutes. Since pineapples are stored stem side up, gravity makes the juices run to the bottom. Resting the pineapple upside down for 30 minutes helps the juices to run back down and distribute for evenly juicy pieces.
• Slice off the skin: After 30 minutes, cut off the other end of the pineapple. Remove the skin of the pineapple by slicing it off, following the shape of the pineapple.
• Cut into quarters and remove the core: Slice the pineapple in half lengthwise. Lay down each pineapple half on the flat cut side, and cut it in half lengthwise again. Remove the core by cutting it out at an angle.
• Cut chunks, then dice: Slice each quarter in half lengthwise, then turn it and slice in the other direction to create pineapple chunks.

Make a double batch for a crowd

This pineapple salsa recipe makes 2 cups, which is about 4 small servings or 2 medium servings. If you’re serving a crowd, you’ll want to double the recipe for a party-sized batch! This will use approximately an entire fresh pineapple.

The reason we didn’t make the recipe for these quantities? Well, it does take quite a while to finely dice an entire pineapple. It’s also easy to press the 2x button in the recipe below to double the quantities!

Ways to serve pineapple salsa

The best way to serve pineapple salsa is simply with chips, in our opinion. Even better, make it with warm, salty homemade tortilla chips! Here are our top ideas for how to serve pineapple salsa:

• Tortilla chips (purchased or homemade)
• Grilled fish, like grilled tilapia, grilled salmon or grilled cod
• Shrimp, like sauteed shrimp, grilled shrimp, or grilled shrimp skewers
• Tacos, like BBQ bean tacos, avocado tacos, cauliflower tacos, vegan street tacos, or black bean tacos

Pineapple nutrition facts

Why eat fresh pineapple? There are so many great things about this tropical fruit. Here are a few reasons to spend your time chopping it into pineapple salsa (source):

• Pineapple is low in calories. 1 cup pineapple chunks has 80 calories.
• Pineapple is especially rich in Vitamin C: 1 cup provides 131% of your daily value.
• Pineapple contains disease-fighting antioxidants that may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

More pineapple recipes

Want to use up the rest of your pineapple? Here are a few more great pineapple recipes to choose from:

• Make a dessert out of Grilled Pineapple
• Freeze it for a Pineapple Smoothie or Mango Pineapple Smoothie
• Add it to tacos for BBQ Bean Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

01

Grilled Pineapple

02

Pineapple Smoothie

03

Pineapple Mimosa

04

20 Pineapple Recipes You’ll Love

This pineapple salsa recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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