Pico de Gallo is loaded with fresh tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. Learn the secret to the best Mexican Pico de Gallo – it’s a simple tip that makes it taste authentic.
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Helpful Reader Review
“A Mexican friend came over to teach me how to make carnitas. I made this to go along with them, and she said it was great.” – Emily ★★★★★
“The only Pico de Gallo recipe I use! It’s not only delicious but it’s also quick & easy!!” – Ann Marie ★★★★★
Pico de Gallo Recipe
Pico de Gallo is a popular Mexican salsa. It is also known as “Salsa Fresca,” or “Salsa Cruda.” It is traditionally made with equal parts tomatoes and onion, with fresh cilantro and a generous squeeze of lime juice. I add jalapeno for a spicy kick but you can leave it out for a milder pico.
You can easily adjust this recipe to suit your preference; add more tomatoes for sweetness or another jalapeno pepper or even serrano peppers if you love fiery salsa. We’ve even tried adding peaches for a peach salsa, which turned out really well.
I love making the most of summer fruits and veggies with loaded salsas like Mango Salsa, our popular Cowboy Caviar and of course Homemade Salsa! This Pico de Gallo recipe is our favorite way to use up garden ripe tomatoes, but it’s just as delicious with store-bought Roma tomatoes in the cooler months.
What’s the Best Onion for Pico?
Just as with Guacamole, white onion is the most authentic choice for making pico de Gallo because it’s crisp and sharp and less sweet than other varieties. A yellow onion or red onion will also work if that is what you have on hand.
How to Make Pico de Gallo
There’s no cooking involved with this salsa recipe, so even the least skilled cook would be hard-pressed to mess this one up:
- DICE up your ingredients and place them in a glass or non-reactive bowl,
- SQUEEZE in the fresh lime juice, then season with salt and pepper
- STIR to combine.
Pro Tip:
Use gloves or a ziploc bag to cover your hands when seeding and handling hot peppers.
The Secret to the Best Pico de Gallo
Have you ever wondered how to make your Pico de Gallo taste restaurant quality and more authentic? This family secret comes from Blanca Villasenor who also shared her authentic Ceviche recipe. The key to a traditional pico de gallo is in letting it rest. Combine all of the ingredients, cover and refrigerate for a day. The tomatoes will juice up and the flavors will meld in the fridge so every bite is flavor-packed.
Variations for Pico de Gallo
You can easily bulk up and change the flavor profile of pico salsa by dicing in one of these fresh fruits or vegetables. I’d love to know about your creative add-ins.
- Bell Pepper
- Corn
- Avocado
- Cucumber
- Mango
- Peaches for a peach salsa
Serve Pico de Gallo With
Salsa Fresca is often served as a topping for Mexican food, from breakfast to enchiladas, tacos, nachos, and more. It is so versatile! It’s also perfect as an appetizer with tortilla chips. We love pico with:
- Breakfast Burritos or Breakfast Tacos
- Mexican Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Tacos or Beef Tacos
- Tostadas
- Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
- Beef Burritos
- Chicken Fajitas
- Carnitas
- Taco Salad
Pico de Gallo is seriously irresistible, and our love for this wonderfully fresh salsa runs deep. My only complaint is that it disappears too quickly, so I highly recommend making a double or triple batch.
Authentic Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 1 lb Roma tomatoes, (3-4 medium), or garden tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 medium white onion, (1 cup chopped), or yellow onion or red onion
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced (optional)
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 Tbsp lime juice, from 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, diced tomatoes, onion, jalapeno pepper and chopped cilantro.
- Stir in 2 Tbsp lime juice and lightly season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper, or season to taste. Enjoy right away or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Favorite Summer Appetizers
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Avocado Shrimp Bites
- Crisp Zucchini Bites
- Roasted Salsa
- Spicy Guacamole
- Fresh Spring Rolls
Hi Natasha, I love all your recipes, they always turn out great. Because of some treatments I’ve done I’m very sensative to hot/spicy foods, which makes it hard to enjoy many Mexican dishes. I’ll make this once the tomatoes are really good. My sister taught me a trick to turn down the heat on jalepenos. Soak the peppers in lime juice (1-30 minutes) and the longer the soak the milder the pepper. I’ll do that to reduce the heat, but not the flavor. I’ll try the mango salsa verson too, I love mangos with shrimp tacos!
GReat idea on soaking the pepper, Carrie! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Do you take all the seeds and membranes off the tomatoes? I normally do because I feel it gets too watery. Not sure now
Hi Margarita. No, I do not. You can try adding salt just before serving, the salt draws out the moisture which causes them to be overly watery so if you wait to add the salt, it would help.
Serving with a slotted spoon helps a lot! Or dice the tomatoes and let them sit in a colander for a few hours before mixing in with the rest of the ingredients.
I love this and want to make my own how long will it last in refrigerator?
