Easy Homemade Chimichurri Sauce
- PREP 15min
- TOTAL 15min
Chimichurri sauce is made with fresh herbs, garlic, vinegar, chili pepper and olive oil. It livens up pretty much anything you throw at it and you can use it 100 different ways. Try spooning it over steak, shrimp, chicken and vegetables. You can also toss it with pasta or rice. We like our sauce on the tangy, vinegary side. If you prefer things to be a bit more tame, reduce the amount of vinegar to 3 or 4 tablespoons.
You Will Need
2 cups (50 grams) packed parsley leaves and tender stems
3 to 4 garlic cloves (1 tablespoon minced)
1 medium shallot
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or 1 jalapeño or fresno chili pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup (80 ml) red wine vinegar
Directions
Make By Hand
Mince the garlic and shallot, and then add to a medium bowl. Finely chop the parsley then add to the bowl along with the salt, red pepper flakes, olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Stir then taste taste and season with more salt or red pepper flakes if needed.
Let the sauce stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. The sauce is excellent the day you make it, but it will last a few days in your refrigerator (you just might notice the parsley’s green dulls slightly).
Make in a Food Processor or Blender
Add garlic and shallots to the bowl of a food processor (or blender), and then pulse until minced. Add the parsley, salt and red pepper flakes. Pulse until the parsley is chopped small. Scrape the sides down, and then pour in the olive oil and red wine vinegar. Pulse a few more times until the sauce comes together. Taste and season with more salt or red pepper flakes if needed.
Let the sauce stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. The sauce is excellent the day you make it, but it will last a few days in your refrigerator (you just might notice the parsley’s green dulls slightly).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Once you have the base recipe, you can play around with it depending on what ingredients you have on hand. Try switching parsley for cilantro, or use a combination of both herbs. A little fresh mint or oregano is also a really nice addition.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
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