This is the best Pico de Gallo recipe, a fresh and healthy salsa made with fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lots of lime juice. Spice it up with some jalapeno if you like it hot!
Pico de Gallo Salsa
I make pico de gallo anytime I’m making Mexican food. It’s simple to make with ingredients I usually have in my fridge. This fresh, uncooked salsa has the perfect blend of acidity that adds heat and flavor to anything you’re making. We serve it with grilled fish, fish tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, and chips. You can adjust the heat and any ingredients to suit your taste. When I make tacos, nachos, enchiladas, or any Mexican dish, I always make a batch along with guacamole and some cilantro lime rice on the side to make it a meal.
What is pico de gallo versus salsa?
Authentic pico de gallo, also called salsa fresca or salsa cruda, is a type of uncooked fresh salsa made with fresh ingredients commonly used in Mexican cuisine. Salsa uses cooked ingredients.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Chop four medium ripe tomatoes. You can use Roma tomatoes, plum tomatoes or vine-ripened tomatoes. If you only have cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, they will work too.
- Onion: Finely chop a white onion until you have half a cup. Red onion will also work.
- Hot Peppers: Use jalapeño peppers to keep it mild, or for extra spicy salsa, choose serrano peppers. Remove the seeds and finely chop one or two peppers depending on how spicy you like your salsa.
- Cilantro: Chop the cilantro leaves, not the stems. If you really don’t like cilantro, you can omit it and try replacing it with chives.
- Lime Juice: I like it extra limey, but you can adjust the flavors to your taste.
- Salt and Black Pepper to season
- Optional Ingredients: I love adding fresh garlic and a little bell pepper. If you like it spicy, you can also add jalapeno pepper.
How to Make Pico de Gallo Salsa
Making this traditional salsa from scratch is easy and SO much better than buying it pre-made. Trust me, if you read the comments, you’ll see everyone agrees. Once you make it from scratch, you’ll never buy jarred again! All you have to do is dice all the ingredients and stir them in a bowl. I like to let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the flavors meld.
What to Serve with Fresh Pico de Gallo
I love the fresh and bright flavors of this fresh salsa, and it can be used in so many ways. Try it on grilled fish or carne asada steak, chicken tacos, shrimp tacos, chicken tostadas, taquitos or even eggs. It’s also a great snack or appetizer with tortilla chips.
How Long to Store Pico de Gallo Salsa
Pico de gallo will last refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days. If it get’s watery, use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl.
More Salsa Recipes You’ll Love
Easy Pico de Gallo Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- 1-2 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, no stems
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped red bell pepper, (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl combine all ingredients.
- Let it marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour for best results.
I did comment on this before . “I said not only is this healthy but also delicious” I forgot to say “I cannot have salt on my food” this did not affect the taste at all . It was truly delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
What, if anything, would you replace the cilantro with? So many friends can’t stand cilantro.
Parsley is usually the sub
Sorry forgot to rate it.
Wow this is not only healthy but very delicious. My husband loved it too
This recipe is delightful! Super flavorful and fresh. Thank you! Will def make again.
What type of tomatoes do you use? Romas?
Sure or vine
Ahhhhh!! I loved this recipe so much. I literally could not stop eating them! It still tasted great even when i substituted the paprika and the jalapeños with some sriracha sauce (since sriracha is basically made with paprikas and peppers)! Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Great!
I like to zest the line before juicing. As always I truly enjoy your recipes. They have made such a difference in my health journey.
I am so glad!
This is always my go-to pico recipe, so good! How long will this store in the refrigerator?
4-5 days
This is the same recipe that I have been using for years. It is great when it’s fresh, but I actually prefer it after a couple of days for the flavors to blend. Due to the acidity, it keeps pretty well, but I wouldn’t keep it for more than a week (assuming that it lasts that long!!!)
Made this tonight with fresh garden tomatoes. I used one jalapeno, to keep it kid friendly, but I don’t think two would be to much. Husband said, “This tastes just like the stuff at Chipotle!” Thanks for a simple, fresh, delicious recipe. We’ll be making it again!
What chips do you recommend eating with this?
Whatever your favorite is! Tortilla, pita, any will work. 🙂
This is so good. I used my ninja to chop everything and it whipped up in no time. Because the blades are at different heights, you don't get mush. This will now be a staple in our house.
Thank you so much for your site.
I'm so glad you like it! Happy July 4th!
I make this all the time – it is ALWAYS a big winner!! I can't share this recipe enough with friends and family. UTZ also makes baked corn chips making it the perfect all around guiltless appetizer or hot summer day snack! I use it on tacos a lot as well – thank you 🙂
I made this over the weekend – Ah. Maz. Ing!!!! Thanks 🙂
This was great. My husband loved it and said we should always make it and not buy it.
I will never buy salsa in a jar again! This is fantastic!
Will make this tonight along with Cuban beans, sounds wonderful, thanks!!
DON'T Omit the Garlic, the Garlic is what gives it a Nice Flavor, I Always Add Extra!!! 🙂
Thanks – I was wondering if the garlic was truly optional.
My girlfriend sent me to this site to check a recipe she was going to try and I noticed this in the sidebar, so I thought I'd take a look. This looked good until I hit the bell pepper and garlic. Forget these and the pepper…
This is all you need:
– Tomatoes, cored/seeded, chopped.
– Onion. Chopped more finely than the tomatoes.
– Jalapeno or serrano peppers. Jalapeno is chopped finer than the onion. Serrano about twice as fine.
– Cilantro/Coriander greens. Chop finely.
– Lemon or lime juice.
– Salt to taste.
It's pretty easy stuff, once you get the hang of it.
This is sooo delicious! Very harmonious and not to mention, yummy! It can be a little tedious, but it didn't take longer than 10 minutes for me to wash and chop all my veggies (and I doubled it!) Worth every minute!
Made this tonight and it is so fresh and yummy! This might be a weekly dish since it is so free of points! Used my food chopper and made it in no time. Worth the effort for sure!
For easy prep try using a cheese grater. This makes for a nice consistency.
Here is my Pico Gallo recipe. It practically melts in your mouth.
6 Roma Tomatos, ea, Seeded and finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper(s), finely chopped
2 serving(s) White Onion, ea, finely chopped
1 average serrano chile(s), finely chopped
2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), finely chopped
2 medium lime(s), juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cup(s) cilantro, finely chopped
1 small sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), finely chopped
This takes a lot more than 10 minutes to make with all the fine chopping, and totals 10 points for the whole recipe (you'll get anywhere from 10 to 20 servings, so you're looking at a maximum of 1 point per serving). Seeding the tomatoes makes it less acidic. The olive oil is just enough to blend the flavors, and is worth the little bit of fat.
I made this last night….it is AWESOME. I put it on everything. Yes, it does take a little bit of time to make it, but it is well worth it.
Karen
is this really delicious? havent tasted it yet!
This sounds good. I am so lazy, I’d just rather buy salsa!
This looks delicious! I love pico de gallo and will give it a try. thanks