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This is the best pico recipe for taco night and beyond! Enjoy the bold flavors of Restaurant-Style Pico de Gallo with plenty of fresh lime juice, cilantro, onion, and peppers. It can be whipped up in less than 20 minutes and is sure to make any meal even tastier.
You may know we take Mexican food night very seriously in our house.
And we never get bored! With everything from venison quesadillas to fajitas texanas to 7 layer taco skillet, we’ve tried it all.
One of the things I’ve found with any Mexican dish is that it really benefits from a good salsa on the side.
There are a lot of great jarred salsas and plenty of homemade roasted salsa recipes, but I never enjoy them nearly as much as I do a big bowl of fresh pico de gallo.
The fresh ingredients and bold flavors elevate a meal like nothing else, and it’s great for more than just Mexican food!
So if you need a little bit of excitement on your plate, don’t miss this delicious restaurant-style pico de gallo. It’s so tasty and — always a bonus — it’s easy to make!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy recipe: This pico de gallo takes just around 20 minutes to make, and it requires absolutely no blending, cooking, or roasting!
- Restaurant-style salsa: If you’ve dreamed of having a Mexican restaurant meal in the comfort of your home, you don’t need to get takeout. This fresh pico will bring that restaurant-level quality and flavor!
- Fresh flavor: Canned salsa is great, but there’s nothing like the bright flavors of pico de gallo. It’s packed with fresh veggies, cilantro, and lime juice for a flavor explosion.
- Serve it with anything: Pico de gallo is a classic snack with tortilla chips or a delicious topping for tacos. But it can be used for so much more than that! I share plenty of ideas later in the post.
Ingredients
- Roma tomatoes: Be sure to remove as many of the seeds as you can so your salsa isn’t too juicy.
- Lime juice: I always recommend fresh lime juice when possible. In a pinch, bottled lime juice is a good substitute.
- Jalapeños: You can control the heat in your salsa by adjusting how many seeds you add (if any). The pepper flesh itself isn’t actually very spicy.
- Salt: Don’t skip the salt! It’s an essential ingredient for bringing all of the flavors together. A good quality sea salt will taste the best.
Find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card below!
How to Make a Restaurant-Style Pico de Gallo
Step 1. Prep the vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper into small chunks.
Step 2. De-seed the jalapeño and dice into fine, small chunks. (You can leave a few seeds in if you like the extra heat.)
Step 3. Combine. Add everything to a bowl with the cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Stir gently.
Step 4. Let it sit. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for around 15–20 minutes before serving.
Step 5. Taste and serve. Adjust salt and lime, then serve with your favorite recipe or with chips!
Tips + Notes
- Don’t skip the chill. Giving it a little time in the fridge lets the salt and lime work their way into the tomatoes, and everything just melts together into that fresh, restaurant-style flavor you’re after. Fifteen minutes does the trick, but if you’ve got an hour to spare, even better. Right before you serve it, give it a stir and pour off any extra liquid that’s collected in the bottom so your pico stays nice and scoopable instead of watery.
- If you are extremely sensitive to spice, you can omit the jalapeño or remove the pith (the white ribs on the inside), leaving just the mild flesh. For a spicier salsa, leave as many seeds in as you can handle!
- Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge, but pico de gallo doesn’t last long. Try to use it within a day or two of making it for the best flavor and texture.
Serving Suggestions
You’ve probably had pico de gallo with a variety of Mexican-style dishes before. I regularly serve it with venison enchiladas, skirt steak fajitas, and chipotle chicken street tacos.
But the possibilities do not end there! Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh tomato pico that you may not have thought of:
- On top of tacos, fajitas, or nachos
- As a fresh dip with tortilla chips
- Spooned over grilled or blackened chicken
- Piled on grilled steak or fish
- Spooned onto grilled bread as bruschetta (similar to my easy balsamic bruschetta)
- Over eggs or breakfast tacos
Even if it’s not taco night in your house, a bowl of pico de gallo is never a bad idea. It tastes great with practically anything!
Recipe FAQs
Roma tomatoes are the best option for pico de gallo, because they are meaty and lower in moisture than other tomato varieties. Romas also hold their shape well in the salsa rather than turning to mush.
Yes, absolutely! The flavor gets even better with a little extra time to marinate. You just don’t want to make it too far in advance, as pico de gallo can get soggy and gross after a couple of days. For best results, make it no more than 12 hours in advance.
Tomatoes have a lot of water in them that gets released when they are salted. To minimize the wateriness, be sure to use roma tomatoes (or another paste variety), remove the seeds, and drain off excess juice after the salsa chills in the fridge (see the notes for more details).
Related Recipes
- Beef Enchilada Dip Recipe
- Ground Venison Tacos
- Quick and Easy Colorado Green Chili
- Soup De Maiz (Mexican Corn Soup)
- Venison Fajitas
- Roasted Pumpkin Nachos
If you tried this Restaurant-Style Pico de Gallo or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Restaurant-Style Pico de Gallo
Equipment
- Cutting board and sharp knife
- Serving bowl
Ingredients
- 6 roma tomatoes seeded and diced small (about 3 cups)
- ½ red onion finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper finely diced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and minced (leave some seeds in for more heat)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice about 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper into small chunks.
- De-seed the jalapeño and dice into fine, small chunks. (You can leave a few seeds in if you like the extra heat)
- Combine. Add everything to a bowl with the cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Stir gently.
- Let it sit. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for around 15–20 minutes before serving*
- Taste and serve. Adjust salt and lime, then serve with your favorite recipe or with chips!
Notes
- *Don’t skip the chill. Giving it a little time in the fridge lets the salt and lime work their way into the tomatoes, and everything just melts together into that fresh, restaurant-style flavor you’re after. Fifteen minutes does the trick, but if you’ve got an hour to spare, even better. Right before you serve it, give it a stir and pour off any extra liquid that’s collected in the bottom so your pico stays nice and scoopable instead of watery.
- If you are extremely sensitive to spice, you can omit the jalapeño or remove the pith (the white ribs on the inside), leaving just the mild flesh. For a spicier salsa, leave as many seeds in as you can handle!
- Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge, but pico de gallo doesn’t last long. Try to use it within a day or two of making it for the best flavor and texture.
