This five-minute chimichurri sauce recipe is your ultimate flavor booster made in your blender! Add on top of your favorite meat and vegetables.
I have the ultimate SAUCEY solution to solve all of your cooking dilemmas. Do you ever wonder how you can take your meal to the next level? Or want to spruce up some fresh vegetables or a boring piece of meat and make each bite a little more enjoyable? Chimichurri sauce is your everyday dish flavor booster!
This delicious green sauce has all of the elements that will naturally make your taste buds dance. Plus, it’s done in 5 minutes or less, with no cooking. Yes, it’s as straightforward and quick as hitting a button and is ready in an instant.
It’s all about fresh ingredients combined with some intense aromatics and spices to make this sauce shine. I bet you already have most of these ingredients in your kitchen. Earthy ground cumin, red pepper flakes, tangy red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and a couple of cloves of fresh garlic. Now all you need to do is pick up one bunch of fresh cilantro and parsley.
Now we are ready to whirl! Check out all of those fresh and robust ingredients for the sauce! I add everything into my Vitamix blender except for the olive oil. I drizzle the oil in slowly once most of the sauce ingredients have broken down so I can create a smooth emulsion.
I love a gorgeous vibrant green sauce! It makes everything you put it on look more appetizing and fresh. There is a lot of great things happening in the flavor department for this sauce.
It is fresh and herbaceous from the cilantro and parsley, a little hint of spicy from the red chili peppers, and the savory flavors from the garlic and cumin are an excellent balance. The surprising flavor is just the right amount of tanginess from the red wine vinegar. The olive oil makes the sauce smooth and creamy.
A few ideas for this sauce is to top on barbecued meats like the classic pairing of grilled flat iron steak, chicken, or even some sauteed shrimp. This chimichurri sauce would also be excellent as a dip for fresh raw vegetables as a healthy appetizer, or oven on some mahi mahi tacos. The bottom line. Put it on everything and anything!
How does the chimichurri sauce get so smooth and creamy?
Two things make this sauce so luscious yet healthy. The first being mechanical shear of the blades working diligently to break down all of the ingredients into tiny particles. The other factor is creating an emulsion with the oil and vinegar. This is when two immiscible ingredients combine together to create a consistent and smooth mixture like a sauce. The oil droplets are broken down in the running blender as you slowly add it in. While it’s dispersing a temporary emulsion is created. That’s why the sauce looks all one color and a creamy texture. Bingo!
Five Minute Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, firmly packed
- 1 cup Italian parsley leaves, firmly packed
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin, ground
- ½ teaspoon red pepper, crushed
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add all ingredients in a blender or food processor, except for the olive oil.
- Blend for 20 seconds to break down the leaves.
- Slowly add ½ cup of the olive oil in the opening of the lid in a thin steady stream while the machine is running, until smooth and slightly thickened.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve on your favorite meat or vegetables.
Equipment
Notes
- This sauce can be made and store in an airtight container up to one day before serving.
Want to save this recipe?
Create an account easily save your favorite content, so you never forget a recipe again.
Tried this recipe?
Tag @jessica_gavin on Instagram. I'd love to see how it turns out!
brita says
YUM!!! I’ve never tried making this at home. I honestly didn’t realize how incredibly simple it is!
Jessica Gavin says
This recipe is so speedy and I love how I can just add everything to the blender and go! I hope you enjoy it Brita 🙂
Scarlett says
Woe is me! What can I do, I am honestly one of those people who can’t abide cilantro? How could I adjust this recipe to achieve a reasonable facsimile? Or…is it hopeless?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Scarlett! It’s okay if you don’t like cilantro, I know some friends who either love it of hate it 🙂 You can use more parsley (1:1) to replace the cilantro. Let me know if you have any questions 🙂
Greg Fly says
Wow, that looks great! I love the addition of cumin, I think that’s what I’ve been missing from mine, probably time to try another batch!
Larry says
How long will it keep, refrigerated, frozen ?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Larry- It will keep for 1 day refrigerated in an airtight container. I haven’t tried freezing it before.
Tania Gorgius says
I’m so happy to have come across this recipe. The sauce turned out AMAZING! I’ll be referring to this in the future! Can’t wait to explore and feature more of your recipes!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you, Tania! Happy cooking!
Margarita says
Love this recipe ♥️ .., came out fantastic! Thank you so much!!!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback, Margarita!
Sara Randolph says
Just wondering if regular parsley can be used in place of Italian parsley?
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, you can use curly parsley or any type of flat-leaf parsley.
Oleg says
Tried to make this sauce, went well. Maybe not enough cilantro / parsley and could taste vinegar a bit. But overall seems like a good result. Sadly I haven’t tried it before, so I do not know how it should taste 😉
Had trouble grounding the cumin. Initially I tried using mortar and pestle without heating cumin on a pan and it didn’t work out.
Here is the picture of my result:
https://imgur.com/RFtbDLE
Thank you!
Jessica Gavin says
The sauce looks great Oleg! Does your local store sell ground cumin?