Everyone loves this easy Pico de Gallo recipe, made in just 10 minutes with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, and jalapeño. The best topping for all of your Mexican food favorites!
Spoon Pico de Gallo on top of carne asada tacos, tamales, tostadas, mushroom tacos, Fajita Bowls, burritos, or other favorite Mexican recipes.
Why I love homemade Pico:
- Quick and Easy – Only a few ingredients are needed, and it takes only 10 minutes to make!
- Fresh – It’s so fresh and healthy and bursting with flavor!
- Versatile – Serve it with tacos, burritos, quesadillas, on top of grilled chicken or fish, or just enjoy it plain with tortilla chips!
Pico de Gallo vs Salsa:
Although Pico de gallo and salsa contain similar ingredients, salsa has more of a “sauce” consistency, with more liquid in it, and pico de gallo contains very little liquid and is made with fresh, uncooked ingredients. Homemade Pico de Gallo always contains the same ingredients: fresh and uncooked tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. Both pico de gallo and salsa are popular toppings on Mexican food, inside tacos or served with tortillas chips.
There are tons of different ways to make salsa, with a variety of cooked, roasted or uncooked tomatoes, peppers, spices and other ingredients. Here’s my favorite 5-minute homemade salsa recipe.
How to make Pico de Gallo:
Prep Ingredients: Chop the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeño and add to a bowl.
Season with salt and add lime juice to taste.
Serve on your favorite Mexican dishes, or with chips. Store in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions:
To Make Ahead: I think pico tastes best when made an hour or two in advance, and depending on the freshness of the ingredients, it should keep in the fridge for about one week.
Recipe Variations:
- Spicier: Keep some or all of the jalapeño seeds in, depending on how spicy you want it. You can also add extra jalapeño peppers.
- Add Avocado: Stir in some diced avocado right before serving. Keep in mind this won’t save as well with the avocado.
- Add Mango: Dice a mango and stir it in right before serving for a fun flavor twist.
More Popular Mexican Recipes:
- Authentic Mexican Rice
- Tres Leches Cake
- Horchata
- Pozole Verde
- Elote (Mexican Corn)
- Wet Burrito
- Taco Salad
- Tamales
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Recipe
Pico de Gallo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 Roma tomatoes , diced
- 1/2 cup white or red onion , diced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- 1 small jalepeño pepper , veins and seeds removed, diced
- 1 – 2 teaspoons lime juice , to taste
- salt , to taste
Instructions
- Combine tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeño in a bowl.
- Season with salt and add lime juice to taste.
- Top on your favorite Mexican food, or serve with chips.
- Pico de gallo is best eaten fresh, within 12 hours of making it. Store in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe April 2015. Updated May 2018 and April 2022.
Very good
Everybody loved this recipe…. no changes at all to proportions (I mean add more lime juice if you like, or no salt if you can’t have it) but perfect as is. One thing I don’t like is liquidy pico. So after chopping tomatoes i dumped them into a colander and swirled them around. All the seeds and lots of juices fall out. Just a preference of mine. Thanks for such a quick delicious recipe!
This recipe was SO good!! We made it with your wet burritos and it was perfect. Thank you!!!!
I have been following this recipe for a couple years. I always make a double batch and add a medium head of cabbage diced.
I just started liking this maybe a couple years ago. I wanted to try it homemade. I followed your recipe and it was so good and fresh, I was eating it with a spoon!! Thanks for the great recipe.
Made this today, and jarred it as Christmas gifts. Easy, quick, and excellent. Best I’ve made to date. Tasted the couple spoonful leftover after filling two pint jars. Gonna make it again tomorrow.
i also add a bit of sugar, olive oil, and a splash of vinegar…Put it in small jars from the dollar store and give most away with a ziplock bag filled with chips. I DO NOT peal tomatoes. Not only do i add red onions but a few green onions as well and corn off the cob in some.
WHOA! This Pico de Gallo is awesome. VERY tasty. So fresh. Will make again.
Love this recipe and love this on alot of different foods goes great on a meat loaf sandwich
Delicious
Easy, fresh, and delicious! Never knew making pico was so easy. Many thanks.
I always wanted to learn how to make pico de Gallo from scratch. Thanks for the easy recipe.
Very tasty 😋 👍🏻
Made last night to go with fajitas. I also seeded the tomatoes. Was so fresh and delicious!
Fresh pico de gallo made the best guacamole I ever had. I do love extra lime
Perfect! Soooo yummy! I’ve been looking for the right recipe for a while and finally found it! Didn’t even need the salt. Thank you!
Made this last last night….Delicious!! Thanks.
Yum
I made a version of this, but I winged it, strictly from experience (tasting, not making). I used two roma tomatoes, half a sweet onion, one large jalapeno (veined/seeded), half cup cilantro, one whole lime, and a large pinch of salt. I was sure I did something wrong, but it was very good anyway. Finding this recipe was perfect for me since I did the same thing, just different proportions. I’ll do it right next time! But without the heat, a jalapeno is just a green bell pepper.
Really great with oven roasted tri tip.sliced thin with corn tortillas
This was great in baked potatoes too!!
An excellent base to play with.
My changes and additions:
Removed the seeds from the tomatoes.
Increaed jalapenos to 2.
Increased cilantro 1/4 cup
Increased lime juice to 4 teaspoons
Added a 1/3 cup diced green onion stalk
Added 4 garlic cloves – diced.
I don’t think this pico I made could be better. So good. Thank you!
I really need to try this! I love pico and this recipe looks so simple! Thanks for sharing 🙂
It was easy and tasted good
wow this looks so good.
I have frozen peco many times. Tastes just fine. This way always have it on hand.
My mouth is watering. I want to eat that!
Ive made this a few times now with your gilled chicken street tacos and just had to say thank you. Both recipes are spot on and my family thanks you!
Can you freeze or can it?
I think it tastes best fresh!
Can you make it ahead of time?
Absolutely! You could make it one week in advance 🙂
That pico de gallo looks so amazing! <3 I need to start making that from scratch!!
Wow, this looks so good and healthy too. I need to try and make this.
This sounds delicious and it so easy to make. I really need to start making my own instead of buying it. This would be awesome on eggs for breakfast 🙂