This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This pico de gallo recipe is a classic and authentic Mexican salsa made with fresh ingredients like tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. It’s ready in only 10 minutes and is great with tacos, fajitas, burritos, and tortilla chips!
If I’m wanting a quick and easy salsa that’s full of flavor and pairs with almost any Mexican dish, pico de gallo is my go-to.
It’s made with ingredients that I always have stocked in my fridge and it’s ready to eat in only 10 minutes.
A secret I’ve learned is that the longer it sits and marinates, the better it tastes!
Here’s why I love this recipe:
- Fresh and healthy. Pico de gallo is made with simple ingredients like tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and lime juice. It’s so fresh and great alongside a bowl of guacamole!
- Ready in 10 minutes. This recipe requires no cooking. Just chop up all the ingredients, toss them together, and serve. It’s great with some homemade tortilla chips or with popular Mexican favorites like tacos and enchiladas.
What Is Pico de Gallo?
Pico de gallo, also called salsa fresca or salsa cruda, is a fresh Mexican salsa made of finely diced ingredients like tomatoes, white onion, jalapeños, chopped cilantro, and salt tossed with lime juice for a bright, citrusy flavor.
Unlike other Mexican salsas, which are cooked and blended or mashed in a food processor or molcajete, pico de gallo’s ingredients are fresh and finely diced.
The name pico de gallo translates to “rooster’s beak” in Spanish and is believed to originate from the way a rooster pecks at its food. This imagery is thought to resemble the finely chopped ingredients used in the preparation of pico de gallo.
It’s delicious on its own with chips, or it can brighten up heartier recipes like carne asada or chicken fajitas.
Pico de Gallo Ingredients
- Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes are my go-to for pico de gallo. They’re a bit more firm and have less juice compared to other tomatoes, which is what you’re looking for so the pico doesn’t get too soggy. This is what’s traditionally used, but you could also use cherry tomatoes or your favorite ripe red tomatoes.
- White onion: Has a great tangy flavor and is what is traditionally used in pico de gallo, but you can also use red onion.
- Jalapeños: I deseeded and deveined my jalapeño peppers to reduce the spice, but feel free to leave them in. To make it extra spicy, try substituting one or two serrano peppers instead.
- Cilantro: Adds a fresh herb flavor that pairs well with lime juice. You can omit it if you’re not a fan or substitute parsley.
- Lime juice: Plenty of lime juice is key. I use fresh limes, but you can also use store-bought lime juice if you’re in a pinch.
- Garlic: I added a small amount of minced garlic for extra depth of flavor. Letting it marinate in the juices of the pico de gallo is key to cut a little bit of the bite that raw garlic sometimes has.
- Kosher salt: Add salt to taste. Start with a little, then work your way up. You’ll likely need more salt than you think to really bring out the flavors!
How to Make Pico de Gallo
Toss and serve. Once all the tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, cilantro, and garlic are chopped and prepped, you just toss them together with lime juice and salt, and it’s ready to serve!
Recipe Tips
- Let it marinate. The longer the pico de gallo sits, the longer the flavors have a better opportunity to come together. I recommend letting it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day before serving. Doing this also helps to cut some of the bite and heat from the white onion and garlic.
- Adjust the spice. The spice level of pico de gallo is totally up to you. I used a jalapeño to keep it on the milder side, but you could use a serrano pepper to make it even spicier.
- Choose ripe tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are what’s traditionally used to make this authentic pico de gallo, but you can also use cherry or grape tomatoes, or any of your preferred tomato varieties as long as they’re ripe.
Ways to Use Pico de Gallo
You can serve pico de gallo as a salsa or appetizer or garnish it on just about anything! Here are a few of my favorite ways to eat it:
- Pair it with meats like carne asada, pollo asado, and carnitas.
- As a topping on chicken fajitas, shrimp fajitas, and chicken enchiladas.
- As a veggie addition to taco salad, black bean quesadillas, and chorizo and eggs.
How to Store Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I don’t recommend freezing it.
More Salsa Recipes
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 1 pound ripe Roma tomatoes, finely diced
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 2 large jalapeños, seeds and veins removed, finely diced
- ⅓ cup tightly packed cilantro, finely chopped
- ¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
- Toss together, taste, and add more salt if needed.
- Enjoy immediately or refrigerate and serve when ready to eat.
Notes
- Tomatoes: I used Roma tomatoes as that’s what’s traditionally used, but any ripe red tomatoes will work.
- Jalapeño: The spice level of pico de gallo is totally up to you. I used a jalapeño to keep it on the milder side, but you could use a serrano pepper to make it even spicier.
- Onion: White onion is what’s traditionally used, but you can also use red or even yellow in a pinch.
- Salt: Add salt to taste. Start with a little, then work your way up. You’ll likely need more salt than you think to really bring out the flavors!
- Let it marinate: The longer the pico de gallo sits, the longer the flavors have a better opportunity to come together. I recommend letting it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day before serving. Doing this also helps to cut some of the bite and heat from the white onion and garlic.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been updated with new photos and more helpful tips.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
How long will it keep in the refrigerator?? There are just two of us and even if I downsize the recipe it takes a while to eat it all….
Hi Kathleen! I would suggest no more than a week. If you have lots of leftovers, you can actually make our 5-minute fresh salsa with it! It uses the exact ingredients and is a great way to use those leftovers.
My family loves this so much. I an not make enough of it at a time. Tonight is the night for homemade everything isabeleats night. Thanks so much.
Make this for a quick meal, I add Persian cucumber, radishes Slices, fine slice Romain lettuce, avocado and Mexican cotija cheese, lemon and a Mexican raw salsa. On the side garlic, lemon cilantro white rice… and was so delicious I think I’ll use this on cod fish as well. Thank you♥️❤️♥️🙏💜🎶🎼🌵
My daughters made this pico for our Christmas day meal and we all loved it
Delicious! Perfect portions.
Just made this for tomorrow’s Taco Bar at work. Wow! The proportions are perfect, the flavor is amazing! Without your measurements I would have used waaay less cilantro and onion, which would have been a huge mistake. I’m definitely going to start coming here for meal ideas!! Thanks Isabel 🙂
-Doug
Indianapolis, IN
Thanks so much, Doug. I’m so glad everything turned out great!
Thank you, your page design is very nice,as is the recipe…great instructions…don’t know how to like the page, but here is a LIKE
Aww, thank you so much Raquel! 🙂 So happy to hear that.
Pico de gallo also means rooster’s peck or bite. It refers to the spiciness or hotness of the peppers. It’s like a rooster pecking at your tongue.
Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how tiring it was looking for a pico de gallo recipe and seeing that it was not by a person of Latinx heritage.
🙂 Thank you. I TOTALLY understand
lovely post