Pico de Gallo Salsa
Pico de Gallo salsa is a Mexican classic that is timeless and so simple to make. It is made with fresh ingredients and is so so good! You can use it as a dip for tortilla chips or serve it alongside all your favorite Mexican dishes. It consists of only a few ingredients: fresh Roma tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, red or white onions, fresh minced cilantro, fresh lime juice and a little salt and pepper. I love that it literally comes together in 10 minutes or less and no cooking is involved. This salsa can be served immediately or keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week. Sometimes the simplest dishes taste the best and nothing beats pico de gallo for flavor!
I made this salsa for a chip and salsa bar along with a roasted salsa made with tomatoes and tomatillos. Totally different recipes but both delicious! Check out my recipe for Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa as well.
What kind of tomato is the best for Pico de Gallo salsa:
The Roma tomato would be my first choice for pico de gallo salsa because they don’t have many seeds and they are a very firm tomato. If you use a tomato with a lot of seeds in a salsa it can give it a bitter taste. You also want a tomato that is easy to cut up and that has some firm texture to it. Just make sure that you use ripe tomatoes so they are juicy. Alternatively, you could also use a beefsteak tomato for the same reasons: less seeds and firm fruit. Roma tomatoes are traditionally the tomato of choice for this type of salsa.
What you need to make fresh Pico de Gallo salsa:
You will need only five ingredients (not counting salt and pepper):
- 2 large ripe Roma tomatoes
- 1/4 red onion, diced (you could also use a white onion)
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced with spine and seeds removed (you can leave some seeds in for heat if you want)
- fresh lime juice
- Cilantro, minced
- Fresh ground sea salt and pepper to taste
How to make Pico de Gallo salsa in 10 minutes or less:
- Chop up the tomatoes (chop into medium size pieces, not big chunks).
- Dice up the red onion (not too fine).
- Remove the spine and seeds from the jalapeno and dice (not too fine). You can add some of the seeds for heat. More seeds equals more heat.
- Mince up the fresh cilantro.
- Place all the above ingredients into a medium bowl and add one tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Grind fresh sea salt and cracked pepper over all and stir to combine.
- Salsa is best if you chill it for about an hour to let the flavors meld. It will keep in the refrigerator about 5-7 days.
- This recipe makes 2 cups of salsa and can easily be doubled or tripled.
Storage of fresh salsa:
- Chill the salsa for about an hour before serving to let the flavors meld. May be refrigerated for about 5-7 days.
- I wouldn’t recommend freezing this salsa because the cilantro may become mushy.
Other recipes to try:
Pico de Gallo Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 large Roma tomatoes, chopped in medium pieces
- 1/4 red onion, diced (not too fine)
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, spine and seeds removed and diced (not foo fine). May add some seeds for heat if desired. The more seeds the hotter it will be!
- 2 tbsp Cilantro, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
- fresh ground sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop up the tomatoes (chop into medium size pieces, not big chunks).
- Dice up the red onion (not too fine).
- Remove the spine and seeds from the jalapeno and dice (not too fine). You can add some of the seeds for heat. More seeds equals more heat!
- Mince up the fresh cilantro.
- Place all the above ingredients into a medium bowl and add one tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Grind fresh sea salt and cracked pepper over all and stir to combine.
- Chill the salsa for about an hour to let flavors meld. Salsa will keep in the refrigerator for about 5-7 days. This recipe makes 2 cups of salsa and can easily be doubled or tripled.