Healthy Pico de gallo recipe, a side dish recipe with just five ingredients. I repeat, five ingredients! That’s all it takes to bring out the fresh Mexican cuisine. With so few ingredients, you know it’s going to be an easy side dish, perfect for when you’re up against it timewise and have hungry people to please!
But before we show you how we throw this dish together for National Corn Chip Day (January 29), let’s take a closer look at what’s going on.
What Is Pico de Gallo?
In Spanish, gallo means “rooster”, and pico de gallo means “beak of rooster” or “rooster’s beak”. It could refer to how when someone eats the salad in the Mexican style, it looks similar to a rooster’s beak, pinching the thumb and forefingers together.
But this is just a theory from Sharon Tyler Herbst, an American cookbook author. Native residents of the Sonoran region of Mexico offer up another theory, which is that the dish is named so because of the beak-like shape of the serrano chili pepper. We could do an article just on possible theories, but what we do know for sure is that pico de gallo is a great accompaniment to any Mexican meal.
Pico de Gallo vs. Salsa
What’s the difference? Pico de gallo actually counts as a salsa. So what is “salsa”? Merriam-webster defines it as:
“A usually spicy sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers that is commonly served with Mexican food.”
Simply put, pico de gallo is one variety of the salsa family, unblended and uncooked. Both are tomato-based and perfect to pair with almost any Mexican dish. Fun fact: pico de gallo is also called salsa fresca or salsa cruda, which means “fresh salsa” or “uncooked salsa”.
Main Ingredients
Pico de gallo recipes are simple to make, so the key to an excellent pico de gallo is the quality of ingredients.
Tomatoes: The best tomatoes should be free from bruises or blemishes and have a deep, bright red color. Fully ripe tomatoes are sweet and soft, but they can get mushy and fall apart in the bowl. We recommend tomatoes that are a little firm for maximum texture, especially since this recipe showcases tomatoes.
White Onion: In this pico de gallo, we use white onion (instead of yellow) for some specific reasons. White onion has a sharper flavor which balances the tomatoes, cilantro, and lime. You can use more or less onion than is called for in our recipe depending on your preference.
Jalapeno Pepper: Jalapeno is the best type for pico de gallo in our opinion because it’s flavorful and warm, but not too spicy. And with chillies, you can keep the seeds for more heat.
Cilantro: We often use cilantro without removing the leaves from the stems for most of our recipes. In this pico de gallo recipe, however, we recommend removing the stem and only using the cilantro leaves. And if you like cilantro, add more!
Lime: There is nothing like lime juice in this recipe. The lime brings out the brightness from the tomatoes and onion. If you wish for a more tangy taste, then use the zest as well.
Salt: Tomatoes need salt to enhance their natural flavor, so don’t forget to put some in your pico de gallo bowl.
Garlic and Pepper: These seasonings add greater depth of flavor to your dish. If you are not one for fresh garlic, garlic powder will work beautifully in this recipe as well.
How to Make Pico de Gallo
This salsa recipe is not only delicious but it’s also incredibly simple to make. Here are some takeaways:
Chop tomatoes and onions into small pieces: a sign of a good salsa is that there is no excess liquid at the bottom of the bowl. To achieve that, cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze the seeds out before chopping the rest.
Chop the jalapeno pepper and cilantro: for this salsa, we remove the seeds and mince the pepper pretty small so we don’t ever bite into a big chunk of it. Roughly chop the cilantro and add your desired amount.
Add lime juice, salt, and seasonings: fresh lime juice is our favorite go-to acid for pico de gallo, but you could use lemon juice or vinegar instead, or any kind of acidic juice. Stir everything gently until well combined.
Let the salsa sit a few minutes before serving: Salt draws out fresh flavor from tomatoes and tones down raw onion. By letting the salsa sit for 10 to 30 minutes before serving, all the flavors meld together. A fresh salsa like pico de gallo is at it’s best for the first hour, after that you will lose a bit of crunchiness in the vegetables. From our experience, 30 minutes is enough for the magic to happen.
1. Design Your Own Recipes
Our recipe is made to our taste and can serve as a good starting point for you. However, you can absolutely play around with the amount of each ingredient. If you like spicy, add more chillies! If you don’t like raw onion, add less! The flavor of the dish is completely up to you.
On the other hand, you can make our Migas, which is different from the traditional salsa version but still gives you the Mexican feel of tortillas and an egg salsa.
2. How To Keep The Leftovers
Like other types of salsa, pico de gallo is best freshly made. Salt and acid in lime juice break down the tomato flesh and draw the moisture from the onion.
