Easy Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce

Cilantro chimichurri sauce is an incredibly flavorful recipe that’s ready in under 10 minutes! Made with fresh cilantro, parsley, oregano, and mint, it’s bursting with fresh tastes and goes well with veggies, fish, chicken, and steak.

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Do you have an overflowing herb garden at the moment? Even if you don’t, it’s peak season for fresh herbs right now, so you’re probably seeing recipes that highlight herbs (like this cilantro chimichurri) all over the place.

This recipe is FULL of summer’s best aromatics, especially cilantro, as the name suggests, but I also added a few of my other favorites in there. If you’re not familiar with chimichurri, it’s a sauce that’s commonly used in Mexican and South American cuisine. In addition to herbs, it usually has garlic, oil, vinegar, and red pepper flakes.

As you can imagine, the flavor of chimichurri is INCREDIBLE! So fresh, so complex, yet so easy to make. With the help of a food processor, you can whip up cilantro chimichurri in almost no time. Even if you don’t have a food processor and chop the herbs by hand, it’s still a fast recipe.

After you make this flavor-loaded sauce, you can use it on grilled or roasted veggies (like my Grilled Sweet Corn with Cilantro Chimichurri), add it to eggs, drizzle it over tacos or bowls, or use it as a marinade for steak or chicken. With so much versatility, there is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t make this recipe ASAP! You need to try chimichurri to see just how flavorful it is.

How to Make Cilantro Chimichurri

1. Add the herbs and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can chop the herbs with a chef’s knife.
2. Add the liquid (olive oil and red wine vinegar), salt, and red pepper flakes to the food processor. Pulse until blended. Taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.

Wait, that’s it?!!!! Told you it was easy!

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Expert Tips

• Feel free to mix up the herb combinations. Cilantro chimichurri is obviously heavy on the cilantro, but if you don’t have that much on hand, or if you want to use more of another herb instead, go for it. The recipe has a total of 1.5 cups of herbs, which can be broken down into whatever amounts of certain herbs you want. I recommend always using some cilantro and parsley, though.
• To prevent a bitter taste, stir in the olive oil by hand instead of pulsing it in the food processor. The first few times I made chimichurri, I did not have any issue blending the olive oil with the rest of the ingredients. However, one time my chimichurri was bitter, which could have been caused by pulsing the olive oil. If you want to avoid this possibility, only use the food processor to chop the herbs and garlic, then mix in the olive oil with a spatula afterwards.
• For whatever reason, my food processor does not chop up garlic cloves that well. I like to mince the garlic or run it through a garlic press before adding it to the food processor for best results.
• Instead of red wine vinegar, you can use another acid, such as lime or lemon juice.

How long can you keep chimichurri in the refigerator?

Cilantro chimichurri will last in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight container. Be sure to give it a good stir before using, and always smell it to ensure that it has not gone bad.

More Condiment Recipes

• Mint Basil Pesto
• Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Fresh Herbs
• Healthy Creamy Jalapeno Sauce
• Canned San Marzano Tomato Sauce
• The Best Avocado Spread with Garlic
• Honey Jalapeno Lime Dressing

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📖 Recipe

Enjoy! – Lizzie