A pro-chef take on Mexico’s most iconic fresh salsa, done right.

Pico de Gallo might just be the most deceptively simple recipe in the salsa family. It’s fresh, zippy, and bright, but as we learned the hard way during our early days in professional kitchens, not all pico is created equal.

Hi! We’re Chefs Jody & Kirstie from The Culinary Studio, Canada’s premier online cooking school. And we can say with full confidence: this little bowl of chopped sunshine has more technique than meets the eye. Mastering it during our apprenticeships taught us three things:

1. Pico de Gallo is not just “chunky salsa.”

2. There is a right way to prep those tomatoes.

3. It’s the fastest way to impress a crowd with almost zero effort.

 Wait, What Is Pico de Gallo?

Often called “salsa fresca” or “salsa cruda,” Pico de Gallo is a raw salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, lime, cilantro, and salt. Unlike blended salsas, it’s hand-chopped and vibrant, meant to be served fresh—on tacos, grilled meats, burrito bowls, or just scooped straight up with warm tortilla chips.

Pico de Gallo” literally translates to “rooster’s beak” in Spanish. The exact reason behind the name is up for debate, but here are the two most common (and fun!) theories:

1. Traditional Eating Style:
   It’s believed that in early Mexican culinary tradition, this fresh salsa was originally eaten by pinching small amounts between the thumb and forefinger, similar to how a rooster pecks at food. 🪿👈 That pecking motion? Kinda beak-like.

2. Sharp Flavour or Shape of Pico de Gallo: 
   Some say the name refers to the sharp, spicy “bite” of the dish (like a rooster’s peck) or even to the pointed shape of the chopped jalapeños resembling a beak.

All that party trivia aside, here’s where the magic comes in: when each ingredient is prepped properly, Pico de Gallo isn’t just a topping, it’s the star of the dish. 

Our Apprenticeship-Era Aha Moment

Early in our training, we didn’t really understand the difference between Pico de Gallo and salsa. That changed the day we fried up a batch of fresh tortillas and spooned our very first chef-approved Pico on top.

It was a total game changer: crunchy, bright, salty, fresh. We never looked back.

Since then, we’ve made (and taught!) this recipe countless times, and here’s the best part: even beginner cooks can nail it and look like total pros doing it.

Common Pico de Gallo Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

Let’s clear up a few things we see go sideways in home kitchens:

• Oil? Hard pass. This isn’t a vinaigrette. Great Pico doesn’t need fat: just acid, salt, and good chopping.

• Meh tomatoes = meh results. Don’t even think about reaching for watery, flavourless tomatoes. We go full pro and tomato concassé: that means removing the seeds and slicing only the petals of a Roma tomato into fine dice.  That being said, we’ve made delicious ‘pico’ in the winter with no tomatoes at all!  Seriously– and ‘onion salsa’ over a pan-seared steak, absolutely delicious.

• Pre-chopped = pre-soggy. Always hand-chop your ingredients. Machines bruise. Knives honour the flavour of these simple ingredients.

Three Chef Moves That Make All the Difference

1. Salt & drain your tomatoes. Yes, it takes 5 extra minutes. But it concentrates the tomato flavour and prevents a watery mess.  IF your tomatoes are at all ‘mealy’, the salt helps to firm them up too.

2. Lime-cure your onions. Mix diced onion with lime juice and a pinch of salt before combining with the rest. This tones down harshness and mellows the bite.

3. Use cilantro stems! Treat them like chives—finely chop the stems for big flavour, and leave the leaves a bit more rustic.