This easy, herbaceous Argentinian chimichurri sauce is a fresh parsley and cilantro salsa that gives grilled steak, chicken, fish, and vegetables a garlicky kick.
Firing up the grill is a summer habit I’ll never get enough of. The smokey flavor and char of any grilled protein is something I crave all year long.
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But I also crave the tangy yin to grilling’s savory yang, which is why I totally dig a zesty, herb-infused chimichurri sauce. It’s a South American sauce made with a variety of herbs and garlic that adds a nice zip of flavor to any dish.
Adding flavor to foods that hit the hot grill grates is usually accomplished with marinades or by adding a simple spiced dry rub. But when I want to keep things super simple, my secret to the best flavor bomb is adding loads of that favorite vinegar/garlic/herb flavor AFTER simply grilling my steak, chicken, pork, fish, or vegetables.
Chimichurri is perfect for adding a final touch of BIG flavor.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Chimichurri is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, where the herbs, salt, and garlic are mashed together to form a paste, and later liquids are whisked or drizzled in. If you’re not feeling the authentic chimichurri method, a whiz in a food processor or high-powered blender will get you on your way in a hurry.
- My philosophy is typically, “More herbs, more better.” That’s why I’ve added cilantro and fresh oregano to my chimichurri sauce recipe.
- To achieve the best consistency, chop the herbs, garlic, and onion in a food processor or high-speed blender before stirring in the liquid. This will keep the herbs bright and green.
What Is Chimichurri Sauce Made Of?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Fresh Herbs — I paired the traditional flat-leaf parsley with cilantro and oregano for even more flavor. If you aren’t a fan of cilantro or don’t have fresh oregano on hand, just make up the amount called for with flat-leaf parsley and you will be good to go.
- Garlic — Three cloves make this sauce plenty garlicky, so don’t be tempted to add more. (Fresh garlic is more pungent than cooked!)
- Red onion — Is sweeter than yellow onion and doesn’t overwhelm the herbs. If you’re out of red onion, swap in a shallot.
- Olive oil — Choose a good bottle of extra virgin olive oil for a robust, fruity flavor.
- Red wine vinegar — The traditional choice for adding lots of tang.
- Lemon juice — Adds even more brightness and fresh flavor. Scale back the amount of lemon juice for less zing.
- Red pepper flakes — ½ teaspoon adds a subtle kick without making the sauce super spicy.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper — As always, season to taste.
How to Make Chimichurri Sauce
- Pulse the herbs, onion, and garlic first. A few pulses in the food process or blender chops the herbs and aromatics in seconds. Whizzing both the herbs and liquids together at once won’t chop the herbs fine enough and turns the sauce into more of a golden olive oil dressing.
- Add the spices and liquids. Once the herbs are chopped, add the lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. 2 to 3 more pulses should do the trick.
Heidi’s Tip: If you like more heat, add ½ seeded jalapeño when chopping. Not traditional, but it is good.
What is Chimichurri Sauce Good On?
Fear not, this chimichurri recipe isn’t just for topping steak. It’s sauced gold when draping grilled chicken, salmon, vegetables, and even pork.
- Mix into pasta salads as a simple dressing, or use as a green salad dressing on butter lettuce
- Use it as a flavor-builder on scrambled eggs
- Spread on pizza dough with roasted veggies and cheese for flatbread pizzas
- Slather on crostini toasts and top with mozzarella cheese and fresh sliced tomatoes
- Mix into Greek yogurt or cottage cheese to create a quick veggie dip
- Spoon over roasted cauliflower, red peppers, asparagus or another favorite veggie
FAQs
Most known in Argentinian cooking as “salsa verde,” chimichurri sauce tastes bright and zippy. Its garlicky, herby, tangy flavor cuts through the savory, fatty flavors of Argentina’s world-renowned grilled cuts of flank steak or almost any cut of beef.
Chimichurri is served at room temperature over hot or warm meats or can be served on room-temperature grilled veggies.
You can make and refrigerate this chimichurri sauce a day or two ahead of serving.
Similarly prepared, the difference between chimichurri and homemade pesto is flat-leaf parsley is the main ingredient in chimichurri rather than basil. The addition of vinegar and lemon juice also gives chimichurri more of an acidic bite.
