Pickle De Gallo Is The Crunchy, Tangy Dip You Need To Try Immediately

You know of pico de gallo as the tomato-based salsa that's a staple in Mexican cooking and cuisine. Combine sweet diced tomatoes, chopped onions, a kick of jalapeño or chilis, and fresh cilantro and you have the perfect mixture for piling on tacos, or burritos, or for dipping with a tortilla chip. With such a classic, foolproof combination, how could pico possibly get any better?

Enter pickle de gallo — the tangy, briny cousin of pico de gallo, ready to shake up the condiment section of your fridge. Pickle de gallo, made famous by Grillo's pickle brand, follows the same recipe structure for pico de gallo but swaps out the tomatoes for chopped pickles instead. Pickle lovers, rejoice! You finally have a condiment other than relish that makes pickles the shining star. And the best part: You can make your own pickle de gallo at home using your favorite pickles in a flash.

Just as you want to use the best fresh, juicy tomato variety when making pico de gallo, make sure to choose the best pickle brands when making pickle de gallo! A shelf-stable brand of pickles will give you a saltier pickle de gallo, as shelf-stable pickles are made for long-term preservation. But if you go for fresh, refrigerated pickles, you're more likely to get a cold, crisp, crunchy bite with more sourness. However, it's best to skip over the sliced varieties, like bread and butter pickles. Pickle de gallo calls for small, diced pickle bites, so starting with spears or whole pickles is your best bet. You could also skip the grocery store and make your own crunchy homemade pickles, of course!

The pickles may be the key ingredient here but don't underestimate the pickle brine. The brine delivers the main base of flavor for your pickle de gallo — and the other ingredients will marinate in it. So whether you like sweet, sour, or spicy pickles, make sure to choose a pickle with a brine you enjoy.

Once you have your pickles chopped up, it's time to mix in the other key ingredients. Like traditional pico de gallo, we'll need some chopped onions. Sweet onions are a great choice to contrast your briny pickles but feel free to try white onions or red onions if you like an extra-powerful onion kick. You'll also use a chopped jalapeño (or a few if you're a spice fiend). But another key difference for this recipe is adding diced red bell pepper. The red bell pepper offers a pop of color and an extra hint of crunch and sweetness.

When dicing up your pickles, onions, and peppers, do your best to make each ingredient a uniform size. You'll want a bit of everything in each delicious bite. You can certainly play around with the onion-to-pepper ratio to your liking but have more diced pickles in there to keep the pickles the star of the show. Give your ingredients some time to mix and mingle with a splash of the pickle brine and you have flavorful pickle de gallo ready to go! Top some on your next sandwich or serve it classic with your favorite tortilla chips.