Mango Summer Salad with Feta and Hummus

Yum

This is hands down my favorite summer salad, which I’ve been making for years. Like many delicious recipes, this too was born out of le struggle. When I was a broke summer intern living in NYC for the first time, I often made all of my meals from from seasonal fruits, veggies, beans and grains that I could source cheaply from the bodega below my apartment. This salad’s got it all…Sweet, salty, acid (from the hummus or dressing) and, best of all, it always leaves me feeling full all day, while also feeling #healthy *Instagram camera pose*.

Why you should make Mango Summer Salad with Feta and Hummus

So, first of all, the salt of the feta perfectly compliments the sweetness of the mango, but also because the mango reminds me of the summer sun (which has been a huge help to my spirits while I eating lunch under the florescent lighting above my cube). The cilantro adds a freshness to it that makes me feel like I’m running through an open field on a warm summer day, instead of trying to scarf down my homemade lunch before my next meeting. The hummus has a nice acidity to it that balances the fat in the cheese, and the sunflower seeds add some crunch. When I eat this with some nutty whole wheat pita, I feel full for hours.

Pro Tips/Things to Know About This Recipe:

Mango

• You will definitely want to make sure to use ripe mango for this recipe. I would go so far as to say if your mango is NOT ripe, don’t even bother trying to make this recipe because the flavor will not be as sweet and the texture will be too spongy
• My favorite varieties of mangos to use in this recipe are Champagne mangos and Mexican mangos

Hummus

• I’ve always used chickpea hummus in this recipe. You can either buy it from the store or make your own. My smoked paprika hummus (shown here) blends PERFECTLY with all of the other flavors in the salad. But, in the words of my fave, Ina Garten, “store bought is fine.” Some of my favorites include red pepper hummus, greek-flavored hummus and lemony hummus.

Dressing

• I always like using creamy dressing with this salad. I actually exclusively eat this salad with Brianna’s Poppy Seed dressing, but if you’re a ranch kinda girl (I am very much not), I can imagine that could be good too.