When you want the perfect light summer entree, try this delicious grilled mahi mahi with pineapple salsa. It’s a fast and delicious meal, taking less than 10 minutes to cook. The pineapple salsa turns it into a refreshing treat!
Are you ready to whip up this light and mouthwateringly delicious grilled mahi mahi recipe? The pineapple salsa adds so much tropical flavor to mild-tasting fish like mahi mahi. This will be one of your favorite summer dishes!
Mahi mahi has a firm texture and subtle sweetness that appeals even to those who don’t like a strong “fishy” taste. I faced some of the pickiest eaters with it and let’s just say no one went to bed hungry.
And you’ll like how fast this dish is just as much as the taste. It’s ready in 20 minutes, need I say more?
🐟 Ingredients
🛒Mahi Mahi – If you’ve never had this fish before, you are in for a real treat!
🛒Dry Rub – We used a dry rub called Spicy Pineapple Head from DizzyPig, but you can use any dry rub marketed for fish or just salt and pepper.
🛒Pineapple Salsa – To make the pineapple salsa you’ll need:
- Fresh pineapple
- Cilantro
- Sweet peppers
- Limes
- Papaya
- Roma tomatoes
- Jalapeños
- Sea salt
🔥 Instructions
🍍 Pineapple Salsa
👉Step 1: Start by preparing the pineapple. Cut the top and bottom to create a stable base. Stand the pineapple upright and slice the skin off from top to bottom, following the fruit’s curve. Use a knife or a peeler to remove the eyes and any brown spots. Cut the cleaned pineapple into quarters, remove the core from each, then chop them into small pieces.
👉Step 2: Chop the rest of the ingredients and add them to a bowl. Mix to combine. Squeeze limes for the juice and add salt.
👉Step 3: Give it another good stir and do a taste test. Add more lime juice or salt if needed. Making this first will allow the flavors of the salsa to meld.
♨️ Grilling The Mahi Mahi
👉Step 1: Spray the fillets with a light coating of olive oil.
👉Step 2: Sprinkle with a dry rub. I recommend a sweet and spicy blend.
👉 3: Heat the grill using direct heat to 400ºF.
👉Step 4: Grill the Mahi Mahi for 5 minutes on each side if it is between 1″ and 1.5″ thick. Adjust times if your fillet is thinner or thicker.
👉Step 5: Finish with the skin-side up.
👉Step 6. After removing the fish from the grill, top with the pineapple salsa before serving.
Note: Do not overcook the meat. It should be white and flaky when finished, even in the thickest section.
❗ Expert Tips
📌Oil The Grill Grate | Spray the fish and the grill grate with olive oil to prevent sticking.
📌Perfect Doneness | Make sure that the fish is cooked through. If the grill is lower in temperature, it may take an extra minute. The fish will be white and flake easily. If it is fleshy, it needs more time.
📌Keep It Mild | Remove the seeds from the jalapeño before dicing unless you want that extra heat. Wear gloves whenever you dice up hot peppers such as this and be very careful not to touch your face with your gloved hands. Trust me!
❄️ Storage
Leftover grilled Mahi Mahi can be kept for 2-3 days in the refrigerator if you use an airtight container, or frozen for up to 3 months, according to the USDA. Serve leftovers on soft taco shells or over rice.
🍱 Meal Prep
🔹Salsa | The pineapple salsa can be made ahead of time and will keep for several days in the refrigerator. Making it ahead of time gives the flavors time to come together.
🔹Rice | If you want to serve this meal over rice, make Jasmine rice ahead of time and place it in your refrigerator. Reheat it in a skillet with a small amount of olive oil for flavoring. It will be delicious this way!
🔹Freezer Meals | I love to put individual servings of these leftovers in the refrigerator so that we can grab a quick lunch ready for the microwave. Place rice on the bottom of an individual serving-size container, then place a layer of flaked fish in bite-sized pieces, and make small containers of the pineapple salsa that can be dumped on the fish after it is reheated in the microwave at work. Perfection!
🔄 Substitutions
👍Fish Substitutes | If you can’t find Mahi Mahi, salmon, cod, or halibut are all reasonable substitutions. A nice Red Snapper fillet would work great here as well.
👍Dry Rub Options | We used a sweet and spicy dry rub called Pineapple Head. The pineapple flavor in a dry rub really plays well with the homemade salsa. You could change up both the dry rub and the salsa and try coordinating flavors. We’ve used it on our grouper cheeks as well and it just brings grilled fish to life.
If you don’t want to use a dry rub, a simple salt-and-pepper mix works wonders.
👍Salsa | Mahi mahi goes great with other fruit salsas, so feel free to switch things up. The Carribean fruit salsa we used for grilled branzino also has a sweet and exotic flavor profile that complements the mild tasting mahi mahi.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Grilled Mahi Mahi with pineapple salsa will go beautifully with white rice and roasted vegetables. It could also be served in soft taco shells. Honestly, this fish and salsa make a wonderful meal all by themselves.
- Roasted Root Vegetables on the grill {25 Minutes}
- Grilled Broccolini {15 Minutes}
- Grilled Peach and Arugula Salad {10 Minutes} (substitute pineapple)
❓ Recipe FAQ
It really depends on the thickness of the fish. Thin mahi-mahi fillets like the ones from the bag in the frozen department will cook faster and may only take 3-4 minutes on each side. If the fish is between 1″ and 1.5″ it will need about 5 minutes on each side. The meat must be fully opaque and flake easily with a fork.
This mild tropical fish known as dolphinfish is most often found in the waters surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and the Indian Ocean.
This fish is very, very mild and is often recommended as an introduction to seafood for someone who doesn’t want fish that tastes “fishy”. Because it is so mild, you can pile on the flavor with dry rubs and salsas or sauces and create amazing dishes without competing flavors. You will love cooking with it.
More Great Fish Recipes
- Pan-Seared Grilled Lingcod
- Whole Grilled Spanish Mackerel
- Grilled Steelhead Trout with Herb Butter
- Grilled Stuffed Copper River Salmon
- Grilled Wild Pacific Rockfish with brown butter sauce.
Related Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Equipment
- GrillGrate
- Grill
Ingredients
Pineapple Salsa
- 1 medium Pineapple diced
- ¾ cup Papaya diced
- 1 cup Peppers red, orange or yellow, chopped
- 1 cup Roma Tomatoes diced, removing seeds
- ¼ cup Cilantro fresh, chopped
- 1 Jalapeño seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
- 2 Limes juiced
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ cup Red Onion optional, diced
Instructions
Pineapple Salsa (3-3.5 cups depending on size of pineapple)
- Prepare the pineapple. Cut the top and bottom, and stand the pineapple upright. Slice the skin off from top to bottom. Remove brown spots and eyes using a knife or a peeler. Cut the cleaned pineapple into quarters, remove the core from each, then chop them into small pieces.
- Chop the rest of the ingredients and add them to a bowl. Mix to combine. Squeeze limes for the juice and add salt.
- Give it another good stir and do a taste test. Add more lime juice or salt if needed. Making this first will allow the flavors of the salsa to meld.
Grilled Mahi Mahi
- Spray the fillets with a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle with dry rub.
- Heat grill to direct heat 400ºF.
- Grill the mahi mahi for 5 minutes on each side if it's between 1 and 1.5 inches thick. Thin mahi like the ones from the bag in the frozen department only need 3-4 minutes each side. All depends on the thickness of the fish.
- Finish with the skin side up.
- After removing the fish from the grill, top with the pineapple salsa and serve.
Notes
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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