Our Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce recipe is perfect on steak, shrimp, chicken, and vegetables, as well as a marinade and a delicious dipping sauce
What is Chimichurri Sauce?
Chimichurri is an absolute herb lover’s dream. It’s loaded with parsley, cilantro, and oregano, then seasoned with garlic, shallots, red wine vinegar, and red chile flakes and suspended in olive oil.
Chimichurri sauce originated in Argentina and Uruguay and is used as both an ingredient in cooking but also as a condiment to drizzle over grilled meats and more.
This recipe is for green chimichurri (chimichurri verde), which is herby, garlicky, tangy, spicy, and very green. However, there is also a version of red chimichurri (chimichurri rojo) which is spicier and relies on red chilis as its base. Maybe we will feature that version soon!
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Roughly chop the flat-leaf parsley and the cilantro
Keeping it authentic:
Our easy Chimichurri Sauce is simple to make and in keeping with the authentic Argentinian method we chop everything by hand, which only takes about 5 minutes.
We prefer to make it by hand because this sauce should be a little bit chunky and not smooth like a pesto.
However, you can easily combine everything in a mini chopper, or a blender, taking care to use the pulse feature so it remains chunky with all the beautiful pieces of parsley, chile, and garlic intact. Either method produces a scrumptious sauce!
Not a cilantro fan? Leave it out!
If you are not a fan of cilantro just replace it with all parsley, or replace some of the cilantro with more oregano and parsley.
Roasted or raw vegetables are perfect for drizzling this herby sauce
Ingredients for Chimichurri:
Be sure to buy the freshest and best ingredients for this sauce. Every single flavor shines through so it makes a big difference. Now is the time to use your best olive oil.
You can use fresh or dried oregano, but be sure to note that dried is stronger than fresh so adjust according to the recipe card below. We like to use sea salt because it has a brighter flavor, but you can sub in regular salt if needed. Add more red chile flakes and garlic if you want more kick!
- Flat leaf parsley – you could use curly in a pinch but flat has more flavor
- Cilantro – again if you aren’t a fan use all parsley
- Extra Virgin olive oil – this sauce deserves your best oil
- Red wine vinegar – be sure it’s red wine vinegar and not balsamic
- Shallots – onions milder cousin
- Garlic cloves – feel free to add more if you like it really garlicky!
- Red chile flakes – brings a touch of heat
- Fresh or dried oregano – remember dried is twice as strong as fresh
- Black Pepper and Sea Salt – or use kosher salt
How to make Authentic Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce:
This sauce is quick to pull together, so gather everything up and start chopping!
- Wash, dry, and finely chop the flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and oregano
- Add to a medium bowl
- Finely dice the shallots and garlic and add to the bowl
- Add in the red wine vinegar, red chile flakes, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. Stir everything to fully combine
- Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk everything to combine it
- If easier, place everything in a large mason jar, seal and shake well
- If using a food processor or blender add everything except the olive oil. Then drizzle in the olive oil and chop in short pulses. Be careful not to over-process. The sauce should be chunky, not smooth.
- Taste and adjust to add more salt, pepper, chile flakes, or garlic if needed
How to serve homemade Chimichurri Sauce:
The short answer is – put it on everything savory! It adds so much flavor to different foods.
- Traditionally, chimichurri sauce is served with grilled meats, and, in particular skirt steak, hangar steak, or flank steak.
- Our Chimichurri Steak Recipe, using skirt steak, is one of our all-time favorites because it’s simple yet tastes so complex.
- This sauce also tastes fantastic drizzled over roasted or Grilled Vegetables such as cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant, broccoli, carrots, and asparagus
- Spread it on your scrambled eggs for a zesty kick at breakfast
- If you love whole grains and ancient grains (who doesn’t?) try mixing it into farro, millet, couscous, wild rice, quinoa, or brown rice as a zesty dressing
- Chimichurri is perfect with grilled chicken or pork tenderloin
- We love it as a drizzling sauce over sliced cherry tomatoes
- Grab a loaf of crusty sourdough or french bread and dip it in the sauce
- Add flavor by slathering a burger or sandwich with a little chimichurri sauce
- Drizzle this over our grilled Carne Asada skirt steak or a grilled T-Bone or Fillet
- This sauce would be ideal drizzled over our Perfect Pan Seared Scallops and ideal on Chimichurri Shrimp
How to keep and store Chimichurri:
This beautiful sauce will keep well in the refrigerator for about a week (if you can resist it that long!). The best way to store it is in a sealed mason jar so that you can give it a good shake before using it to redistribute all of the ingredients.
Can you freeze Chimichurri Sauce?
Yes! This sauce freezes beautifully. I recommend freezing this sauce, or any condiment-type sauce, in 2 Tablespoon serving sizes. My absolute go-to favorite way to store is with Super Cubes Freezing Trays with Lids. They are sturdy but flexible so you can remove the condiments in small increments. Like an ice cube tray but so much better and easier. The sauce keeps well for about 2 months.
Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon red chile flakes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Wash, dry and finely chop the flat leaf parsley, cilantro and oregano. Add to a medium sized bowl or large mason jar.
- Finely chop the shallots and garlic then add to the bowl.
- Add in the red wine vinegar, red chile flakes, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir to combine.
- Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk vigorously to combine. Alternately, combine in a medium jar, seal and shake well.
- If using a mini chopper be sure to just pulse in short bursts, chopping to combine but not puree.
- Serve at room temperature and whisk again before using.
- Remaining chimichurri sauce can be stored, sealed, in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks or frozen for at least 2 months.
Nutrition
Cooking the perfect steak can be challenging so we put together an easy-to-use chart to help you make the perfect steak.
Most meat experts think that “Rare” is the perfect steak temperature. While this might be your preference too, there are different tastes for all.
Since everyone has their own preference this chart will help you decide how long to grill steaks.
Steak Cooking Guide:
Garlic Herb Mushrooms on top of grilled steak:
One of the tastiest ways to top any grilled steak is with our savory garlic herb mushrooms. We love these on top of pasta or chicken, as well!
Top your grilled steak with our recipe for Shallot Parsley Butter:
Making flavored butter is a great way to ramp up the flavor of any steak. It is a simple process of adding herbs and flavors to softened butter. Shallots and steak go perfectly together.
Choosing the right cut of steak:
There is a lot of information out there about steak. We found a great comprehensive guide on the website Art of Manliness to help understand how to choose the best cut of meat. It contains easy to understand info including the differences in cuts, grass vs. grain-fed, and dry aging. A Guide to Steaks.
Suggestions for wine pairings:
Steak pairs perfectly with big bold red wines from California.
Your weekday wines:
- Josh Cabernet Sauvignon Northern Coast California
- Freemark Abbey Merlot Napa Valley
Your weekend wines:
- Cakebread Cellars Merlot Napa Valley
- Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon Northern California Coast
Special Occasion Wines:
- Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
- Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley