Pico de gallo is one of my favorite fresh summer condiments because it only takes a few minutes to make and it adds so much fresh vibrant flavor to all of my meals. It’s one of those amazing recipes that have only a few ingredients but has the power to totally transform a meal. The simple combination of lime, salt, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro is totally magical, so don’t wait and try this pico de gallo recipe with dinner tonight!
What is Pico de Gallo?
Pico de gallo, also known as salsa fresca, is a fresh salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, salt, lime, and cilantro. Unlike most jarred salsa that you find in the store, this mix is not cooked, so the flavor stays very fresh and vibrant, and the texture is less saucy and more chunky.
Ingredients for Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo is incredibly simple. Here’s what you’ll need to make your own homemade pico de gallo:
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes provide the bulk of the pico de gallo recipe, so make sure to get ripe, juicy, and flavorful tomatoes. Roma tomatoes or small tomatoes on the vine work best.
- Onion: Onion provides a savory bite to the pico de gallo, plus a little crunch. I like to use white onion because it has a nice sharp flavor to contrast the tomato, but you can also go with a sweeter Vidalia onion if you prefer a milder pico de gallo.
- Jalapeño: Jalapeño gives the pico de gallo heat, which is the perfect contrast to the salt and acidity. If you are sensitive to spicy foods, you can leave the jalapeño out.
- Cilantro: Cilantro gives the pico de gallo a very fresh herbal flavor that can’t be matched with any other ingredient.
- Lime: Fresh lime is essential for pico de gallo. The flavor and acidity pairs perfectly with the salt and other flavors to give the pico that classic flavor.
- Salt: A little bit of salt makes all of the flavors POP in your mouth and gives the pico de gallo a really punchy finish.
How to Use Pico de Gallo
If you’re wondering how you use this pico de gallo recipe, the answer is “on everything.” It’s a condiment that can be spooned over just about any savory food for an added boost of freshness. Here are a few things I like to spoon it over:
- tacos
- enchiladas
- scrambled eggs
- burritos and burrito bowls
- nachos
- guacamole
- quesadillas
- chicken or fish
- burgers
- or just serve as a simple, fresh chip dip!
How to Store Pico de Gallo
You can eat pico de gallo as soon as it is prepared, but the flavors actually get better as the vegetables marinate in the tomato and lime juice. If you don’t plan to eat it right away, store it in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to three days. The peak flavor, in my opinion, is between 2-24 hours.
What Else Can I Add?
This pico de gallo recipe is a great starting point for any number of fresh salsas. Here are some other ingredients you can add to flesh it out and make it into a more complex salsa:
- pineapple
- avocado
- corn
- mango
- peaches
- chipotle peppers
Shown spooned over Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
Pico de Gallo
Servings 12 ¼ cup eachIngredients
- 2 tomatoes (2 cups diced) ($1.50)
- 1/2 white onion (1 cup diced)* ($0.37)
- 1 jalapeño (optional) ($0.10)
- 1 lime ($0.40)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro ($0.20)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Instructions
- Finely dice the tomato and onion. Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeño, then finely dice. Finely chop the cilantro. Add the tomato, onion, and cilantro to a bowl.
- Squeeze the juice of half the lime over the vegetables in the bowl (about 1 Tbsp). Add a pinch or two of salt, and stir everything to combine. Taste the mixture and add more salt or lime juice to your liking. Allow the salsa to sit for five minutes before serving. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to three days.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Pico de Gallo – Step By Step Photos
Since pico de gallo is a FRESH tomato salsa, it starts with all fresh ingredients: tomatoes, onion, jalapeño (optional), lime, cilantro, and salt. I like to do a 2:1 ratio of tomato to onion, so I used two small tomatoes and half of an onion. I also prefer to use a sweeter onion for pico de gallo, so it doesn’t overwhelm the salsa, so I used a Vidalia onion. If you’re sensitive to spicy foods, you can skip the jalapeño.
Finely dice the tomatoes and onion, and finely chop the cilantro (about ¼ cup). If using jalapeño, remove the stem and seeds, and then finely dice it.
Squeeze fresh lime juice over the diced vegetables. For the amount of pico de gallo I am making here, I used about 1 Tbsp of lime juice or the juice of half a lime. The great thing about pico de gallo is that you can just make it according to your own tastes, without measuring anything.
Season with a pinch or two of salt, then stir everything together. Taste, and adjust the salt to your liking. I used about ¼ tsp of salt. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes before serving to allow the juices to extract and flavors to blend. Make sure to give it a good stir just before serving to redistribute the flavor.
It’s delicious. Apparently it can be made in ten minutes????!!!!!! It takes me over an hour.
Thank you for the Pico de Gallo recipe!!!!
Pico de gallo is one of my favorite foods. It is so delicious and refreshing, even with winter tomatoes! Thank you to Evita for the tip on making this salsa stay fresh in the fridge for a few days. If my tomatoes are extra seedy and juicy, I take a butter knife and scoop it out. This way the lime juice doesn’t get diluted. I’d love recommendations for other recipes that are simple and flavorful like this.
Perfect Pico! I used this for a salsa chicken bake and it was amazing. Wayyy fresher (and cheaper!) than what you’d get at the store.
for someone that´s from Central America this recipe is perfect; only us latinamericans can know how great it is to see this recipe be true to its form. My mom has always added a dash of vinegar and a pinch of ground oregano, and ground pepper and ground cumin.
I make something similar but instead of vidalia onions, I use mexican pickled purple onions (they seemt o be easier on my stomach than regular onions). Makes for a really tangy salsa.
That sounds amazing!!
Excellent and easy to do recipe!! All in my family loved it. Thank you so much!!!
Very good recipe but I would throw some jalapeño.😉
I love a fresh salsa in the summer! This recipe looks so simple and so good! Plus I love how cheap it is! I try to stick to cheaper recipes that are also healthy any time I can, so I appreciate your blog! :)
One of my aunts makes her pico de gallo (rooster) this. She calls it pico de gallina (hen). I always add a little green pepper, just whatever I have–bell, Anaheim, poblano, even jarred jalapenos.
Here’s a tip to this outstanding recipe.
As I live alone and therefore make this salad to last for some days, but it really loses the “it factor” after more than
one day.
The fix is if you want to make Pico De Gallo for a week, make the recipe but do not add the lime juice until just prior to serving. I make serving bowls that I put into the fridge (with half an unsqueezed lime) and then squeeze and add the lime prior to serving. YUM!!
Great tip, thanks!!
OMG, that makes so much sense! Thanks for this. I imagine that the acid in the lime juice is what breaks down my pico faster than I want, since I also will use it for days on end. Good way to keep freshening it. I might even keep the cilantro out (chopped, but in a separate container) and put it in as I go. Thank you.
We LOVE pico but it is labor intensive with all that cutting of tomatos (though totally worth it if you have the time, and maybe a glass of sangria and a few friends as you work.) THIS is exactly what I always think I wish I had a food processor for…but I notice you don’t use on for this and I wondered, why?
I was only making a small amount, so it really only took 2-3 minutes to chop everything up. For me it wasn’t worth the cumbersome cleaning of my food processor. :) Plus, I feel like the processor would have chopped it smaller than I wanted.
Eek, wouldn’t that make the tomatoes soupy? What about a mandoline? Easy slices, then dicing is less hassle.
I am in lust with this website. Thank you for all these awesome recipes. Everything is organized and explained really well. Cheers!