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Fresh chopped tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cilantro, and corn with a hint of lime and seasonings perfect for a bright, fresh flavor you’ll love!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Garden Fresh Diced Corn Pico
A little bit salsa, a little bit salad – pico de gallo is less runny than salsa, so it’s not really a sauce, but it is used as a topping and garnish in place of one. This recipe is loaded with fresh vegetables, diced and tossed in lime juice, salt, and pepper, for a colorful and tangy, earthy and bright flavor that is delicious on grilled meats, in tacos and burritos, or just to dip chips into in a large bowl.
Pico de Gallo in Spanish technically means “beak of rooster” – some people think this could be because it was originally eaten with hands by pinching between the thumb and finger, making the shape of a rooster’s beak – a shape I’ll admit I’ve made myself many times when going for that last bit of pico that drops off whatever you’re eating and you can’t let those tasty morsels go to waste.
This recipe is great to use with garden tomatoes, home grown corn kernels, and can be sourced almost completely from your own yard if you’ve got a green thumb and you’re committed to growing produce! You can even use grilled corn for a smoky, delicious flavor everyone loves – check out our recipe for the best grilled corn on the cob ever to get our top tips for the most flavorful grilled corn.
This pico de gallo recipe with corn goes great with grilled chicken, is loaded with tomato, onion, and lime juice flavor – and has fresh diced japaleños for a bit of heat. Dive right in with a big bowl of tortilla chips, spoon onto tacos or in burritos, or add to casseroles – this corn pico de gallo is bursting with flavor!
How to Make Pico De Gallo
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Tomatoes – picking bright, colorful, ripe red tomatoes are the most important part of making pico de gallo – as the right tomatoes for pico de gallo are critical to our dishes success! We opt for roma tomatoes when making pico de gallo since they aren’t as watery, but have made pico de gallo with whatever fresh tomatoes we have on hand, and it is always delicious. Sad, wilted, or not yet ripe tomatoes won’t bring you the classic fresh salsa flavor you’re looking for, so always select the freshest, brightest tomatoes you can.Jalapeños – the amount of jalapeños you use in fresh diced salsa is entirely up to you, as we’re serving them diced raw, and will not be cooking the jalapeños to help calm some of the heat. Fresh jalapeños have a bright, crisp, strong vegetable flavor and fairly mild heat. Add more jalapeños for a spicier pico de gallo – add less jalapeños for a milder dish.
- Corn – corn’s sweet, earthy, and soft – almost buttery. Lightly cooked corn kernels add a perfect contrast in textures in fresh salsa – it is soft, provides a bright yellow contrast in color, and adds a sweet buttery flavor to the salsa.
- Onions – use red onion or white onion, depending on the flavor you prefer. White onion has a bit more of a strong, assertive, and “hot” flavor – red onion is a bit milder, sweeter, with a bit less of a strong flavor when served raw. Onion’s earthy, sweet, umami flavor and crispy crunch bring a depth to pico that help develop a layer of fresh flavor to seriously up the addictive factor of certain dishes.
- Cilantro – cilantro gives a strong, tangy, citrusy flavor for those who like it. Since some people are genetically disposed to taste cilantro differently, you might want to skip if you don’t like cilantro!
- Lime – lime’s sweet, tart, and tangy flavor is a perfect way to cut through the earthy notes from onion and jalapeño, and to make diced tomatoes taste sweeter and bright.
- Salt – we prefer using a kosher salt or Maldon finishing salt, or other quality coarse salt, for texture and flavor.
- Pepper – fresh cracked pepper gives a bit of earthy heat and a woody, pungent flavor to level out the acidity in salsa.
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Pico De Gallo
Tips for cutting jalapenos. When cutting jalapenos make sure you wear gloves, the acid from the cut pepper will stay on your skin and make your eyes burn if you touch near them. Always leave the seeds out of your pico.
FAQs
This recipe can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days in the refrigerator.
Roma tomatoes are great in pico de gallo, since they have a lower water content and won’t be as runny in this recipe – however any fresh, bright red, and delicious tomato will work.
If you would like to increase the heat of pico de gallo, consider using Anaheim peppers instead of jalapeños.
If you’re looking to add more flavor to your pico de gallo, consider mixing in some Tajín – the chile pepper, lime, and salt combination is a spicy, tangy, salty mixture that brings out an addictive zest to pico de gallo. We also love adding in toasted coriander, cumin, white pepper, and garlic powder for other flavor variations.
What to Serve with Pico de Gallo
If you’re looking for delicious dishes that are great with a garden-fresh pico de gallo, we love serving pico spooned over thinly sliced, hot off the grill Garlic Grilled Flank Steak; as a garnish for crunchy and hearty vegan Air Fryer Tofu Tacos; mixed into a heaping bowl of Spicy Garlicky Beans; or to garnish our family-favorite Cheesy Chicken Taquito and Bean Casserole Recipe. This salsa is also delicious over Easy Air Fryer Salmon and other seafood dishes – and makes a fabulous salad dressing!
You can find our taco and burrito recipe archives here:
Click here for our entire taco and burritos recipe archives.
Spicy Pico De Gallo Recipe
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Corn Pico De Gallo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup corn kernels, or about the kernels from 2 ears of corn
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- ½ lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon tajin, optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix ingredients.
- Be sure to toss well to be sure salt, pepper, and olive oil are evenly distributed.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to four days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
