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Bring the flavor of Argentina into your home with my easy Chimichurri Sauce Recipe! With just a cutting board and a bowl, you can create a richly flavorful, silky sauce perfect as a marinade or drizzled over steak and more. Ready in five minutes!
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What is chimichurri?
Originating from Argentina and Uruguay, this herbaceous oil-based sauce is a favorite around the world! Chimichurri combines silky and rich extra-virgin olive oil with fresh parsley, oregano, tangy vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper for a truly flavorful and easy sauce you will love pairing with everything.
Homemade Chimichurri Sauce
My first taste of chimichurri sauce was with a grilled porterhouse steak, and after just one bite I knew I had to learn to make my own. The flavor wowed me: all the rich taste of a tangy, garlicky parsley pesto with the creamy mouth-feel of a buttery sauce. Chimichurri sauce is an experience.
If you're thinking this sauce will be complicated to make, don't worry! It's so easy, with no cooking involved. Chop up some herbs, mix them together with oil and vinegar, and you have yourself the best chimichurri sauce recipe for serving with everything from steak to pork, chicken, and fish!
What makes chimichurri truly special, though, is that you can make it exactly how you like with easy adjustments. Add more or less oil, swap the herbs out for cilantro, use it as a marinade or even as a dip for bread - there are so many ways to make and enjoy this easy sauce!
Chimichurri Main Ingredients
- Fresh parsley: Parsley has a fresh, peppery, and slightly earthy flavor. It forms the base of chimichurri sauce, but can also be replaced with or paired with cilantro. Use flat leaf parsley, not curled leaf parsley.
- Fresh oregano: Oregano, when fresh, has a peppery, bold, and slightly bitter taste, and is delicious in homemade chimichurri sauce. However, if you don't have fresh oregano, you can an equal amount of extra parsley.
- Olive oil: Go for extra-virgin olive oil. This is an important element to the taste and texture of chimichurri, so I recommend you do not replace the oil.
- Sea salt: Maldon Sea Salt Flakes are my favorite.
- Black pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper is always best, but you can also use pre-ground black pepper.
- White wine vinegar: Red or white wine vinegar have the best flavor for chimichurri. If you can't find any, apple cider vinegar is the next best. I don't recommend plain white vinegar.
- Garlic cloves: Use fresh garlic! The easiest way to prep garlic for this sauce is to use a garlic press.
- Crushed red pepper: This adds a kick of spice to the sauce. You can swap out the red pepper flakes for a fresh, chopped red chile, or skip them entirely.
Optional:
- Lemon juice
- Red onion, finely minced
Isabel's Top Tip
Herb Stems: Depending on the herbs you're using, you'll want to take out or leave the stems! For cilantro, use the stems, as they have tons of flavor. For parsley, make sure not to include the stems; they're bitter and tough.
How to Make Chimichurri Sauce
- Remove and discard the stems from the herbs, then mince the leaves finely.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Drizzle over your meal, and enjoy!
Chimichurri Marinade Tips
- You can leave out the red pepper flakes for a sauce without spice.
- Swap the white wine vinegar out for apple cider vinegar for a fruity, tangy twist!
- I like to serve this sauce right away, or use it as a delicious chimichurri marinade for chicken.
- Hand chop the herbs, don't blend them. Blending them will result in a paste, and you want this sauce to be loose and silky. You can use herb scissors, if you have them.
- Add the extra flavorful ingredients in small amounts, then taste the sauce and add more as desired. A sauce as simple as chimichurri won't hide too much garlic!
But remember the golden rule of cooking: the "right" way to make it is how you like it! If you prefer pesto-like paste, blend that chimichurri. I won't tell!
Homemade Chimichurri FAQ
While parsley is classic for Argentinian chimichurri, you can absolutely use cilantro instead! If your family loves cilantro, feel free to add it in to the blend; it will only add more flavor. Food is about eating what you love!
Flat leaf parsley makes for a much better chimichurri due to the softer texture of the leaves. Curled can work as well, but may have a slightly less smooth texture with more tooth to it.
You can make chimichurri in a food processor instead of chopping it by hand, but be very careful with how much you blend it! It's important that the herbs are chopped, not pureed. Chimichurri is a sauce, not a pesto!
Chimichurri is essentially a flavorful oil with herbs, so in its intended form, it's very oily! However, what's most important is making it the way you like it. If you want a less oily sauce, add more herbs to bulk it out, or drain off some of the oil from the top using a spoon.
Storing Leftover Chimichurri
- Refrigerator: Pour leftovers into an airtight container or jar, and let rest in the fridge for up to five days.
- Freezer: Chimichurri preserves well when frozen and can last up for one month. To freeze, pour the sauce in ice cube trays and then place the frozen cubes in a bag until ready to serve.
- Thawing: Thaw frozen chimichurri sauce in the fridge overnight, or place in a small saucepan over low heat and stir frequently until room temperature.
What to Serve with Chimichurri Sauce
- Steak: Steak is the classic pairing with chimichurri! I love it poured over a decadent Grilled Porterhouse Steak.
- Chicken: Luxuriously smooth, flavorful chimichurri is amazing poured on chicken, and even better used as a marinade! Try it out with my classic Grilled Chicken for the best chicken you'll ever serve!
- Seafood: The delicate flavor and silky texture of this sauce is absolutely perfect with flaky, moist fish! I love it with tender Sous Vide salmon.
- Scrambled Eggs: An unexpected favorite in my house is serving scrambled eggs with Chimichurri! Try out my super-fluffy egg recipe, perfect for topping with flavorful sauce.
Simple Sauce Recipes
- Remoulade Sauce
- Lemon Butter Sauce
- Cowboy Butter Sauce
- Secret Ingredient Alfredo Sauce
- Portuguese Peri Peri Sauce
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Easy Chimichurri Sauce Without a Blender
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ cup Fresh parsley - de-stemmed
- ½ cup Fresh oregano - de-stemmed
- ⅓ cup Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1½ Tablespoons White wine vinegar - or red wine vinegar
- ½ Tablespoon Garlic - minced
- ¼ Teasoon Crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Remove and discard the stems from the herbs, then mince the leaves finely.1½ cup Fresh parsley,½ cup Fresh oregano
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.⅓ cup Olive oil,1 teaspoon Sea salt,1 teaspoon Black pepper,1½ Tablespoons White wine vinegar,½ Tablespoon Garlic,¼ Teasoon Crushed red pepper
- Drizzle over your meal, and enjoy!
Notes
- Red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar make good substitutes for white wine vinegar. Avoid plain white vinegar.
- Hand chop the herbs to maintain a loose and silky texture.
- Add cilantro if desired.
- Oregano can be replaced with equal amounts of extra parsley if desired.
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