Chimichurri
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: None | Total Time: 30 minutes | Serves: 4
Recipe updated April 3, 2025.
If you’ve never tried Chimichurri, you’re in for a real treat! There is an overwhelming fresh taste from herbs, a little tang from vinegar, and it’s the perfect condiment for a juicy steak!
This sauce should be made with a mortar and pestle, but a food processor (“pesto-style”) with the blade attachment will work to mince the ingredients. If you’re tenacious, you could make this with a chef’s knife, finely mincing every bit. That’s a lot of elbow grease, but if you’re determined, go for it.
The traditional Argentinian way to create this super-condiment is pounding the herbs and aromatics in a mortar and pestle. Crushing and bruising all the ingredients together creates the most aromatic experience. It’s almost indescribable.
As I mentioned before, yes, you can use a food processor for this recipe, but let me tell you, and I’m not sure you’ll even believe me, but you WILL get better results using a mortar and pestle. The proof is in the aroma and flavor! Seriously! Pounding your herbs and vegetables (garlic, fresh chile pepper and shallot) will have a different aroma than your processor. The texture will be slightly different, too. Your choice… but I hope I’ve swayed you toward the mortar and pestle method.
I list the “leaves” of the parsley and cilantro, along with the tender stems, but I would cut off the hardy ones.
Some recipes use lemon juice for the acid. You can certainly use that as a taste preference instead of red wine vinegar. The vinegar suits my tastes well.
Other recipes use only parsley for the herbs in Chimichurri. You may come across some recipes that add mint. I love the balance of Italian parsley, cilantro and oregano. Play around with a variety of herbs and adjust as you’d like.
Chop your shallot, garlic, and chile into chunks about ¾ – 1” in size. Since you’re going to be pounding them into oblivion, you don’t need to mince them first.
Once you make this Chimichurri sauce, it just may become a staple in your home. So, turn on some pounding music (I personally love Disco!) and create this Argentinian condiment. Tag me on social media with pictures if you make this recipe; I’d love to see and hear from you!
Enjoy!
Chimichurri
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle, helpful, but not necessary
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, leaves and tender stems, packed
- 1/4 cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
- 1 small shallot, chopped, approx. 1/4 cup
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 Fresno chile, or other fresh red chile, seeded and chopped (approx. 1/4 cup)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup excellent-quality extra-virgin olive oil, see Notes
- Salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the oregano into the mortar and pestle. Pound and grind the herb until it becomes very aromatic.
- Add the parsley (in handfuls if needed) and pound and grind again. Add the cilantro and continue the process until the herbs are minced. There may be a few pieces of leaves or stems that didn’t get minced, but that is perfectly fine. Be sure to enjoy the smell with each addition of herbs.
- Add the shallot and continue to pound until into smaller pieces. Add the garlic and continue to pound/grind. Add the red chile and pound/grind it all together until the mixture is minced and super aromatic.
- Use a silicone spatula and scrape all that awesomeness into a small bowl.
- Add the vinegar and oil to the bowl and stir well. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as desired.
- Use immediately or you can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a week. The oil will solidify somewhat in the refrigerator, but stirring will help it loosen up. Allowing it to sit at room temperature for up to an hour will also allow the oil to liquify again.
- Serve over steak, sautéed or roasted veggies, fries, toasted baguette slices, fish, etc.
Looks like some great ingredient combinations.