Chimichurri: An Argentinian Sauce Packed with Flavor & Nutrients

Chimichurri. The word alone is fun to say, but what is chimichurri? It's an incredibly flavorful sauce that can also be used as a marinade.

What is an example of something that could benefit from being topped with this chimichurri recipe? Chimichurri steak is definitely at the top of the list. It can be anything from a grass-fed steak to a cauliflower steak.

This chimichurri sauce is made with fresh vegetables and herbs (the fresher the better) and is not cooked at all. With key ingredients like bell peppers, chili peppers, garlic, shallots and cilantro, you can just imagine how intense the flavor of this sauce will be. When you add chimichurri to any dish, it makes it that much more interesting, not to mention tasty!

What Is Chimichurri?

So you know it's flavorful, but exactly what is chimichurri sauce? Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce that originates in the South American country of Argentina. There are two ways of making chimichurri sauce. There is green (chimichurri verde) and red (chimichurri rojo).

Chimichurri is especially tasty when combined with beef. What does steak chimichurri taste like? Some consumers say that adding chimichurri "makes your steak taste like it was just dragged through the garden," in a good way of course. This chimichurri recipe is a great topping for chicken and fish, too. It also doubles as a delicious marinade.

Ingredients

So chimichurri can be made in two different styles: red or green. If you're looking for a cilantro chimichurri recipe, well both of these chimichurri recipes include health boosting cilantro. However, the red chimichurri recipe includes tomatoes while the green does not. The red version also includes smokey spices like chili powder and paprika while the green chimichurri contains cumin, but the red does not.

You really can't go wrong with either recipe because both recipes are packed with flavor, nutrients and antioxidants.

How to Make Chimichurri

Whether you choose to make my red or green chimichurri sauce recipe, how to make chimichurri sauce is really easy and not time consuming at all. You basically need to just chop up all of the ingredients and then toss them into a food processor. That's it! It doesn't get much simpler than that unless you use a store-bought chimichurri sauce.

But trust me when I tell you that this is the kind of sauce that you absolutely want to make yourself. Chimichurri sauce, like pico de gallo, is meant to made with super fresh ingredients to really experience chimichurri at its best — and at its most healthy.

Whether you're opting to make the red, green or both versions of my chimichurri recipe, the first thing you'll need to do is chop up all of your vegetables and fresh herbs.

If you're making the green chimichurri sauce, then you'll be chopping up the green pepper, chili pepper, shallots, garlic, parsley and cilantro.

Next, you'll add all of your chopped vegetables and herbs into the food processor.

Now add the dried herbs, spices and salt to the food processor followed by the olive oil and fresh lime juice.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until well combined. Now, you have some fresh green chimichurri sauce! Use it right away or put it into the refrigerator until you're ready to use it, which should be sooner than later to maintain the fresh factor.

If you're opting to make the red chimichurri recipe then you'll chop up all of your vegetables and herbs, which will include red pepper, red chili pepper, roma tomatoes, shallots, red onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro. Then you'll add in your dried herbs, spices, salt, olive oil, and fresh lime juice. Blend all ingredients in the food processor until well-combined.

Add chimichurri sauce as a topping for your favorite dish. You can also use it as a dip or marinade.

Other Flavorful Sauces

• Thai chili sauce
• Aioli
• Tzatziki sauce
• Hollandaise sauce
• Tartar sauce
• Ketchup
• Béarnaise sauce
• Enchilada sauce
• Romesco sauce