Whether it’s Taco Tuesday or Taco Any day, you need The Best Pico de Gallo recipe!
This recipe comes together with just a few fresh ingredients and is perfect for eating with chips or on top of chicken tacos! This recipe is a keeper!
With Cinco de Mayo right around the corner, I wanted to make sure you had The BEST Pico de Gallo recipe. I make this recipe all the time. It is easy to throw together and so delicious. Perfect on my tacos or just with chips.
This is soooo good!!!! I have been making this almost daily. I love it on tacos and fajitas. It is also great on baked potatoes.
What Makes this the Best Pico de Gallo
This Pico de Gallo recipe really is the best.
- It has the perfect balance of flavors with the jalapeños, onions, garlic, and just the right amount of lime juice and salt.
- It comes with tons of great tips! How to store cilantro, how to cut jalapeños, and what tomatoes to buy.
Pico de Gallo Ingredients
This is the simplest of simple recipes, which makes it perfect for weeknight tacos! There are only a few things that you need to make it. Get the full amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Plum Tomatoes
- Jalapeño
- Small White Onion
- Garlic
- Lime Juice
- Cilantro
- Kosher Salt
How to Make Pico de Gallo
- Dice the tomatoes: Slice the tomatoes and remove the pulp. Cut into small diced sized pieces.
- Dice the jalapeño and white onion: I have tips on dicing jalapeños below.
- Combine the ingredients: Combine everything in a bowl, and then taste. Add more salt as needed.
What Type of Tomatoes to Use
I love using plum tomatoes in this recipe. They have a lot of tomato meat without a lot of juice which makes them perfect for this recipe. It leads to pico that is hearty but not too liquidy.
I like to pull out the seeds and pulp of the the tomatoes before I start dicing them and throwing them in. You get the great taste of the tomatoes, without it being too liquidy.
How to Cut Jalapeños
The downside to using jalapeños in a recipe is how much it can burn your fingers and anything you touch afterwards. I suggest you either use cloves or cut the jalapeño in a way that avoids the ribs and seeds.
- Don’t cut the jalapeño down the middle.
- Think of the jalapeño as four sided and cut off one side at a time.
- Discard the middle with the seeds and ribs.
- Slice each “side” into small strips and then dice them.
You can see this in action in the video in the recipe card.
Bottled or Fresh Lime Juice?
I always have a bottle of lime juice in my refrigerator. It is so easy to keep on hand when I’m throwing together recipes like Carne Asada or Watermelon Salad.
That being said, fresh lime juice is always better than bottled. While bottled is good in a pinch, I suggest that you try to keep fresh limes on hand also. You can count on 2 to 3 tablespoons of lime juice per lime.
Given the few ingredients in this recipe I recommend using fresh.
Pro Tip
Get a little more lime juice out of your limes by microwaving it for 10 to 30 seconds depending on its size.
How to Keep Your Cilantro Fresh
Just like with the lime juice, you want your cilantro to be at the top of its game for this recipe. Here are some tips to keep your cilantro fresh until you make this recipe:
- When you get home from the store, dry off the cilantro.
- Cut off the bottom inch of the stems.
- Remove any leaves that are down at the bottom of the stems and will get in the water.
- Place them in a drinking glass with about two inches of water.
- Cover the cilantro and the entire glass cup with the plastic bag the cilantro came in from the store.
- Put it in the refrigerator.
It will last more than two weeks this way, though you may need to change the water after a week.
FAQ
No, even with the jalapeño, this recipe is not spicy. It’s the perfect blend of flavors.
Given how quickly this recipe comes together, my preference is to make it fresh.
Leftovers will last in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
This makes 1 cup. If you are topping tacos, it is perfect, if it is a dip for a party, you might want to double it.
What to Serve with Pico de Gallo
If you are having a full on taco night, I have so many great recipes to go with this!
- Chicken Tacos – Our family makes this recipe almost once a week.
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos – This is my favorite thing to eat the pico de gallo on!
- Margaritas – This is the BEST margarita recipe.
- Guacamole – My very favorite guacamole recipe, and it’s so easy too.
- Pineapple Mango Salsa – The perfect twist to your taco night.
- Cilantro Lime Rice – A simple recipe but a must.
If you make my homemade Pico de Gallo recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
The Best Pico de Gallo Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Plum tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño diced small
- 1/2 small white onion diced small
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients and serve with tortilla chips or on top of tacos.
Rose Homuth says
Can you can this pico ?
Hi Rose! I just don’t have enough experience with canning to answer that. Here is a pico recipe that has been made specifically for canning.
Gladys says
I make this without the garlic – my friend in Mazatlan never used it and that is who I learned from. Your recipes are awesome.
I’m so glad you’ve bene enjoying my recipes!
Pat says
As usual, all your recipes are amazing. This one so easy and so quick. Love it
I’m so happy to hear you liked it. I absolutely love this one.
Bonita says
This is soooo good!!!! I have been making this almost daily. I love it on tacos and fajitas. It is also great on baked potatoes.
I’m so glad you enjoy so much!
Linda says
I love trying your recipes. Using fresh will definitely change your way of cooking. Thank you and keep your fresh recipes coming. Happy Easter!
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my recipes! Happy Easter to you too, Linda.
Maureen says
Great recipe! I’ve made it twice and both times it was a hit! Good advice on how to keep cilantro fresh too. I’ve had to throw away other herbs after a few days. Now I don’t have so much waste! It stayed fresh and wilt-free. Thank you for your information and recipe!
You are so welcome, Maureen! I’m so glad you found it helpful. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know.
Pam E says
This is my go to pico de gallo. It truly gives you the perfect balance of all ingredients. Easy and great every time. I also remove seeds from tomatoes to keep it from being too juicy. Depending on the size of my Roma tomatoes I use two or three. We like it hot so I use 1 large jalapeño or 1 1/2 if they are on the small size. Left overs (if there are any) goes on my scrambled eggs the next morning.
I’m so glad that you like it!
Lori says
This is so delicious!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lori!
Mary Ann Overfield says
Hi Lisa thank you for this recipe pico de Gallo I have a very sensitive stomach This recipe did not hurt my stomach it made my stomach feel good! 👏👏The taste was awesome 😋 Thank You
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Kathy says
This recipe is delicious!! I did double it and added a little more cilantro and used fresh lime. Will definitely use this recipe again!!
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it, Kathy!