Pico de Gallo
This easy homemade Pico de Gallo recipe features only six simple and classic ingredients like tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro and fresh lime juice. It’s the perfect dip for chips, topping for meats and tacos, or you can enjoy it all by itself as a light side dish.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with more of my favorite Mexican recipes like Guacamole and Queso!
Table of Contents
What is Pico de Gallo?
Pico de Gallo is a classic Mexican condiment that’s similar to a salsa. It’s made with chopped fresh tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, garlic, cilantro, seasonings and fresh lime juice. It makes the perfect topping for virtually any dish with Mexican flavors! Just a few of my favorites include nachos, tacos and quesadillas.
Translated from Spanish, “Pico de Gallo” literally means “beak of rooster.” Now, this might be a completely unexpected translation because it has nothing to do with what’s in the dish! There are several theories where this fun name comes from but nothing official.
Some believe that it’s expressing the way people would eat this dish, by picking it it up with a thumb and pointer finger, which forms a beak. Some believe it’s because Pico resembled chicken food. There are more theories as well, but those are two of the most popular.
Ingredient Notes
Tomatoes – You can really use any tomatoes you like best. Just make sure they’re ripe and cut into even sized pieces.
Onion – A white onion is preferred but if you have to, use yellow onion!
Lime Juice – For the very best flavor, be sure to use freshly squeezed lime juice only and not the bottled alternative.
Jalapeños – Jalapeños are a milder chili pepper. With that being said, if you have a sensitivity with peppers, you can either remove the seeds or choose young peppers since they’re less spicy. Young peppers have smooth, firm skin. Older peppers are spicier and have visible veins.
Garlic – Use fresh garlic for the best flavor, not pre-minced if possible.
Cilantro – You can decrease the amount of cilantro or even omit it entirely if you’re not a fan.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Pico de Gallo
Add everything to a bowl. Dice all the vegetables and add them into the bowl. Squeeze in lime juice and add cilantro and salt.
Stir. Mix everything together and let it sit for a few minutes. This will give the flavors time to develop and the tomatoes will yield more juice.
How to Serve Pico de Gallo
The options here are pretty limitless! You can add Pico to virtually any Mexican or Tex-Mex dish for added flavor.
It’s always a huge hit on top of Carne Asada Tacos. If you’re a Chipotle fan, add it to a homemade Burrito Bowl for a copycat meal! And of course, what better way to start your day than with Huevos Rancheros piled high with Pico?
While it can compliment so many different dishes, Pico de Gallo is also delicious all by itself. Serve it as a dip with crunchy tortilla chips at your next party and watch it disappear!
How To Store Pico de Gallo
Make sure to store your Pico de Gallo in a glass jar with a lid or another glass airtight food storage container. Remember that tomatoes are quite acidic, it’s best to store them in glass containers.
Keep it refrigerated! In an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will last about 3 days. Since all the veggies are fresh and not cooked, the shelf life is shorter.
Remember to use a clean spoon to get some out of the jar and I highly recommend using a slotted spoon so you don’t add too much liquid to your dish.
I do not recommend freezing Pico de Gallo.
Recipe FAQs
Pico de Gallo and Salsa have the same basic ingredients. The difference comes in preparation. Pico uses raw, freshly chopped ingredients that are simply mixed together. Salsa sometimes uses roasted ingredients and it’s usually blended or mashed together. Pico is almost always more chunky and has less liquid than salsa.
If you’d like a pop of natural sweetness, try mixing in some chopped bell peppers.
If you want to make it more or less spicy, you can play around with chili peppers. Stick with jalapeños for less spice and habanero or serrano peppers for more spice.
You can add a fruity note by adding freshly chopped mango or pineapple. It’s a fun, summery twist!
Try adding some corn, either boiled or grilled. Grilled Corn will provide a great smoky flavor.
I don’t recommend substituting parsley for cilantro because they are quite different flavor profiles, especially when featured in Mexican cuisine. Put simply, parsley just does not go well with the other ingredients here. You can decrease the amount of cilantro or simply omit it.
More Salsa and Topping Recipes To Try
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Classic Pico de Gallo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb tomatoes
- 1/2 white onion
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 1 ripe lime – juice only
- 1/2-1 tsp salt to taste
Instructions
- Dice all the vegetables and add them into the bowl. (Note: if you want pico to be spicier, leave jalapeno seeds in, otherwise, discard them.)
- Squeeze in lime juice and add cilantro and salt. Mix everything together and let it sit for a few minutes to marinate together and for tomatoes to give out more juice.
Notes
- Storing: Make sure to store your Pico de Gallo in a glass jar with a lid or another glass airtight food storage container. Remember that tomatoes are quite acidic, it’s best to store them in glass containers. Keep it refrigerated! In an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will last about 3 days. Since all the veggies are fresh and not cooked, the shelf life is shorter.
- Note: Remember to use a clean spoon to get some out of the jar and I highly recommend using a slotted spoon so you don’t add too much liquid to your dish.
- Freezing: I do not recommend freezing Pico de Gallo.
Nutrition
Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Appetizers, Cinco de Mayo, Gluten Free, Mexican and Tex-Mex, Toppings and Spreads,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
