Easy Pico de Gallo Recipe

Making homemade pico de gallo takes just 10 minutes! It’s a budget-friendly way to add flavor to meals and when made at home you can adjust the flavors to how you like it! 

Have I mentioned how much I love Beanfields? Their continued support of Plant Based on a Budget allows us to keep our resources free to you, and it’s fair to say that we are completely grateful!

When they suggested a dip, I originally thought I’d do hummus, but then I realized that we don’t have a pico de gallo recipe on our site! How did that even happen?!

Since it’s summer, I thought I’d remedy this serious problem! Serve it up with your favorite tortilla chips, tofu tacos, vegan bean quesadillas, or veggie fajitas!

Why This Recipe Works

• Made with only five simple, fresh ingredients.
• A healthy and flavorful way to season food.
• Simple dip to serve with chips or add it as a topping to all your favorite Mexican recipes.

What Goes Into This Recipe

This chunky salsa recipe is made with fresh ingredients which you can easily find in just about any grocery store. If you are lucky enough to have a great farmer’s market, pick them up there for more fresh flavor.

• Tomatoes: The best tomatoes for pico de gallo are roma tomatoes. They are firm, flavorful, and really hold up with the other ingredients. However, you can use any tomatoes you have available.
• Cilantro: Cilantro is the traditional herb used in just about any type of salsa but you can swap it with parsley if you aren’t a fan of cilantro.
• Red onion: The crispy, sharp bite of red onion works best in salsas and the tinge of purple looks great too, but you can certainly opt for a white or yellow onion.
• Jalapeño: An easy-to-find chile. Feel free to swap it out for a spicier chile such as the serrano or habanero pepper. 
• Lime: Fresh lime juice is the only way to go when making this homemade salsa.

How To Make This Recipe

This fresh tomato recipe takes just two simple steps to make and requires no cooking!

• 1) Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and mix them together. 

• 2) Serve right away or store to use for future meals.

Variations

• Tomatillos: Swap out half of the tomatoes with diced tomatillos.
• Fruit: Replace the tomatoes with fresh fruit. Strawberries, mango, and pineapple work especially well!
• Avocado: Diced up some fresh avocado and mix in!
• More Veggies: Add in cucumbers, bell peppers, jicama, and more! A great way to use up what you have available in the fridge.

Expert Tips 

• Storage: For best results store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. It doesn’t freeze well.
• Cut all the vegetables into similar-sized small pieces.
• Use fresh lime juice. It tastes better and really in the long run is much less expensive.
• Less spicy: Most of the heat in the jalapeno is in the seeds and membranes in the jalapeno. Remove them for a less spicy version. 

FAQs

What Can You Do with Leftover Pico de Gallo?

If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, it’s so easy to find ways to use it up. Add some to your favorite tofu scramble, make a vegan quesadilla and add it inside or on top of your Quinoa Burritos, stir it into cauliflower rice or use it as a snack during the week.

More Dip and Salsa Recipes

• Tomatillo Salsa
• Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Salsa
• Roasted Red Salsa
• Mango Cucumber Salsa
• Summer Salsa Recipe

Photos by Alfonso Revilla