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Fresh and easy, this Mango Salsa is perfect for dipping or as a topping on fish and chicken! Make it along with other easy luau recipes and ideas for the perfect backyard party this summer!
Last week we celebrated the end of the homeschool co-op year with a luau. We studied the state of Hawaii and then went outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather and some tasty snacks like Maricela’s fresh Mango Salsa. We had such a pretty table full of food I thought I would share some of the easy luau recipes and ideas with you!
This was the centerpiece on the table. Some sand and seashells lined the bottom of a pretty tray and a small globe filled with lightly dyed blue water and more shells was in the center. Simple, pretty and easily cleaned up for another use- it was perfect!
While the kids were patiently waiting, starving to death, anticipating the Hawaiian pizzas cooking inside still, they played outside on the swings, in the tree house and blew bubbles. When it was time to eat, we used Wet-Nap wipes for fast and easy clean-up of dirty little hands.
Easy Luau Recipes
Now on to the recipes! I love a good Hawaiian pizza, but these easy luau recipes are quick to put together and super kid-friendly. My FAVORITE snack is this Mango Salsa. Seriously, I could eat this stuff with a spoon-no chips required. It’s also great on fish tacos.
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 6 large mangoes
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small bunch of cilantro chopped
- Juice of 2 limes.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Crushed red pepper to taste (or 2 jalapenos if you like it spicy).
Instructions
- Dice mangoes, onion and tomatoes.
- Add chopped cilantro, gently mix with the rest of the ingredients and chill for 2-3 hours before serving.
Nutrition
While trying to come up with more luau food ideas, I remembered the little pirate ship jello cups I made for Henry’s birthday party. I adapted that to make this beach scene out of Jell-O. You can either make a large bowl like this, or do individual Day at the Beach Jello Cups! <—-Click there to see the easy recipe!
Every party needs a punch! Our luau punch recipe includes the classic Hawaiian punch (of course) and just a few more ingredients. The kids thought it was so cool to have ice cream in their cups (which were adorable-plain clear cups decorated with cute stickers.)
Ice Cream Hawaiian Punch
- 2 liter Sprite
- Hawaiian Punch 128 oz. bottle
- 2 quarts Rainbow Sherbet
Mix the Sprite and Hawaiian Punch equally and then add ice cream to keep cool. (We added some ice because the ice cream was melting so fast in the sun.) 🙂
After lunch we cleaned up and headed down to the bottom of the property to try out the “Swing of Death.” It’s not quite as scary as it sounds, but it does swing high and wide and gives you butterflies in your tummy. All in all, it was a great day!
If you like Mango Salsa, you’ll love this Grilled Pineapple Salsa, too!
Post updated 4/2018
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Nancy says
gotta try that Mango Salsa, and that dirty picture of your little guy at the end is soooo great!
Emily says
Yes, I think you might win! LOL! Looks so very cute. I love messy kiddo photos. I always keep wetnaps in the car for when the kids get dirty!
amy @ one artsy mama says
Those recipes are fab!! And hooray for Wet-Nap products; we use those too.
DeDe@Designed Decor says
Wow! all those recipes look so good! I think you have a great chance of winning with that cute adorable messy boy! I think that would take an entire canister of Wet-Nap to clean him up!
Faith Krauss says
Very cute ideas! Thanks for sharing the recipes.
Jeanie @ create&babble says
What a fun party! I’ll be making that mango salsa!
Kecia says
I love Day at The Beach Jello! How cute is that?!
Aunt Bee says
What a wonderful post full of so many great ideas! Everything looks spectacular! I could eat that mango salsa by the spoon full as well! <3
Tammy says
Love the pictures. It was a fun party. 🙂 I think you should have went with a picture of Charlie with paint all over him from another blog post. Not sure if you got a pic of that though since you were in the middle of a piano lesson with a certain young lady we all know and love.
Nicole Burkholder says
Haha! No I didn’t take a picture of him because I didn’t want paint all over and you so kindly cleaned him up 🙂 I took a photo of the mess instead.
Tana Nicholson says
Oh I LOVE themed parties! I’ve always wanted to know how to make mango salsa! Our stores here in Oregon only carry it on occasion! Yay! Now I can make it whenever I want! 😀 Thank you so much for sharing! I think this summer I’ll have to do this for my 13 grand kids! They’ll love all the fun ocean beach things! Especially the jello & fish idea! I’m sure they’ll gobble it up! 😀
Lori Myers says
This was such a fun little Luau! The food was delicious, especially the salsa!! I love all the bright fun pics on this too. Thank you for the recipes, we will make them soon.
Nicole Burkholder says
Thanks, Lori! It was a fun way to kick off the “summer” 🙂
Starla J says
How fun! Thank you for sharing!
Lori Who Needs A Cape? says
Cute cute cute…my kids would love this!
Wendy says
Great centerpiece! Thanks to Pier 1
Tara says
Awesome ideas, thank you so much!!
Jennifer @Making Our Life Matter says
3 things about this post made me totally happy:
1. Love the centerpiece! I am getting antsy for our beach vacation. I still have to wait 8 weeks!
2. A recipe for mango salsa. Cannot wait to try that one!
3. Love your party punch recipe, it is really similar to mine!
Have a great week!
Nicole Burkholder says
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment! A beach vacation sounds wonderful! It will be here before you know it! 🙂 And don’t wait long to try that Mango Salsa. It is SO good! 🙂