Homemade Pico de Gallo — Fresh from the Garden

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There’s something truly magical about walking out to your garden, picking sun-warmed tomatoes off the vine, and turning them into something fresh and full of flavor right in your own kitchen. 🌿

Homemade Pico de Gallo is one of those simple, from-scratch recipes that celebrates everything we love about homegrown food — fresh ingredients, bright flavor, and that satisfying feeling of knowing exactly where it came from.

This recipe is a staple in our farmhouse kitchen during the summer and early fall when the garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes, crisp peppers, and fragrant herbs. It’s so simple to make, yet it tastes a hundred times better than anything you can buy at the store.

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Why Grow Your Own Ingredients

If you’ve never grown the ingredients for Pico de Gallo, you’re in for a treat. Each one brings something special to the mix:

• Tomatoes — The heart of Pico de Gallo. Varieties like Roma, Juliet, or Early Girl work beautifully for their firm texture and balanced flavor.
• Onions — Fresh garden onions have a mild sweetness that beats store-bought any day. Red or white onions both work well here.
• Peppers — A mix of jalapeños and bell peppers gives just the right balance of heat and crunch. If you love spice, grow serranos or habaneros for an extra kick!
• Cilantro — Nothing compares to freshly snipped cilantro from your own garden. It’s fragrant, flavorful, and grows easily in pots or raised beds.
• Limes — If you’re in a warmer growing zone, you can even grow your own citrus! A squeeze of fresh lime juice ties everything together.

Growing your own ingredients isn’t just about saving money (though it helps!) — it’s about reconnecting with your food. There’s a deep sense of satisfaction that comes from seeing a seed grow into something that ends up on your family’s table. 🌱

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Homemade Pico de Gallo Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup chopped cabbage
• ½ medium onion, finely chopped
• 1–2 jalapeño peppers, finely diced (remove seeds for less heat)
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste (I use 1/2 tsp)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, onion, and jalapeños.
2. Add the chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice.
3. Season with salt to taste and stir everything together until well mixed.
4. Let the Pico de Gallo rest for 10–15 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld together.

Serve it with tortilla chips, tacos, grilled meats, or spooned over scrambled eggs for breakfast. Honestly, once you taste it fresh, you’ll want to put it on everything! My favorite is quesadillas made with my Homemade Four Tortillas!

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Tips for the Best Homemade Pico de Gallo

• Use fresh, ripe tomatoes. The flavor of your Pico completely depends on the quality of your tomatoes. Avoid watery or unripe ones.
• Chop everything by hand. A food processor might seem faster, but hand-chopped Pico keeps that fresh texture you want.
• Adjust the spice. If you like it mild, use just one jalapeño with the seeds removed. For more heat, add an extra or try a serrano.
• Let it rest. Giving it a few minutes before serving helps the flavors come together beautifully.

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Preserving the Harvest

If your garden is producing more than you can eat, Pico de Gallo is a great way to use up extra produce — but it’s also easy to preserve those ingredients for later.

You can freeze chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers in portions to make fresh Pico all year long. Cilantro can be chopped and frozen in olive oil in an ice cube tray, and lime juice freezes beautifully too.

When winter rolls around, you’ll be able to pull those ingredients from the freezer and make a little taste of summer right in your farmhouse kitchen. ☀️

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From Garden to Table

There’s something about food that you grow, harvest, and make yourself that just hits different. Homemade Pico de Gallo is simple, healthy, and absolutely bursting with fresh flavor — and when the ingredients come from your own backyard, it tastes even better.

So grab your garden basket, gather up those tomatoes and peppers, and let’s make something delicious, from scratch, together. ❤️