A Mexican Classic
Pico de gallo is a uncooked salsa known as a salsa fresca, or “fresh salsa,” in Spanish. It is a delicious combination of plum (Roma) tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, serrano peppers and a splash of lime juice.
It one of the best-loved Mexican dishes that you will find it on every Mexican table. Did you know that pico de gallo translates as “rooster’s beak?”
What to Expect from this Recipe
You’ll learn the classic recipe as prepared throughout Mexico. Fresh plum tomatoes, white, onion, fresh cilantro, serrano pepper, lime juice and salt. Nothing more. Nothing Less. A perfectly balanced dish that needs no substitutions or tweaks. It’s the best pico de Gallo recipe.
How to Make Pico de Gallo
Serve this authentic pico de gallo recipe with carne asada, chicken, fish tacos, beef tacos, chicken tacos, molletes, nachos, burritos, and of course chips. You get bonus points if you make your own tortilla chips. Use it as a topping for just about anything. Don’t limit yourself to using it for Mexican food.
Choose Ripe Plum Tomatoes and Fresh Ingredients
You want to choose really ripe red plum tomatoes. The riper the better. The flavor is built around the tomatoes and enhanced by the other ingredients.
Unripe tomatoes will make your pico taste like cardboard. Only use slicing tomatoes, like beefsteak tomatoes, if plum tomatoes are not available. Fresh cilantro is important for its bright herbal taste.
Ingredients
- 4 plum tomatoes (Roma tomatoes)
- 1 white onion (optional red onion)
- 12 fresh cilantro sprigs
- 2 serrano chiles
- 1 Mexican lime (see notes)
- Sea salt to taste (½ to 1 tsp.)
Preparation
Cut the tops off the tomatoes then slice in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard.
With a paring knife, remove the tops of the chiles and then slice in half lengthwise. Use the tip of the paring knife to cut out the seeds and veins.
Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems and discard the stems.
Chop the tomato into ¼″ inch pieces. Finely chop the onion, cilantro, and serrano chile.
Put the chopped ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and fresh lime juice.
Stir until ingredients are mixed evenly.
Serving
Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature. If you serve it really cold it tastes flat. The subtle flavor of the ingredients doesn’t shine through. If you are not convinced, do a taste test. Eat a batch that is ice cold and then eat batch that is at room temperature. You will see the difference. I guarantee it. Pico de gallo is best when eaten fresh.
Great for parties – It is one of the best Mexican party dishes like guacamole. An easy recipe, quick to prepare, tasty, and loved by everyone. Serve it at your Cinco de Mayo party. You can make it year-round but it is especially delicious during summer when tomatoes are at their peak.
A Healthy Option
Mexican food has a reputation for being heavy and greasy, unjustly deserved in my opinion. This dish is the complete opposite. All vegetables, low calories, and no fat. Totally guilt-free.
Eat with reckless abandon. It is vegetarian and vegan to boot. Kids will eat it too because it is “salsa”, not yucky vegetables and it works just as well with fussy adults who don’t like vegetables.
Pico de Gallo Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Medium-sized serving bowl
Ingredients
- 4 plum tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 white onion
- 12 cilantro sprigs
- 2 serrano chiles
- 1 Mexican lime see notes
- Sea salt to taste ½ to 1 tsp.
Instructions
- Seed the tomatoes.
- Seed the serrano chiles.
- Remove the cilantro leaves and discard the stems.
- Chop the tomatoes into ¼" pieces.
- Finely chop the onion.
- Finey chop the onion, cilantro, and serrano chile.
- Add all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Add sea salt to taste.
- Sprinkle with the juice of one lime.
- Gently mix until the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Pico de gallo is best eaten fresh but will keep for one day in the refrigerator.
- Presentation counts. It such a simple dish, so make sure that the ingredients are chopped evenly.
- The juice of one lime brightens the flavor of the pico de gallo. If you add too much lime it overpowers the flavor of the other ingredients. You want to maintain a nice balance between the flavors of all of the ingredients.
- Choose the Mexican lime, also called the Key lime when making pico de gallo. It is the traditional lime for making Mexican food. Standard lime doesn’t add the same bright flavor. Purdue University has some in-depth information on the Mexican Lime which is quite interesting if you want to geek out on limes.
- You can substitute jalapeño peppers for the serranos. The taste will be similar but the salsa won’t be as hot.
- Many recipes call for red onion but white onion is traditional.
Nutrition
Utensils Needed
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Medium-sized serving bowl
Bartek Svaberg says
I just stumbled in here by accident and haven’t tried the recipe out just yet. I did however note that you wrote that it’s good with pretty much anything and I thought I should pitch in. A while back I had quite the odd combination of leftovers in my fridge including pico de gallo and shrimps (Pandalus borealis in my case). I can not describe the joy my mouth felt when those two flavors were combined. Absolutely fantastic. Do give it a try!
J Hamersley says
Wonderful recipe, thank you! It is almost identical to the one we have used for 30+ years, which is much loved by all who taste it. My son used your recipe recently when he was making dinner and didn’t have access to *our* recipe on my computer and didn’t want to ask me, LOL. Other than this recipe being a little “zippier” than our usual, it was a hit (I normally use 1 jalapeno and 1 small serrano, for “capsaicin-sensitive” people like myself & daughter).
As well, I usually dice about 1/2 the tomatoes smaller than your recipe and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours before bringing out to room temp before serving.
It was a little eye-watering for me and my daughter, but we all agreed it was just fabulous in flavor and presentation. Thanks for helping my son make an authentic pico when he refused to ask me for my recipe ;)
Sean says
You sell too much as space this site is borderline unreadable. I understand you need income but wind it back just a tad.