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Sauces · Mexican

Pico de Gallo

Fresh chopped tomato, onion, chile and cilantro with a squeeze of lime. No cooking, all crunch.

Hands-on
15 min
Total
15 min
Makes
2 cups (about 480 ml)
Serves
8

All knife work, about 15 minutes. Serve right away.

  • easy
  • vegan
  • vegetarian
  • gluten-free
  • no-cook
  • salsa
  • game-day
  • taco-night

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Pico de Gallo
Amount
Units

Ingredients

You need: cutting board and sharp knife · large bowl · spoon · disposable gloves for the chile

Contains: none of the 9 major allergens in the listed ingredients

Method

  1. Wash up first

    Wash your hands with soap and water. Rinse the 2 tomatoes, the onion, the serrano, the cilantro and the lime under running water and pat them dry.

  2. Chop the vegetables

    Dice the 2 large tomatoes and mince 1/4 onion. Wearing gloves, halve the serrano, scrape out the seeds and mince it.

    Otto tried this firstOtto minces the serrano bare-handed and then rubs his eye. Gloves on, and hands away from your face until you've washed them.

  3. Chop the cilantro

    Chop enough cilantro leaves and tender stems to fill 1/4 cup. The stems are full of flavour, so use them too.

  4. Mix

    Put everything in a large bowl with 2 tbsp lime juice and 1/4 tsp salt and stir to combine. Taste and serve right away.

  5. Put leftovers away

    Cover any leftovers and refrigerate them within 2 hours. Eat within 4 days.

Swaps

  • Instead of serrano pepper: 1 jalapeño or another hot pepper Jalapeños are usually a little milder than serranos.
  • Instead of serrano pepper (for a mild salsa): 1/4 cup minced bell pepper Same crunch and colour, no heat.
  • Instead of 2 large tomatoes: Roma (plum) tomatoes, about 4 Romas are meatier and less watery. The 4-tomato count is our estimate; aim for roughly the same volume of diced tomato.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Storage
Covered in the fridge, it keeps up to 4 days. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of serving. This is a fresh salsa: it is not for canning or keeping in the cupboard.

If something goes wrong

  • Too spicy Why: Some chiles are much hotter than others, especially in hot summer months.
    Next time use a jalapeño, or 1/4 cup minced bell pepper for a mild salsa.

Good to know

  • Chop the cilantro stems along with the leaves: all of it is flavourful.

Safety

  • Chile oils can burn skin and eyes. Wear plastic or rubber gloves and don't touch your face; if you go without gloves, wash your hands well with soap before touching your eyes.
  • Rinse produce under running water only: no soap or produce wash. Keep produce you'll eat raw away from raw meat, and use a clean board.
  • Sharp knife work: kids can tear the cilantro and squeeze the lime while an adult does the chopping.