Easy Pico de Gallo (light and fresh recipe)

Fresh Pico de Gallo is made in minutes with fresh ingredients. It is a light fresh salsa that is perfect for snacking or as a garnish for your yummy Mexican food!

This recipe for Fresh Pico de Gallo is super easy but the flavor is amazing!

The fresh tomatoes, the bite of the white onion, mixed with heat from the jalapeño is perfectly matched with the citrusy flavor from the fresh cilantro and the fresh lime. Some coarse kosher salt is needed to balance it all out!

roma tomatoes, white onioons, cilantro, limes and jalapeno for pico de gallo

The one thing I will promise you though, is if you make this fresh Easy Pico de Gallo you will absolutely never-ever-ever want to go back to anything bottled, pre-packaged or store bought!

The Tomatoes

The tomatoes are important for this easy Pico de Gallo. I’m sure you’re aware there are many varieties of tomatoes but traditional Pico de Gallo uses Roma Tomatoes. They are a smaller tomato that is a bit sweet, usually has less seeds and juice, and in my opinion is perfect for Easy Pico de Gallo.

Chop/dice up your Roma tomatoes, removing the juicy, seeds the best you can. Add them to a large bowl.

diced roma tomatoes for easy pico de gallo

diced roma tomatoes in a bowl for pico de gallo salsa

The Onion for Easy

The onion. What type is best? There are many options from yellow onions, sweet yellow onions, white onions and red onions. I prefer white onions. I love the mild flavor of a white onion. It’s perfectly flavored with out being over the top.

You can also use red onion which is a touch sweeter (but still mild) and will add a bit of color to your Easy Pico de Gallo.

Whichever onion you choose, you will need to dive it up. Chop your white onion (or whichever you prefer) and add it to the bowl of tomatoes.

Jalapeños

Easy Pico de Gallo needs a kick of heat! Jalapeños are what gives you the heat that is needed. You can control the amount of heat by adding how much jalapeño you wish- or leave it out all together!

Chop your jalapeño as large or as fine as you like. I try and remove most seeds so it’s not so hot (if you like heat, keep the seeds). I like mine chopped finely so the heat isn’t too much in each bite. Add to the bowl with your onion and tomatoes.

Cilantro

Cilantro can be very polarizing. Either you like it or hate it. Pico de Gallo traditionally has cilantro in it. I love cilantro and love the fresh subtle lime flavor it brings to the pico. But if you’re one of those that hate it and it tastes soapy-leave it out!

Chop your cilantro. Add it to the bowl with the rest of the chopped stuff.

chopped roma tomatoes, chopped white onions, chopped cilantro in a bowl for pico de gallo

Lime Juice and Salt

You will need fresh squeezed lime juice and kosher/coarse salt. The fresh lime juice ties all the flavors together and the salt balances it all out!

You do need kosher salt. It’s a larger coarse salt instead of fine table salt. This helps control the salt flavor so you don’t overdo it (fine table salt makes it super easy to over-salt things).

Squeeze fresh lime juice over top, sprinkle kosher salt on top, then mix it all up.

Taste and adjust the lime juice and salt as needed. There is no right or wrong- it is totally up to you! If you like it more salty, add some more salt. If you like more of a strong lime flavor, add some more lime juice. If you want more heat, add more jalapeno (and the jalapeno seeds).

fresh squeezed lime juice and kosher salt added to chopped pic de gallo ingredients

Serving Easy Pico de Gallo

I will eat fresh Pico de Gallo all day long as a salsa! But you can use it as a topping or garnish for Mexican dishes! It’s delicious stuffed in tacos, burritos or on enchiladas!

Or serve it up with tortilla chips as a salsa or dip!

This Pico to Gallo can be stored in your fridge for up to 4 days. Just note that the juices will settle to the bottom and you will need to stir it back up each time you use it. After 4 days it is still good, but the tomatoes and onion tend to go a little soft and become a little too saturated with the lime juice for my liking.

Hope you enjoy!

For some other yummy salsa recipes try my Restaurant Style Salsa, or Cooper’s Salsa that is the best fast and easy blender salsa, my fresh Avocado Salsa, Easy Guacamole or for a sweeter salsa try my Pineapple Mango Salsa!

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