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Also known as Pico de Gallo, this copycat Chipotle Tomato Salsa is ready in minutes and a great way to top off all your burrito bowls, tacos, and nachos.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Tomatoes: This salsa tastes best when made with fresh, ripe tomatoes. In a pinch, substitute 1 (15-ounce) can of diced tomatoes.
- Cilantro: If you hate cilantro, leave it out or substitute parsley.
- Jalapeños: For a spicier salsa, substitute serrano chiles. For the mildest salsa, substitute green bell peppers.
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, lemon juice, and lime juice, and salt to taste. Stir to combine.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 2 cups of salsa.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: This salsa can be made a day ahead, and the flavors get better if it has a chance to sit that long.
- Per Mexico: In Aguascalientes, Mexico they add ⅛ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano to Pico de Gallo.
- Tuna on toast: I love to mix this tomato salsa with a batch of tuna salad and make a sandwich. So great!
- Omelet: Add leftover salsa and a dollop of sour cream to your next omelet.
- Beans and rice: Dress up a bowl of black beans and Mexican rice.
Chipotle Burrito Bowl
Tonight, stay in and build your own Chipotle Burrito Bowl with the copycat recipes you know and love. Fluffy rice, black beans, tender chicken, sweet corn salsa, tomato salsa, and lots of guacamole. It’s great…
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Chipotle Tomato Salsa (Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatoes cut into 1/4-inch pieces (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (from 1 small)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (from 1 bunch, see note 2)
- 3 jalapeño peppers finely chopped (see note 3)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
- Salt
- tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, lemon juice, and lime juice, and salt to taste. Stir to combine.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Tomatoes: This salsa tastes best when made with fresh, ripe tomatoes. In a pinch, substitute 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes.
- Cilantro: If you hate cilantro, leave it out or substitute parsley.
- Jalapeños: For a spicier salsa, substitute serrano chiles. For the mildest salsa, substitute green bell peppers.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 2 cups of salsa.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: This salsa can be made a day ahead, and the flavors get better if it has a chance to sit that long.
- Per Mexico: In Aguascalientes, Mexico they add ⅛ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano to Pico de Gallo.
- Tuna on toast: I love to mix this tomato salsa with a batch of tuna salad and make a sandwich. So great!
- Omelet: Add leftover salsa and a dollop of sour cream to your next omelet.
- Beans and rice: Dress up a bowl of black beans and Mexican rice.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I dont know how Chipotle gets the cube sizes so uniform. Chipotle advertises that they use fresh never frozen ingredients. You can’t tell me that the employees at my local Chipotle make the salsa. Without disperaging them, let’s just say there is no way. SO that leads me to believe that they add something to already prepared Salsa in a bag that is shipped to the store. And that something or somethings, likely changes the flavor profiles.
With that said, this recipe is pretty much spot on. I used Pablano’s because of my audience. Jalapenos can be almost no heat at all or super spicy. So Pablanos were a nice compromise IMO.
I actually dont even order this at Chipotle normally. I just get it occasionally (sometimes often) when my local store makes a mistake on my online order (read: Often). While mine was a bit more runny, and I tried to keep the liquids out of the salsa after cutting my tomatoes, I gotta say I was rather impressed with the salsa!
Thank you very much for posting this recipe! FYI if you want black beans or the rice recipe, try the recipes from the same author they are great.
I LOL’d at your comment about the even chopping of the tomatoes. I too believe the salsa probably shows up in bags, there’s no way the staff are chopping things so neatly and evenly! They can get away with that by saying they are doing quality control or citing food safety reasons. I think their marinades for the chicken and such come out of a bag too. I love poblanos, it’s my all-time favorite pepper, and I fully support using them here. And you’re right, jalapenos can either be as sweet as bell peppers or light your face on fire. You never know! I use serranos sometimes too. Thanks so much for trying 3 of my Chipotle recipes. I’m super flattered! And just relieved that it all worked out and you are happy. Thanks again Scott. -Meggan
Can’t wait to try out this recipe. Thanks
You’re welcome, Vicky! Please write back and let me know how you liked it! – Meggan
Delicious! I poured over a bed of lettuce cut up some avocados on top and made the chipotle chicken with it!!!
I’m so glad you loved it, Donna! Sounds delicious and fresh! – Meggan
Thanks for this recipe, I love Chipotle’s pico, but don’t like eating out that often. This is an almost perfect recreation, and it’s cheap to make on top of it!
You’re so welcome! Take care! – Meggan
This recipe was wonderful. I tripled it for a Cinco de Mayo luncheon and every single bit of it was eaten.
Thank you for your comment, Faith! I’m glad it was a hit! – Meggan
Going to try some of these recipes!!!
Hope you love them, Mark! Please write back and let me know how it goes! – Meggan
I’ve used this recipe quite a bit and can say it’s 10/10. I put extra cilantro in there, tho. A whole bunch of cilantro actually, haha. And marinading for a couple hours makes all the difference. So good!!
Fantastic! Thank you! loved loved loved! I made all your recipes for my family who wanted to try chipotle but didn’t wanna spend money and literally it was better than buying it!
This is the best recipe and tastes just like Chipotles! Super easy to make!
Thank you. Your recipe is perfectly matched to the Chipotle version. I always have leftover fresh salsa/ Pico because I cook like I am feeding the neighborhood. Rather than waste it, I use it up in another meal. I sear chicken breasts in a small amount of oil, remove the breasts from pan and add the leftover Pico. Sauté the Pico until onions are transparent. Mix in a some flour and lightly brown. Add enough chicken broth to make a “Pico gravy”. Return chicken breasts to pan, cover and cook until done. Then serve over over rice or noodles.
Thanks Beke, that sounds great! – Meggan