Forget about purchasing your Pico de Gallo in-store and consider making your own. It’s a lot easier to create homemade pico de gallo than you think, and once you start making your own, you’ll never rebuy store-bought!
I have to admit, the one thing this quarantine doing, it’s getting me to do more than I usually would. I’m cooking more, crafting more, reading more, you name it, I’m doing a bit more of it. It’s not just brought the family closer together, but friends too, as I’m keeping in touch with friends and family worldwide, checking in to be sure that they’re all alright.
With going out for essentials being promoted, it’s not tricky figuring out what’s essential and what’s not. Getting needed food supplies is essential, but heading to the store to grab a burrito bowl isn’t. No matter how much you may want one.
I love Mexican food, and burrito bowls are my thing! My girlfriend Marielle and I were recently chatting about cooking, as I had made my own burrito bowl. In my household, burrito bowls are usually called “you got chipotle money?” as my son kept asking for me to order burrito bowls for dinner. I already had most of the ingredients in my house, and I could make my own. So why would I order one?
We chatted about how easy they were to make, and I prefer making them because they taste better when they’re homemade – especially with homemade Pico de Gallo. There’s something to be said about freshly chopped tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, combined with lime juice. But what makes it extra special is letting it sit overnight in your refrigerator. She then demanded suggested that I write a post and share it with everyone.
Now there’s a difference between Pico de Gallo and salsa. While they typically have the same ingredients, they’re prepared differently. Pico de Gallo has more of a chunky texture, while salsa is much more like a purée. There is no cooking involved in making your Pico de Gallo, so even those who think they’re no good in the kitchen can easily make this.
Now Pico de Gallo isn’t just for chips and burrito bowls. You can use it on almost everything, or in my case anything! You can use it as a dip, but I’ve used it in my burritos, of course, tacos, on eggs, and even on my rice or pasta. After all, why not? It’s just fresh ingredients.
You can adjust our homemade Pico de Gallo recipe to suit your preference. For those who don’t like cilantro, I wouldn’t recommend using anything else, but you can use less of it. You can add more tomatoes if you want to have a sweeter taste, or even more jalapeño if you’d prefer more of a fiery kick.
INGREDIENTS
4 Roma tomatoes chopped (make sure they are red and ripe)
1 medium white onion chopped (you can also use red)
1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and minced (optional)
1 lime
1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt
Pinch of black pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine your chopped and diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño.
Squeeze the juice from your lime into your mixture.
Add your salt and black pepper and stir to combine all ingredients together.
To serve, use a slotted spoon to avoid getting too much of the liquid at the bottom into whatever you’ll be enjoying it with. You can eat it right away, but for the best flavor, cover and place in your refrigerator to marinate overnight.
You can do lots of variations with a traditional homemade Pico de Gallo. Instead of using white onions, you can use red, or even add an avocado or bell peppers for added crunch. Or you can skip the tomatoes entirely and replace it with mango, peaches. Simply make it your own and enjoy!