If you want to keep the leftovers, drain excess juices and place in a food container. The texture may become mushy but it still tastes delicious. This method helps to keep your dish up to a week in the refrigerator.
The best preservation method is to prep all the ingredients and store them separately. You can mix as much pico de gallo as you want for one meal and keep the rest of the prepared ingredients in the fridge. Subsequent mixtures might not be as crunchy as the first but they will be better than if you had mixed it all at once and stored it for later.
If you’re interested in this recipe, we also have this Kachumbari Recipe that we’ve carefully sorted out for you!
Nutrition
Pico de gallo is a popular salsa that is made with a few ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, lime juice, and garlic. People often serve with tacos, tortilla chips, or over fish, chicken and any Mexican dishes. A serving of this light salsa (including tortilla chips) contains approximately 190 calories and less than 1 gram of saturated fat. Consume pico de gallo regularly to enjoy a wealth of health benefits.
1. Antioxidants
Pico de gallo is packed with doses of antioxidants from tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Lycopene – a carotenoid in ripe tomatoes – is linked to health benefits for the heart and helps protect against certain types of cancers. Allicin from garlic has been proven to reduce heart disease risk and enhance the immune system.
2. Vitamin C
Consuming pico de gallo definitely boosts your vitamin C intake. Major ingredients in pico de gallo contain vitamin C, such as lime juice and tomatoes.
Each serving provides 28 milligrams of vitamin C, which accounts for 34% of the recommended daily intake for women. Vitamin C helps you manage high blood pressure, reduces blood uric acid, and prevents gout attacks. It also protects lipids, proteins and DNA from damage caused by free radicals, so that your cells can function properly.
3. Anti-Inflammatory
Pico de gallo contains vegetables that can decrease inflammation. Quercetin is a compound that’s highly concentrated in onions. As a potent anti-inflammatory, it may help decrease heart disease such as high blood pressure. Jalapeno peppers are a rich source of capsaicin which may help individuals with arthritis by increasing circulation, and releasing endorphins to relieve pain.
FAQ
1. Things To Serve with?
The salad brings freshness, crunchiness, tanginess, and a bit of heat. As a famous someone-I-forgot-the-name-of once said, a delicious meal should have all the food texture there is and the complimenting flavors. These are just a few examples of Mexican dishes that pair really well with the fresh salsa:
- Tacos: crunchy taco shells and soft fish, meat or bean filling dressed with creamy cheese topping. A bit of heat and freshness from pico de gallo elevates the dish.
- Nachos: cut the creaminess of cheese with crunchy, tangy bites of tomato and lime, and a bit of heat from the chili.
- Quesadillas: just like tacos, what it needs is a fresh side salad to invigorate your palate.
- Guacamole: up your guacamole dipping game by stirring the salad into your dip! It gives added nutrition, color and flavor, and tastes fantastic with chips.
2. How Long Does It Last?
Like other types of salsa, pico de gallo is best freshly made. Salt and acid in lime juice break down the tomato flesh and draw the moisture from the onion. If you want to keep the leftovers, drain excess juices and place in a food container. The texture may become mushy but it still tastes delicious. This method helps to keep your dish up to a week in the refrigerator.
The best preservation method is to prep all the ingredients and store them separately. You can mix as much pico de gallo as you want for one meal and keep the rest of the prepared ingredients in the fridge. Subsequent mixtures might not be as crunchy as the first but they will be better than if you had mixed it all at once and stored it for later.
Pico De Gallo Recipe
Maybe I should stop talking about pico de gallo recipe and start showing you how to make this delicious on-the-side creation. When it comes to good food, sometimes I get carried away!
- prep TIME 15 mins
- total TIME 15 mins
- COURSE Appetizer, Side Dish
- CUISINE Mexican
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 190 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 12 oz tomatoes (chopped)
- 2 oz red onion (chopped)
- 4 oz white onion (chopped)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 oz jalapeno pepper (minced)
- 1 oz cilantro
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 4 oz tortilla chips
INSTRUCTIONS
Dice 12 oz tomatoes, 2 oz red onion, 4 oz white onion, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 oz jalapeno pepper, and put into a bowl.
Chop 1 oz cilantro and add to the bowl with tomatoes and onions.
Add 2 tbsp lime juice. Season with 1/8 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp ground pepper.
Mix to combine. Serve with tortilla chips.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- Whitney Colliver
Simple to prepare and taste amazing!
- Brenda
Excellent recipe. Turned out delicious.
- Luna Regina
Lovely, glad you love this!