Storage Tips
Like salad dressings with a high acid content, I’ve found the sauce kept in the refrigerator for quite a while.
When I make a batch of chimichurri sauce I usually keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks and have found it’s still good to go. But as always, use your discretion.
★★★★★
I love this recipe so much! I’ve made it at least 6 times since I found it a few weeks ago. It is amazing with steak, but it is also great with vegetables. This is a keeper for sure.
~Debbie, FoodieCrush reader
Recipes to Make Using Chimichurri
- Grilled Vegetables with Chimichurri
- Grilled Skirt Steak With Chimichurri
- Grilled Eggplant with Chimichurri
- Marinated Flank Steak With Asian Chimichurri
- Portobello Mushroom Burgers With Avocado Chimichurri
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
star rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Chimichurri Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor or high speed blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley , leaves only, stems removed
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro , leaves only, stems removed
- ¼ cup fresh oregano , leaves only, stems removed
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped red onion or shallots
- 3 cloves garlic , peeled
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- To the container of a blender or food processor, add the parsley, oregano, cilantro, onion, and garlic and pulse to mince. Add the red pepper flakes, olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and pulse 2-3 times to mix. Season with kosher salt and add more to taste. Or, finely mince all of the ingredients with a sharp knife, then whisk with the olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice in a bowl or shake in a covered glass jar.
Notes
Nutrition
More Flavorful Sauces to Master
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Lana
Delicious sauce, used it on steak! I will try on veggies! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed Lana!
Ngoc Tran
I’ve made it putting half the amount of salt, tasted amazing good. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Ving
Can you use lime instead of lemon?
Hayley
Hi Ving! We haven’t tried this with lime before but we think it should work fine. If you give it a go definitely let us know how it turns out!
Debbie
I love this recipe so much! I’ve made it at least 6 times since I found it a few weeks ago. It is amazing with steak, but it is also great with vegetables. This is a keeper for sure.
Hayley
We’re so glad to hear you enjoy this, Debbie!
srvball14
A little too much lemon for our liking but we just up the herbs and garlic and it’s great!
Hayley
We’re glad you enjoyed it! Definitely feel free to scale back on the lemon next time. :)
Ingrid Lopez
Hi! I love this recipe, do you have an estimate on how long I can have it in the fridge? Or expiration ?
Hayley
Hi Ingrid! Thanks, we’re glad to hear that! This should keep in the fridge for about 5-7 days.
Jan
Absolutely delicious. My no:1 go to recipe ⭐️
Hayley
Thanks for sharing Jan, we’re so happy to hear that! :)
Nanci Veenker
So amazing! I have shared this recipe with everyone who I can think of! Thank you for creating such a flavorful condiment. I am allergic to peppers so I need to leave the peppers out but it doesn’t change the flavor.
Hayley
Thanks for the sweet comment, Nanci–we’re so glad you love this recipe and appreciate you sharing it with others!
Ara
I made this recipe but the 1 tsp of salt is way too much. I needed to add 4tbsp of seasoned rice vinegar and 2 tbsp of honey to balance out the flavor, it turned out superb! Perfect for my the Argentina beef empanada! Will use it for other grilled food too!
Hayley
Thanks for sharing with us, Ara! We’re sorry to hear this came out a little too salty for you, but so glad you could fix it and still enjoy it! Just curious, what brand of salt did you use? If using table salt or Morton’s brand, you need half the amount as that brand is super concentrated.
Melody Hawley
Any tips if you do not have a blender at the moment? :/ This sounds amazing!
Hayley
Hi Melody! Do you have a food processor or even an immersion blender?
Kayla
would this work with dried ingredients
Hayley
Hi Kayla. Unfortunately this really needs to be made with fresh ingredients for the best results. We do not recommend using dried. We hope you can give this a try!
Cindy Jenkins
Whew! The citric/acid flavor is strong with this one! Might be someone else’s preferred flavors, but too strong for me. However: I added some more parsley and cilantro, and then it was a good balance for us. Maybe difference in measuring? After I added the extra herbs I enjoyed it on everything: our grilled steaks and grilled vegetables! Best Wishes!
Hayley
Hi Cindy! We’re sorry the citrus level was a bit too strong for you. We’re’ glad you were able to add some more herbs and still enjoy it! Feel free to cut back on the vinegar or lemon juice next time (you could add it gradually and just do it to your personal taste). Take care!
