10 Minute Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce with Lime

Cilantro chimichurri sauce is made from tossing together delicious fresh herbs like cilantro and parsley with red wine vinegar, garlic, shallot and extra virgin olive oil. It has crushed red pepper flakes, lime juice and oregano for extra flavor with salt and pepper as the final seasoning. This recipe is the perfect condiment to serve with steak, meat veggies, and so much more!

This Argentinian sauce is THE condiment to serve with steak, meat veggies – you name it and cilantro chimichurri makes it better. It’s made from chopped fresh herbs that are mixed with olive oil and vinegar.

My mother-in-law has lived in Argentina for 20 years and we fell in love with chimichurri visiting her there! Cilantro is rarely used there though and is more of a Brazilian twist.

I’ve been making and testing this chimichurri sauce with cilantro about once a month for several years, normally paired with my smokey chimichurri rojo (a drool worthy red pepper and paprika based sauce). After testing more times than I can count, I finally nailed down how we like it best in this easy recipe.

Serve alongside a good steak, simple grilled veggies and my chimichurri rice. And don’t forget this fabulous chimichurri butter recipe for melting on top of steaks and veggies! Since the food processor is already in use, it barely takes any extra time at all to make all of these recipes for the same meal. I do the chimichurri first, then the chimichurri rice ingredients, then the butter last so you don’t need to clean it between each recipe.

Featured Review

Just made this for steaks that are going on the grill. Great flavor. I cheated and put all the ingredients in a food processor. Just pulsed enough to mix. It turned out perfect. Thank you!

– Linda

Ingredients

The overall truth for chimichurri is that fresh is best. There are varieties that use dried herbs but this isn’t one of them. You can get away with garlic powder in other recipes but really need to use fresh garlic and other ingredients here.

Here’s an image of everything you’ll need and you’ll find a full list of ingredients in the recipe card.

How to make cilantro chimichurri sauce

Since it’s an uncooked sauce, there are really just a few steps to making this delicious variation of cilantro chimichurri. You can improvise but this process truly makes the best chimichurri.

1. Chop the fresh herbs and red pepper and mince the garlic and shallot or red onion.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients: red wine vinegar, lime juice, oregano, salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes and stir.
   
3. Drizzle in olive oil, preferably while stirring. Adjust salt, pepper and spice to taste and enjoy! You can use a mini food processor to chop but for best results DO NOT pour the olive oil in and blend it. Remove all herbs from the bowl of the food processor to another medium bowl before drizzling in olive oil or the chimichurri won’t have the right traditional consistency. If the oil gets blended, the herbs will be too finely chopped and the oil will get frothy and weird. Still okay, just not as good as it is if you drizzle it in.

Storage and freezing

Refrigerator storage: Store leftover chimichurri in a mason jar or another airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before serving. This allows it to come to room temperature since the olive oil may solidify.

Chimichurri is preserved by having a layer of oil on top (see photo below). If your chimichurri does not have a thin layer of oil at the top of the jar, add a little more to the top before placing in the refrigerator. It will be at it’s freshest the first 24 hours and the flavors will mellow over the next week or so.

Freezing: Chimichurri can be frozen in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, remove and store frozen cubes in a tightly sealing freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Ways to use chimichurri

This simple sauce takes under 10 minutes to make and lasts so long (up to 3 weeks!) in the fridge. With it’s tart, zippy herbal flavor, this sauce is so versatile. Here are a few delicious ways you can use it:

• Serve with grilled meat like steak, chicken and veggies in the classic Argentine style
• Use as a marinade for meat before cooking. TIP: if you double the recipe, you can use half for the marinade and reserve half for a sauce to serve with it. You can also use it as a basting sauce while grilling!
• Eggs, hash browns, choizo sweet potato skillet, and other savory breakfasts
• Sandwiches mixed with mayonnaise or drizzled in on it’s own
• Tacos, enchiladas or other Mexican dishes
• It sounds odd together but it pairs with the umami flavors on these oven roasted portobellos
• Spoon it over rice bowls to give them more flavor
• Toss with pasta as a light flavorful sauce
• As an oil and vinegar alternative dip for crusty bread

Recipe

Recipe

5 from 2 ratings

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10 Minute Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce with Lime

Created by: Christy Gurin

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

12 Servings

Cilantro chimichurri sauce is made from tossing together delicious fresh herbs like cilantro and parsley with red wine vinegar, garlic, shallot and extra virgin olive oil. It has crushed red pepper flakes, lime juice and oregano for extra flavor with salt and pepper as the final seasoning. This recipe is the perfect condiment to serve with steak, meat veggies, and so much more!

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Equipment

• 1 Cutting board
• 1 Chef knife
• 1 Mini food processor Optional if you don't feel like chopping
• 1 Measuring cups and spoons set
• 1 Small bowl
• 1 Spoon

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (option: use food processor to chop)
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (option: use food processor to chop)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 medium cloves; has to be fresh, not pre-minced
• ▢ 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons minced shallot about 1 shallot
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 Tablespoons lime juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt I use Himalayan, taste and adjust salt to taste
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 – 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper optional if you want it spicy
• ▢ 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Add chopped cilantro, parsley, garlic, red pepper, red wine vinegar, lime juice, and oregano to a small bowl.
• Drizzle in olive oil, salt, pepper and chili pepper and stir well to mix in. Add more salt or crushed red pepper to your taste and preference.
• Serve chimichurri with steaks, meat, veggies, on eggs, or whatever way you can think of. Serve at room temperature and refrigerate if not using within 24 hours. If refrigerating, allow to come to room temperature and stir before using.

Notes

Using food processor for chopping: Can use a mini food processor to chop the herbs but don’t pour the olive oil in and blend it. Remove all herbs to another bowl before drizzling in olive oil or the chimichurri won’t have the right consistency.

Storage: Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Remove from refrigerator half hour before serving to allow it to come to room temperature since the olive oil may solidify.

Freezing: Chimichurri can be frozen in an ice cube tray and then once frozen, store frozen cubes in a tightly sealing freezer bag for up to 3 months. Remove as much of the air from the bag as possible to prevent freezer burn and make it last longer.

Substituting fresh oregano: if using fresh, add 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of fresh oregano total to taste.

Let it sit: Chimichurri is best if it is made half hour to 4 hours before serving to allow flavors to meld. Let it sit at room temperature and stir right before serving. 

Nutrition

Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 370IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.3mg

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