Hi Anne, we prefer it fresh, but we have this note in the recipe: “Enjoy right away or cover and refrigerate overnight.” I hope that helps! 🙂
I find it taste better if it sits in the fridge overnight.(If you have the fortitude to not dig in right away)
Thank you for sharing, Jake. 🙂
Was in the process of making my pico when I was suddenly curious about the originality of it, ( ok, so maybe I just wanted to sit for a minute….) I did not see fresh garlic in any of the recipes!! Try it, you’ll love it. My pico de gallo always calls for 6 ingredients 😄
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Cindy!
This is good straight forward recipe! The only thing I changed is to add the salt just before serving. Less watery if you don’t have the salt drawing out the moisture, say overnight.
Great tip. Thank you for sharing, Marc.
Just wanted to say “Thank You” for making this available online! Super easy to make and is truly delicious! I’ve made several of your recipes (not just this one) and everyone of them have been delicious! YOU ROCK!
You’re very welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Paul!
Hi Natasha,
Been doing the pico de gallo salsa for years. Shown to me by a Mexican living in Alaska. His was a bit more labor intensive. He also put in diced cucumber, minus the seeds, radishes, carrots. That was about the best I’ve had, but back to your recipe, for a quickie, i use petite diced tomatoes, drained. two regular cans to one medium onion or, however one likes the mix. Getting a lot of fresh jalapenos that are not hot. If they are immature, they won’t be as spicy. Look for ones that have a fresh bright green stem. If the stem looks dull and kinda on the way to drying up, they will be a bit hotter. For a boost, use serranno peppers. a bit hotter on the scoville scale.
Keep on cooking! Love your blogs.
Thank you for sharing! I love your ideas.
Love this recipe! Went well with lengua and sliced avocado on warm flour tortillas. It’s a definite keeper! Thanks!
Yum! I’m so glad this was a hit, Patrick!
You should not use canned tomato in a pico de gallo. Always fresh.
Are the tomatoes Roma or regular?
Hi Linda, we change it up depending on what we have on hand. Roma or on the vine are our usual two.
I made your Pico De Gallo today and it was the best I have ever had and so easy Thanks!
I’m glad you loved it, Robert. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I have lots of tomatoes! Will this freeze or can well?
Elaine
Hi Elaine, in general, fresh tomatoes don’t freeze well and I haven’t tried processing this for canning, but it would need some additional prep. We do freeze our roasted salsa and that works really really well.
using your exact recipe except swapping out to red onions try adding 1 tsp dried oregano and 1/2 tsp ground cumin to your recipe. Really good. Credit goes to Claire Thomas of the food network
That sounds great and thank you for sharing!
Do you use white onions
Hi Ron, this will work great with white onions!
Fantastic! I had both red and yellow cherry tomatoes from my garden which made a beautiful dish. Regrettably, my wife is one of those genetic variants who taste soap with cilantro so I used half flat leaf parsley and half basil from the garden as a substitute. The flavor was terrific with the added sweet hint of basil.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I bet this was a beautiful and tasty dish with garden-fresh, colorful cherry tomatoes!
Saving this to try when my garden tomatos are ready to harvest. Can’t wait! 👌
I can’t wait for you to try it, Linda!
Left a few seeds for slight heat / Used garden veggies and I added a chopped Mango…..
Deeeelicious!!!
Delicious! Salsa we love it anytime:)
Isn’t it the best! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made your authentic Pico de gaio and I used shishito peppers, pretty hot), no seeds of course, and I added a very flavorful purple bell. I’m old school, so it took me awhile, the three pounds of tomatoes were hand diced to 1/4 inch pieces, the large bell, large onion, and the peppers were all cubed to 1/8in. It’s delicious. I just got a spark of inspiration, I’m going to take 4 large cloves of peeled garlic, poke tiny holes all over and sink them in my pico. Tomorrow afternoon I will pull them out and see if it made a difference. By the way, I did threaten my pico with the cilantro, I didn’t manage to get much in. Lol
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Sue! That sounds so good and colorful!
Hello! Your recipe was just amazing 😉 I have a huge love for eclairs and then this became my favvv😍
Last time when I made it the dough was too runny? What can be the reason? Also will it be become a problem if I use 3 large eggs?
Hi Aysha, I’m so glad you enjoeyd this recipe! I recommend making the eclairs without any substitutions for the best outcome.
Stras’vie Natasha. Once again you are my go-to source. Delicious! Thing I like best is your sure touch on proportions. There is just enough lime and salt to enhance (not overpower) the flavor of the ingredients. Just made some and am munching away.
Hi John, thank you for your great review. I’m so glad you love the proportions in the pico recipe.
This recipe is so delicious! It’s so simple and inexpensive to make! I can’t get enough!
We have this regularly! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jenn!
My sister and I made this recipe for today. It was gone. We loved it! So did our family. Another great recipe Natasha. Thanks for the recipe! We are going to keep continuing to make your recipes.
That is awesome! I’m really happy to hear that you and your family loved this recipe. Thank you for sharing that with us.