Pineapple Salsa
Pineapple salsa is a dish that I refer to as “fun,” a little unusual, and perfect for so many occasions. It a great summer condiment to make for a gathering or a any dinner, and it’s always a massive hit! When serving this salsa, be warned… Everyone will be asking for the recipe.
What makes this pineapple salsa truly unforgettable is the surprising kick of spice. Spicy and sweet is one of my all time favorite combination, as it truly livens up your tastebuds! That’s why it’s great to pair with something like a blackened salmon or grilled shrimp tacos. Fruit salsa like this one and mango salsa go great with spicy or smoky meats.
Ingredient Tips and Substitutions
The ingredients for this summertime classic salsa are all natural! There are no artificial preservatives or other additives that take away from the true bliss of these fresh, natural ingredients.
- How to pick out a pineapple: Make sure the pineapple you buy is nice and fresh! Give it a gentle squeeze. If it’s firm, but slightly gives, it’s most likely ripe and ready to eat. If it’s too hard to squeeze at all, it’s not quite ripe yet and won’t be good in this salsa.
- Bell Pepper color: I love using a red bell pepper for this salsa recipe. Primarily because of how vibrant the color looks next to the bright yellow pineapple chunks. However, any bell pepper will be tasty in this easy, customizable recipe.
- Jalapeño Peppers more or less spicy: This is the ingredient that will truly determine how spicy your salsa is. If you want to cut back on the heat, make sure to discard the seeds and membrane, and use younger jalapenos with smooth green skin. Want it extra hot? Keep the seeds and set more mature jalapenos that have dry, light brown veins on the skin.
How to Cut a Pineapple
It can be intimidating to cut a pineapple if you’ve never done it before! It’s one of those rare fruits that, if cut incorrectly, and be difficult to eat.
- Start by cutting off about 1/2 inch off the top and bottom of the pineapple. Then, stand the pineapple on it’s bottom and use a knife to cut along the sides to slice the outer skin layer off.
- Slice off the “eyes” that are deep and brown. Tiny lighter ones are fine to leave.
- Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and then, cut each half again lengthwise in two. This will give you 4 quarters.
- Locate the thick core at the corner of each quarter and slice it off. Discard the skin, top, bottom, and the core and then dice the juicy pineapple flesh.
- To learn more about the easiest and best way to cut a pineapple, and to see a demo video that walks you through all of the simple steps, be sure to check out my instructions on How to Cut A Pineapple!
How to Store Pineapple Salsa
Have any leftover? No worries! This pineapple salsa stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days!
Just be sure to store the salsa in an airtight food storage container, it’s best to use a glass container with a lid. I usually recommend glass container over plastic because pineapple and lime juice are highly acidic. But if plastic is all you have, it will be okay.
How To Serve and Where To Use
- The most common use for pineapple salsa is to serve it alongside some tortilla chips, and use it as a delicious dip! This is a party favorite appetizer that I find myself making multiple times each summer.
- Sometimes, I even use this pineapple salsa as a garnish for chicken, shrimp, scallops, or fish! There are so many different versions of chicken that are delicious with this spicy and sweet salsa, but I’ve found that when placed on top of Tropical Shrimp Bowl, it’s like a tropical dream come true.
- Quite possibly my favorite method for eating pineapple salsa is when I add it to Blackened Fish Tacos! The combination of the blackened fish and the sweet salsa is simply unreal. If you love seafood, this is a pairing you must try!
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Pineapple Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 red bell pepper or any other color
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers seeds take out of left in
- 1-2 limes- juice only
- 3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
- salt to taste
- pinch cayenne pepper
Optional:
- 1 tbsp agave nectar or honey optional
Instructions
How to Cut a Pineapple:
- Lay the pineapple on its side and use a large, sharp knife to cut the top and the bottom off. Make a cut about 1/2 an inch or a little less off away from the the top and the bottom.
- Stand it up on the bottom cut side and slice the outer skin layer off. Start at the top and cut down along the shape of the pineapple. Try not to cut too deep so you can save as much of the sweet flesh as possible. Slice off the “eyes” that are deep and brown. Tiny lighter ones are fine to leave.
- Keep the pineapple standing and slice it lengthwise down the middle to create two halves. Cut each half lengthwise down the middle to create quarters.
- Locate the thick core at the center corner of each quarter and slice it off.
- Dice the flesh of the pineapple into small pieces and place into the bowl.
Pineapple Salsa:
- Dice onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno and decide if you want to discard jalapeno seeds of keep them. Jalapeno seeds hold most of the spice of the chili pepper, so keeping them will make salsa much spicier.
- Add diced vegetables to the bowl with pineapple and add minced cilantro, lime juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.
- Mix everything well and either serve or store.
- Optional: Taste to see if you need to add any more sweetness! If the pineapple is not as sweet as you’d like it, add a tablespoon of agave nectar or honey.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Salsa Recipes You Can’t Miss!
Classic Salsa
Categories:
Appetizer Recipes, Cinco de Mayo Recipes, Dip Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Toppings and Spreads,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
So good!
Thanks, Karen!
I love this salsa recipe! I would’ve never thought about using pineapple for salsa but it really works