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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 (sou r ce):

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

Grilled Pineapple

Pineapple Smoothie

This pineapple salsa recipe is…

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

Easy Pineapple Salsa

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

This pineapple salsa recipe is easy and is a burst of tropical, fresh flavor! Eat with chips or spoon over grilled fish.

Ingredients

2 cups finely diced fresh pineapple (about 1/2 medium fresh pineapple)*
½ cup diced red pepper or diced tomato
1/2 large red onion
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 jalapeño pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 pinches sugar (optional based on ripeness)
Tortilla chips, for serving

Instructions

Finely dice the pineapple, following How to Cut a Pineapple. Dice the red pepper and red onion. Chop the cilantro.
Remove the stem, seeds, and ribs of the jalapeño pepper and mince half of the pepper. For a spicier variation, add the seeds and/or the other half of the pepper.
Mix all ingredients together, then add the lime juice and kosher salt. Taste and add a few pinches sugar if desired to bring out the flavor of the pineapple (depending on the ripeness of the fruit). Serve immediately with chips, or wait 5 minutes to let the flavors meld. Also serve over grilled fish, or with shrimp or chicken.

Notes

*Double these quantities for a party-sized salsa (and allow ample time for chopping!). Press the 2x button for an easy way to double the ingredients.

Category: Appetizer
Method: Chopped
Cuisine: Mexican inspired

Keywords: Pineapple salsa, pineapple salsa recipe

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Whipped Ricotta

This whipped ricotta recipe makes an impressive easy appetizer in 5 minutes! Top it with honey for a rich, savory sweet bite.

Got 5 minutes? Then you can whip up this stunningly simple appetizer: Whipped Ricotta! This recipe is inspired by one we had at a Mediterranean restaurant, and the pairing of fluffy, savory cheese and gooey golden honey had us all licking our plates. It’s creamy, salty sweet perfection scooped up with some warm bread. It’s the ideal starter to get any meal rolling: and it couldn’t be easier to whip up. (Literally.)

Ingredients for whipped ricotta

What is whipped ricotta? It’s simply ricotta cheese that’s seasoned and whipped until it’s creamy, then served as a dip. All you need is a handful of ingredients for this whipped ricotta recipe, making it ideal for simple entertaining. Unopened ricotta cheese lasts about 2 weeks refrigerated, so grab a container and you can whip this up on moments notice. Here’s what you’ll need:

Whole milk ricotta cheese
Milk, to make it creamy
Olive oil, to add richness
Salt
White or black pepper
Honey (optional but recommended)

How to make whipped ricotta

The easiest way to make whipped ricotta is with a whisk: but if you prefer, you can whip out a stand mixer for this one. Here are our notes on the process:

Whisk the ricotta, milk and oil for about 2 minutes until fluffy. Use whisk and whip by hand, or whip on medium speed using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
A stand mixer is less work and can get it even fluffier, but the whisk is our preferred method (mainly because I prefer not having to clean the stand mixer!).
Use white pepper for a uniform look, or black for speckled. We bought some white pepper for this recipe to achieve a perfectly creamy look. But black pepper is just as good and looks nice as a garnish.

A note about serving temperature

One thing to note about whipped ricotta: we like this recipe best when it’s room temperature. The cold ricotta with warm bread wasn’t exactly what we remembered from the restaurant experience we were trying to recreate (which by the way, was Abigail Street in Cincinnati).

You can serve this whipped ricotta recipe immediately, but we recommend letting it sit out to come up to room temperature for about 15 minutes. Or, simply pull the ricotta out of the fridge for about 15 minutes before you want to make it.

How to serve whipped ricotta (honey & more!)

The sky’s the limit when it comes to serving this whipped ricotta recipe! We have a few opinions on what tastes best, but feel free to add your spin to this easy recipe.

Top with honey. The absolute best way to serve whipped ricotta is drizzled with honey. The way the savory and sweet flavors complement each other is truly stunning.
Or, top with olive oil. If you’re not a honey fan, you can also top with olive oil for a totally savory experience. (It’s not quite as good, but still delightful.)
Eat with warm bread. It’s stellar with grilled bread to infuse some smoky flavor. Or try with warmed pita bread or this homemade flatbread.
Or, eat with crackers. A simple way to eat it? With purchased crackers! Find a quality brand you love. This is a good gluten-free option: there are lots of great brands that offer nut or legume-based crackers.

More easy appetizer recipes

Looking for more appetizer ideas? We love easy ways to make entertaining simple. Here are some more ideas:

Try our classic and delicious Spinach Artichoke Dip
Opt for fast and easy 5-Minute Bean Dip
Grab amazingly fresh Pan Con Tomate (Spanish tomato bread)
Make a batch of Marinated Olives

Best-Ever Spinach Artichoke Dip

5-Minute Bean Dip

Pan Con Tomate

Marinated Olives

This whipped ricotta recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.