Chimichurri Recipe (VIDEO)
This traditional Chimichurri recipe is so fresh, vibrant, and loaded with parsley, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. It is excellent as a topping for Grilled Steak, Chimichurri Chicken, vegetables, shrimp, and just about anything.
It requires just a few simple ingredients and 5 minutes to make Chimichurri sauce, but the way you prepare the ingredients is key. We’re sharing all of our secrets to make the best, authentic chimichurri sauce. Watch the easy video tutorial and you’ll see just how easy it is.

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What is Chimichurri Sauce?
Chimichurri is a sauce made with fresh parsley, garlic, some acidity (usually red wine vinegar), and olive oil. We also add oregano and crushed red pepper which is considered optional but they definitely elevate this sauce. It is essentially the Argentinian version of a pesto sauce. Authentic Chimichurri originates from Uruguay and Argentina and there are endless variations of chimichurri.
Chimichurri Recipe Video
Watch Natasha make this easy Chimichurri recipe, then grab the ingredients below and make this sauce. You’ll fall in love with the flavors here and it will elevate your grilling recipes.
Chimichurri Ingredients
- Parsley – you’ll need 1 cup of finely chopped parsley which is about 1 medium bunch of parsley.
- Garlic – adds tons of punchy flavor. Do not skimp on the garlic.
- Extra virgin olive oil – use high-quality olive oil with tons of flavor since this sauce is not cooked.
- Red wine vinegar – adds acidity and helps to tame the fresh garlic flavor.
- Oregano – you can add this fresh or dried.
- Salt – we use fine sea salt in 99% of our cooking.
- Black pepper – freshly ground is best.
- Red pepper flakes – adds a touch of heat and spice to the sauce

How to Make Chimichurri
- Finely chop parsley leaves, and mince fresh garlic clove. Add both to a small bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients: oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes then stir to combine.
- Marinate – Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Tips for the Best Chimichurri
Here is our best advice for making a more authentic and traditional chimichurri sauce. Even if you’re chopping up the parsley and garlic by hand, it literally takes 5 minutes.
- Chop by Hand – For the best flavor and texture in chimichurri, you’ll want to chop through the leaves without crushing them in a food processor.
- Use Fresh Garlic – fresh cloves of garlic will give the chimichurri sauce the spicy kick that you expect in chimichurri. The garlic will really shine after resting at least 2 hours. Mince freshly peeled garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Let it Marinate – the sauce will taste best if you let it rest for at least 2 hours or even overnight. The flavors will meld and the garlic will infuse the oil.

Common Questions
You will need 1 bunch of fresh parsley, large stems removed, and finely chopped. Make sure to finely chop the parsley and not use the food processor.
You can substitute with white wine vinegar or lemon juice.
If you want to use cilantro, try using equal amounts (1/2 cup each) of cilantro and parsley.
The fresh garlic and red pepper flakes in this recipe are what make chimichurri seem spicy. If you prefer a milder chimichurri, omit the red pepper flakes.
For authentic chimichurri, we do not recommend using a food processor. It is more likely to crush or bruise your parsley whereas chopping by hand with a sharp knife will produce cleaner cuts through the herbs.

Make-Ahead Tips
Not only is this an easy sauce to make, but you will also love that chimichurri keeps really well in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Refrigerate – place in a mason jar or tupperware, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 week.
- To Freeze – you can put chimichurri sauce in ice cube trays and freeze for up to 3 months. Once the cubes are frozen, you can transfer them to freezer-safe zip bags. Thaw before serving.
- To Serve – The oil can solidify in the refrigerator. If that happens, bring chimichurri to room temperature before serving.

