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Whether you’re serving quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, or nachos, this easy pico de gallo is a perfect 10-minute addition to any Mexican-inspired meal! Made with ripe tomatoes, buttery avocado, zesty red onion, fresh lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro, it’s a simple and flavorful chunky salsa or side salad.
Fresh Pico de Gallo
If there’s one cuisine that I can always count on to be a hit with friends and family, it’s definitely Mexican food. After all, between the zesty seasonings, the cheese, the chips, the fresh veggies, and the margaritas, there’s something for everyone to love. This easy pico de gallo recipe makes a regular appearance on our dinner table, because it’s the perfect dish to complete a festive meal.
What is Pico de Gallo?
Pico de Gallo is a fresh Mexican salsa sometimes also known as Salsa Cruda (raw salsa). It’s made from fresh tomatoes, red onion, chili peppers, cilantro, and lime juice, and is delicious served with chips for dipping, or as a topping for quesadillas, fajitas, and tacos.
Translated in Spanish, pico de gallo literally means “beak of rooster.” Stories suggest that this name came about because it was originally eaten by pinching between the thumb and finger, making the shape of a rooster’s beak. Needless to say, the fresh salsa actually has nothing to do with roosters!
What’s the difference between salsa and pico de gallo?
The main difference between pico de gallo and a regular salsa is the texture. This is much chunkier, has less liquid, and uses only raw ingredients. Regular salsa, by contrast, is wetter, thinner, and usually blended to a fine consistency.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a batch of mild pico de gallo with avocado. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Tomatoes: you’ll need fresh, flavorful tomatoes, so this dish is often best prepared in the summer and early fall, when the ripest local tomatoes are growing on the vine. Just about any variety is fine, including roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and plum tomatoes.
- Red onion: for zesty, savory bite and crunch.
- Avocado: this isn’t necessarily a traditional ingredient in authentic pico de gallo recipe, but it adds a nice, buttery texture and rich flavor to the salad.
- Cilantro: always use fresh herbs in this recipe. If you don’t care for the taste of cilantro, you can substitute with fresh parsley.
- Olive oil and lime juice: come together to form the “dressing” for this light, fresh salad.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
How to Make Pico De Gallo
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cover the bowl and allow the salsa to sit and “marinate” for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve with a slotted spoon alongside your favorite Mexican-inspired dinner!
Homemade Pico de Gallo Serving Suggestions
We love the variety of flavors and textures in this simple salsa fresca, which can serve as a fresh dip for your chips, as an easy garnish for your quesadillas, burritos, tacos, or fajitas, or as a beautiful side salad to round out your meal. You might also like to add the fresh condiment to nachos, alongside grilled chicken or shrimp, or as a garnish on top of Mexican casseroles. Grab a salt-rimmed icy margarita, because this versatile and easy recipe will complete your Mexican fiesta and will quickly send you into Cinco de Mayo party mode!
Storage
This recipe is best enjoyed on the same day that it’s prepared. It will stay fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but the avocado will start to turn brown and the tomatoes will become mushy.
Recipe Variations
- Add corn in lieu of the avocado.
- Make it spicy with chopped jalapeño peppers. Remove the seeds from the jalapeno for a slightly more mild taste. Serrano peppers also work well.
- Swap out the red onion for white onion or sweet onion if you prefer. You can also throw some garlic or garlic powder into the sauce.
- For even more flavor, try adding diced red bell pepper, cucumber, or chopped pineapple or mango. The fresh fruit adds a nice, sweet, refreshing contrast to the savory vegetables.
- Prepare the pico de gallo without cilantro. You can omit the herb entirely, or substitute with chopped fresh parsley.
Tips for the Best Pico De Gallo Recipe
- Let everything marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving so that the flavors can come together.
- This salsa is best enjoyed on the same day that it’s prepared.
- Use ripe, in-season tomatoes for the best flavor and texture. It’s ideal for the summer and early fall months when the local tomatoes are growing on the vine!
- Chop everything evenly so that you get a little bit of each ingredient in every bite.
More Mexican-Inspired Sides to Try
Easy Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 1 lb. cored, chopped tomatoes (about 2 large or 3 medium tomatoes)
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or sub with fresh parsley)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cover and let the pico de gallo sit and “marinate” for at least 15 minutes.
Notes
- Add corn to the pico de gallo in lieu of the avocado.
- Make it spicy with chopped jalapeño peppers. Remove the seeds from the jalapeno for a slightly more mild taste. Serrano peppers also work well.
- Swap out the red onion for white onion or sweet onion if you prefer. You can also throw some garlic or garlic powder into the sauce.
- For even more flavor, try adding diced red bell pepper, cucumber, or chopped pineapple or mango. The fresh fruit adds a nice, sweet, refreshing contrast to the savory vegetables.
- Prepare the pico de gallo without cilantro. You can omit the herb entirely, or substitute with chopped fresh parsley.
- Let everything marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving so that the flavors can come together.
- This salsa is best enjoyed on the same day that it’s prepared.
- Use ripe, in-season tomatoes for the best flavor and texture. It’s ideal for the summer and early fall months when the local tomatoes are growing on the vine!
- Chop everything evenly so that you get a little bit of each ingredient in every bite.
I love mission products but those thin and crispy chips sound so much better, yum! I love how easy this pico is too!
Those chips are SO GOOD! 🙂
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Love the sound of this salsa especially with chopped avocado, yum!