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This chimichurri recipe is full of bright, garlicky flavor! This classic Argentinian sauce is ideal with steak, fish, vegetables and more.
Want an easy way to take a meal blah to stunning? Try this chimichurri recipe! This Argentinian sauce is simple to whip up and adds bright, garlicky flavor to grilled meats, chicken, fish or vegetables.
It takes baked salmon or seared ahi tuna to new heights, and makes grilled or roasted vegetables sing. Really, there’s nothing this sparkling green sauce can’t do. As cookbook authors, we knew we had to add a spin on this recipe in our latest A Couple Cooks cookbook—because it’s just that good!
Featured reader comments
“Flavor bomb! Found this recipe and wow—so easy and delicious! Will be putting this on everything.” -Traci
What is chimichurri, exactly?
Chimichurri is a classic Argentinian sauce often served with grilled meats, chicken or fish. It’s made of chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar.
Per Francis Mallman, Argentine celebrity chef and restaurateur, every home cook and chef in Argentina has their own version of this classic sauce, which is served everywhere from gaucho campfires to weddings. But the main ingredients stay constant: parsley, olive oil and oregano.
Ingredients in this chimichurri recipe
In creating this chimichurri recipe, Alex and I took inspiration from Argentine chef Francis Mallman himself—who you may have seen in the documentary Chef’s Table! His classic method uses a salmuera or brine to bring flavor and body to the sauce. It may sound counterintuitive to add water to oil, but it makes a lovely silky body. This sauce is rustic and hand chopped: no blenders or food processors required! Here’s what you’ll need for this chimichurri recipe:
- Fresh Italian parsley
- Fresh oregano
- Garlic
- Red wine vinegar
- Red pepper flakes
- Olive oil
- Water
- Kosher salt
The basic idea is to make the brine by dissolving the salt into the water on the stovetop, then chop the fresh herbs and mince the garlic. Mix everything together with red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and the brine water. The brine brings a punch of flavor and luxurious body to the sauce.
A few ingredient notes
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you make a chimichurri sauce:
- Parsley and oregano are traditional. That’s right, not cilantro! If you can’t find fresh oregano, you can substitute cilantro. But the oregano adds a depth in flavor that’s important if you can find it.
- Add more red pepper flakes for more heat. We prefer this sauce mild, but if you’d like a spicy version, add more red pepper flakes to taste.
- The sauce has a chunky, rustic texture. Don’t expect it to be fully pureed and smooth (like some versions of this sauce). The traditional rustic method is hand-chopped.
Ways to serve chimichurri sauce
Chimichurri sauce is traditionally serve with grilled meat (asados), but the applications for this sauce are infinite! We love it with seafood and vegetables. Here are a few great ways to serve chimichurri:
- Chicken like grilled chicken or pan seared chicken breast
- Steak or grilled meat
- Salmon like baked salmon or grilled salmon
- Fish like tuna steak, grilled cod, grilled halibut or grilled tilapia
- Shrimp like sauteed shrimp, grilled shrimp or shrimp skewers
- Vegetables like grilled vegetables, grilled veggie kabobs, roasted broccoli or roasted cauliflower
- Bread like grilled bread
- Eggs like scrambled eggs or omelettes
Another idea: use it as a salad dressing
While draping this green sauce over meat or fish is the most common way to use it, you can also add it into recipes. For example, we used it to make a creamy salad dressing. Add a dollop of chimichurri to Greek yogurt (or sour cream), mayo, and Dijon mustard and it makes a killer dressing.
Dietary notes
This chimichurri recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Chimichurri Sauce
This chimichurri recipe is full of bright, garlicky flavor! This classic Argentinian sauce is ideal with steak, fish, vegetables and more.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Argentinian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup very finely chopped Italian parsley (1 bunch)
- ¼ cup finely chopped loosely-packed fresh oregano (or cilantro)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Combine water and kosher salt in a small saucepan and heat until dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, stir together the minced garlic, Italian parsley, oregano and red pepper flakes. Whisk in red wine vinegar, followed by olive oil and then the salt water. Taste and add additional red pepper flakes if desired. Serve immediately. Store refrigerated for 2 to 3 weeks.
Notes
Recipe inspired by Francis Mallman in Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way.
More sauce recipes
A great sauce can transform a meal! Here are a few great sauce recipes to try:
- Go for Horseradish Sauce or Sour Cream Sauce
- Try Lemon Butter Sauce or Romesco Sauce
- Grab melty, easy Cheese Sauce
- Go for Honey Garlic Sauce for salmon and more
- Opt for Chipotle Crema, Avocado Crema, Lime Crema or Cilantro Lime Crema
- Go for Classic Aioli, Pesto Aioli, Chipotle Aioli, Sriracha Aioli, Truffle Aioli or Lemon Aioli
Flavor bomb!!! I got a ton of parsley from my CSA this week, found this recipe and wow!!! So easy and delicious!!! Will be putting this on everything!! Confession: I didn’t chop my parsley fine enough and so threw everything in my blender for a minutes and OMG so good!! My husband wants to eat it as is… yum!!!
I bought a BIG bunch of parsley by mistake shopping in a hurry for coriander (cilantro). When I stopped cursing myself, I looked up what to do with it and found this recipe. Wow, it is so simple to make and yet the most amazing flavour. I can’t wait to serve it and i’m sure it will become a regular and a favourite. I never usually leave comments but I wanted to thank you for coming to the rescue and turning a disaster into a triumph!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it.
We loved your old chimichurri recipe! The one that you didn’t have to cook. Could you please repost?
So glad you enjoyed it! You can find the recipe hear. https://web.archive.org/web/20211207092303/https://www.acouplecooks.com/baked-salmon-with-chimichurri-sauce/
Thank you!!!!
Can you use fresh chilli rather than flakes?
Yes! Just add to taste.
Is there any way to freeze or store the chimichurri sauce longer than 2-3 weeks?
Hi! Yes, you can freeze it.
Let us know if you have any questions!