The Best Chimichurri Recipe
What is Chimichurri sauce made of?
Chimichurri is one of the tastiest, easiest sauces/marinades to make. It can transform any dish from blah to amazing. There are so many varieties of chimichurri that even if you are missing a couple of items from this recipe, you can still Macgyver your way into creating your own variation. The only essential ingredients are parsley, garlic, oil and vinegar of any kind.
What do you eat Chimichurri with?
Chimichurri hails from Argentina, where it is used as table condiment in most homes. It is almost exclusively used on beef, however I have found. this is delicious on any protein and even on vegetables and potatoes.
What can you use instead of red wine vinegar in Chimichurri?
Traditional chimichurri has olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano, and garlic. In the years I have been making my easy chimichurri recipe, I have found that fresh oregano upsets my stomach and it is only available at the grocery store seasonally; as well as red wine vinegar provokes my mother’s acid reflux.
Obviously, this sauce tastes too good too give up, so I cut out the fresh oregano and opted for cilantro instead, and I tried various vinegars before settling on rice vinegar. Rice vinegar has a milder flavor and is slightly sweeter compared to red wine vinegar. If you prefer red wine vinegar the ratios for oil to vinegar shown below would remain the same.
Chimichurri Tips
I’ll be honest, I am not a huge fan of chopping everything by hand. When you are doing a large batch with more than one bunch of parsley or cilantro, it can get tiring if you don’t have your own Sioux chef. While chopping by hand gives you more control on the texture of your chimichurri, if you have a small food processor like the one listed below, it will save you a lot of time.
I would still recommend hand chopping the parsley, but mince your garlic in the food processor since that usually takes the longest.
PRO TIP: If you have a larger food processor, go ahead and add your parsley and cilantro together and pulse until you get your desired texture, remove the mixture, then add the garlic to the processor. By doing the garlic last, it will pick up any remaining bits of cilantro and parsley in the processor. This tip also applies to those hand chopping everything. You’re welcome!
Follow the links below to my favorite mini electric chopper (used for this recipe) and my favorite large food processor:
Cuisinart 14 Cup Food Processor
Best Chimichurri Recipe in 5 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of fresh flat leaf Italian Parsley
- 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro (if you hate cilantro – replace with more parsley and 2-3 sprigs of fresh oregano)
- Kosher salt
- Black peper
- Olive Oil
- Rice Vinegar
- Red pepper flakes
- 3 large cloves of fresh garlic – if you like it spicy add 1-2 more
Directions
- Start by chopping your parsley and cilantro – I like my chimichurri to have texture so I leave it coarsely chopped. If you are using a food processor, do this step first. Once you have reached your desired texture for the parsley and cilantro, remove the mixture and set aside in a bowl.
- Mince the 3 cloves of garlic – you can use more if you are making a larger batch. This step can be done in a small or large food processor. Once desired texture is reached, add this to the parsley/cilantro mixture.
- Add 3/4 cup of olive oil to the parsley and garlic mixture
- Add 1/4 of rice vinegar – if you like more bite/tang use red wine vinegar instead
- Add 1/2 tsp of fresh cracked black pepper
- Add kosher salt to taste -1/2 tsp should be good
- Add 1/2 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes
- Let the chimichurri rest for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the flavors to build. If you can allow for 1-2 hours, that is ideal!
- Taste – if you if it is too vinegary, simply add more olive oil and vice versa
- Add to flank steak, chicken, roasted/boiled potatoes, fish, and vegetables. Buen Provecho!
Storage Instructions
This chimichurri sauce will last in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. If I do not use it all by day 3-5, I will repurpose it as a marinade for my next protein. But my favorite way to use my chimichurri marinade, is as a sauce for roasted/boiled potatoes. Drool…. This makes the most delicious potatoes! Try it!
Let me know your thoughts/experiences with the recipe below!
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