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.
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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Sarah
This is so good. I made it and marinated a flank steak in it overnight then served the remainder onto of the cooked steak. it was so good. I had a lot of parsley from my garden. So I froze another batch. We’ll see how it thaws when I want to make the steak again.
Awesome, and yes, let us know how it goes once it’s thawed!
Peggy Longshore
This was fresh and fantastic! What a game changer to our weekend grilling . Will definitely be making it again and double recipe . Thanks for sharing Heidi
So glad you liked it Peggy. I love the fresh taste it adds and cuts through the richness of grilled meats.
Lana
Delicious sauce, used it on steak! I will try on veggies! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed Lana!
Rochelle
Excellent recipe and easy to make in a food processor. I made this on Christmas Eve to serve with provoletta. It was delicious. I made the version with only parsley, added extra red onion and about 1/2 the salt. You should salt to taste. I look forward to experimenting with this recipe and trying it with cilantro too. I highly recommend it.
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?