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This Homemade Pico de Gallo goes great with chips, burritos, and nachos! The secret to the best pico de gallo is getting the balance of tomatoes and onions just right! You’ll love this flavorful mix!
We have tacos at least once per week and a topping of our homemade pico de gallo is almost mandatory around here!
This pico adds such a pop of fresh, bright flavors with a little (or a lot, if you prefer) spice and a pop of lime.
We’re definitely sauce/condiment people and we have loads in our fridge, like store bought taco sauce and hot sauce, but our favorites are the homemade things, like this pico de gallo, our restaurant style salsa, chipotle sauce, and our homemade guacamole.
What Is Pico de Gallo?
Pico de Gallo is a common Mexican salsa that also goes by the name salsa fresca.
It’s a mixture of fresh ingredients, such as Roma tomatoes, jalapeno or serrano peppers, onion, cilantro, and lime.
It’s chunkier in texture than salsa, but can be used in the same way.
You can buy this in most grocery stores, but homemade pico de gallo will always be fresher and tastier and I love that you can make it as spicy or as mild as you like.
Homemade Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- ½ large white onion
- 1/3 cup freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 lime juice of
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Dice the tomatoes and onion. Mince the jalapeno. Add to a large mixing bowl along with the cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
- Stir well to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
- Taste and add additional jalapeno, lime, or salt to taste.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Pico de Gallo Ingredients:
Roma Tomatoes – You could use any tomato here, but roma are traditional. These have less seeds and juice than other tomato varieties, making them a great choice for pico de gallo.
Jalapeno Pepper – Use as much pepper as you like, depending on how spicy you like things. Serrano peppers also work.
White Onion – If you don’t love the bite of onion, you can soak it in a bit of ice water and it will be more mild.
Cilantro – Fresh cilantro is a must in our house. Swap in parsley or leave it out if you hate cilantro.
Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed, please.
Sea Salt
What We Love About This HOMEMADE PICO DE GALLO Recipe:
- Fresh: You’ll find only fresh flavors in this homemade pico de gallo! The lime juice makes every taste extra fresh.
- Easy: It’s so quick and easy to prepare this! Just a bit of chopping and mixing, and then the fridge does the rest of the work.
- Versatile: This is delicious as a dip for chips, but it also works as a topping for fried tacos, chicken, and more!
How To Make Pico de Gallo:
Chop: We’ll start by dicing the tomatoes and onion and mincing the jalapeno, which will make the chunky texture that Pico de Gallo is known for. Traditional salsa uses similar ingredients but is a much smoother texture.
Helpful Tip!
If you want a spicier Pico de Gallo, leave in the seeds and membrane when mincing the jalapeno. Remove them for a milder flavor.
Mix: When you’ve finished dicing, add the ingredients to a mixing bowl along with the cilantro, lime juice, and sea salt which will add lots of flavor. Sea salt and lime juice make for a tasty combination!
Stir all of the ingredients together until well combined.
Refrigerate: When the Pico de Gallo mixture is all ready to go, resist eating it now and instead cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. This will allow the lime juice to soak in and will add to the flavor.
When ready, give this a taste and adjust the seasonings. It may need a bit more salt or lime juice. Add more jalapeno if it’s not quite spicy enough.
STORAGE:
- This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an air tight container, but we do prefer the texture and freshness it has the first day.
- We do not recommend canning or freezing this recipe.
serve this with:
Leftover Hack!
Running out of ideas for your leftover pico de gallo? Stir it into mashed avocado for a quick guacamole!
Pico de Gallo Substitutions & Variations
There’s plenty of ways you can switch this recipe up with other ingredients! Try some of these other ways of serving pico de gallo:
Fruit – Tomatoes, and even the jalapenos, are a fruit so technically we have this covered but you can make this with other types of fruit. Try subbing the tomato for mango, pineapple, avocado, corn, or even peaches or strawberries! Bell peppers are another good choice for adding or subbing.
Veggies – I’m using white onion but you could switch that to red onion for a stronger flavor. It’s really the only veggie in this recipe, but you can add more if you like. Cucumbers, radishes, and black beans work too!
Or try out my Pickle de Gallo recipe which is exactly what it sounds like!
FAQ’s:
The jalapeno peppers add a bit of spice but it’s easy to control by adding more or less to taste. Removing the seeds and membranes from the peppers will also make them more mild. For extra spice, swap the jalapeno for an even spicier pepper like serrano.
The actual Spanish translation is “Rooster’s Beak.” Which sounds a lot less appealing in English. But it’s also known as salsa fresca, and who doesn’t like salsa?
It’s loaded with fresh, raw veggies (or fruit) and that’s always good for your diet! If you’re serving it with chips it’s a healthier dip recipe than some other choices.
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