Last updated March 21st, 2025
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An easy homemade pico de gallo recipe made with simple, fresh ingredients for bright and juicy flavor that tastes great with tortilla chips or tacos.
Chips and salsa has always been a go-to snack for us – it’s easy, tasty, and not totally unhealthy. Plus, it’s super refreshing on a hot summer day. But when we’re craving something even fresher, juicier, and lighter than our favorite jarred salsa, we break out this pico de gallo recipe! Especially when we have perfectly ripe tomatoes on hand.
You can make this easy pico de gallo for summer cookouts, taco night, or anytime you’re craving a healthy snack because it comes together in 10 minutes or less. Not much more difficult than opening a jar of salsa 🙂
What This Recipe Entails
All prep and no cooking! Simply dice up your ingredients, add them to a bowl, and stir to combine. That’s it.
- Prep time: 5 to 10 minutes
Ingredients
The secret to great pico de gallo is in the freshness of the ingredients. Use the best, ripest, in season produce you can find, and you won’t have to do much work at all to make it taste great!
- Tomatoes – Make sure to use fresh, ripe tomatoes for the best flavor. We like to use Roma, plum, or vine tomatoes for pico de gallo.
- Onion – We recommend using red or white onion. Red onion will give your pico some tanginess, while white will offer a more mild and sweet flavor.
- Jalapeno – Authentic pico de gallo traditionally has jalapeno or serrano pepper in it for some heat. You can use either, but we prefer jalapenos for a milder heat.
- Lime juice – Fresh squeezed lime juice is a must! It’s way better than using the bottled store-bought stuff and will make your pico taste so fresh and flavorful.
- Minced garlic
- Sea salt
How To Serve Pico de Gallo
- As a dip – Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer, snack, or side dish. Perfect for summer cookouts, taco night, or game day parties!
- As a topping – Make pico de gallo as a topping for nachos or tacos. We love using it in our carne asada street tacos.
- As an ingredient – Use pico de gallo in recipes like chipotle lime burrito bowls, chicken fajita bowls, or breakfast burritos for added freshness.
How To Store Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo tastes best when served right away, but you can store it in the fridge if you have leftovers or want to make it ahead of time for a party. Here are a few suggestions to help preserve the best flavor:
- If you’re making it ahead of time and serving it within a few hours, store pico de gallo uncovered in the fridge. You can also loosely cover it with plastic wrap if you prefer.
- If you have leftovers, refrigerate in a container with a lid for up to 3 days. The longer it sits, the more acidic it will taste, and the texture will be a bit softer, thanks to the lime juice.
Expert Tips
- Produce sizes can vary greatly, so the suggested amounts are just that – a suggestion! We like to aim for 2 parts tomato and 1 part onion in our pico de gallo. Add as much jalapeno as you want, depending on your spice tolerance.
- Pico de gallo tastes best when served immediately, so only make as much as you’re going to use right away.
Love this recipe? You may also enjoy these easy Mexican dip recipes:
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Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 medium tomatoes Roma, plum, or vine
- ½ medium onion red or white
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 medium lime juiced
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Dice the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno. Add to a bowl with lime juice, minced garlic, and sea salt to taste, then stir to combine.
- Serve immediately with tortilla chips, or use as a topping for tacos, nachos, or burrito bowls.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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