Sweet and smoky, this grilled pineapple pico de gallo is the perfect addition to add to fish tacos, grilled steaks and anything else you want to add a sweet and tangy condiment to. With charred pineapple, spicy jalapeño and sweet tomatoes, this pineapple pico de gallo will be your favorite sweet and tangy addition to all your summer grilling!
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As soon as summer hits and the weather is nice enough, we grill as many things as we can! Everything from salmon tacos, grilled steaks and grilled pizza.
And if you haven't tried grilling fruit, add it to your must make list! The heat crystallizes the sugars on the pineapple, which forms an almost bruleed exterior and making the pineapple even more sweet, flavorful and juicy.
Once the pineapple is grilled, the charred fruit is combined with sweet tomatoes, bright lime juice, cilantro and jalapeño and the combination of sweet, fresh, tart and smokey is outstanding.
🍅 Recipe Highlights
- Pineapple pico de gallo is the perfect addition to add to your favorite summer recipes! Add a spoonful on top of shrimp ceviche tostadas or spiced fish tacos.
- The heat from the grill caramelizes the sugars in the pineapple, creating a deliciously deep, smoky and sweet flavor!
- Once all the chopping is done, the pico de gallo is assembled within 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- Pineapple: When buying a pineapple, look for one that is fragrant with a deep yellow hue, which will be sweeter and ripe.
- Tomato: Medium sized vine ripen tomatoes are used in this pico de gallo recipe. Sweet cherry tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes, when in season, would be a great substitute too.
- Jalapeno: For less heat, remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeño and if you like a spicier pepper, look for serrano or fresno pepper.
- Red Onion: To mellow out the bite from raw onion, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes before adding to the other ingredients.
- Lime: For added smokiness, grill the lime, cut side down for a few minutes until lightly charred. The heat also makes the lime release more juice.
- Cilantro: A classic addition to salsas and pico de gallo. If cilantro isn't available, you could substitute with finely chopped green onion or even parsley.
- Salt: If making the pico de gallo ahead of time, don't salt until you're ready to serve. Salt will draw the moisture of out of ingredients, making a watery result.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🌶️ Substitutions and Variations
- For extra smoky flavor, grill the lime and jalapeño.
- Substitute sweet cherry tomatoes instead of the medium sized vine tomatoes.
- Blend the pineapple pico de gallo to make a pineapple salsa.
- Add diced avocado for a creamy element.
⏲️ Instructions
Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan on high and brush oil onto the pineapple slices. Grill the pineapple slices on both sides until the edges are slightly darkened and charred.
Chop up the grilled pineapple, tomato, jalapeño, red onion and cilantro and add to a bowl.
Add the lime juice and salt and mix the pineapple pico de gallo ingredients together until combined.
📍 Recipe Tips
- For extra smoky flavor, grill the lime and then squeeze the grilled lime juice into the pineapple pico de gallo.
- When picking a pineapple, look for one that has a deep yellow color and smells fragrant, which will be a sweeter pineapple. Green pineapples are not fully ripe yet.
- If you prefer less heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeño.
- Pineapple pico de gallo will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Give the fresh lime a good roll on the counter to release all the juices
Recipe FAQs
The difference between pico de gallo and salsa is the texture. Pico de gallo is made up of diced fruits and vegetables and salsa is a more blended mixture.
To prevent pico de gallo from getting too watery, don't add salt too fat in advance. Salt will draw out the moisture from the vegetables, making a watery pico de gallo. Instead, salt the pico de gallo right before serving and serve it fresh.
For a flavorful pico de gallo that's not bland, make sure to find in season and ripe ingredients. Look for deep red tomatoes and deep yellow pineapple which will be the best tasting.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Grilled Pineapple Pico de Gallo
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- ½ pineapple peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil for grilling
- 2 vine tomatoes stem removed and diced
- 1 jalapeno finely diced
- ½ small red onion diced
- 1 lime cut in half
- ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan to high and brush oil onto the pineapple slices.
- Grill the pineapple slices on both sides, until the edges are slightly darkened and charred, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Once the pineapple is grilled, remove it to a cutting board and chop the grilled pineapple into a small dice.
- Add the chopped pineapple to a bowl, along with the chopped tomato, jalapeño, red onion and cilantro.
- Add lime juice and salt and mix the pineapple pico de gallo ingredients together until combined.
- If you have the time, place the pico de gallo in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes, then serve with tortilla chips or your favorite tacos.
Notes
- For extra smoky flavor, grill the lime and then squeeze the grilled lime juice into the pineapple pico de gallo.
- When picking a pineapple, look for one that has a deep yellow color and smells fragrant, which will be a sweeter pineapple. Green pineapples are not fully ripe yet.
- If you prefer less heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeño.
- Pineapple pico de gallo will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Alli Miller @ Cupcake Diaries says
This looks amazing!! I’m featuring it in a Grilling Round Up on my blog today. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂 http://www.cupcakediariesblog.com/2013/07/20-recipes-for-grill.html
Samantha says
Thank you so much Alli!! I just followed you on FB and Twitter too 🙂