Chimichurri - The Summer Sauce That Prevents Waste And Makes Everything Taste Better

Herby, fresh and ready in 5 minutes

I’ve posted this in the past with other things, but this sauce is so good and so easy, it needs the limelight rather than being buried in a post about something else.

Chimichurri is Better than Compost

For years, when I have sad-looking remnants of green onions (aka Scallions) and only the stems left of cilantro, I make a batch of Chimichurri. Why? It’s delicious and keeps me from throwing out those bits and pieces, no shade to composting, it’s a good thing, but chimichurri is immediate gratification and delicious. And although it’s fine to use dried oregano, my oregano is prolific in the summer so it’s another way to use up herbs from my tiny patio garden.

Here’s the full ingredient list:

• Oregano - dried or fresh

• Fresh Garlic

• Cilantro - stems and leaves

• Green Onions - white and green parts

• Red Pepper Flakes

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Vinegar - I like to use Sherry but you can use red or white wine vinegar

• Sea Salt

5 Minutes to Dinner Time Bliss

This sauce takes literally 5 minutes or less to make and you can use it on anything from boiled potatoes to grilled meat or fish and it will taste amazing. It’s also an instant salad dressing or marinade for chicken, pork or beef. I mean, you can marinate fish in it, but the vinegar will start cooking the fish so it’s better to cook it then serve the Chimi on top (see photo below.)

Two Methods (#1 could be considered active meditation)

While I prefer method #2 for the speed, if you’ve got the ingredients but you don’t have a blender, turn on some soothing music and get to chopping using method #1. It truly is a meditative experience if you let it be.

1. The Knife Method - Very finely chop the cilantro, garlic, green onions and oregano (if using fresh) using either a sharp chef’s knife and cutting board or one of those curved herb choppers. Personally, I steer clear of gadgets and single-use tools, but if you like them, use them. I’ve only done this a couple of times and while meditative, it takes awhile! Once you chop everything, stir in red pepper flakes, EVOO, vinegar and salt.

2. The Blender Method - This is my preferred method. I just layer everything in my Nutribullet blender and pulse several times until all the herbs are finely chopped and it’s blended together somewhat. It’s going to separate no matter what you do, so it doesn’t have to be blended to oblivion. Super quick method.

Shop the Post

Whether you like the meditative Knife Method or the extremely quick blender method, here are my favorite tools for prepping the herbs and sauce plus my recs for kabob skewers.

• 8″ Chef’s Knife – IKEA no longer makes the knife that I love, but this one has amazing reviews and if you’ve ever watched Babish on YouTube, he knows his stuff.

• Knife set (8” chef’s, 3.5 paring and serrated knife for bread and tomatoes) – Same brand as above but entire set is under $70. I couldn’t find the Babish 3.5 paring knife by itself, but I do recommend having a good paring knife.

• Knife sharpener – While it’s good to have knives professionally sharpened at least once a year or so, this is a good once a week or “as needed” sharpener.

• Mezzaluna Herb Chopper - The curved blade can be used to rock over herbs if you choose to hand chop. It’s also a good pizza cutter.

• Heavy bamboo cutting board with an edge for liquids 18×12, 20×14, 24×18  – I use the 18×12 because like it to be large enough I can do all my meal prep without having a bunch of little bowls sitting around. The other two are even bigger. They make great charcuterie boards. Bamboo is naturally antibacterial.

• Nutribullet Blender Combo –I use this for making very smooth sauces, smoothies and nut butters. You can also find this at Costco many times for a lot less.

• Mini Chopper – This is the Cuisinart that I have but in chrome. It is the best value of the higher end models, but here are a couple of alternatives that are less expensive. Both get good reviews, but are smaller. I haven’t tried either.

  • Toastmaster

  • Black and Decker

• Metal Skewers - You will need 4-6 metal skewers to make kabobs. If you want to get fancy you can get these metal skewers instead which join three skewers together and have a handy pusher to remove kabob ingredients.

• Wooden Skewers - If for any reason you don’t want to use metal, you can use wooden skewers instead. They just have to be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before using to avoid flaming.

Notes:

• Make Ahead – Chimichurri can be made anytime you have the ingredients hanging around. It’s good in your fridge for up to a week or you can freeze in smaller portions for up to a year.

• Cilantro Sub – You can use parsley stems in place of cilantro if you don’t like cilantro, or if you have both, you can use a mixture.

• Using up Leftovers – Use Chimichurri as a salad dressing and serve on a bed of greens. Add some boiled or if you like.

• Paleo/Keto/Whole30 – No changes necessary.

Chimichurri Sauce PDF