Whether you consider this a sauce, condiment, or dip, this pico de gallo recipe is pretty much guaranteed to brighten your day. It is always bursting with fresh, bright flavors despite needing only a handful of simple ingredients. If you can dice vegetables, then you can make this easy recipe.
Pico de gallo, which translates to “rooster beak” in Spanish, is a delicious and popular Mexican dish consisting of fresh, raw ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos. Also known as salsa fresca or salsa cruda, this recipe is extremely versatile. Scooped with chips or used as a topping for nachos, shrimp tacos, and more, a bowl of this zesty salsa will disappear fast.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Tomatoes — use the best tomatoes you can find! If you are making this salsa fresca recipe in the winter, I like to chop up cherry tomatoes instead of larger slicing tomatoes. They tend to be sweeter out of season, lending the finished dish a richer tomato flavor even outside the peak of summer.
Jalapeno — you can also use serrano pepper. Remember that serrano pepper is more than twice as spicy as jalapeno peppers if you choose to use serrano peppers instead.
Lime — I highly recommend using fresh lime juice over bottled lime juice. It tastes much more fresh, and you’ll need lime for zest, so you might as well grab a fresh lime at the store.
Cilantro — when buying cilantro at the store, make sure you pick a brightly colored bunch with no yellow or wilted leaves.
How to Make Pico de Gallo
1. Dice the tomato and onion.
2. Add to a medium bowl. Seed and mince the jalapeño and add to the bowl.
3. Zest the lime and squeeze the juice over the tomato mixture.
4. Add the chopped cilantro and stir to combine. Add salt to taste. Cover and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- When dicing the tomatoes, make sure you are using the firm flesh of the tomatoes and not the seedy pulp. This will keep the salsa fresca from being watery.
- If serving a few days after preparing, you may have to transfer the ingredients into a new bowl with a slotted spoon or drain the bowl. The longer the ingredients sit, the more liquid the diced tomatoes release, so it might become watery.
- Don’t skip letting the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes! As the mixture sits and marinates, the salt draws out the tomatoes’ flavor and helps tone down the bite from the raw onion.
- Make sure you chop everything finely to ensure that every bite has a mixture of all the ingredients.
- Did you know that the ribs and seeds of jalapeno carry the most heat? Removing them before adding the jalapeno to your dish keeps it from being overly spicy. Also, wearing gloves will help keep your hands from burning from the jalapeno.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between this and salsa?
Both have similar ingredients, but their main difference is the texture. The consistency of salsa is similar to a sauce as it has more liquid and can contain cooked ingredients, whereas you use raw, diced ingredients for pico de gallo, making the dish more chunky.
What else can I add to this?
There are a ton of variations to this recipe that you can make. Feel free to swap the white onion for red onions or shallots. You can also add diced avocado, mango, pineapple, corn, or bell pepper to make a slightly different dish every time.
What can I serve with this?
There are so many ways to serve this recipe, as it goes with many different dishes. While it is delicious on its own with a side of tortilla chips, this dip is also perfect with birria tacos, chicken fajitas, chicken enchiladas, fish tacos, carnitas, and more.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pico de Gallo
Equipment
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1 pound red tomatoes about 3 tomatoes/450g
- ½ large white onion
- 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper
- 1 lime
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Dice the tomato and onion and add to a medium bowl. Seed and mince the jalapeño and add to the bowl. Zest the lime and squeeze the juice over the tomato mixture. Add the chopped cilantro and stir to combine.
- Add salt, to taste. Cover and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- When dicing the tomatoes, make sure you are using the firm flesh of the tomatoes and not the seedy pulp. This will keep the salsa fresca from being watery.
- If serving this recipe a few days after preparing it, you may have to transfer the ingredients into a new bowl with a slotted spoon or drain the bowl. The longer the ingredients sit, the more liquid the diced tomatoes release, so it might become watery.
- Don’t skip letting the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes! As the mixture sits and marinates, the salt draws out the tomatoes’ flavor and helps tone down the bite from the raw onion.
- Make sure you chop everything finely to ensure that every bite has a mixture of all the ingredients.
- Did you know that the ribs and seeds of jalapeno carry the most heat? Removing them before adding the jalapeno to your dish keeps it from being overly spicy. Also, wearing gloves will help keep your hands from burning from the jalapeno.
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