Easy Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

If you love straightforward, no-fuss, simple recipes, then you’ll definitely want to try out Chimichurri sauce. It’s a versatile recipe that can become a staple in your kitchen.

Chimichurri sauce is a zesty herb and vinegar dressing commonly used in Latin American cooking. Made with a mix of parsley, garlic, red onion, and vinegar, it’s great for enhancing the flavor of barbeque, seafood, and vegetable dishes.

Check out our blog post for an easy way to whip up some chimichurri! And if you’re into that, be sure to browse through our range of other awesome sauce and barbeque grilling recipes too!

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Table of Contents

Introduction to Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri is an herb and vinegar-based condiment of Argentina and Uruguay.

The combination of fresh herbs and acidic vinegar creates a bold flavor. The little flecks of red pepper amidst vibrant green herbs is not only visually stunning, but also produces an incredible aroma.

Chimichurri sauce is mainly used to serve with grilled meats, including steak, sausages, and seafood. If you’re vegetarian, it will taste great on grilled vegetables. Our favorite is with grilled salmon!

There are many variations of the sauce throughout Latin America (and the internet), but its main ingredient is parsley.

Ingredients vary from the use of other herbs like oregano, mint, or cilantro, as well as the use of different amounts of garlic, onion, and peppers.

There are many stories about the origin of chimichurri – some say it was named after an Irish soldier (Jimmy McCurry) in Latin America, others say it came from Basque settlers who used the term tximitxurri (interpreted as “a mix of things in no special order”).

Another theory is that gaucho’s created it to flavor their grilled meats.

How to Prepare Chimichurri

Chimmichurri is made simply by finely chopping your herbs and aromatics, then combining them with vinegar, olive oil, and seasonings.

It’s hard to say what the right amount or wrong amount an ingredient is, because this sauce is very much based on personal taste.

Our recipe provides a great starting place for your homemade chimichurri sauce, so you can follow this recipe and then adjust the final taste to your own liking.

For example, if you love garlic, go ahead and add another clove or two to this recipe. If you like it spicy, add more chili peppers.

You can also play with the acid element in chimichurri by trying out different vinegars.

We chose to use apple cider vinegar instead of the commonly used red wine vinegar, because we thought the mild flavor and fruitiness would be very tasty in this recipe!

Ways to Use Chimichurri in Your Cooking

The advantage of chimichurri sauce is that it is highly versatile for cooking. Here are several ways to use homemade chimichurri sauce:

• garnish on top of grilled vegetables, poultry, beef, seafood, fried eggs, etc.
• spread it on toasts and breads
• use it as a dipping sauce along with bbq meat or veggie skewers
• use chimichurri sauce as an overnight marinade for meats

As you can see, there are so many ways to use this incredible sauce! If you have a favorite use for chimichurri, please share it with us in the comments!

Ingredients

• ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional, to taste

Recipe

1. In a mixing bowl, combine parsley, onion, garlic, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. Mix well. See Note 1.
2. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Note 1. To save time, you can skip chopping the ingredients and add everything into a food processor. This will also result in a finer, more uniformly textured chimichurri sauce.

To Puree or Not to Puree?

We have seen a lot of modern recipes use a food processor to puree the chimichurri sauce. It raises the question of “Should I puree my chimichurri sauce?”

The honest answer is that it is up to you. There are advantages and disadvantages which you should consider.

Food processing makes preparing chimichurri sauce very quick and with less effort. On the other hand, hand-chopping ingredients can be very time consuming.

We also personally prefer skipping the processor, because we felt that the texture of finely chopped herbs in a shallow bath of olive oil and vinegar is a much more interesting textural experience than a more uniform sauce.

That being said, you can decide whether or not you want to food process it.

Final Thoughts

Chimichurri sauce is a versatile condiment to add to your kitchen arsenal. It’s easy to remember, requires no cooking, and has ingredients that are very common in the household. Enjoy the full-bodied flavor of fresh herbs and take full advantage of its flexibility of use!

Browse more of our sauce recipes and easy recipes like Tamarind Steak Sauce!

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References & Further Reading

https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/argentina/articles/a-brief-history-of-chimichurri-argentinas-favorite-sauce/

https://www.sfgate.com/recipes/article/The-mysterious-origins-of-chimichurri-3923432.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichurri