Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo is a simple, flavorful topping for your favorite recipe, or serve it as a salsa with crispy tortilla chips for a fresh appetizer. Makes 4 – 5 cups.

What I love about this pico de gallo
I love making pico de gallo. In my mind it’s really just a chunky fresh salsa. It’s perfect for all sorts of things, and I could eat it everyday in one way or another. But, I’ve been avoiding making it for a few years now because I had a really bad experience with a pepper burn (maybe I’ve already mentioned this, but I can’t remember).
Anyway, I’ve slowly been recovering from my phobia of peppers and have finally started using them again. Has this ever happened to anyone else and if so did you find any solutions? I think prevention might be the way to go for this one.
While I’m crazy cautious still – and you should be too when chopping spicy peppers – I can finally make pico de gallo again. I’m pretty sure Marc is happy I’m getting back into making it again – he has been requesting it for months now. So I guess I’ll be making it more often.
This pico de gallo recipe is made with really fresh but still basic ingredients – tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic and lime juice. Just chop everything up and toss it together in a bowl. Then eat it – on tortillas chips, on tacos, over chicken, on burgers.

How to make pico de gallo
I’ve been a huge fan of making my own condiments for a while now (like my homemade tartar sauce and garlic aioli, and this pico de gallo is no different. The ones from the store tend to bland and don’t ever seem to be made with fresh, ripe tomatoes, and right now is the perfect time to enjoy fresh, summer tomatoes.
What do you put in pico de gallo?
When making things with tomatoes, like this and my summer tomato salad, I like to use roma tomatoes or vine-ripened tomatoes. They tend to have a lower seed/liquid to tomato ratio, which means less mess and less waste (in my opinion).
As for the onions, I almost always go with sweet onions, but if you don’t have those, you can opt for yellow or red onion. The flavor of those tends to be a bit harsher, but they will totally work.
How long can you keep pico de gallo in the fridge?
Fresh pico de gallo should keep in the fridge for up to a week after you make it. I find that the tomatoes tend to lose flavor as the salt draws out their juices, so they look a little lifeless after a few days. Fortunately, a little sprinkle of salt and good stir should bring them back to life.
FAQs and tips on making pico de gallo
The main difference is the consistency. Pico de gallo is usually much heartier and chunkier than salsa, it also contains less liquids.
After dicing the tomatoes, salt them lightly and allow them to drain for a while before adding them to the pico de gallo.
Have some leftover pico de gallo? Try using it to make my super easy vegan queso dip!
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Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo is a simple, flavorful topping for your favorite recipe, or serve it as a salsa with crispy tortilla chips for a fresh appetizer. Makes 4 – 5 cups.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 6 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Allow flavors to meld for about 20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 Cups
- Calories: 0
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 0 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Published: July 10, 2013. Updated: March 24, 2022.
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