Step up your snacking game with Tomatillo Pico de Gallo! It’s crunchy, tangy, spicy, and perfect on the end of a tortilla or with all your Mexican favorites. Easy to make and perfect for tailgating or to nibble anytime, do your pico differently with tomatillos!
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Crunchy, tangy, spicy, and with oodles of flavor, Tomatillo Pico de Gallo is a tasty twist on a classic. Plus, when you use a handy alligator chopper, making this dish is easier than ever before.
What you’ll love about Making Tomatillo Pico de Gallo
- It’s deliciously different!
- It has a bright, tangy flavor and plenty of crunch.
- It’s super easy to make, and you can make it ahead of time!
What Are Tomatillos?
Tomatillos might look like green tomatoes, but they’re not tomatoes at all. Also known as Mexican husk tomatoes, tomatillo means little tomato in Spanish, but these nightshades are more closely related to gooseberries than tomatoes. They are sold in a papery husk that you’ll need to remove before dicing and give them a wash, too, because dirt and sticky sap can get trapped under the surface of the husks.
Look for firm, bright green tomatillos when buying them at the store. Size isn’t so important – they can be small or large – they all work in this easy Tomatillo Pico de Gallo.
Ingredients
- Tomatillos – You’ll need about a pound.
- Onion – I like sweet onions in this pico de gallo recipe, but red onions will also work.
- Cilantro – Fresh cilantro, chopped. You can use the stems, too.
- Jalapeno – Seeds and membrane removed.
- Lime – Fresh lime juice.
- Salt and pepper – To taste.
How To Make The Best Tomatillo Pico De Gallo
For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe near the bottom of this page.
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash them. Cut off the stem end and dice them into 1/4-inch dice or smaller.
- Dice the onion and jalapeno, and chop the cilantro.
- Mix the diced tomatillos, onions, jalapeno, and cilantro in a bowl.
- Add the lime juice to taste and mix well.
- Season with salt and pepper, and serve!
How To Dice Tomatillos
I’m not a lazy cook, I’m an efficient one, and when it comes to spending time dicing fruits and veggies, I’ll pass, thanks. I know how, but it’s SO much easier and faster to use an alligator chopper to dice all the things. From Shirazi Salad to salsas, traditional pico de gallo, and bruschetta, chopping perfect little squares is so much more efficient with this alligator chopper. I own this very one, and it’s amazing. I got it off Amazon, but you can find them in specialty kitchen stores, too.
How To Use An Alligator Chopper
- Wash the veggies, fruit, or whatever you’re chopping (it works on eggs for egg salad, too!).
- Slice the veggies into 1/4-inch planks or however thick you want your dice to be.
- Lay the veggie planks onto the grid, then press firmly down on the lid. The blade will chop everything into identically-sized dice. Amazing!
Serving Suggestions
Wondering how to serve Tomatillo Pico de Gallo? I love it as a dip with crispy tortilla chips, but it’s also amazing on fish tacos, on tostadas, on top of burritos, and with all your favorite Tex-Mex and Mexican dishes. You can even jazz up breakfast or brunch by adding some of this salsa to air fryer sweet potato toasts! I also love serving this with a selection of salsas and other dips on game day or whenever we have company.
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Control the heat of the jalapenos – like it spicy? Add more jalapeno or include the membrane and some seeds. Use less jalapeno if you don’t like the heat.
- Add as much – or as little – cilantro as you like. You can swap parsley for the cilantro if you don’t care for it.
- You can make this easy Tomatillo Pico de Gallo recipe up to a day ahead of time.
Recommended
Storage
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. After that, the veggies start to break down because of the lime and salt, and it’ll start getting watery. It’s still fine to eat at that point, it’s just not quite so pretty.
Tomatillo Pico de Gallo
Equipment
- Alligator Chopper optional but it makes dicing SO easy
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatillos husks and stem ends removed, washed
- 1 cup diced sweet onion or to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley or to taste
- 1 jalapeno seeded and diced, membrane removed if you don't like it too spicy
- 2 tablespoons lime juice or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos and give them a wash. Cut off the stem end and dice them into 1/4-inch dice or smaller.
- Dice the onion and jalapeno, and chop the cilantro.
- Mix the diced tomatillos, onions, jalapeno, and cilantro in a bowl.
- Add the lime juice to taste and mix well.
- Season with salt and pepper, and serve!
Notes
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Control the heat of the jalapenos – like it spicy? Add more jalapeno or include the membrane and some seeds. Use less jalapeno if you don’t like the heat.
- Add as much – or as little – cilantro as you like. You can swap parsley for the cilantro if you don’t care for it.
- You can make this easy Tomatillo Pico de Gallo recipe up to a day ahead of time.
- This pico de gallo is totally customizable, add as much jalapeno, onion, cilantro, and lime juice as you like!
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
