Authentic Chimichurri Recipe

My delicious Chimichurri recipe combines fresh herbs and spices with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar for the best accompaniment to grilled meat dishes.

The first time I tried chimichurri, it was over a decade ago when we were living in Montevideo, Uruguay, a small South American country next to Argentina. Both countries share similar cultures, languages and foods.

Grilled meats are a huge part of the cuisine, and they’re pretty much always served with a delicious sauce called Chimichurri. While it’s a simple sauce made with basic ingredients, it’s full of so much flavor.

My recipe is made using the authentic Argentinian method… it’s the real deal. If you haven’t had authentic Argentine chimichurri before, you’re going to love the fresh flavors of this recipe!

While this delicious green sauce looks a lot like pesto (try my Cilantro Pesto Recipe too), it has a flavor all its own. The first time you make this authentic chimichurri recipe, the whole family will love it and ask you to make it over and over again for good reason – it’s delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 cups of minced fresh flat leaf parsley
• ¼ cup of minced fresh oregano leaves
• 10 minced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons of minced onion
• 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Equipment

• Sharp Knife
• Cutting Board
• Measuring cups and spoons
• 16 ounce glass jar

By the Numbers: How to Make Chimichurri Sauce

Follow these simple steps to learn how to make the best homemade chimichurri sauce with simple ingredients. You’ll feel like you’re sitting down to eat at a Uruguayan or Argentine restaurant.

Step 1: Prepare Ingredients

Finely mince 2 cups of fresh parsley, ¼ cup of fresh oregano leaves, 10 cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons of onion. Once minced, transfer all ingredients to a mixing bowl.

Step 2: Add Remaining Ingredients

Add 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Stir until well combined, then taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed.

Step 3: Refrigerate in a Jar

Using a spoon, transfer your sauce to a pint-sized mason jar and place in the refrigerator. For best results, allow the flavors of your fresh herb sauce to meld for at least a few hours before serving.

Step 3: Serve Your Chimichurri

After it’s been refrigerated, remove the chimichurri from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Serve it with your favorite grilled meat or see below for more ideas.

Tips for Making Traditional Chimichurri Sauce

Answers to all of your questions about making this easy chimichurri recipe, including tips and substitution ideas.

How to serve chimichurri?

We place a jar on the table with a spoon in it, just like we would with most condiments. It’s such a versatile sauce and it’s best served at room temperature (although a hot slab of meat will warm up a spoonful of cold sauce pretty quickly!).

Since the main ingredient is olive oil, just make sure to stir all the loose oil back into the herbs before serving. Your taste buds want the combination of all those flavors!

Some of my favorite ways to serve this authentic recipe are:

• On the side with roasted or grilled meats like beef, chicken, pork and lamb. Try it with Instant Pot Chicken Breast!
• It makes a great marinade. Give your meat 24 hours to marinate in it and it will do wonders for the flavor and tenderness.
• Put a dollop on top of grilled or poached fish for a pop of flavor. It tastes amazing with Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass!
• For a flavorful side dish, mix it with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice, Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or baked potatoes.
• Use it as a salad dressing for green salads or pasta salads when you’re tired of Ranch Dressing and Tahini Dressing.
• It’s a tasty dipping sauce for steak bites or chicken fingers.

How to make smooth chimichurri?

While my personal preference is a sauce with texture, you can make a smoother chimichurri by placing all of your ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulsing until smooth.

Storage and freezer tips

Store your chimichurri in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will stay fresh for 2-3 weeks. While it can be kept at room temperature, it won’t last a long time… up to 1 week.

If you want it to last longer, you can freeze it. Once you’re done making your easy chimichurri sauce, fill up the cavities of an ice cube tray and freeze them. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag and store for 2-3 months.

This is the best way to store chimichurri if you won’t eat it all before it spoils. That way, you can just defrost one cube at a time as needed. The texture may change slightly, but the flavor will still be good!

Ingredient substitutions

You’ll notice some chimichurri sauce recipes use slightly different ingredients. There is a little bit of flexibility in what you put in your chimichurri, although each change you make will alter the flavor of the recipe.

Here are some ideas to help you get started with substitutions:

• Red wine vinegar: Anything with an acidic flavor, like white wine vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice.
• Flat-leaf parsley: You can also use curly parsley.
• Fresh oregano: While fresh is best, you can also use 4 teaspoons of dried oregano or 4 tablespoons of fresh coriander.
• Onion: Any color onion works, including white, brown or red onion… even the white part of green onions will work (make sure to regrow your green onions!)
• Fresh garlic: While fresh ingredients taste best and garlic powder won’t give it the same flavor or texture, you can use it in a pinch. Remember, the general rule is 1 teaspoon of dried for every tablespoon of fresh.
• Crushed red pepper: The peppers make this recipe a tad bit spicy, so keep that in mind. You can substitute any type of red chili flakes or fresh hot peppers.

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