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Chimichurri Sauce

July 9, 2024

Fresh, herby and brilliantly green, Argentina’s famous chimichurri sauce isn’t just good on steak. It’s good on everything! Our chimichurri sauce recipe is here to brighten up your every meal.

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chimichurri sauce made with shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar & red pepper flakes
Photography by Gayle McLeod

What Is Chimichurri?

Tangy, sharp flavors like vinegar, garlic and shallot liven up this irresistible fresh herb sauce that is: chimichurri! Chimichurri sauce is pesto-like herb sauce, and is a gift from Argentinian cuisine, where it’s served to dress up a simple, perfect grilled Chimichurri Steak.

Many chimichurri recipes call for cilantro, but we’ve opted to use the still-authentic, more crowd-pleasing parsley and oregano as our herbal base. Fresh garlic, vinegar, olive oil, chili flakes (for a hint of spicy goodness) and shallots bring it all together.

Buzzing with vibrant flavory, this easy chimichurri sauce recipe goes with so many things! Serve it as a dipping sauce with crudité or good bread, or over grilled fish, with Shrimp or even Chimichurri Meatballs!

Whip up a batch, and you’ll see how it has a magical way of making everything taste divine.

shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar & red pepper flakes in prep bowls

Chimichurri Ingredients

  • Fresh parsley

  • Fresh oregano

  • Shallot

  • Fresh garlic

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • Red wine vinegar

  • Red pepper flakes

  • Salt & pepper

shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt & pepper in a food processor

How To Make Chimichurri Sauce

  1. Pulse! Toss the shallot, parsley, oregano, garlic cloves, salt and black pepper into a food processor, and pulse—keyword PULSE!—just until you have a well-mixed, chunky paste, but stop blending the herbs before the herb-garlic mixture is pulverized. Chimichurri is a rustic sauce, and you want to be able to see all of its components.

  2. Stir. Now stir in the liquid—extra virgin oil, vinegar, and pepper flakes—to make the chimichurri herbal base into a sauce for dipping, marinating or drizzling over rare grilled steak.

  3. Serve! That’s it! You made chimichurri sauce from scratch!

shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt & pepper blended in a food processor

How To Store Leftover Sauce + Tips

  • Any leftover chimichurri sauce will last for a week in the fridge—although we don’t know how anyone manages not to eat it all in one sitting.

  • Can you freeze chimichurri? You can freeze chimichurri, which is something you may want to do if you’re making the chimichurri as a way to use up an onslaught of summertime herbs from the garden. Stored in an airtight container, it will keep in the freezer for at least a month.

  • Yes, chimichurri is healthy! Fresh herbs are generally extremely good for you, and the fresh parsley and fresh oregano in this chimichurri are loaded with health-supporting goodness, like antioxidants and they may even have anti-inflammatory properties. Same goes for fresh garlic and olive oil, too. Pass the chimichurri sauce, please!

chimichurri sauce made with shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar & red pepper flakes
chimichurri sauce made with shallot, herbs , salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar next to a bowl of red pepper flakes

Serving Ideas For Chimichurri Sauce

Fresh, tangy, garlicky homemade chimichurri sauce is a famous partner for steak, but you can use chimichurri sauce in many ways. The sky is really the limit. Try using your chimichurri as:

  • A marinade for chicken, or tofu

  • As a dipping sauce (it’s vegan! It’s dairy-free! it’s gluten-free!)

  • Or as a finishing sauce. Fresh chimichurri turns a simple dinner of grilled fish into a restaurant-worthy meal. Steak, pork, chicken, tofu, Grilled Halloumi — basically, you can pick your protein, and top it with chimichurri sauce. We’re particularly partial to this classic Chimichurri Steak Recipe, and we love serving it with Grilled Pork Tenderloin, too.

chimichurri sauce made with shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar & red pepper flakes

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Chimichurri Sauce

  • Yields: 1¼ cups
  • Prep Time:  5 min
  • Cook Time:  0 min

Ingredients

  • 1 small shallot, cut into wedges
  • ¾ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Method

  1. Add the shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until well combined, but still slightly chunky.

    shallot, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt & pepper blended in a food processor
  2. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Add the oil, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

    chimichurri sauce made with shallot, herbs , salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar next to a bowl of red pepper flakes

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories259
  • Protein1 g
  • Carbohydrates4 g
  • Total Fat27 g
  • Dietary Fiber1 g
  • Cholesterol0 mg
  • sodium288 mg
  • Total Sugars1 g

Chimichurri Sauce

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • ND

    When I have an abundance of parsley in the herb garden I make a large batch of chimichurra and freeze it in cubes for use later. It works thawed or dropped into stew or soup pot for a fresh taste.

    Nice!

  • Amy

    Have you tried freezing in cubes?

    We have not tried freezing this

  • Madeline

    I absolutely LOVE this recipe! It’s one of my staple meals. I’m curious though, I don’t have enough red wine vinegar at home could I sub it for white wine vinegar? Thanks so much!!

    This should work ok, hope you enjoy Madeline!

  • Jessica

    I have trouble finding fresh oregano where I live. Best suggestion for a sub? Just leave it out?

    Hi Jessica, you can use 1 tsp of dried oregano instead. Hope you enjoy it!

  • Marija

    I just made this and it is amazing! I had just one bottle of fantastic olive oil I brought back from Croatia and followed the recipe exactly and I'm sure this won't last long in my fridge.

    Thanks Marija, so happy you loved it! The olive oil sounds amazing!

  • Bec

    Until this recipe I always thought I hated parsley. Now I can’t get enough of this sauce. Sooo good!

    WOW! That's so awesome to hear, glad you love this Bec!

  • Amy

    Super yummy with the pork tenderloin and also on almost anything, including breakfast sandwiches - delicious!

    Thanks Amy, we are so glad you loved it!

  • Ameer

    This is the first time I made chimmichurri (for the Chimmichurri meatballs recipe on your page) and I was blown away! i didn't have an immersion blender or food processor on hand, so I just used a heavy-duty mortar and pestle to grind everything (minus the oil/vinegar), and it turned out incredibly. I'm making this for a dinner party this evening, and it's rapidly becoming one of my favorite recipes! Thank you!

    Thanks Amber, we are so glad you loved it so much! We are huge lovers of Chimichurri as well!

  • Doug

    Served this with meatballs, and it was excellent! Thank you.

    So glad you loved it Doug!