Want to learn how to make the easiest Pico de Gallo Recipe? 6 ingredients and 10 minutes is all you need to whip up this classic Mexican dish!
Pico de Gallo is one of those classic recipes that everyone should know how to make. It literally goes well with so many different things such as my Street Tacos, Carne Asada and my Sheet Pan Nachos. It is super easy to whip up and can all just be tossed in one bowl.
We’ve been whipping up this Pico de Gallo recipe for years and it is our favorite quick and easy appetizer to bring out when friends and family show up, which is often so we keep all the ingredients on hand most of the time.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PICO AND SALSA?
This is a commonly asked question so let me break it down for you. Pico de Gallo or “salsa fresco” is actually a type of salsa recipe. The actual ingredients in salsa and pico themselves are very similar.
No matter where you go, the ingredients for Pico de Gallo recipes stay pretty much similar and consist of fresh chopped ingredients. Whereas salsa can vary among regions and can consist of many things like fruit, beans and more.
Salsa is more of a soupier consistency whereas Pico de Gallo has less liquid and appears to be more salad like in texture that the latter. Winding it back to the fresh reference, salsa is also a lot of the time cooked so it can be canned where pico is almost always fresh.
I hope that helps answer some common questions about the difference’s between pico and salsa!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED:
- Tomatoes
- Red or white onion
- Jalapeno
- Cilantro
- Lemon juice
- Salt
This Pico de Gallo recipe literally consists of almost the most minimal ingredients you can think of. Those are recipes that we really enjoy in our house. Not to mention the amazingly different ways that pico can be enjoyed to say the least.
I’ve stated many times over again that we love quick and easy recipes, this one really doesn’t get any quicker. It makes a large batch, well if you’re like me and love this stuff then maybe it’s not large enough, buuuuut, it should serve a large crown that is for sure.
HOW TO MAKE PICO DE GALLO:
- Add your diced tomatoes, onions, jalapeño and cilantro in a medium sized bowl and stir to combined.
- Drizzle with lemon juice and salt and stir again until desired flavor is reached.
- Serve immediately with tortilla chips or over your favorite Mexican food.
- Or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
This pico recipe is effortless. The most effort it takes is to actually core and de-seed your tomatoes, which I hate doing, but it is a necessary evil since I love this Pico de Gallo recipe so much.
Another common question people as is “how long is homemade pico de gallo good for”? I would say that if you store it in the refrigerator tightly sealed you should have it last at the most a week. Now that isn’t the longest time in the world, but trust me, you most likely won’t have it last that long.
Plus it’s so easy to whip up another batch that storage should really be the least of your worries!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You don’t need to use any specific type of tomatoes for this recipe, you can use any that you like. We use medium/large tomatoes.
- Use red or white onions, we like the red not only for the color contrast but for the flavor, we prefer the red over white.
- Add as much or as little jalapeño as you’d like. We use one finely chopped jalapeño, you could add more or even omit to all together.
- Use a sharp knife, tomatoes are notorious to slice and a dull knife is nothing to play around with.
- Salt to your taste, this is something stress all the time. This recipe doesn’t have any actual measurement of salt in it because personal preference is always key.
If you are wanting the perfect party recipe, topping for your favorite Mexican dish this Pico de Gallo Recipe is all that you need. The staple recipe that everyone should have!
Pico de Gallo Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium to large tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 medium red or white onion diced
- 1 jalapeno veins and seeds removed and finely diced
- 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In medium bowl add your tomatoes, onion, jalapeño and cilantro and toss to combine.
- Add in your lime juice and salt and toss again to combine, adding more salt as needed to taste.
- Serve immediately with chips or on your favorite Mexican dish.
- Or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Jocelyn
A bowl of fresh pico and chips is one of my favorite snacks!!!
lauren kelly
This is my go-to recipe! Everyone loves it!
Charity
So happy that tomato season is just around the corner. Fresh pico de gallo made with farm stand tomatoes is the best!
Becky Hardin
Love everything about this! I can eat it by the spoonful!
Rachael Yerkes
I’m addicted to pico. once I start I can’t stop eating it. SOOOOO good!