This light and crunchy jicama salad is a wonderfully healthy and refreshing summer dish. Julienned jicama, mango, red pepper and cucumber are tossed in a light honey lime dressing. It’s perfect for pairing with any Mexican dish or grilled main course.
Jicama has become a staple in my refrigerator over the last year.
When I’m not making jicama fries or jicama chips out of this crunchy tuber, I’m either dipping it in hummus for a healthy snack or concocting some sort of summer salad with it.
I think the first time I bought it was in 2011 when making this Irish coleslaw recipe and I haven’t stopped since.
This jicama salad is quite literally the epitome of the most perfect summer salad.
It’s refreshing, light and crunchy with touch of sweetness and you’d be hard-pressed to find something it doesn’t go well with.
Jicama is often used in Mexican cuisine and because of the mango, cilantro and lime, this salad pairs perfectly with almost any Mexican dish. Whether as a side to go with some carne asada nachos or as a topping for some blackened shrimp tacos, the flavors complement each other really well.
Outside of Mexican food, the light and refreshing nature of jicama makes it compatible with pretty much anything off the grill or out of the air fryer.
Some medium-rare air fried skirt steak thinly sliced on top of this salad is my ideal summertime dinner!
JICAMA SALAD INGREDIENTS
- jicama
- ripe but firm mango (if it’s too ripe, it will be impossible to julienne without making a mushy mess)
- cucumber
- red bell pepper
- fresh cilantro
- extra virgin olive oil
- juice of a lime
- raw honey
- salt & pepper
- red pepper flakes (optional)
HOW TO PREPARE THE JICAMA
Select a large jicama bulb that’s about 1 pound in weight.
Jicama is like most other tubers (like yuca) in that it simply needs to be peeled of its tough outer skin.
Slice the ends off with a sharp knife then use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Sometimes jicama will have a waxy coating on the outside (like they do with apples) for preservation purposes. Regardless if yours is waxed or not, just peel the skin off.
Next, using a sharp chef’s knife, slice the jicama into matchsticks (otherwise known as a julienne cut) to prepare it for the salad.
You’ll do the same with the cucumber, red pepper and mango so everything is uniform in shape.
Alternatively, if you prefer not to put the effort into cutting the salad vegetables into matchsticks, you can just cube everything.
HOW TO MAKE THIS JICAMA SALAD RECIPE
To make the salad, combine the prepared jicama, mango, red pepper, cucumber and cilantro in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl or shake in a mason jar then pour into the salad bowl.
Toss everything together until well combined.
At this point, the jicama salad can be served immediately at room temperature or, you can cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
I personally prefer serving the salad after chilling a bit. This gives the dressing time to soak into the jicama and other salad ingredients making it quite a bit more flavorful.
The lime juice in the salad dressing almost serves as a pickling agent for the jicama and if you’re a fan of tangy pickled vegetables (like these fermented vegetables), you’ll likely prefer this option.
Plus, jicama is incredibly refreshing when served cold.
OTHER ADDITIONS TO JICAMA SALAD
With jicama as the base, the options for making this salad are pretty flexible.
Using the same honey lime dressing, you can include other fruits such as pineapple or orange segments instead of mango.
If you’re a raw onion lover (I am not), some thinly sliced red onions would be a good addition to the salad.
For the other vegetables, feel free to substitute any color bell pepper for the red.
And lastly, avocado is a great addition not only for its healthy fat profile but for the contrast in texture to all the crunchy vegetables.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JICAMA SLAW & JICAMA SALAD?
Jicama is often used to make slaws. In fact, if you’ve ever been to Trader Joe’s, they have a pretty popular jicama slaw that also incorporates mango like this salad.
The main difference between a slaw and salad is simply how the vegetables are cut.
In a slaw, the jicama and all other ingredients are grated and in a salad they’re either julienned or chopped.
This salad could easily be turned into a slaw simply by grating everything!
If you do that, just make sure to squeeze out some of the water from the jicama after grating so the final result isn’t too soggy.
WHAT TO SERVE THIS WITH
Besides Mexican dishes, this salad is great with burgers!
Whether you’re making elk burgers, a grilled halloumi lamb burger or just a standard beef burger, the refreshing crunch of jicama with sweet mango is a perfect pairing.
It’s also just fun to swap out a traditional leafy green salad with a more non-traditional salad like this one.
And since this jicama salad just gets better as it marinates in the fridge, it lends itself well to being made ahead of time and bringing to any cookout.
We love it with grilled or air fryer sausages too!
OTHER SALADS LIKE THIS:
Spicy Cilantro Mango Wild Rice Salad
Mango Black Bean Salad
Thai Kohlrabi Noodle Salad
Bok Choy Salad with Sesame Soy Dressing
Cucumber Melon Salad
Jicama Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large jicama, peeled and julienned
- 1 mango, on the firmer side of ripe, peeled and julienned
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and julienned
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl or mason jar, add all the ingredients for the dressing and either whisk together or shake vigorously with a lid on until combined.
- Pour the dressing over the jicama salad in the bowl and toss until well combined.
- Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Salad can be served either immediately or covered and chilled for an hour or so first. (*see note)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
looks delish thanks! I always have trouble finding mangos, is there a substitute?
Is the dressing recipe missing vinegar?
Hi Denise- no it’s not, the lime juice replaces traditional vinegar in the dressing.