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)
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
- 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.
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.
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
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.
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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 kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground 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.
Video
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
This post was originally published in August 2016. It was republished with brand new photos and content in June 2019.
Made the beef fajitas. They were excellent!
This is so salty! I’m so sad. I’ve added another entire bunch of cilantro that I had on hand, more olive oil, and more lemon juice. It’s still too salty. I’ll have to use it in small amounts with other dressing with no salt. Please update the recipe so people who haven’t read the comments don’t ruin so many expensive ingredients and time.
Hi Breanne. Thank you for the feedback. We will consider this when moving forward.