Fresh Pico de Gallo with Jalapeño and Lime is the ultimate homemade salsa! It's vibrant, super simple and very versatile. It's a pico that's crunchy and bright thanks to sweet onions, crisp jalapeño, tangy lime and juicy tomatoes. Make it your own by adding diced peaches, pineapple or avocado! It's perfect for chips, tacos, quesadillas, grilled meats and much more.
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⭐ Why Melinda Loves Pico de Gallo with Jalapeño and Lime
So much more affordable to make it at home than premade at the grocery store, plus there's more to enjoy! Serve it alongside fresh, homemade guacamole with herbs.
Mix and match additional ingredients with great results. Peaches, avocado and pineapple are great mix-ins.
Just like my unique recipe for Pickle de Gallo, this recipe is very easy to make! If you can chop veggies, you can make this delicious pico de gallo.
🍅Ingredients to Have on Hand
Homemade Pico de Gallo is just as good (better!) than what you'll get in a restaurant. It's perfect for chips, tacos, quesadillas, grilled meats and much more. And best of all, you can customize it anyway you'd like. Here's what you need to make it today:
Tomatoes: If fresh tomatoes are plentiful from your garden, use whatever variety of tomatoes you have on hand. Roma tomatoes are firm and less watery than some varieties, but there's no rule on what type of tomato to use.
Onion: My favorite for pico de gallo is a Walla Walla sweet onion, but you could use white, yellow or even red onions in this recipe. Sweet onions are ideal since they are milder and a bit more juicy.
Jalapeño: Using one fresh jalapeño gives just the slightest "bite" to the pico. I'd compare it to a mild salsa. The flavor of the pepper is there, but it's not overly hot. If your family or friends like a little more kick to pico de gallo, plan to use 2 or even 3 jalapeño peppers.
Lime: This is the magic-making ingredient in fresh pico de gallo. The zest of one lime plus the juice of 3-4 limes adds incredible freshness and boosts the flavor of the tomatoes, onion and cilantro. The acidity in the lime juice also helps keep all of the ingredients fresh. In fact, if you choose to add diced avocado the lime juice keeps the avocado from turning brown.
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🥑Variations
Pico de Gallo with Jalapeño and Lime is very versatile! While this recipe does include exact measurements, you can easily adapt this to your family's preferences.
Have extra tomatoes on hand? By all means, use more tomatoes. Like extra heat? Boost the amount of jalapeño pepper. Not a fan of cilantro? Leave it out.
But what I enjoy most about this pico recipe is how delicious it is with additional ingredients that even include fruit!
Create an assortment of pico de gallo options for your spread by making separate bowls with avocado, peaches or pineapple.
Avocado: The lime juice will keep the avocado from turning brown.
Peach: A fresh, diced peach is wonderful with the tomatoes, onion and cilantro.
Pineapple: Use canned or fresh pineapple to bring out the sweetness of pico.
⭐Pro Tip
Scoop a cup of pico de gallo into three small bowls (see photos above), then stir in ⅓ cup of avocado, peach or pineapple to each. You'll have a fresh trio of pico flavors your guests can choose from and enjoy!
🔪Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Finely chop and dice the onion and jalapeño pepper.
Step 2: Zest one lime and squeeze the juice from 3-4 fresh limes. Add ingredients to a medium-sized bowl.
Step 3: Chop the tomatoes, garlic and cilantro and add them to the bowl with the other ingredients.
Step 4: Stir, cover and chill for at least one hour. Use a slotted spoon to strain or drain the pico de gallo into a serving bowl.
💭Recipe FAQs
Pico normally does have considerable liquid in it, so be sure to serve it with a slotted spoon or drain or strain it as you scoop it into serving bowls. Using firm tomatoes like the Roma variety will help keep it from being watery.
In a pinch, yes. But fresh limes will definitely give the best flavor. Plus, we use the zest of one fresh lime.
Whichever type of tomato you have on hand is fine. I've made this with fresh tomatoes from my neighbor's garden. Those tomatoes were plump and juicy. I've also made this using Roma tomatoes that are firm and meaty.
🥘 What to Serve with Pico de Gallo
Serve as a Dip: Pico de Gallo is a classic dip for tortilla chips, sturdy potato chips or even fresh vegetables. It's also tasty with grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas or any recipe that you would season with homemade taco spice.
Serve as a Condiment: This is a great way to add a scoop of freshness to Tex-Mex dishes like Easy Mexican Fried Rice, Baked Burritos and Tamale Casserole.
Serve with Meat or Fish: Pico is delicious served alongside or on top of grilled or baked meat such as tri-tip, beef pot roast or even seafood. Try it with Ivar's Copycat Fried Cod or Skillet Glazed Salmon in place of homemade tartar sauce.
🥣 Leftovers and Storage
Store pico de gallo in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy it within 4 days.
I don't recommend freezing fresh pico de gallo. It has a high water content and the texture of the fresh ingredients will change significantly after being defrosted.
🍽 Other Tasty Salsas, Dips and Dressings
Pico de Gallo with Jalapeño and Lime is a classic and fresh dip for many main courses and appetizers! Check out these additional dips, sauces, jam and toppings for more ideas and inspiration.
If you make Pico de Gallo with Jalapeño and Lime I'd love to hear how it turned out and if you enjoyed it. Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and a comment below. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Recipe
Kyle Keckler says
Delicious!!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Awh. Thanks son! 🙂
Carol Bedford says
Hi, and thanks SO much for tweaking this recipe for max flavor! I've been making this for years and seem to find a daily use for it (over refried beans, dip for chips, on top of baked fish, etc.) One possible use I did not see listed in your recipe is en bruschetta. I like to use fresh French Bread, cut on the diagonal, brushed with garlic butter and toasted in the toaster oven and topped just before serving with this wonderful Pico de Gallo. Any sort of baguette-style bread or bolillo will do, of course, and if it will be served as an hors d'oeuvre at a party, you may wish to use a more 'sturdy' bread (French Baguette is light and feathery, of course) to avoid the tomato moisture saturating the bread while it sits on the plate. For fanciness of presentation, you could place a pretty slice of avocado or your fruit of choice on top, or a small sprig or leaf of cilantro or parsley.
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thanks, Carol! Great idea to serve pico de gallo on French bread.
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
(From Melinda) This recipe is a wonderful way to use and enjoy fresh tomatoes any time of year. It's super easy and a family-favorite with tortilla chips or tacos in my house!