This fresh and tasty Pico de Gallo is my go-to topping for tacos, salads, nachos, tostadas, chilis, and more!
It’s also AMAZING scarfed with a mountain of tortilla chips to make an easy and delicious appetizer.
If, you’ve been whipping up the recipes on this little blog of mine you may have noticed that I put Pico de Gallo style salsa on EV-ER-Y-THING.
It’s the shining star of so many of my recipes…
- Slow Cooker Lentil Chili
- Shrimp Taco Salad
- Enchilada Pasta Casserole
- Tex-Mex Breakfast Salad with Fried Eggs and Sweet Potato
- Chipotle Black Bean Dip
I’m also a big fan of diving in straight up with crispy tortilla chips, swirling it into taco salads, and topping tacos and tortilla soups.
It’s the flavor boost I can always count on to take things to the next level of deliciousness.
What’s in Pico de Gallo?
This fresh and chunky salsa fresca is made with finely chopped tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, and cilantro then tossed in fresh lime juice with a pinch of salt.
Pico de Gallo is made with raw ingredients and comes together quickly! The ratio is typically equal parts tomato and white onion.
My husband always makes it like this, but when I’m in charge of the salsa I tend to prefer a ratio closer to 1 cup onion to every 2 cups tomato. I also really love adding extra cilantro and jalapeño!
I also like to drizzle mine with a little avocado oil, a trick I learned from my partner in crime.
Salsa Swaps and Substitutions:
Need to make adjustments? Serrano peppers are a common (and delicious!) swap for the jalapeño peppers if you’d prefer them, and white onion can be replaced with yellow or even red onion if you’re feeling feisty! (just use a little less red onion to start and adjust to taste).
For the tomatoes, you can absolutely use your favorite variety of tomato! Roma tomatoes or extra large heirloom tomatoes are my usual go-to to make pico. You can even use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes in a pinch.
When it comes to the lime and cilantro – both are a *must* for this fresh, flavorful salsa!
Pico de Gallo vs Salsa
The main difference between these two tasty toppings is that salsa is typically blended or pureed while pico is simply chopped into a petite dice.
I often roast my salsa and serve it slightly warm. Pico de Gallo is served fresh or chilled. Both are excellent the next day and a perfect addition to your weekly meal prep!
Pico de Gallo is always served up fresh and raw and makes a glorious topping for a number of dishes. We love it on tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, avocado toast, huevos rancheros, taco salads, rice bowls, and straight up with a mountain of tortilla chips.
Pico de Gallo (Salsa Fresca)
Make a little… or a LOT! This recipe is flexible enough to make a small snack-sized serving or a big bowl-o-pico perfect for a party!
The recipe below yields approx. 3 cups.
Pico de Gallo (Salsa Fresca) Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 plum tomatoes (aka Roma tomatoes)
- 1 cup finely diced white onion
- 1 jalapeño
- ¼-⅓ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- ½ lime juiced
- ½-¾ tsp salt or season to taste
Instructions
- For this recipe you'll want about a pound or a pound and a half of plum tomatoes. Basically enough to yield approx. 2 cups diced tomatoes.
- First cut the end of the tomatoes where the stem used to be and cut each tomato in half. Scoop out the seeds and finely dice. The smaller you dice them the better!
- Peel and finely chop white onion. Remove stem and seeds from jalapeño and finely chop. For a bit of heat, you can add some of the seeds back into the pico, to taste. Sometimes I like to add a second jalapeño for a kick – so good!
- Combine with the juice of half a lime and fresh chopped cilantro. Season with salt. Adjust lime/cilantro/salt recipe to taste if desired by adding extra of your favorites.
- For an optional something extra, feel free to add a drizzle of avocado oil at the end if you have some handy.
Notes
Nutrition
As written, this rockin’ pico recipe is vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, grain-free, low-carb, keto friendly, paleo, whole30 friendly, and basically a plant-based powerhouse to enjoy any way you’d like.
It’s the ultimate fresh condiment and only takes minutes to make!
More Tasty Homemade Salsa Recipes to Try:
- Black Bean Salsa– Reader favorite!
- Classic Restaurant-Style Salsa
- Avocado Salsa Verde – SO GOOD
- Spicy Green Salsa aka Spicy Salsa Verde
- Chipotle Corn Salsa – a restaurant copycat with a kick!
- NEW! Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa
If you get a chance to try this Pico de Gallo recipe, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
My family is going to love this, thank you for the recipe!
You’re super welcome!
I’m super excited about this recipe. Especially this summer when my garden tomatoes are ripe and ready. So good!!
So excited for you to try it Renee! We planted 2x the tomato plants this year so we can make oodles of this Pico de Gallo!