Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo, or sometimes referred to as fresh salsa, is one of the most delicious things you can add to a meal.  Don’t wait for Taco Tuesday, make it now!

Pico de Gallo is one of the most gorgeous things out there that you can make.  I mean, I’m not sure whether to frame it or eat it.  Okay, that’s a lie.  Eat, it’s always eat.  I like to serve it on fish tacos, with margaritas, and some tropical fruit salad for dessert!

Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo Ingredients

• Tomatoes – traditionally these are roma or plum tomatoes, but use whatever you have from your garden!
• Sweet Yellow Onion – large or small, it’s up to you. You can use other onion varieties if you’d prefer.
• Fresh Garlic – hey, I won’t judge if you use pre-chopped or even garlic powder. It’s your call!
• Jalapeno – 1-2, depending on how spicy you like it.
• Fresh Cilantro – for you cilantro haters out there, you can substitute some flat leaf parsley for color.
• Lime Juice – squeeze it out fresh if you can!
• Salt and pepper – Add it to taste. I like a crunchy kosher salt in mine with a little freshly ground black pepper.

How do you make Pico de Gallo?

⭐ First, gather all your fresh ingredients.

⭐ Next, chop all ingredients into a small dice (except for lime, salt, and pepper).

⭐ Then, put all your chopped veggies in a bowl, add the lime juice, salt, and pepper.

⭐ Finally, enjoy !

What is Pico de Gallo?

It is a Mexican fresh salsa with chunky, visible ingredients. Here are your most frequently asked questions (and answers!).

What’s the difference between salsa and Pico de Gallo?

The difference  is really the consistency. Pico de Gallo is a type of fresh salsa, but is thicker and chunkier than most salsas, which have a thinner consistency with more liquid.

How Healthy is Pico de Gallo?

Very healthy! You are using fresh ingredients and “eating the rainbow,” so you’re getting tons of vitamins per bite!

Nutritional Facts

Is Pico de Gallo Paleo?

It is paleo! You can’t go wrong with all those fresh veggies.

Is Pico de Gallo low carb?

It is low carb. One serving of Pico de Gallo is around 3 grams of carbs, depending on your ingredients. This should fit nicely into any low carb diet, as the carbs are all coming from vegetables.

Is Pico de Gallo Keto?

It is keto. Again, the amount of carbs is pretty low, and people eating a keto diet should be getting fresh veggies in their diet! Add some olive oil for extra fat and have an avocado on the side as well!

Preparing Pico de Gallo

This is a fast and easy to prepare and adds a nice zing to more than just tacos!

What kind of onion should I use?

We typically use a sweet yellow, but one of the wonderful things about this recipes is that you can tweak it to your tastes. Lots of onion, a little onion, sweet onions…you make the call.

Is there garlic in Pico de Gallo?

There is garlic in our recipe but, as with onions, you can add as much or as little garlic as you want. A nice variation in the spring could be garlic ramps!

Can you make Pico de Gallo without cilantro?

You can make Pico de Gallo without cilantro. I hear you, those cilantro haters out there. It won’t be quite as authentic, but you can certainly either leave it out or add some flat leaf parsley instead.

Can you make Pico de Gallo the night before?

You can make it the night before! The flavors will meld together and be absolutely delicious! As all the ingredients are fresh they will start to wilt within a day or two, so don’t keep too long (not that you’ll be able to resist it!)

Can I make Pico de Gallo in a blender or food processor?

You can make this in a blender or food processor. Just add all the ingredients and pulse until chopped. If you over blend it will be more of a salsa consistency, but will still taste delicious.

How long will it keep in the refrigerator?

It should keep 3 days or so in the refrigerator. Make sure it is tightly covered, and you may want to drain the liquid and give it a stir daily to keep the consistency firmer.

Can I freeze Pico de Gallo?

You can freeze Pico, but once thawed the texture will be quite different because the water in the tomatoes will expand when frozen. Once thawed it will be a more mushy consistency.

It’s so easy to make the day of, or even the night before, so I recommend you make as needed. Leftovers the next day can be added to all kinds of things!

What do you eat Pico de Gallo with?

You can eat Pico with so many things. The possibilities are practically endless!

• Breakfast – spooned over eggs, grits, or polenta
• Lunch – added to tuna or easy chicken salad
• Dinner – Fish tacos, topping a steak, drizzled over some coconut shrimp, on baked chicken, or even taco Tuesday!
• Snacks – Nachos, or anything that gets pepped up with a spicy dip.

Serving Suggestions

Adding a fresh condiment to your dinner livens it up, as well as giving it a healthy kick!

• Classic Margaritas
• Chicken Nachos
• Guacamole
• Fish Tacos
• Pork Tacos
• Easy Tostadas

Try serving this with a grilled flank steak marinated in our best flank steak marinade!

Similar Recipes

• Chicken Taco Casserole
• Cilantro Garlic Sauce
• Black Bean Soup
• Pulled Pork Tacos

Suggested Tools

• Santuko knife – My favorite knife for cutting vegetables!  This knife is the perfect size and shape, handles great, and is super reasonably priced.  Also, I just love that it’s fun and colorful!
• Garlic press – Need fresh minced or sliced garlic, but don’t want to peel or chop your garlic?  This garlic press is the bessssssst.  We’ve had ours for as long as I can remember (maybe a wedding present?), and I use it several times a week!
• End grain cutting board – This is my absolute favorite cutting board and the one that I get the most compliments on.  And p.s. I have a lot of cutting boards.  It really is absolutely stunning, and knows how to take a beating.  We use it every single day!