Homemade Pico de Gallo (fresh tomato salsa)

You will love this easy pico de gallo recipe! With just 6 simple ingredients, you’ll have a fresh, zesty and delicious tomato salsa in no time.

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What is pico de gallo?

Pico de gallo is a chopped, relish-like salsa or sauce from Mexico that, in its simplest form, combines ripe tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, cilantro, salt, and lime. According to Rick Bayless (an American chef who has dedicated his career to Mexican cuisine), this type of fresh tomato salsa is a condiment popular in all regions of Mexico.

In Texas, this fresh salsa is known as pico de gallo, but in Mexico it is known by a variety of other names, including salsa mexicano, salsa fresca, and salsa cruda. If you’re wondering what Pico de Gallo actually means, it means “rooster’s beak”. I’m not really sure why it’s called that, and after a little research there are a number of theories as to why it’s called that, but for now I’ll just go ahead and make it 🙂

How to do it

Not only is this salsa delicious, it’s also incredibly easy to make. I’ve shared the full pico de gallo recipe below, but here are some takeaways:

Cut tomatoes and onions into small pieces. For a salsa with fewer seeds and less liquid at the bottom of the bowl, you can remove the seeds and excess liquid from the tomato (I usually leave this out unless I have a particularly seedy tomato). To do this, cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze them.

Next comes the chilli, you can use jalapeño or serrano for this. For a flavorful salsa, leave the seeds and white membrane intact (this is where all the hotness of the chili pepper lives). For a mild salsa, remove the seeds and membrane. I like to chop the peppers fairly small so I never bite into a big chunk.

Next comes cilantro. Roughly chop the coriander. I like a lot of cilantro in my salsa, but you can always reduce the amount below if you’d like.

Finally, add salt and acid. My favorite acid for pico de gallo is fresh lime juice, but you can use apple cider vinegar if you have more. Give everything a stir and let the salsa sit for a few minutes (more on that below).

My tips for preparing the best salsa

Let’s quickly go through my top tips for making the absolute best bowl of pico de gallo salsa:

Use good quality tomatoes. A ripe, red tomato is best. It should be aromatic and smell like tomato. I know that seems like a silly phrase, but far too often I see tomatoes in the store that just don’t smell like anything! During the summer months, when tomatoes are plentiful, keep an eye out for vine tomatoes or old tomatoes. In winter, when quality tomatoes are harder to find, plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes are better choices.

Don’t skimp on onions and cilantro. We add a decent amount of onion and cilantro to our salsa. You should be able to see and taste them – especially the cilantro.

Use fresh lime juice. There is no space here for the bottled things. Pico de gallo should taste fresh, a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice will help. As I mentioned above, apple cider vinegar works as a substitute if you don’t have limes.

Let the salsa rest for a few minutes before serving. Salt strips the flavor of tomatoes and softens raw onions. If you let the salsa sit for 10-20 minutes before serving, it will taste better. Since this is a fresh salsa, don’t let it sit for too long. In his book, Authentic Mexican, Rick Bayless says that a fresh salsa like pico de gallo tastes best for an hour or two, after which it loses some of the crispiness and the flavor of the onion can start to take over the salsa. He’s absolutely right, but I have to admit that I was still very happy when it was done a day in advance.

Serve with homemade tortilla chips. Making your own tortilla chips is easy and they taste so good! Here’s our tortilla chip recipe to help you out.

serving suggestions

I like to spoon a generous amount of pico de gallo on just about anything, but the fresh salsa pairs perfectly with tortilla chips, spooned on top of tacos, eggs, chili, over enchiladas and more.

More easy salsa recipes

• Try this roasted tomato salsa with charred tomatoes, garlic and peppers. It’s quick to make and just keeps getting better with time.
• This roasted tomato salsa involves searing tomatoes, garlic, and peppers on all sides, then adding onions, cilantro, and lime for a flavorful and addictive tomato salsa recipe.
• For a twist, try this easy Pineapple and Avocado Salsa with fresh pineapple, avocados, jalapeño, red onion, and fresh lime.
• Quick and easy salsa made with canned or fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic.
• It’s not salsa, but we love it anyway: try our quick and easy enchilada sauce. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare!

Homemade Pico de Gallo (fresh tomato salsa)

Makes 8 servings or about 3 cups

Nutritional value per serving
serving size
1/4 cup
/
calories
33
/
protein
1g
/
carbohydrate
8g
/
fiber
2g
/
total sugar
4g
/
total fat
0g
/
Saturated Fatty Acids
0g
/
cholesterol
0mg

AUTHOR:

Adam and Joanne Gallagher

Recipe updated originally posted June 2010. Since posting in 2010 we have tweaked the recipe to make it clearer. – Adam and Joanne