Name: Homemade Pico de Gallo
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 roma tomatoes; 1 jalapeno pepper; ½ large white onion; 1/3 cup freshly chopped cilantro; 1 lime (juice of); 1 teaspoon sea salt

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This Homemade Pico de Gallo recipe goes great with chips, burritos, and nachos! The secret to the best pico de gallo is getting the balance of tomatoes and onions just right! You’ll love this flavorful mix!

overhead view of homemade pico de gallo in white bowl.

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We have tacos at least once per week (hello, turkey tacos are on repeat) and a topping of our homemade pico de gallo is almost mandatory around here!

Leftovers make the perfect fresh snack with a pile of crispy tortilla chips.

This pico adds such a pop of fresh, bright flavors with a little (or a lot, if you prefer) spice and a pop of lime.

We’re definitely sauce/condiment people and we have loads in our fridge, like store bought taco sauce and hot sauce, but our favorites are the homemade things, like this pico de gallo, our restaurant style salsa, chipotle sauce, and our homemade guacamole.

What We Love About This HOMEMADE PICO DE GALLO Recipe:

Fresh: You’ll find only fresh flavors in this homemade pico de gallo! The lime juice makes it extra vibrant and flavorful.
Easy: It’s so quick and easy to prepare this! Just a bit of chopping and mixing, and then the fridge does the rest of the work.
Versatile: This is delicious as a dip for chips, but it also works as a topping for fried tacos, chicken, and more! It’s also easy to customize for people that do/don’t love spice.

Table of Contents

What Is Pico de Gallo?

Pico de Gallo is a common Mexican salsa that also goes by the name salsa fresca.

It’s a mixture of fresh ingredients, such as Roma tomatoes, jalapeno or serrano peppers, onion, cilantro, and lime.

It’s chunkier in texture than salsa, but can be used in the same way.

You can buy this in most grocery stores, but homemade pico de gallo will always be fresher and tastier and I love that you can make it as spicy or as mild as you like.

Pickle de Gallo is a pretty trendy recipe right now that has similar vibes but swaps the tomatoes for pickles!

Pico de Gallo Ingredients:

overhead view of ingredients for pico de gallo on white countertop.

Roma Tomatoes – You could use any tomato here, but roma are traditional. These have less seeds and juice than other tomato varieties, making them a great choice for pico de gallo. But, hey, if you have a garden full of ripe tomatoes, please use them here. Delish!

Jalapeno Pepper – Use as much pepper as you like, depending on how spicy you like things. Serrano peppers also work, if you want things even spicier.

White Onion – If you don’t love the bite of onion, you can soak it in a bit of ice water and it will be more mild.

Cilantro – Fresh cilantro is a must in our house. Swap in parsley or leave it out if you hate cilantro.

Lime Juice – Freshly squeezed, please. This is going to be your secret weapon after you mix this one up. If the recipe feels like it’s missing something, it’s probably an extra squeeze of lime juice!

Sea Salt – You don’t need too much, but again, if the recipe feels like it’s missing something, it could be salt.

How To Make Pico de Gallo:

ingredients for salsa fresca in glass bowl.

Chop: We’ll start by dicing the tomatoes and onion and mincing the jalapeno, which will make the chunky texture that Pico de Gallo is known for. Traditional salsa uses similar ingredients but is a much smoother texture.

Helpful Tip!

If you want a spicier Pico de Gallo, leave in the seeds and membrane when mincing the jalapeno. Remove them for a milder flavor.

Mix: When you’ve finished dicing, add the ingredients to a mixing bowl along with the cilantro, lime juice, and sea salt which will add lots of flavor.
Stir all of the ingredients together until well combined.

Refrigerate: When the Pico de Gallo mixture is all ready to go, resist eating it now and instead cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. This will allow the lime juice to soak in and will add to the flavor.

When ready, give this a taste and adjust the seasonings. It may need a bit more salt or lime juice. Add more jalapeno if it’s not quite spicy enough.

STORAGE:

Refrigerator: This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an air tight container, but we do prefer the texture and freshness it has the first day.
Freezer: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture will change significantly.
Canning: I don’t have any experience with canning, but the best part of pico de gallo is how fresh it is. I don’t recommend canning this one.

Leftover Hack!

Running out of ideas for your leftover pico de gallo? Stir it into mashed avocado for a quick guacamole!

woman's hand holding a chip with pico de gallo on it.

MORE MEXICAN INSPIRED RECIPES!

pico de gallo in bowl surrounded by chips.

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