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Chimichurri Sauce

30 Minute Meals· Gluten Free· Healthy Mexican Food· Low Carb· Paleo· Recipes· Sauces and Condiments· Summer Recipes· Vegan· Vegetarian

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This Chimichurri Sauce is made with fresh and simple ingredients like parsley, cilantro, garlic, red onions and lemon juice. It’s perfect served as a sauce for steak, chicken, and seafood, as a salad dressing and even as a marinade! (gluten free, low carb, paleo, vegetarian, vegan)

Chimichurri sauce in a serving bowl with a spoon in it getting ready to be scooped out.

Get ready because chimichurri sauce is the answer to all your food prayers!

Chimichurri is magical. It’s extremely versatile and can be used as a sauce to serve with grilled meats, as a condiment on burgers and sandwiches and even as a salad dressing. The possibilities are seriously endless.

If you’ve never had chimichurri before, you may be wondering…

What is chimichurri?

Chimchurri is an oil-based condiment made with fresh herbs, spices and a hint of acid from lemon juice and red wine vinegar. It’s typically served with steak but is also great with chicken, pork and seafood.

Traditionally, the only fresh herb and acidic component used in chimichurri is parsley and red wine vinegar.

But as you know, I’m a huge lover of cilantro and fresh citrus so I’ve added some fresh lemon juice and cilantro to this recipe.

How to make chimichurri sauce

  1. Add cilantro, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, red onions, garlic, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper to a food processor or blender.
  2. Pulse in short 1-second increments about 3-5 times.
Step by step process on how to make chimichurri sauce in a food processor.

The consistency of the sauce should be choppy with chunks of fresh herbs throughout.

And that’s it! It’s so easy to make and can be enjoyed right away.

To store, transfer the sauce to an air-tight container, close the lid and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Chimichurri on a spoon next to a food processor.

Ways to use chimichurri sauce

This bright sauce is extremely flavorful and adds a huge punch to anything you pair it with. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it.

  • as a condiment for grilled steak like this carne asada or pork, chicken and seafood
  • tossed with grilled veggies
  • as a marinade for chicken and beef
  • as a dressing on a salad
Chimichurri sauce in a small bowl with a spoon in it.

Can you freeze chimichurri?

Yes. To freeze, pour the sauce into ice cube trays and freeze. When frozen, transfer chimichurri cubes into a large freezer safe zip top bag.

When ready to use, simply remove as many chimichurri cubes as you need and thaw in a bowl on the counter.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! To get more easy Mexican recipes delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for my weekly email newsletter. You can also follow Isabel Eats on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!

Chimichurri Sauce
3.8 from 45 votes
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Author: Isabel Eats
PREP TIME: 5 mins
TOTAL TIME: 5 mins
SERVINGS: 12 servings (2 tablespoons per serving)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup fresh cilantro (stems and leaves)
  • 1 cup fresh parsley (stems and leaves)
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemon)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped red onions
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add cilantro, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, red onions, garlic, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper to a food processor or blender.
  • Pulse in short 1-second increments about 3-5 times. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

NOTES

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Storage: This recipe will keep fresh in an air-tight glass container in the fridge for about 1 week.
Olive oil solidifies when cold so make sure to take the chimichurri out of the fridge beforehand and let it sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature. You can also run the container under warm water until the olive oil “melts” and becomes liquid again.
Nutrition Facts
Chimichurri Sauce
Amount Per Serving (2 tablespoons)
Calories 186 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 29%
Potassium 96mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin C 4%
Calcium 1%
Iron 1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment below and tag @isabeleats on social media!

This post was originally published in August 2016. It was republished with brand new photos and content in June 2019.

Comments

  1. Marcella says

    December 18, 2018 at 12:30 pm


    This sauce is amazing!!!! You can put it on anything!! Makes for an amazing sauce on pizza, on grilled flank steak, on eggs, mixed into cauliflower rice…. the options are limitless. This is a go-to sauce for me. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!!

    Reply

  2. Toby says

    August 9, 2018 at 7:24 pm


    This was fabulous. I made it exactly, just halved the recipe. Now I wish I made the full amount! Didn’t find it too salty. Found it perfect! I drizzled it over a black bean dip to add some color. Then tossed the rest with chopped avocados to top roasted salmon. Delish! Thanks!!

    Reply

  4. Léandre says

    April 8, 2018 at 12:17 am


    Holy crap.

    I came here from your fajita grilled cheese recipe, and since I’ve never had chimichurri before, I made a batch with slightly less salt than indicated (as suggested by many comments).

    Well, I think I’ll never make any other steak sauce, ever again. This is so easy to prepare!

    Reply

  5. Heather says

    March 28, 2018 at 9:51 am


    Great recipe! Little less salt. I added lime with the peel on even, and then thickened it up a little bit more with kale.
    Addictive to eat! my personal favorite is with garlic naan bread

    Reply

  6. bobi says

    October 29, 2017 at 10:56 pm


    I made this a few days ago. It really grew on me! It may have just taken a day for the flavors to really come together. Do you know what I really liked? mixing 1/4 cup of this wonderful sauce with 1 pound of ground chicken along with 1 teaspoon of salt. I let it sit overnight and then I pan fried it and made tacos out of it! Amazing! A little chopped white onion and cilantro. Some salsa and crema. Wow!

    I gave some of this chimichurri to my neighbor. She said it was delicious!

    Thank you for posting!

    Reply

    • Isabel says

      October 30, 2017 at 10:47 am

      I’m so glad you liked it! I definitely find that sauces like this get better with time. Also, I’m going to have to try it with ground chicken like this, that sounds absolutely delicious. Such a great idea!

      Reply

    • Isabel says

      August 20, 2017 at 8:33 am

      I’m not sure about canning it, but you should be able to freeze it without a problem. I’ve never tried it myself, but I think it’s worth a shot!

      Reply

  10. Maja Novovic says

    June 25, 2017 at 12:42 pm

    Hi, my garden is full of parsley and cilantro and this recipe is perfect.
    Quick question: The photo shows red onion but recipe calls for white? Which do you actually use?

    Can’t wait to make it.

    Reply

    • Isabel says

      July 10, 2017 at 5:21 pm

      Hi Maja, thanks so much for the question. I just realized that they weren’t the same. So you can use either, but I prefer red onion. It’s usually more pungent and strong, which works well with the strong flavors of the herbs. And it gives it little specks of color, which is beautiful 🙂

      Reply

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