Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo for the Freezer

Name: Cherry Tomato Pico De Gallo for the Freezer
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 4 cups cherry tomatoes; ¼ small onion; 1 mini bell pepper (or half a full red bell pepper) ((can use part of a jalapeno if you like spice)); 1 clove garlic; ½ juice of a lime; ¼ cup cilantro; ½ teaspoon kosher salt

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Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo for the Freezer is the perfect garden tomato use-up recipe for all those extra cherry tomatoes! It's seriously delicious salsa, made fast and easy in the food processor in just 5 minutes, with extra to stock away in your freezer. It's bursting with that classic garden salsa fresh flavor, perfect for snacking with chips or added to any taco night!

A bowl of cherry tomato pico de gallo with cilantro leaves and blue corn chips.

Why We Love It!

Perfect for Gardeners! - By the end of tomato season, us gardeners are throwing tomatoes in every recipe we can think of! This cherry tomato salsa recipe uses 4 cups of tomatoes, and extra salsa can be frozen! Sure, after freezing salsa the texture won't be exactly like fresh, but it is still delicious and super handy to have stocked away for the winter!

Fast and Easy! - While classic pico de gallo uses hand chopped ingredients, this cherry tomato salsa is made in under a minute using your food processor. Just a few pulses give you that chunky, loaded-with-veggie consistency! Can you chop it by hand if you want to? Of course!

Amazing Flavor! - Fresh salsa is just that, it's Fresh!! There is nothing from the pantry here, these ingredients are ALL fresh produce! It's a totally different condiment than jarred salsa. With only 6 healthy ingredients, those flavors really pack a punch. Summer seasonal tomatoes combined with a freshly squeezed lime, real garlic, onion, peppers, and cilantro, it just tastes like summer! Try this Peach Corn Salsa and Mango Corn Salsa too!

If you've got lots of garden tomatoes, check out these 21 Ways to Use Garden Tomatoes without Canning, and be sure to try my Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, Freezer Roasted Pizza Sauce, and Creamy Tomato Basil Fettuccine!

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Why We Love It!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Step-By-Step Instructions
Recipe Tips
Serving Suggestions
Recipe FAQs
More Garden Recipes!
Cherry Tomato Pico De Gallo for the Freezer

Ingredients & Substitutions

Labeled ingredients for cherry tomato pico de gallo.

Fresh Cherry Tomatoes - I highly recommend making this recipe in the summer when the tomatoes are in season. It's similar to this Garden Fresh Salsa which uses any variety of tomatoes. If it's the middle of winter, try my Easy 5 Minute Salsa with canned tomatoes instead. I've used cherry tomatoes for this recipe because they are less watery than regular tomatoes, and hold up better when pulsed in a food processor. Your pico de gallo will still be a bit more liquid-y than if you chopped the tomatoes by hand, but that's ok! If you've got lots of cherry tomatoes, try this Panzanella Bread Salad!

Onion - I've used regular white or yellow onions for this recipe, although red onion would also be fine. You only need about a quarter of a small onion, pulsed in the food processor, this adds plenty of onion flavor.

Bell Pepper - This is where you have some options! If you like things spicy, you can substitute or add in any amount of jalapeno or other hot pepper that you like. If you want to keep it mild, I've added one mini red bell pepper, or about a quarter of a regular red bell pepper. Peppers could also be left out entirely.

Garlic - I highly recommend fresh garlic here over pre-chopped jarred garlic or garlic powder. It just tastes that much fresher and better. Plus, garlic is usually pretty cheap, it lasts a long time on your counter, and with the food processor, you don't even need to chop it. So spring for a fresh clove of garlic, it makes all the difference!

Fresh Lime Juice - Like the garlic, I totally recommend buying a fresh lime. Again, not that expensive, will keep for weeks in the fridge, and just tastes that much better. I often just buy a bag of lemons and limes and throw them in the back of my fridge. They last at least a month or more and then you have them when you need them. Bottled lime juice can work in a pinch.

Cilantro - Fresh cilantro is what makes salsa taste like salsa! Again this is a cheap ingredient that packs so much flavor, so don't leave it out. Unless you are one of those people who have the cilantro tastes like soap thing, in that case, the pico will be okay without it. Store your extra cilantro with the stems in a jar of water, like a bouquet of flowers, in your fridge. Tear off a handful to use in the salsa, but no need to pluck off each leaf, cilantro stems are tender and edible. Use extra cilantro in Cilantro Lime Hummus.