Karen
Made this today and it is wonderful! What a flavour packed all around good for everything sauce. Tonight I am having it on freshly caught pickerel. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hayley
Thanks for sharing, Karen—we’re so glad to hear you enjoyed this!
Christina VonWalter
I did not like this chimichurri sauce at all.
Hayley
We’re sorry to hear it wasn’t your cup of tea, Christina!
Jan
Hi all
Question please
When the recipe says one cup of parsley is that a cup of chopped parsely or one cup of parsely before it’s chopped up.
Many thanks
Hi Jan, it’s 1 cup of parsley leaves before it’s chopped.
Jan
Question: when the recipe says 1 cup of parsley, is that one cup of parsely once chopped up or one cup before chopping?
Appreciate any help please.
Yes Jan, it’s 1 cup of parsley leaves before chopping.
Pamela
I doubled the recipe then added extra garlic and red pepper! This stuff is AMAZING! Gonna put in 4 oz containers and freeze but for tonight’s dinner it’s cod w/chimchurri, wild rice pilaf and summer squash medley! I can hardly wait!
Hayley
We’re so glad you loved it, Pamela — thanks for giving the recipe a try!
SR
Absolutely wonderful and the flavour is indescribable.
Colleen
Have you tried freezing this? I freeze pesto so it seems like this should work. Would be great on a cold winter day.
Hayley
Hi Colleen! Pesto freezes very well and this is very similar, you could totally freeze this!
Colleen
No lie, this is the BEST! I made it and had to try it on everything. Eggs, sandwiches, chicken. All delicious- zippy. An explosion of flavors.
Thanks for this great recipe.
I’m glad you enjoy Colleen!
Luis
made it fir the 1st time and I’m spanish!
my daughter majes it great too, I followed your instructions and it’s fabulous!
thank you !
I’m glad you both enjoyed Luis!
Chicago Knitter
Absolutely the best! Used the blender and left over minced shallots. Had it with tri-tip sandwiches on French Bread.
Sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed!
Billie Z
This was my first time to make chimichurri sauce. It’s fantastic!
Happy to hear it Billie!
Jen Comfort
I made it. I love it! I added extra garlic because I’m a huge fan of garlic but, it’s ☆fabulous☆ it’s marinating in my fridge right now to have with steak and eggs for breakfast in the morning thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it Jen!
Alice
I have made this recipe several times now and it never seizes to amaze me how delicious it is. Thank you for this great recipe
Happy to hear it Alice!
Betty Cornelisen
Can you can this sauce to have on hand or give as gifts?
Hayley
Hi Betty! We haven’t tried canning this ourselves, but don’t see why you couldn’t! If you try it, definitely let us know!
Lisa
This truly is the BEST chimichurri sauce I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a ton. Thank you for sharing this recipe and bringing such joy to my life and my tastebuds!!
I’m glad you liked it Lisa!
Laura
I served it with roasted salmon and potatoes….omg incredible. Looking forward to using up the rest of it. Super easy, nicely balanced flavors!
I’m glad you enjoyed Laura!
Ardyth Arnston
Oh my gosh! I saw this recipe somewhere and had to try it. My husband made it yesterday and we ate it with steak. It was so good i had some cold steak and chimichurri sauce! I loved it!!!!
So glad you liked it Ardyth. It’s really great with chicken too.
Sabrina
very nice sauce, thank you, and great tip about using on scrambled eggs, nice
Kathleen
Perfectly balanced, delicious chimichurri! Will make again.
leopoldo
Great Website … i wish i could follow all your recipes to good health … such a wonderful articles you got here … Best of luck & God bless!
Mia Dumont
Wonderful! Thank you! Can you tell me why I always get the same soup recipe when I get to your page?
laara kevin
Hello Amania There Everything is delicious Love to see the complete recipes. Try to make this chimichurri sauce with family next holiday.
Stacy
Great, fantastic recipe! The only problem I have is the introduction. I think you were looking for the phrase ” Yin and Yang” not “Ying Yang”… They mean two very different things. (Search it and Google will try to correct to Yin and Yang… choose the actual search term and it still wants to correct it. Scroll down to the Merriam Webster definition for a real…. eye opener”