A No-Fuss Trick for Cutting a Mango

Fresh mango is a tropical treat that stands out from the crowd. It’s distinctly sweet, incredibly juicy, and has a flavor that instantly puts palm trees and sunshine in your head.

If you live in a tropical area, you might be a pro at cutting into fresh mangoes already. But if cutting mangoes feels a tad intimidating to you, we completely empathize. Sometimes it’s just simpler to buy the pre-sliced stuff, right?

Cutting mangoes looks harder than it actually is. First, before you cut into a mango, you want to make sure it’s ripe. (Here’s how to pick a ripe mango.)

With your ripe fresh mango, look for the “nose” at the tip of the mango. This shows you where the pit—a long, flat seed—is situated. Slice on each side of the seed using a chef’s knife, and you’ll end up with two sides known as the “cheeks” of the mango.

Depending on the side of the pit, you may also be able to scrape some more meat off the sides of the pit.

With each mango cheek, cut a cross-hatch pattern into the mango, but don’t cut through the mango peel. Then, turn the mango cheek inside out so that the peel is underneath. Using either your chef’s knife or a paring knife, slice along the peel to cut the mango cubes loose. You should end with a pile of diced mango.

After you cut and peel the mango, you can use it in a tropical yogurt parfait, mango salsa, or a dipping sauce for coconut-crusted shrimp.