Bursting with vibrant herbs, tangy vinegar, and a spicy kick, this Easy Chimichurri Sauce will transform your meals into a culinary masterpiece. Perfect for grilling, marinades, or even a dip – this versatile sauce will definitely become a staple in your kitchen.
Easy Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
You might think that this Easy Chimichurri Sauce doesn’t look “easy”, but it most certainly is. All you need to do is add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor and blend.
Drizzle the blended sauce with good quality extra virgin olive oil and let it sit for a few minutes for the flavors to combine together. This herby, tangy sauce is so delicious spooned over warm grilled meats and fish, it brings your dish to a whole new level.
Ingredients For Chimichurri Sauce
- Fresh Parsley: Other herbs can be used such as basil, cilantro or tarragon depending on the flavor that you’re looking for. Parsley is traditional for chimichurri and has the most mild flavor.
- Fresh Garlic: Fresh garlic must be used in this sauce recipe for the most authentic flavor.
- Red Onion: Red onion is also traditional in chimichurri sauce, shallot or yellow onion can also be substituted.
- Red Wine Vinegar: Adds a tartness to the sauce to combat the rich olive oil base.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A good quality olive oil makes a difference, definitely an extra virgin oil versus plain olive oil.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: For a bit of background heat.
- Dried Oregano
How Do You Make Chimichurri Sauce?
Making this easy chimichurri sauce is really – we promise – very easy. Everything goes into a food processor or a blender and the sauce is done!
- Add fresh parsley, onion, garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper and red wine vinegar to the bowl of a food processor.
- Process until the mixture is blended but still coarse like you see in the picture below.
- Spoon the mixture into a bowl, season with salt and pepper (if desired) and then pour the extra virgin olive oil into the bowl and stir to combine.
- Let the chimichurri sauce sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes so that the flavors combine.
What Does Chimichurri Sauce Taste Like?
Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce that’s used as an ingredient in recipes, and also as a table condiment for grilled meats and fish.
This popular, uncooked sauce tastes like a burst of fresh, bright flavors. You’ll definitely get a delicious, herbaceous flavor right at the start, then tangy, mildly spicy flavors at the finish.
Chimichurri sauce also takes on the flavors of whatever you’re serving it with. So it may taste a little different when spooned over steak or pork as opposed to chicken or fish.
Variations
As we mentioned above, you can switch out the herbs in this sauce to achieve a different flavor. Try using fresh basil, cilantro or tarragon. You can also use a blend of different herbs, using parsley as the base.
Another way that you can vary this sauce recipe is by using different vinegars and oil. A flavored basil oil would be wonderful, or a champagne vinegar for a brighter flavor.
Different dried herbs can also enhance the flavor of this sauce. Letting the sauce sit and blend together with the oil will also help infuse the dried herbs into the sauce.
Ways To Serve Chimuchurri Sauce
Spoon this herbaceous sauce over warm, grilled meats like a New York Strip Steak, or even marinated meats like our Teriyaki Steak recipe. Also equally tasty is a grilled, marinate chicken like our Favorite Chicken Marinade recipe or this tangy Balsamic Grilled Chicken.
You can also drizzle a chimichurri sauce over seafood like this Lemon Pepper Shrimp, or use it as a dipping sauce on the side. But don’t stop there! You can also use it as a topping for sandwiches, especially favorites like our Italian Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich.
In addition to the above options, you can also serve it with a veggie platter as a dip for carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and also crackers and pieces of toasted bread.
How To Store Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri sauce needs to be refrigerated. Store the sauce in an airtight container or mason jar to keep the sauce tasting fresh.
The good thing about this sauce is that it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, so go ahead and make a double batch!
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Easy Chimichurri Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1/2 cup 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis Easy Chimichurri Sauce is ready to go in just minutes. A flavorful herby sauce with a tangy kick that’s perfect for spooning over grilled steak, chicken or fish!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (packed) flat leaf parsley, most of the stems removed
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you want the sauce
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients, except the olive oil, to a food processor or blender. Process the sauce until it has a rough texture, not completely smooth (See the pictures in the post for reference) and then spoon into a bowl.
- Pour the olive oil over the sauce and stir tom combine. Let the sauce sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour so that the flavors can blend together.
- Serve with grilled meats or fish, or use as a dipping sauce for bread and vegetables.
- Category: Marinades & Sauces
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Argentinian
