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Fresh, tangy, and packed with herbs, this easy chimichurri is the kind of versatile sauce you’ll want to keep on hand all season long, perfect for drizzling over whatever’s on the grill.
Chimichurri is one of those sauces that instantly wakes up everything on your plate. It’s a simple blend of olive oil, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, aromatics and lots of fresh herbs, blended together into a slightly thick, glossy sauce. It’s delicious drizzled over grilled chicken or steak, used as a marinade (my grilled chimichurri chicken thighs are a family favorite), or served with roasted vegetables. However you use it, it adds a big splash of flavor with very little effort.
Contents
What you’ll need to make chimichurri sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil: Provides a rich, creamy base that carries the flavors of the sauce.
- Sherry wine vinegar and fresh lemon juice: A mixture of the two gives the sauce a bright, balanced flavor.
- Fresh lemon juice: Offers bright acidity, enhancing the overall flavor.
- Garlic cloves and shallot: Garlic for crunch, shallot for a milder, slightly sweet onion flavor.
- Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes: Season the sauce and add a touch of spice.
- Fresh parsley, coriander and mint: A blend of fresh herbs that makes the sauce aromatic and flavorful.
- Access the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Mix the chimichurri. In a food processor, combine olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley, cilantro and mint. Blend until the herbs are finely chopped and the mixture is well combined but still textured. Add the remaining herbs in two separate additions, pureeing until almost smooth after each addition.
Pro tip: Pulsing the food processor in short bursts rather than running it continuously prevents the herbs from turning into paste and maintains the coarse texture of the sauce.
Step 2: Serve or refrigerate. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Chimichurri Sauce
Elevate your meals with this easy chimichurri sauce, perfect for drizzling over grilled meats and vegetables.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 2 small cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1½ cups fresh hulled parsley
- 1 cup fresh coriander, hulled
- ½ cup fresh mint with stem
Instructions
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Combine olive oil, wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, shallot, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and one-third of the herbs in a blender; blend until almost smooth.
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Add the remaining herbs in two separate additions, pureeing until almost smooth after each addition.
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Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The sauce keeps well in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutritional information
Per serving (4 servings)Calories: 208kilocaloriesCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 2gFat: 21gSaturated fat: 3gSodium: 200mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional information on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. Data is calculated via an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these numbers should only be considered estimates. Various factors such as types of produce or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and how ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information of a given recipe. Additionally, different online calculators provide different results based on their own nutritional data sources and algorithms. To get the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your favorite nutritional calculator.
Gluten-free adaptable note
To the best of my knowledge, all ingredients used in this recipe are gluten free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; If you are following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with a gluten allergy, always read the labels on your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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