Mangos have always been one of my favorite fruits, so I just knew I had to celebrate them in French macaron form! These mango macarons are filled with mango buttercream and fresh mango puree. So much tropical flavor in one bite!
I love how mangos always have such pretty coloring so I decided to decorate these mango macarons with a hand painted watercolor design.
I'll walk you through how to make homemade French macarons and give you all my tips and tricks for success!
You might also like these peach macarons or these mango coconut cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
Egg Whites - I've recently started "aging" my egg whites and I've found it helps with my consistency. This is absolutely not necessary, but it's super easy to do so I recommend trying it out. Weigh out 100 grams of egg whites into a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top. Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours but up to 3 days. Make sure to remove the egg whites from the fridge at least an hour before making the macarons so they can come up to room temperature.
Almond Flour - If you've ever seen macarons that look bumpy, it's usually because the almond flour isn't ground finely enough. I love Bob's Red Mill for my almond flour because it's usually fine enough. But if you have lumpy almond flour you can also just pulse it in a food processor for a few seconds to break it up further. Sifting your dry ingredients is also super important for ensuring smooth macarons.
Mango - I like to use fresh mango for the buttercream, but you can also use a few slices of thawed, frozen mango if that's all you have! You can also fill the macarons with mango curd instead!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make French Macarons
Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form. If desired, add in 1-2 drops of orange food coloring and then continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients.
Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.
Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds.
Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.
*The macaron batter will look like photo 5 before banging out the excess air, and photo 6 afterwards.
Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.
While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 13-15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.
Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.
Hand-Painted Macarons
This is a super easy and fun way to decorate your mango macarons! You just need:
- Red, orange, and yellow gel food coloring
- A couple drops of vodka
- Small food safe paintbrush
- On a small plate, mix together 1-2 drops of red food coloring with 1-2 drops of vodka to thin it out. In a separate section of the plate, repeat with the yellow and orange food coloring. You can also combine the colors as desired.
- Once the macarons are fully cooled, carefully paint streaks on the macarons using a small food safe paintbrush.
- Allow the food coloring to dry for at least 10-15 minutes before filling the macarons.
Put the assembled mango macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they're perfectly soft and tender!]
Macaron Tips & Tricks
Making macarons from scratch can be tough so setting yourself up for success is key!
- Buy a kitchen scale if you don’t already have one! Macarons are incredibly finicky, so weighing all your ingredients is super important!
- Clean the mixing bowl and whisk attachment of your stand mixer with lemon juice or white vinegar to make sure there are no trace fats on either (if you don’t, your meringue may not form).
- Invest in some silicone macaron mats! They aren’t expensive and they will make your life so much easier!
- Also invest in an oven thermometer! We want our oven as close to 300 degrees as possible to make perfect macarons but just because your oven says it’s 300 degrees, doesn’t mean it actually is. My oven tends to run hot, so I usually end up having it set to about 290.
- Always use gel food coloring! Since macaron batter is so finicky, we don’t want to add any extra liquid to the batter. So gel food coloring is the way to go! The color is also even more concentrated so you need less.
Recipe FAQ's
Macarons are finicky, but not impossible! It's important to follow the directions carefully but if your first batch doesn't turn out, just keep practicing (and practicing, and practicing)!
Unless you have experience baking macarons, I don't recommend making any changes to the macaron recipe. But you can make substitutions to the macaron filling!
Most macaron issues can be traced to either oven temperature or improperly mixing the batter. This is why it's so important to use an oven thermometer and only mix your batter until it starts to flow like lava and then stopping immediately.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Mango Macarons
Ingredients
Macarons
- 100 grams egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 60 grams granulated sugar
- 110 grams almond flour, sifted
- 200 grams powdered sugar, sifted
- gel food coloring, optional
- ½ teaspoon vodka, optional
Mango Puree
- 1 large mango, peeled and cored
Mango Buttercream
- 113 grams unsalted butter
- 180 grams powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon mango puree
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Macarons
- Sift together almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they become foamy, then add in the cream of tartar.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high and gradually add in the granulated sugar (make sure to add the sugar in very slowly so that the meringue doesn’t deflate). Once all the sugar is added, turn the mixer to the highest setting and whisk on high until soft peaks form. Add in 2-3 drops of orange gel food coloring (if desired) and then continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in half of the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined. Then gently fold in the remaining dry ingredients. Continue to gently fold the batter until it reaches a “flowing lava” consistency. You should be able to make a “figure 8” with the batter before it breaks. As soon as you reach this consistency, stop mixing! If you over-mix the batter, the macarons won’t rise properly in the oven.
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Scoop batter into a large piping bag fitted with a round tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the silicone mat and pipe 1 inch rounds. Pick up the baking sheet and drop it onto the counter 3-4 times to help bring any air bubbles to the surface of the macarons. Then use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles to make a smooth surface.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30-40 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface. You should be able to lightly touch the surface without any batter being disturbed.
- While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 15 minutes or when they do not move on their “feet” when touched.
- Let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them. They should easily peel off when fully cooled.
Optional: Painted Macarons
- On a small plate, mix together 1-2 drops of red food coloring with 1-2 drops of vodka to thin it out. In a separate section of the plate, repeat with the yellow and orange food coloring. You can also combine the colors as desired.
- Once the macarons are fully cooled, carefully paint streaks on the macarons using a small food safe paintbrush.
- Allow the food coloring to dry for at least 10-15 minutes before filling the macarons.
- Once the food coloring is dry, match up your shells before filling, and then turn one side over.
Mango Buttercream
- To make mango puree, place one whole mango (peeled and cored) into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Add in about 1 tablespoon of the mango puree, then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is super light and fluffy.
- Once the macarons are cooled and painted, pipe the buttercream around the edge of the macaron shell. Then add a small scoop of mango puree in the center (about ½ teaspoon). Then top with the other shell.
- Put the assembled mango macarons in an airtight container, then place them in the fridge to mature for 12-24 hours. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. However, for the best taste/texture, let them come up to room temperature for about an hour before eating! [Directly out of the fridge they can sometimes be super hard but at room temperature they're perfectly soft and tender!]
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Browse more macaron recipes →
Jess says
I made these macarons over the weekend and they were delicious! But after storing them in the fridge overnight, they became super soggy (assuming because of the mango purée). Any tips to avoid the sogginess?
Kyleigh Sage says
You could spread a layer of buttercream on both shells before piping the border, so that you have more of a frosting barrier between the macaron shell and the puree!
Macaronage says
when do you add the salt to the mango buttercream?
nancy says
my fav fruit and dessert in one!
Melinda says
I have always wanted to make homemade macarons and this recipe has inspired me to do it!! And with mango buttercream too, talk about a show stopping treat. 🙂
Addie says
I love that these are gluten free! I am loving all this mango!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Oh my! I need this in my life. Must print your recipe. Thanks for sharing. It looks really mouthwatering.
Tammy r seed says
These were absolutely delicious, thank you for posting! Even my kids enjoyed it which is huge!
Alexandra says
These are beautiful - I love the mango buttercream, it is delicate and perfectly flavoured. Thank you for your tips on hand painting the macarons!