This fresh pico de gallo comes together in about 10 minutes of chopping — just combine everything in a bowl, cover, and let it chill in the fridge while the flavors meld. No cooking, no blender, just ripe roma tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, and a good squeeze of lime.

Pico is a taco-night thing at my house. When the tortillas come out, a bowl of this comes out with them. It’s the crunchy, cool part of the plate that balances out all the juicy, saucy, well-seasoned meat. Whether it’s barbacoa, carne asada or shrimp tacos, a spoonful of pico on top gives every bite a little snap.

Ripe tomato, sharp red onion, a little jalapeño bite, cilantro and lime. It’s simple, but once you’ve had it homemade, the tubs at the grocery store don’t stand a chance.

Easy Homemade Pico de Gallo

Fresh, chunky pico de gallo with ripe roma tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, and a good squeeze of lime — no cooking required, just chop and mix.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Servings: 2 cups

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 5 roma tomatoes, medium diced
• 1/2 red onion, medium diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeños, small diced depends on the size of the peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lime, juiced use 1 small/medium lime, or 1/2 of a large one
• 1 tsp coarse kosher salt more or less to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper

Equipment

• Cutting board
• Chef’s Knife
• Mixing Bowl

Method

 

1. Combine all ingredients into a medium bowl or tupperware.
2. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes for the flavors to come together, stirring occasionally.

Notes

Makes about 2 cups. Best eaten within 3-4 days, stored covered in the fridge — it can last a bit longer than that, but you’ll lose a lot of the fresh texture as the tomatoes keep releasing liquid.

For a milder pico, remove the jalapeño seeds and ribs before dicing. For more heat, leave them in or add a second pepper.

Tips for the Best Pico de Gallo

Dice everything roughly the same size so every bite has a little of each ingredient. Roma tomatoes are the move here — they’re less watery than beefsteak tomatoes, so your pico stays chunky instead of soupy.

Don’t skip the resting time. At least 30 minutes covered in the fridge, stirring occasionally, lets the salt draw out some tomato juice and pull all the flavors together — it tastes noticeably better than eating it the second it’s mixed.

How to Use It

This is the fresh, chunky topping I use on my Restaurant-Quality Crockpot Beef Barbacoa tacos, but it’s just as good with chips, on eggs, or spooned over grilled chicken.