This authentic chimichurri sauce recipe is full of vibrant flavors and colors from the fresh herbs, spices, and tangy notes from the red wine vinegar. It's the perfect accompaniment for chicken, steak, or pork dishes and takes only 10 minutes to prepare.
Contents
🌟 Why This Recipe Works
Authentic chimichurri recipe with parsley is similar to pesto because of its bright green color but with touch more heat and an emphasis on vinegar.
It's made with lots of freshly chopped parsley, oregano, garlic, vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and tastes delicious with grilled and roasted meat.
The sauce originates from South America, specifically Argentina and has a strong herbaceous flavor from the herbs and a pungent kick from the garlic and fresh red chili. Combine that with tangy red wine vinegar and rich olive oil, and you have a delicious and authentic chimichurri recipe.
Chimichurri Verde (as known in Argentina and Uruguay) is an easy recipe to make at home to slather on meat and fish dishes with only a spoon and a bowl required to combine the ingredients.
Your friends and family will not be able to get enough of this delicious sauce at BBQs or any occasion when meats need a tasty bright sauce.
It's also diet-friendly, budget-friendly, and storage-friendly because it will last for weeks refrigerated without losing its flavor. In fact it will taste better over time!
🍽 Ingredient Notes
This authentic chimichurri sauce recipe uses fresh ingredients for a more robust flavor. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Fresh herbs: Flat leaf parsley, garlic, and red chili pepper. The freshness of the herb ingredients has a significant impact on the overall flavor of this recipe.
Red wine vinegar: The acidic vinegar is key to this recipe's authentic taste. I do not recommend balsamic vinegar or reductions.
Substitutions
Red Wine Vinegar
A perfect substitution for red wine vinegar is white wine vinegar - especially to make the chimichurri sauce. I don't recommend using balsamic vinegar apple cider vinegar as they are sweeter.
Lemon or lime juice will also work here, although 2 tablespoon of lemon juice is preferred for better flavor.
Ingredient Swaps
If you don't have access to fresh red chili, swap it for 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
🔪 How to make
This authentic chimichurri sauce recipe is one of the best sauces for grilled chicken steak, and sauces. You can learn how to make it in 5 minutes with these easy-to-follow steps and helpful cooking tips.
Preparation
Grab a sharp knife, cutting board, and mince the garlic and red chili pepper. Followed by chopping the fresh parsley.
Pro tip: Do not use a food processor to blend the garlic and chili, as it will be too mushy and turn into a paste.
Step 1
Add chopped fresh parsley in the bowl.
Step 2
Add the minced red chili pepper.
Step 3
Add the minced garlic cloves.
Step 4
Then add the dried oregano to the bowl.
Step 5
Add salt and pepper
Step 6
Add olive oil.
Step 7
Lastly, add red wine vinegar.
Step 8
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Step 9
Serve right away or refrigerate to enhance flavor!
💭 Cooking Tips
- Use fresh parsley - It makes a massive difference to the flavor than dried parsley.
- Choose a good olive oil - This chimichurri sauce recipe deserves a good cold extracted olive oil and not one you usually use for frying. Extra virgin olive oil or good regular olive oil will taste better.
- Resting period - When the chimichurri sauce rests, the flavors infuse, and the result is absolutely delicious. Traditionally chimichurri is made 1 to 2 days in advance, but not everyone can wait that long. Let it rest in the fridge by covering the bowl with plastic wrap for a minimum of 1 hour.
📖 Easy Variations
Three authentic chimichurri recipe variations that taste equally as good, and use our base recipe ingredients.
Chimichurri sauce with fresh oregano - The addition of fresh oregano leaves enhances the herbaceous flavor. Use 4 teaspoons instead of the dried oregano.
Chimichurri sauce with fresh coriander - Swap parsley for 1 cup of chopped coriander (cilantro) adds a new dimension to the sauce. Coriander is a potent aromatic herb used in chimichurri sauce recipes.
Creamy chimichurri sauce - The main ingredient to this delicious creamy chimichurri sauce is sour cream. Mixing in 2 tablespoons of sour cream will mellow the acidity of the vinegar and create a smoother consistency. It's a MUST-TRY!
🥗 What to Serve With
This amazing chimichurri sauce is the best accompaniment to dip or pour over beef, chicken, pork, or veggies. Here are some of my favorites:
Smoked Tri-Tip
If you have a smoker at home, this 2-hour mouth-watering smoked tri-tip is the perfect way to slather over some chimichurri sauce. The smokey BBQ rub creates an epic bark around the succulent meat for an unforgettable flavor.
Eye Round Roast
This slow roasted eye of round roast is an inexpensive cut of beef from the round area that produces irresistible flavorful juices, and the meat is super tender by cooking slow. Roasted beef and chimichurri are a match made in heaven.
Perfect Bottom Round Roast
When chimichurri sauce and my melt in your mouth bottom round roast meet, your taste buds explode with delight. This budget-friendly roast beef recipe is cooked long and slow to produce a juicy, tender, and perfectly medium-rare roast that pairs perfectly with the acidity of this sauce.
🧊 Storing
This authentic chimichurri sauce recipe is the best sauce for refrigerating.
In the Fridge
You can refrigerate chimichurri sauce in an airtight jar or container for up to 3 weeks. The vinegar and olive oil help to preserve the sauce for a long time without losing any flavor.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between pesto and chimichurri?
Apart from their bright green colors, pesto is made with basil, and chimichurri is made with parsley and other herbs. The other difference is that chimichurri is lumpy, and pesto is more like a paste.
What do you use chimichurri sauce for?
You can use chimichurri sauce as a dressing for meats, fish, pasta salads, and even drizzling over pizza. It can also be used for marinating meats to make them more tender.
Can you freeze chimichurri sauce?
It is possible to freeze chimichurri sauce into cubes, but not in an airtight container. The best way to freeze it is by pouring the sauce into a plastic ice cube tray.
🍳 Related Sauce Recipes
If you like this chimichurri sauce recipe. Check out my collection of fantastic sauces including my homemade bbq sauce, tartar sauce to pair with crab cakes and my spicy jalapeno sauce.
👪 Serving Size
This authentic chimichurri recipe will give you several servings that will last for a few weeks to drizzle over a variety of dishes, or it can be used as a dressing. The recipe is perfect for scaling because of the natural ingredients.
Try this spicy sauce with your grilled meats, and let us know what you think!
📋 Recipe
Authentic Chimichurri Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup parsley - fresh leaves
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 small red chili - minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons oregano - dried
- ⅓ cup olive oil - cold extracted
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Mince garlic and red chili pepper.
- Chop your fresh parsley and add to a small bowl.
- Add minced garlic and red chili pepper (or chili flakes).
- Add dried oregano.
- Add salt and black pepper.
- Add olive oil.
- Add red wine vinegar.
- Combine all the ingredients.
- Serve right away or refrigerate to enhance flavor!
Notes
- Avoid blending or blitzing the ingredients! You'll create a paste rather than a lovely sauce.
- Use fresh parsley - It makes a massive difference to the flavor than dried parsley.
- Choose a good olive oil - This chimichurri sauce recipe deserves a good cold extracted olive oil and not one you usually use for frying. Extra virgin olive oil or good regular olive oil will taste better.
- Resting period - When the chimichurri sauce rests, the flavors infuse, and the result is absolutely delicious. Traditionally chimichurri is made 1 to 2 days in advance, but not everyone can wait that long. Let it rest in the fridge by covering the bowl with plastic wrap for a minimum of 1 hour.
Joan A Mucha
So easy and so tasty! I love the fresh parsley and used this on the eye of round roast. Everyone loved it!