How to Cut a Mango like a Pro! How to Tell if a Mango is RIPE (and more!)

This How to Cut a Mango post is sponsored by the National Mango Board. All opinions are my own.

Everything you ever wanted to know about How To cut A Mango, How to Tell if a Mango is Ripe, How to Ripen Mangos, How to Store Mangos and Mango Nutrition

Mangos are a juicy, natural superfruit that can be enjoyed year round but often people shy away because they don’t know How to Cut a Mango. This post will help you conquer your fears and get you giddy about Mangos!

I am SO excited to be partnering with the National Mango Board to share my love of mangos with you! As I state on my About Page, “Some people escape in dreams of sandy beaches and sunny skies, I escape in dreams of mangos, chipotle peppers and bacon,” AKA mangos are my happy place and I hope they will be yours too if they aren’t already!Mangos are naturally sweet, juicy and just plain delicious! I have used mangos in many of my recipes (see Recipes List below), but not as many as I would like because I know many people are intimidated by choosing and cutting mangos. In fact, while mangos are considered the world’s most popular fruit, a recent survey by the National Mango Board, finds that nearly half of Americans not only don’t know how to cut a fresh, whole mango but they actually consider mangos the toughest fruit to cut. The same survey showed Americans are more confident in hosting a dinner party than they are cutting a fresh, whole mango and less than half of women surveyed felt like pros when it came to cutting mangos.I’d like to change all of that! I want you to feel confident and excited about mangos because they not only taste divine, but they are also a Super fun, Superfruit. I am going to walk you through everything you need to know about mangos from Mango Nutrition, to How to Tell if a Mango is Ripe, How to Ripen Mangos, How to Store Mangos and How to Cut a Mango. The information I’m going to share comes from the National Mango Board. So, let’s talk mangos!

Showing how to Cut a mango with mango cubes on a white cutting board after cutting

Mango Nutrition

Mangos are the versatile, juicy superfruit you are going to love. They are guilt free good for you!

One cup of mangos is just 100 calories, so it’s a satisfyingly sweet treat.
One cup of mango provides 100% of the daily value for Vitamin C, which plays an important role in immune function.
One cup of mango is a good source of Vitamin A, which is important for immune function and helps maintain healthy skin.
Mangos contain over 20 different vitamins and minerals, helping to make them a superfood.
One cup of mango is rich in folate, which helps maintain cardiovascular function.
One cup of mango is a good source of fiber, which helps you feel full faster.
Each serving of mango is fat free, sodium free and cholesterol free.

How to tell if a Mango is Ripe

Mangos are available year-round thanks to the six varieties that have staggered growing seasons in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti so don’t shy away from eating them in the winter too! Right now, you’ll likely find the delicious Honey, Kent and Tommy Atkins mangos available in your supermarket, offering different mango options for any dish, here’s more information about mango varieties.

To check for ripeness, focus on FEEL not color because every variety is a different color when ripe. For example, red doesn’t necessarily mean ripe.
Squeeze gently to judge ripeness. A ripe mango will give slightly, indicating soft flesh inside.
Use your experience with produce such as peaches or avocados, which also become softer as they ripen.
Ripe mangos will sometimes have a fruity aroma at their stem ends.

two servings spoons scooping up fresh mango salsa

How to Ripen Mangos

Keep unripe mangos at room temperature. Mangos shouldn’t be refrigerated before they are ripe.
Mangos will continue to ripen at room temperature, becoming sweeter and softer over several days.
To speed up ripening, place mangos in a paper bag at room temperature, and store for approximately 2 days or until the mangos are ripe.
Once ripe, mangos can be moved to the refrigerator to slow down ripening for several days.

How to Store Mangos

Once ripe, mangos should be moved to the refrigerator, which will slow down the ripening process.
Whole, ripe mangos may be stored for up to five days in the refrigerator.
Mangos can be peeled, cubed and placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to six months.

How to Cut a Mango

Learning How to Cut a Mango is easy! There are no real mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is you accidentally hit the pit, no biggie. If you hit the pit, then just move your knife further from the center of the mango and cut again. You got this!

First, the basics. Wash your hands and wash the mango. Always use a clean knife and cutting board to cut a mango.
Start by locating the stem. Make sure the step is on top. The long, flat seed runs from stem to nose. We want to cut around this pit.

How to Cut A Mango showing locating stem to cut around it on a white cutting board

3. Once you locate the stem, make a vertical cut 1/4″ away from this midline then make the same cut on the other side.

How to Cut A Mango showing cutting mango around stem on a white cutting board

4. With the mango stabilized on a flat surface, make vertical slices without cutting through the skin. At this point you can use a large spoon to detach the flesh from the skin and scoop out OR…

How to Cut A Mango showing slicing mango into vertical slices on a white cutting board

5. Slice the flesh the other direction without cutting through the skin to create a grid pattern.

How to Cut A Mango showing cutting a grid pattern in mango flesh on a white cutting board

6. Use a large spoon to detach the flesh from the skin and scoop out the cubes.

How to Cut A Mango showing scooping cubes of cut mango out with a spoon

Enjoy!

