Best Ever Pico de Gallo (Salsa Mexicana)

This fabulous Pico de Gallo is wonderful with chips but also pairs perfectly with any Mexican entreé! It's so fresh and delicious you'll want to eat it with a spoon!

I'm enjoying a little not-so-little bowl of this wonderful Pico de Gallo as I write this post... you know,  just to help me explain how amazingly delicious it is. Okay, if I'm being honest, I have to admit I'll use any excuse to enjoy a not-so-little bowl of this vibrantly-fresh crazy-delicious salsa.

I've been making this Pico de Gallo since the early 1980's. Shortly after we moved into our first home in Raleigh, North Carolina, I met a lovely neighbor who would become a lifelong friend. My new friend, Dulce, was from Mexico City and, on top of being a delightful person, she's a fantastic cook so we had a lot in common from the start. Over the three years that we lived in the same little cul de sac, she taught me how to make many traditional Mexican dishes including her fabulous Mexican Rice and this Best Ever Pico de Gallo.

Dulce never called this salsa, Pico de Gallo, but instead always referred to it as "Mexican Sauce" or in Spanish "Salsa Mexicana". She explained that it was not only a very traditional Mexican condiment, but with red tomatoes, white onion and green jalapeño, this salsa is a representation of the Mexican flag. 🇲🇽

It's in the cut

After three years, Dulce's husband's job took them to Ontario, Canada. I've missed her ever since but, over the years, whenever I needed a little "Dulce fix", I would simply make a batch of her delicious Mexican Sauce and I'd be instantly transported back to the days when we could just cross the street and have a nice chat or enjoy something wonderful from her kitchen.

The only problem was my Pico de Gallo never tasted quite as good as Dulce's and I couldn't figure out what was different. But two years ago, my dear friend spent a few days with us in the mountains of North Carolina. We discovered that we still enjoyed cooking together and in the midst of an afternoon in the kitchen, I figured out her simple secret.

We were making a meal to take to my daughter, Cait's home. One of the dishes we prepared was Pico de Gallo. As Dulce chopped the tomatoes, I had an "aha" moment as I noticed that she diced a much smaller dice than I did. The same was true of the white onion and jalapeño.

You wouldn't think something so minor would make a difference but it truly does. Ever since Dulce's visit my Salsa Mexicana tastes as wonderful as hers! Yay!

So be sure to dice your tomatoes nice and small. It helps to have a good sharp knife (see Café Tips below for my favorite knives).

I use my Vidalia Chopper  to chop the onions in a small dice. I can chop all of the onion for this Pico de Gallo recipe in less than a minute. This is not a sponsored post, I just love this super handy little kitchen workhorse.

If you've never seen one, this is how it works:

What kind of tomatoes should I use for this Pico de Gallo?

Before Dulce and I started cooking together during her visit, we went to the grocery store to purchase our supplies. I asked her what kind of tomatoes to buy for the salsa. She said, "any kind, just look for ripe, red, pretty tomatoes".

I find that, during the off-season, the best-looking, and tastiest, tomatoes are often the smaller varieties like plum, Campari, San Marzano, grape and cherry. If it's the middle of summer and you've got vine-ripe tomatoes out the back door, there's nothing better!

A tasty trick

I did learn a little trick recently from Serious Eats that I like to employ when making my Pico de Gallo. I dice the tomatoes first, sprinkle them with kosher salt and then let them drain while I prepare the remaining ingredients. Serious Eats explains that this simple little step, "improves the texture, flavor, and color" of the tomatoes.

It works! As the tomatoes drain, you can see their color brighten. And if you take a taste after they're drained, you'll notice the tomato flavor is more concentrated. I also think that the leftovers are better as they're not swimming in a huge sea of tomato juice. The resulting salsa is not too salty as most of the salt is drained with the liquid.

I also like to let the chopped onion and jalapeño marinate for a few minutes in the lime juice before combining all the ingredients. This little step takes some of the "bite" out of the onion.

Make it!

So there you have it - Dulce's delicious Pico de Gallo and a few little tasty tricks. Put it on your must-make-soon list and invite some friends. But don't be surprised if you get the urge to have a little not-so-little bowl! Just save enough to go with the chips!

One last thing... if you enjoy Mexican food, you will LOVE our easy flour tortilla recipe. With over 700 5-star reviews it's a delicious winner. But be warned - everyone says that once they start making these Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas, they don't every want to go back to store-bought tortillas!

Cafe Tips for making this Pico de Gallo

• You may have noticed that Mexican recipes often call for white onion rather than yellow or red. White onions are fairly sweet and crunchy and work well in this Pico de Gallo recipe. If you can't find a white onion or don't want to run to the store, a sweet yellow onion will also work.
• This recipe calls for 1-2 jalapeño peppers. Most of the heat in jalapeño peppers is in the inner membranes or veins. If you prefer less heat, be sure to remove the membranes and seeds before chopping your jalapeños.
• You can also use a poblano pepper (milder) or a serrano pepper (spicier).
• You'll need a fine mesh sieve to drain the tomatoes for this recipe. Fine mesh sieves work well for lots of other kitchen tasks. I like this set.
• When chopping tomatoes, it's important to have a good, sharp knife. I love my Global knives and have used them for over 10 years. It takes just a few minutes to restore their sharpness with this great little sharpener when they get dull.
• If I could have only two knives, it would be this chef knife and this paring knife.
• This Pico de Gallo will keep well refrigerated in an airtight storage container for 2-3 days.
• I mentioned above in the post that the tomatoes are combined with salt and drained before being combined with the other ingredients. Don't worry that this will be a dry salsa. There is still plenty of juice!

Thought for the day:

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8

What we're listening to for inspiration:

All of My Days

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The Best Ever Pico de Gallo (aka Salsa Mexicana)

Chris Scheuer

This fabulous Pico de Gallo is wonderful with chips but also pairs perfectly with any Mexican entreé! It's so fresh and delicious you'll want to eat it with a spoon!

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 16

Calories 11

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

.5x1x2x

• 1 ½ pounds ripe red tomatoes, I like to use plum, Campari, San Marzano, grape or cherry tomatoes during the off-season
• kosher salt, to pull the liquid out of the tomatoes and concentrate their flavor
• ½ large white onion, (about 1-1 ¼ cups diced onion)
• 1-2 medium jalapeños, finely chopped (membranes and seeds removed if you prefer a less spicy salsa)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, more to taste
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, more to taste

Instructions

 

1. Chop the tomatoes in a ¼-inch dice and place them in a medium-size bowl. Sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and stir well. Transfer the tomatoes to a fine-mesh sieve and let them drain while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. Chop the white onion in a ¼-inch dice and place them in a medium-size serving bowl. Add the finely chopped jalapeño, the lime juice and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Stir to combine and allow the mixture to marinate for 10 minutes before adding the tomatoes and cilantro.
3. Drain the tomatoes and discard the excess liquid. Add the tomatoes and cilantro to the serving bowl and stir gently to combine. Taste and add more lime juice, salt or chopped cilantro if desired.
4. Serve with chips or grilled, pan-seared or roasted chicken, beef, pork or seafood.
5. Keeps well for 2-3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight storage container.

Notes

This recipe makes around 1 quart of salsa, with each serving being ¼ cup.

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Nutrition

Calories: 11kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 0.5gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.04gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 75mgPotassium: 116mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 399IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.1mg

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Course: Condiment, Salsa

Cuisine: Mexican