Chimichurri sauce is a vibrant, fresh, herbaceous sauce that has a wonderful flavor balance profile of tangy, savory, and a little spice. Traditionally served with grilled steak, but it’s great on grilled chicken and fish too.
This green herb salsa sauce is incredibly flavorful is a popular accompaniment for grilled meats in Argentina and other parts of South America.
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What is chimichurri sauce
Easy traditional Argentinian sauce served with grilled/BBQ steaks. This sauce is bursting with flavors and you can put it on everything. It’s perfect with steaks, stirred in soups, spread on grilled meat, fish, shrimps, so amazing when spread on a grilled cheese sandwich, or simply toss it up with pasta.
What’s you’ll need
Here’s what you’ll need-
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (leaves and tender stem included)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stem
- 1 small shallot or red onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoons full tightly packed fresh oregano
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 or 2 fresh red chilies (red jalapenos or red Fresno chilies) adjust as per taste, optional
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ½-3/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
How to make chimichurri sauce
- If you’d like to try the traditional way of making this sauce, use a mortar and pestle to pound the fresh herbs together along with garlic and other ingredients.
- Or you could even chop everything super fine by hand like the way I did. A good sharp knife, a bit of patience, and a little extra time are needed to make this lovely green goodness sauce.
- Chop fresh flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and fresh oregano super fine with a sharp knife. I prefer to use a tender stem too that I chop super fine. The tender stem of all these herbs is loaded with flavors, don’t throw the tender stem, include it into the sauce to enhance the flavor.
- Mix finely chopped parsley, cilantro leaves, and fresh oregano super fine. Add chopped herbs to a bowl.
- Finely chop shallots (or red onion), garlic, red jalapeno. Add it to a separate bowl.
- Add red wine vinegar and salt to shallot-garlic chilies. Mix and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Add chopped herbs, freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground pepper to taste, and good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Stir until well combined. The herbs and rest of the ingredients should be submerged in oil. Note: add extra olive oil is needed so herbs are submerged in oil.
FAQS
Traditionally chimichurri is made using a mortal and pestle to mash the herbs and other ingredients together. Or either the ingredients are finely chopped and them mixed to-gather.
If you want to take a quick shortcut, you can use food processor to chop ingredients. Ensure the ingredients are ‘chopped’ and not pureed in the processor.
While flat-leaf parley is traditionally used to make the authentic version of this sauce, you can make your variation by using a herb of your choice as the hero ingredient.
Use cilantro and garlic with lime to make a flavor-bursting sauce.
Kale chimichurri makes of kale for that extra boost of the health factor.
Fresh spearmint chimichurri sauce – for a fresh minty flavorful sauce.
Chimichurri with curly leaf parsley instead of flat-leaf.
Avocado chimichurri with all the goodness of avo.
Perilla chimichurri
This herbaceous flavor-packed sauce is great with ….almost everything!
with grilled steak, chicken, fish, shrimp,
as a marinade to marinate seafood, chicken,
as a spread on a grilled cheese sandwich,
can be mixed with pasta,
for adding an extra kick to steamed broccoli,
with roasted potatoes,
can be used as dip,
stir in soup,
all roasted vegetables.
with cauliflower steaks
It should last for 3 days in a closed jar inside the fridge. The sauce takes in all the flavors and tastes better with time, but sure to use it in 2-3 days. Vinegar in the sauce begins to turn the herbs dark, losing their freshness.
For longer storage, freeze it. The frozen sauce can stay good for up to a few months. Pour into an ice tray and freeze it into cubes. Store frozen cubes in a zip lock cover.
MORE SAUCE RECIPES TO TRY
- Creamy cilantro sauce
- Roasted garlic parmesan sauce
- Peanut sauce
- Schezwan sauce
- Lemon butter sauce
- Spicy marinara sauce
- Sweet chili sauce
- Boom boom sauce
- Mango habanero sauce
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📋Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stem
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stem
- 1 small shallot or red onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh oregano tightly packed
- 2 tablespoon lime juice (freshly squeezed)
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 to 2 fresh red chilies (use red jalapenos, red Fresno chilies) -adjust as per taste, optional
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ½ -¾ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- If you’d like to try the traditional way of making this sauce, use a mortar and pestle to pound the fresh herbs together along with garlic and other ingredients.
- Or you could even chop everything super fine by hand like the way I did. A good sharp knife, a bit of patience, and a little extra time are needed to make this lovely green goodness sauce.
- Chop fresh flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and fresh oregano super fine with a sharp knife. I prefer to use a tender stem too that I chop super fine. The tender stem of all these herbs is loaded with flavors, don't throw the tender stem, include it into the sauce to enhance the flavor.
- Mix finely chopped parsley, cilantro leaves, and fresh oregano super fine. Add chopped herbs to a bowl.
- Finely chop shallots (or red onion), garlic, red jalapeno. Add it to a separate bowl.
- Add red wine vinegar and salt to shallot-garlic chilies. Mix and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Add chopped herbs, freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground pepper to taste, and good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Stir until well combined. The herbs and rest of the ingredients should be submerged in oil. Note: add extra olive oil is needed so herbs are submerged in oil.
Comments & Reviews
Sues says
I LOVE the color of this and definitely want to put it on everything for a delicious flavor boost!
jyothirajesh says
Thank you Sues!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
I can see that this chimichurri sauce is going to be my next favorite sauce! It looks so vibrant and delicious!!
jyothirajesh says
Thank you Elaine. SO glad you like it
Tina Dawson | Love is in my Tummy says
I have always, always wanted to make my own chimichurri! Now I know how!
jyothirajesh says
I wanted to make my own chimichurri sauce too and once I made I was making it again and again
Pam Greer says
What gorgeous color! I love doing it the old fashioned by hand way too. I’m going to have to try some of your variations!
jyothirajesh says
Thank you Pam. Hope you’ll like it as much as we did
Chrissy says
I love chimichurri – it’s so fresh and flavorful!! I have a rack of lamb in the fridge – do you think this version would work well on top of it? YUM!
jyothirajesh says
Yes you can definitely put this sauce on lamb, Enjoy! 🙂
Priya Shiva says
such an easy and quick recipe! I’m going to make this chimichurri sauce soon..
jyothirajesh says
Thanks dear
Jessica Formicola says
This chimichurri sauce sounds amazing! I love all of the ingredients!
jyothirajesh says
Thank you Jessica