Is there anything better than the bright flavours of pico de gallo? With fresh, ripe tomatoes, sharp white onion, and the kick of a jalapeño, this zesty tomato salsa is the perfect accompaniment to your favourite tex-mex dishes [hint: air fryer taquitos or bang bang chicken tacos], or just a great topper to your favourite tortilla chips! It takes no time to make, and no complicated or unknown ingredients like store-bought varieties!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- No fancy ingredients required! This zesty pico de gallo does not require any fancy ingredients! Packed with fresh produce and citrus notes, this salsa doesn't need much else, except for tortilla chips of course.
- It is quick to make! This is a chop and drop kind of dish. Fire roasted salsas, or blended salsas are delicious, but sometimes you want a no effort kind of dish. This pico de gallo is exactly what you need. The best part is that it tastes great right away, but gets better as it sits.
- It is a healthy salsa! With no added oils or sugars, this salsa is packed with fresh vegetables. It does not get healthier than that!
Recipe Overview
Flavour: This zesty tomato salsa is just that - zesty! With the perfect balance of spice from the jalapeño, with citrus notes from the lime, and sharpness from white onions, this salsa is anything but boring. It is a bright accompaniment to your favourite Mexican and Tex Mex classics.
Ease: If you don't like chopping, you may find this salsa to be a little bit tedious. That being said, chopping is the full extent and difficulty of this salsa. It is definitely worth it!
Time: Depending on how fast you are with a knife, this salsa can be ready to go in 5 minutes!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Vine-ripe tomatoes: Tomatoes are the star of this salsa, so you want to try and get your hands on ripe tomatoes that are not mealy or mushy on the inside. You can also use roma, or field tomatoes for this salsa. You will want to de-seed the tomatoes before adding them to the salsa. The seeds will make the salsa watery, and add a slimy texture that isn't so great in a fresh salsa like this.
Jalapeño: Fresh jalapeño works best for this salsa. You can also use serrano pepper for a bit more heat. If you like it spicy, keep the seeds and ribs in the jalapeño. If you prefer a bit of a milder salsa, remove the seeds and the ribs from the pepper.
Onion: They key is to try and chop the onion as finely as possible, so you do not have overpowering pieces of onion throughout the salsa. You may use a regular yellow onion, white onion, or even red onion if you prefer.
Lime juice and zest: Because this salsa has so few ingredients, I highly recommend using fresh limes. You will want to use both lime juice and zest, for an extra hint of bright, citrus flavour. I do not recommend substituting lemon juice for this recipe, as limes have a distinct bitter undertone that you will not get from a lemon. If you do not have fresh limes, you can use bottled lime juice, but it may not be as fresh.
Cilantro: Now, I will preface by saying that I actually hate cilantro - I will not eat it. That being said, I have tested this recipe with and without it. If you are someone who does not enjoy cilantro, like me, rest assured this salsa is perfect without it.
Instructions
- Mix ingredients: Add the chopped ingredients to a bowl. You want to ensure that the tomatoes and onions are in relatively uniform-sized pieces. Dice the jalapeño as finely as possible, so it is evenly distributed throughout the salsa without big chunks.
- Top with lime and salt: Squeeze lime juice, and season with salt. Mix, and enjoy!
Expert Tip
Salt at the last minute! Salt brings out water and moisture from produce. To keep the salsa as fresh as possible, if you are cutting the ingredients ahead of time, salt the salsa right before serving to avoid a watery salsa.
Recipe FAQs
If you prefer a smoother consistency to your salsa, you may put it in the food processor or blender. Pico de gallo, however, is generally served chunky.
There is no rule that the seeds must be removed. From a texture perspective, I find it preferable to de-seed the tomatoes. Tomato seeds are generally watery, which is not ideal if you are making this pico de gallo in advance. If you don't mind them, you can keep them in!
Generally, no. I would recommend using canned tomatoes if you are making a blended salsa. For a fresh, chunky salsa like this, canned tomatoes will not give you the best results.
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Zesty Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 Vine-ripe tomatoes deseeded, finely diced
- 1 Jalapeño pepper finely minced
- 1 Lime juiced and zested
- ½ Large onion finely diced
- ½ tsp Coarse sea salt or to taste
Instructions
- Mix ingredients: Add the chopped ingredients to a bowl.
- Top with lime and salt: Squeeze lime juice, and season with salt. Mix, and enjoy!
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