Honey Lime Tropical Cucumber Salsa

Add a tropical twist to your tacos with this Honey Lime Tropical Cucumber Salsa. There’s some tang, some spice, some crunch, and some sweetness to this perfect pico. Grab a chip and scoop away!

ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…

Well hello friends. It’s my favorite day of the week…in theory. It’s Taco Tuesday and I LOVE tacos! However, sadly I will be microwaving leftovers and giving some frozen veggies a makeover tonight. I haven’t gone grocery shopping for over a week and that’s about all we have left in this barren kitchen.

I can tell you one person who will be immensely disgusted at my inability to provide something fancier: my biggest critic, my five year old Emry. Seriously, this child and her cuisine expectations are nearly impossible to achieve.

After three days straight of making fancy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for my in-laws while they were visiting, I received a break from chef duty. And let me emphasize that I am not complaining whatsoever. Ben’s parents would treat us to every meal if I let them. But, I ENJOY cooking and it brings me happiness watching other people eat my food. So yeah, by my own free will I chose to entertain my guests daily with homemade food. It was not in the least bit expected.

Anyway, midway through my crazy cooking marathon, Ben had arranged to attend an evening Coyotes hockey game with his parents. I, oh so politely, declined. The idea of vegging out in a house all to myself once the girls were in bed was much too tempting to pass up.

Once Ben and his parents left the house, little Emry began inquiring what us girls were going to eat for dinner. I had just made a marinara pasta skillet the night before with fresh sliced mozarella, ripened roma tomatoes, and from scratch marinara sauce. Everyone loved it so I figured I would nuke some up in the microwave, throw together a salad, and call it dinner. Like I said, I deserved a break.

Emry took one look at me when she heard the word “leftovers” and matter of factly informed me, “I want a NEW dinner, mom. I’m thinking I want pancakes and eggs. Kapeesh?!”

KAPEESH??? SAY WHAT?!

I literally think this child assumes she is living in a five star restaurant where meals are catered to her every craving. I may have created a monster foodie. I’ve mentioned before that she wants to grow up to be a “person that eats food and says if it’s good or not.” That’s my five year old’s elementary description of a food critic. She decided this was a reputable career after watching a few episodes of Chopped and MasterChef Junior.

As irritated as I was that she just expected me to whip up another from scratch meal (no pancake mixes around here), I was as equally honored that she enjoys the variety in my cooking so much that she wouldn’t settle for anything less than “new”. And she has so much confidence in my cooking skills, that she can basically name whatever food sounds pleasing at the moment with full faith that I will be able to make it.

Now I wish I could say that I played tough mom and made her eat the leftovers, but those big brown eyes and that smirky grin melted me right into making a stack of pancakes.

But know this…tonight we will surely be eating leftovers! Tonight I’m putting my foot down and only raising a finger to push the buttons on the microwave. And little miss spoiled pants is just gonna have to deal.

HERE COMES THE RECIPE…

Maybe next week we will join in the tradition of Taco Tuesday. And if I get my act together enough in the next seven days, you bet the first thing on my taco menu will be this Honey Lime Tropical Cucumber Salsa.

I’ll be the first to agree that the proper preparation of a protein can make or break a taco. Meat needs to be tender. Eggs need to be perfectly cooked. Fish has to be fresh and adequately seared. Chickpeas, beans, or other legumes should be well seasoned. Whatever protein you choose to use in your tacos, it makes a big difference in the taco whether or not they are cooked correctly.

However, even a sub-par protein can be revived with the right toppings. I am a 100% garnish girl. Basically I’m obsessed with ALL the things you put on TOP of the taco rather than just what you put in it.

WHAT DO YOU PUT “IN” A TACO?

When I think about the things that go IN a taco, I think about all the hearty fillings. Some of my favorite taco fillers are:

Fajita style chicken or steak – If you’re planning ahead of time, take the extra step to marinate your meat. The flavor is greatly intensified.
Ground beef – I love a simple ground beef taco meat. It’s so easy to make and you can hide some veggies in the mixture. Check out my quick and easy taco meat.
Roasted veggies – We love any combination of sweet potatoes, corn, onions, potatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower, and zucchini. Drizzle the veggies with some olive oil and southwest seasoning and roast them until crisp tender. Squeeze them with some fresh lime juice right out of the oven.
Legumes- I always have a can of chickpeas, black beans, or vegetarian refried beans on hand for nights we’re in a bind and I don’t have time to cook up any kind of meat. I’ll saute the chickpeas or black beans up with some onions, mushrooms, and peppers along with taco seasoning and lime juice to give it a fajita style feel.

WHAT DO YOU PUT “ON” A TACO?

When I think about what to put ON a taco, I think about toppings that add flavor and texture. Some of my favorite toppings are:

Sour cream or crema- You just can’t beat the cool tang of a dollop of sour cream or a flavored crema.
Guacamole – I love changing up my guacamole with different mix-ins. You can go basic guac with avocado, garlic, onion, cilantro, and lime juice, or you can add flare with chopped tomatoes, mangoes, bell peppers, jalapeno, jicama, etc. You can also consider throwing in pomegranate seeds, dried fruit, and nuts such as pistachios, pepitas, or slivered almonds.
Cheese – There are such a variety of delicious cheeses you can add to your tacos. You can do a shredded cheese like cheddar, monterrey jack, or pepperjack. Or go for a crumbled cheese like goat cheese, cotija cheese, queso fresco, or blue cheese (have you ever had a blue cheese steak taco?!)
Lettuce, cabbage, or slaw – Cool, crisp shreds of lettuce or cabbage are a must. Generally I use cabbage for fish tacos and lettuce for my meat or bean tacos. You can also opt to use a slaw of some sorts.
Salsa, sauce, and pico – This is where the money is at. Salsa has sooooo much flavor. There are so many varieties in salsa, just pick one that pairs well with the other flavors you are using. I love using fruit salsas and picos for fish tacos, whereas I like something a little smokier with more heat for my steak and chicken tacos. It’s all preference. A good sauce or dressing can completely elevate your tacos. Think about a cilantro ranch dressing, a cilantro lime chimichurri sauce, a salsa verde or a sriracha mayo.

I have to say, I think salsa has to be my favorite taco topping. Salsa allows you to be creative and fine tune the flavors you want in your taco. This Honey Lime Tropical Cucumber Salsa was so easy to make and everything I wanted it to be. It had a touch of sweetness from the honey and mango, a little tartness from the pineapple and lime, a touch of heat from the red onions and jalapeno, and the perfect amount of crunch from the red bell pepper and cucumber. This salsa really has that “perfect balance”.

I’ve made many fruit salsas before with similar combinations, but I kept this one really simple in spices so that the fresh flavors of the fruits and veggies could really shine through. It turned out fabulous.

My in-laws raved about the freshness of the salsa and we all inhaled the fish tacos we used as a vehicle for this honey lime tropical cucumber salsa. There weren’t many leftovers, and the leftovers we did have were gone in a matter of days. In fact, I ate the remaining salsa on top of some avocado toast this morning and enjoyed every last bite.

So whether you are on board for Taco Tuesday or not, make this honey lime cucumber tropical salsa a part of your next fiesta meal. It’s a fabulous addition to any southwest dinner theme.