Salt - Salt is very important to pico de gallo! Salt is a flavor enhancer. It makes those fresh tomatoes taste more like tomatoes and the garlic taste more garlicky. Salt is what brings everything together.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - This is Food Processor Pico de Gallo! Add all ingredients except the tomatoes to a food processor and pulse 8 times.

Onion, red bell pepper, garlic and cilantro in the bowl of a food processor.

Veggies pulsed in the food processor before adding the tomatoes for freezer salsa.

Step 2 - Add tomatoes and pulse 8 to 10 times. Do NOT puree or over blend, this will make your salsa too watery.

Adding cherry tomatoes to the pulsed veggies in a food processor.

Step 3 - Store salsa in jars or containers (either 4 half pint jars or 2 pint jars), only fill ¾'s full if freezing.

Salsa is best eaten the day you make it, but can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or frozen immediately.

Cherry tomato pico de gallo in a food processor.

Recipe Tips

Storage - Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo is best eaten the same day it's made, but will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. The longer it sits in the fridge, the more the salsa will become watery as the salt draws the liquid from the tomatoes. That liquid, however, is delicious - throw it in with your taco meat! It can also be frozen immediately, and thawed overnight in the fridge to use.

Can you freeze pico de gallo in glass jars? - Yes you absolutely can! You just need to follow a few precautions. Fill the jars only ¾'s of the way full. This allows the salsa room to expand as it freezes without cracking the jar. As a general rule, and it doesn't apply here, always cool completely in the fridge before freezing glass jars.

How to use Pico de Gallo after it's been frozen - This fresh salsa will have a slightly different consistency after it has been frozen and thawed, but will still be flavorful and delicious! Freezer pico de gallo can still be eaten with chips or to top any taco night. You can also try adding a jar to crockpot chicken tacos or add it in after browning ground beef for tacos. The thawed jars will have a bit more liquid which is totally fine, it's great to flavor taco meat!

Can I use any type of tomato? - I chose cherry tomatoes for this recipe for 2 reasons. First, because as a gardener, I always have a ridiculous amount of them to use up! Second, making this salsa quick and easy by using a food processor does bring out the liquid in the tomato more than if they were chopped by hand. Cherry tomatoes have less liquid than say, a large beefsteak tomato. So, if you want to use larger tomatoes for this recipe you can, but you may want to chop them by hand instead of using the food processor to avoid watery salsa.

A jar of cherry tomato pico de gallo for the freezer next to an extra bowl of salsa.

Serving Suggestions

Grilled Steak Fajita Tacos with Charred Corn
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Classic Guacamole
Add a jar of pico (fresh or thawed from you freezer) to a crockpot with chicken (season with salt and pepper), for perfect shredded taco meat!
Add pico as a topping to your favorite Mexican night - tacos, burritos, fajitas, enchiladas, taco salads, quesadillas, or breakfast tacos!
Try Pineapple Pico de Gallo for a fun variation!

Pico de gallo using cherry tomatoes in a white bowl with blue tortilla chips.

Recipe FAQs

How do you freeze tomatoes for later use?

There are a number of ways to preserve your garden tomatoes in the freezer. One way is to make them into the final product, like this salsa, or cooked into Roasted Tomato Basil Soup or Freezer Marinara Sauce, and then freeze that in jars. Or, you can wash and dry cherry tomatoes and remove the stem, then freeze them whole in a freezer bag. Lay it flat in the freezer so it doesn't freeze in a large clump. Add a handful of frozen cherry tomatoes to Creamy Tomato Pink Sauce Pasta with Italian Sausage, or use it as a topping on homemade pizza. You can also throw a handful into taco meat.

Do you need to deseed tomatoes for pico de gallo?

I say no. Deseeding tomatoes is often done for canning, but there is no reason to go through the extra step of deseeding tomatoes when you are making salsa fresh or to freeze. The seeds are edible and are no problem in pico de gallo. Don't waste your time!

What is the difference between Pico de Gallo and Salsa?

There are so many variations of pico de gallo and salsa recipes. Salsa encompasses everything, the Mexican and Spanish word for sauce, which can include cooked and fresh types. Pico de gallo is Spanish for "rooster's beak" and is a relish made from freshly chopped ingredients. It was named because it was once eaten with the thumb and finger, a similar action to a rooster's pecking beak!

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