How to Serve Chimichurri
This is one of the most versatile sauces and here are our favorite ways to serve it. I’d love to know how you serve this Chimichurri Sauce in the comments below.
- Steak – Add sauce over sliced Carne Asada, or Pan-Seared Steak.
- Chicken – Chimichurri Chicken will become your new favorite.
- Salmon – brush over Grilled Salmon and even Grilled Shrimp.
- Pork – top Grilled Pork Chops with sauce
- Potatoes – Drizzle over Roasted Potatoes or Boiled Potatoes.
- Vegetables – spoon over grilled vegetables or roasted vegetables.
Easy Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley, (from 1 bunch parsley)
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano, or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Finely chop parsley and garlic cloves with a knife (do not use a food processor) and transfer to a bowl.
- Add remaining chimichurri ingredients and stir to combine.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight before serving. Store chimichurri for up to one week in the refrigerator.
So many pop-ups I can barely see the recipe very frustrating
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Way too many advertisements and pop ups on this page!
I wanted the recipe not all the other interferences
Went on to another site
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i don’t have red wine vinegar, can i substitute apple cider vinegar
Hi Peg! That would be fine. I hope you love the recipe.
Hi, I could have sworn that this recipe had soy sauce in it? Now it’s red wine vinegar. Am I mistaken?
Hi Ashley, we updated the recipe to make it more authentic. The best way to look at old versions of a recipe is to go to this site and paste the url of the recipe in the search bar. I hope that helps!
Very very bland. Needs more flavor, even though it’s “easy” should be good.
Natasha, don’t know what I’d do without you. When it comes to cooking I have no imagination. Only for your recipes I’d be living on hamburger and hotdogs!. I’ve learned so much from you and have tried so many of your recipies. All delicious. Keep up the good work. Always your best fan.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Fran. I’m all smiles reading your lovely comment!
The ingredients look differently on your previous recipe that you had for the chimichurri
Just wondering if I would be able to freeze this for using in a marinade? Thank you 😊
Hi Linda! Yes, see my recipe note for instructions on freezing.
Thanks, I’ve recently been seeking for details about this topic for ages and yours is the best I have located so far.
You’re very welcome! 🙂
Would water bath canning change the texture since it will “cook” for 10 mins or so?
Hi Lisa, I have not tested this to advise but I assume it would. You might check online to see if anyone has developed a good method for this.
Oil and garlic sauces should not be home canned, there is a possibility of botulism which can survive home canning. Don’t risk it.
I got your cookbook from the library and the print was very, very light and in turn hard to read. Don’t know if this was just a group of books printed at one time as I love your recipes but the cookbook was difficult to read.
Hi Mick, what cookbook are you referring to? I don’t have a cookbook for sale yet, I am still working on it.
So easy and quick to make! Had some on my steak last night and loved it.
Good to know that you enjoyed this with your steak! Sounds delicious.
Hi Natasha, love the recipe but I had to make it twice. I always use the metric measurements. The US version calls for 1/2 tsp of salt, the metric version calls for 1 TBSP of salt. Needless to say I had do a redo. You might want to fix that. Thank you so much for all your recipes, you are my go to first on anything new I want to try.
Hi Diane! So glad you enjoy my recipes. Thank you for letting me know, I have fixed the error. 🙂
My husband is from Uruguay and we make often. We add a little fresh basil and lemon juice. So delicious to just dip a good bread and enjoy too.
Good to know that you also make this too!
This is an authentic recipe and delicious. I’ve been making one from Uruguay for several years that is similar to Natasha’s, but it includes minced red, orange, or yellow peppers, whose colors really pop against the parley’s green.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, John!
Just back from the store with the ingredients I didn’t have.
Whipped it out in no time. Smells OMG ! yummy.
Can’t wait to try it tomorrow.
I hope you LOVE it Roger!
Do you have a peppercorn recipe sauce? I try chimichurri sauce
No, I do not have a recipe for this, but thank you for the suggestion. 🙂
I made this sauce for some shrimp I was making for a party and everybody loved it. It was gone so fast I never had the chance to get any.
It sounds like you need a double batch next time! Thank you for sharing your great review, Kristen!
When I try to print the recipe, the sauce is totally different than your instructions. It shows parsley, garlic, lemon juice, soy sauce and olive oil?
