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).
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.
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.
If you like this recipe, you have to try this roasted chili corn salsa, and this pineapple salsa and this – one of my favorite and easiest recipes – chipotle blender salsa.
Searching for more homemade condiments? romesco sauce / french onion dip / mushroom gravy / easy chimichurri sauce
Ingredients & substitutions
- Tomatoes – 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).
- Onion – 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.
- Cilantro – For pico de gallo, you want to use fresh cilantro. Fresh cilantro is key to getting that signature freshness and bright flavor.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make pico de gallo
Dice and chop. Chop the tomatoes, onions and jalapeños, placing them into a large mixing bowl. Add the minced garlic and chopped fresh cilantro, don’t worry about removing all of them stems (they have a lot of flavor). Stir to incorporate the ingredients.
Season and serve. Squeeze the lime juice over the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. When the pico de gallo is well combined, let it sit for about 20 minutes so the flavors can blend before serving.
Store 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.
Have some leftover pico de gallo? Try using it to make my super easy vegan queso dip!
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.
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