MY MANGO RECIPES

I love mangos so much I have used them in sauces, stir fries, salad dressings, dips, chimichurri, smoothies, salads and even desserts. I hope you enjoy these recipes thanks to the versatile, ever delicious mango!

Want to remember how to cut a mango?

PIN it TO YOUR HOW TO BOARD TO SAVE FOR LATER!

FIND ME ON PINTEREST FOR MORE GREAT RECIPES! I AM ALWAYS PINNING :)!

Comments

Marcia says
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Loved the part about people preferring to put on a dinner party than cut a mango! Hilarious, but also kind of sad in that it tells you how intimidating even basic culinary/kitchen skills can be to many people, which in turn keeps them from learning the joys of cooking. And, as you show here, such an easy fix! Your post is very likely more helpful than you know. I love mangoes so I learned how to cut them long ago (after a lot of disasters…) but I learned a lot from the info you included here. Great post — thanks Jen!
- Jen says
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  You are so welcome Marcia, thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I thought the part about the stats about the dinner party were crazy too! I don’t post as many recipes with mangos as I like because I know people are afraid of them so hopefully this will solve that!
Tara says
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I lived in India for 5 years in the early 2000s and was amazed when I first saw them cutting mangoes!! A skill everyone over there seems to know from childhood. They also flip the skin inside out after cutting the grid so the squares just pop and then you can very easily cut them off. It is pure genius. Even my kids can cut mangoes with such a great technique!
- Jen says
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  What an adventure to have lived in India! Thank you for the tip about flipping the skin inside out – love that! – I am definitely trying that next time! Thanks Tara!
Loretta says
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Thank You So much Jen. I have so much to learn about fruits and how to save them for a extended period for smoothies and juicing. I already lost some other fruits not realizing how fast they would go bad. Then I never even thought about there might be special ways of cutting certain fruits until I bought a pineapple. So, you have helped me so much. Thank you. I hope you are successful in all your future endeavors. May.God Bless. Loretta
- Jen says
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  Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Loretta! I am so happy you found this post useful. I hope it opens up the world of delicious mangos to you!
joe johnson says
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You answered all my questions, thanks so much. I ate my first mango a few weeks ago and I haven’t stopped. I have at least one a day. I’m 65 and rue the fact that I waited so long. I have tasted “mango” flavored drinks and dressings but nothing can compare to that real mango taste on your tongue.
- Jen says
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  You are so welcome Joe! I agree, nothing is quite like a juicy mango! It sounds like you are going to enjoy making up for lost time with lots of mangos!
Judy Stabler says
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Chicken chicken chicken! More ideas for vegetarians? Thanks for pictures!
- Jen says
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  Hi Judy, I am not a vegetarian so I don’t focus on vegetarian meals – but you can definitely adapt recipes to suite your needs.
Brooke says
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Thanks for this!! Going to get mangos tomorrow. Wish you had more vegetarian options:)
- Jen says
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  You’re so welcome! You can make any of my meals vegetarian 😉
S. Fletcher says
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I love mangos and am happy to find out how to get them to ripen. I have 3 very hard ones from the market that have red and green color.
I have a big mango tree that has grown from a seed put in the ground. My mangos are yellow and grow large enough to be cut up. It took a number of years to bear but very worth the waiting.
- Jen says
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  That is AMAZING you have your own mango tree – I’m so excited for you! I hope you enjoy exploring all of my mango recipes!
Lori says
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Finally someone that knows how to cut a mango! Thank you for sharing! As a child I grew up in Hawaii. Mango is plentiful there. I have fond memories of walking to school and picking the tree ripened fruit to eat as a snack before and after school. Picture it, front yards littered with fallen tree ripened fruit, with their owners welcoming anyone wanting to take them. Rotted mango is a mess to clean from one’s yard! Walking the neighborhood was like walking thru a neighborhood sized bowl of tropical fruit salad! Mango, Bananas, and Guava! YUM!
- Jen says
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  I love the picture you’ve painted – walking through yards of ripened mangos sounds like my kind of heaven! Thanks for sharing Lori!
Chris says
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Well I went to the right place to find out how to cut up a mango. Bought 1 on a whim yesterday. I live in the Midwest so they weren’t a staple. My wife asked me how I knew when they were ripe and I told her I bought the reddest 1 they had. Glad you straightened me out.
- Jen says
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  Awesome Chris, I’m so happy you found my mango post helpful! I hope this is just the beginning of eating lots of mangos!