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Easy Homemade Pico de Gallo (in 10 Minutes!)

pico de gallo recipe with tortilla chip in a bowl

This homemade pico de gallo recipe, or salsa fresco (and sometimes called Mexican salad or tomato and onion salsa), is a favorite easy dip for parties or game day dips / appetizers, but especially for summer recipes when everything is garden fresh! It’s perfect paired with our easy guacamole recipe!

Homemade Pico de Gallo in a dish close up

HOMEMADE PICO DE GALLO

Homemade pico de gallo is a healthy snack for kids, a last minute cookout recipe, or anytime you need a quick and easy dip for parties or gatherings.

Before we get to the recipe…

What is the difference between salsa and pico de gallo?

Pico de gallo is a salsa fresca with uncooked, hand chopped vegetables and herbs like tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and garlic. Salsa is a more pureed liquid texture. With pico de gallo, you can distinguish the different elements of the dip, but with salsa it is pureed into a more liquid tomato dip.

 
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Pico De Gallo vs Salsa vs Picante

Pico de gallo, salsa and picante are all made from a combination of tomatoes, peppers, and other ingredients (like garlic, onion, and herbs). Pico de gallo is a chunky salsa, where you can distinguish all the ingredients in the recipe. Salsa is a more pureed liquid tomato dip and picante is the thinnest dip, like a sauce, of the three. A pico de gallo sauce is chunky and picante sauce is runny.

 

Pico De Gallo Ingredients

The fun thing about pico de gallo is that you can play around with it and try out different ingredients like:

  • Fresh tomatoes
  • Onion (red or white)
  • Cilantro
  • Garlic
  • Jalapeno
  • Lime
  • Lemon
  • Serrano peppers
  • Corn
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Avocado slices

 

If you like homemade pico de gallo with corn, try out: 

Easy Black Bean and Corn Salad

 

How do you keep pico de gallo from getting watery?

To keep pico de gallo from getting watery, chopped and salt the tomatoes before adding the other ingredients. Mix all the other ingredients in a separate bowl and then spoon the tomatoes into the mixture with a slotted spoon.

 

Can you make homemade pico de gallo with canned tomatoes?

You can use canned tomatoes, but it takes away some of the freshness of the pico de gallo. If you use canned tomatoes, be sure to drain the juice. However, if you like a more liquid pico de gallo, you can leave in some of the tomato juice from the can.

 

Can you make pico de gallo without lime?

A traditional pico de gallo recipe is made with lime. If you don’t have lime, you can make pico de gallo with lemon or even apple cider vinegar, too. You can leave out the lime completely, but the acid does give it a little extra fresh zing.

 

How long is homemade pico de gallo good for?

How long does homemade pico de gallo last in the refrigerator? Pico de gall will last refrigerated for around 4 days. Any longer than that and the tomatoes may start to get mushy and the pico gets watery. In some cases, the longer the pico de gallo sits in the refrigerator, it may start to develop a bitter taste.

 

This is an easy recipe to make with kids!

Want kids to practice cutting skills and chopping? Use a safe knife set like this!

safe knife set for kids recipes

CLICK HERE to check the current sale price of this set

How do you eat pico de gallo without chips?

If you don’t want to eat pico de gallo with chips, try it with:

  • Corn tortillas
  • Flour tortillas
  • Pita bread
  • Crackers
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Lentils
  • Rice
  • Grilled vegetables
  • Fish
  • Celery
  • Alone as a salad! 
  • Quesadilla
  • Burritos
  • Hamburgers or turkey burgers
  • Hot dogs
  • Tacos
  • Bake potato
  • Taco meat
  • Pulled pork
  • Chicken breast
  • Avocado
  • Guacamole
  • Boiled eggs

 

Can you freeze homemade pico de gallo?

You can freeze homemade pico de gallo, but the texture will change. The best thing about pico de gallo is that all the ingredients are fresh and coarsely chopped. After it is frozen, the texture will become mushy. However, you can blend frozen pico de gallo and make a salsa that is more pureed and less chunky.

 

OK, let’s get to how do you make pico de gallo from scratch…

How To Make Pico de Gallo

You can make this easy pico de gallo recipe without jalapenos if you like a more mild salsa dip. Our recipe calls for removing the jalapeno seeds, but if you like spicy then leave the seeds and the pepper membrane in your pico.

If you don’t like cilantro or have a reaction to it, you can also make this pico de gallo without cilantro. If you want a cilantro substitute pico de gallo, you can use fresh chopped parsley instead.

Yield: 8

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Homemade Pico de Gallo in a dish close up

This pico de gallo made from scratch is not only an easy appetizer to throw together at the last minute, it also makes for a healthy summer snack for kids, too!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 cup red or white onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed and minced*
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, add diced tomatoes and salt. Stir. Set aside. (If you like your pico de gallo with more juice, just mix tomatoes in with everything else.)
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and garlic. Using a slotted spoon (to remove liquid), add in chopped tomatoes.
  3. Add lime juice and mix until completely combined.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Notes

If you don't have lime, you can make this pico de gallo with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar also.

*If you like a spicy pico de gallo, leave in jalapeno seeds and jalapeno membrane (white part on inside of the pepper).

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 30Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 43mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information is estimated. Changes to the recipe and use of different brands may cause changes to the nutritional information to vary slightly from the ones provided here.

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© LittleCooksReadingBooks.com
Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Appetizers
pico de gallo recipe with tortilla chip in a bowl

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ENJOY YOUR HOMEMADE PICO DE GALLO!

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About The Author

Jacqueline Wilson loves cooking with books with her daughter Ella, creating cooking with kids recipes and making real food fun! In her other lives, she is a professional writer of 17 years, an educator, mom, wife, homeschool super freak, and #1 Bestselling Author.

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DISCLOSURE: Affiliate links are used on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to our DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.

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DISCLOSURE: Affiliate links are used on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to our DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.