Hi Donna, I just tried to print it from two different devices, and the correct ingredients & measurements were printed. I recommend clearing your cache and cookies and restarting before trying again. I hope it works out!
Umm… so I had this with a steak at our favorite restaurant and I didn’t know I could make it at home, until I saw this recipe. I made it and it was absolutely fantastic! Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jessica!
This is an amazing recipe, I had it with salmon, just heavenly,
I love your recipes they are so simple and tasty. Thank you.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Connie! Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
This is the REAL, traditional Chimichurri recipe. Thank you!!
You’re welcome! I hope you love it!
this is the best chimichurri I have found! thank you for sharing this recipe
You’re welcome, Jess! I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi Natasha,
Would you recommend flat leaf or curly leaf parsley for this.
Thanks.
Hi Greg, I have an image of the parsley we used in the recipe. We used flat parsley for this sauce. I hope you love it!
Hi Natasha, for how long it’s good on the fridge? Thank you
You can leave it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks! We haven’t had it last more than a week.
Question – I made this about an hour ago and followed the directions exactly, does it take awhile for it to look more liquidy?
Hi Michelle, it depends on how finely you chopped your cilantro, but it doesn’t ever become very liquidy unless you add more olive oil. Chimichurri sauce has some texture in it.
Thank you for getting back to me. I used parsley like the recipe said, is that not correct? I chopped it up pretty well just got nervous when it didn’t look like yours ,but it still has time 😆
I thought the recipe called for parsley. Can I use cilantro as mentioned above?
Hi Gayle, that was my mistake, I meant parsley, but I imagine cilantro may work here, it will change the flavor profile a bit.
Thank you for sharing Natasha that recipe. I have tried that in Sydney in 2018 and I was looking for a home recipe for chimichurri since quite a while to no avail. Beautiful as always! Mouth- watering as always your recipes are. Thanks a million.
Hi Kia, you are very welcome. It is my pleasure to share this recipe and I hope this becomes your favorite!
my friend from uruguay makes the best chimichuri in the world. adds more garlic cloves than yours and ads a oregano. one more secret ingredient that she wont tell me what it is.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! We sure do like garlic around here!
I didn’t know the simple recipe cant create such a flavoury taste. It has become must have item in our fridge now 😋😋😋. Love it. Thank you
So wonderful to read your comments and feedback. I hope you love every recipe that you will try!
I made this a little differently. I replaced the parsley with purslane. Purslane is very high in omega 3s (rivaling flaxseed)and the taste was amazing. Purslane is very easy to grow, btw.
Hello Pamela, so great to know that the substitute that you used worked well too! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Which country do you live in? In England I haven’t heard of this veggie I’m wondering if I will be able to find it here…
Best,
Thanks for sharing,
Kia
Looking forward to making this! I noticed, though, you mentioned to make it a bit spicier, add 1/4 cup red pepper flakes. This must be a typo!!! 1/4 cup sounds like the entire jar (if you buy it in those little spice jars. I use a couple teaspoons when I want to spice something; 1/4 cup is a shocking amount. Am I missing something here?
Oh my goodness that was a typo for sure (laughing at myself), it’s definitely 1/4 tsp. I have updated the recipe and thank you for pointing that out.
This looks GREAT but I’d like to can this and keep for later. Will it last in pressurized jars?
Hi Dan, I have only served this fresh or refrigerated but haven’t tried preserving it for longer. You might check online to see if anyone has developed a tutorial for canning chimichurri sauce.
How long does it last after making.
You can leave it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks! We haven’t had it last more than a week.
Hola Samantha in Uruguay where I lived years ago they always serve it with anything,It is very nice
That’s so great!
How long can you keep it in a mason jar?
Hi Marie, you can leave it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks! We haven’t had it last more than a week. It goes quick in our house!
This over chicken, is the absolute best!! I love the flavor! It’s hard to eat meat, without it!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I LOVE how easy and delicious this is!! I can’t wait to try it!
I hope you love this recipe Katerina!
Made this to put on steak and it was amazing! Added so much flavor.
Hi Heather, I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing your great review.