How to Make Pico de Gallo

This is the Best Ever recipe for How to make Pico de Gallo! Made with fresh tomato, onion, and jalapeno, and lime juice, this Mexican favorite will become your new go-to snack or dinner topping. It pairs well with everything and it takes minutes to make!

I’m a total homebody and introvert who truly loves nothing more than cozying up at home with a good cup of tea and a book. I can socialize like the best of them and do absolutely love to travel but there’s nothing like home. That being said, one of the things I miss most about not traveling as much these days is getting to experience different food cultures. Not only do I love exploring new cuisines while I travel, I will literally travel for food. It’s not secret that I’m a big planner so when it comes to planning out my travel itineraries, a big piece of that is where we plan to eat.

Many of the recipes you see here on the blog are thanks to these travels. I’m often asked where I get inspiration for my recipes and more often than not it’s from my travels. This recipe for pico de gallo is not exception! It was inspired by a trip to Costa Rica 5 years ago. It was truly one of my favorite vacations with C’s family. It was our fam and two others in a big villa in a pretty remote region of Costa Rica. To this day it was one of the best trips I’ve ever gone on and the food was SO good!

Every day before dinner we’d get the drinks flowing and stuff our faces with guacamole and pico de gallo paired with all the patacones. The family that helped us cook taught me this recipe for the best pico de gallo and how to make it. It was a pretty simple recipe but turns out the secret ingredient is ground coriander! Of course you can use fresh cilantro but to be honest the ground coriander makes all the difference.

In case you’re wondering, patacones are typically flattened and fried plantains. I’ve hacked them slightly in this recipe to bake them and honestly, they’re just as good! So if you’re looking for the perfect pairing for your pico de gallo, I highly recommend these patacones.

With that, let’s chat about the recipe and how to make the BEST pico de gallo.

What You Need to Make Pico de Gallo:

• Tomatoes
• Red onion
• Jalapeno
• Lime
• Garlic
• Coriander
• Salt and pepper

For the Baked Patacones (plantain chips):

• Plantains (green is ideal but browned will work too)
• Coconut oil

How to Make Pico de Gallo

Making this homemade pico de gallo is so easy but there are a few steps you’ll want to do to optimize your results.

1) Seed your tomatoes. This step takes a little bit longer but it ensures your pico is thick and doesn’t just turn into salsa. You can of course leave the seeds but it will be a bit runnier and more of a salsa consistency rather than pico de gallo.

2) Finely chop your onion, garlic and jalapeno. I recommend seeding your jalapeno but if you like things really spicy you can leave them. Combine your finely chopped veggies and tomatoes in a large bowl.

3) Add in your lime juice + zest, coriander and salt and pepper. Pretty straight-forward here. Of course you can add in a handful of fresh cilantro but I find the coriander adds a bit more punch.

4) Let sit for 1 hour. You can eat it right away but the flavors meld together of the hour and only makes it more flavorful and delicious.

What to Pair with Pico de Gallo

I prefer to pair this homemade pico de gallo with baked patacones but there are plenty of other options including:

• Tacos – might I suggest these spicy grilled shrimp tacos?
• Salad
• Fish
• Crackers
• Avocado toast

To make patacones make sure you slice it in on diagnoal to optimize surface area. Coat with 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and using a cup flatten each patacone on the baking sheet. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until they have crisped up.

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Like this homemade pico de gallo recipe? Here are a few others you might enjoy:

• Fresh Corn Salsa with homemade tortilla chips
• Easy Greek Yogurt Tzatziki
• Chipotle Black Bean Hummus
• Pineapple Salsa