This tasty Cilantro Chimichurri sauce features a flavorful blend of cilantro, scallions, oregano, and jalapeño in a versatile sauce that is great as a topping, marinade, or dressing!
I can’t keep my favorite “secret sauce” secret for long, so it’s about time I shared my infamous cilantro chimichurri sauce with y’all!
It’s downright legendary and transforms every dish it touches by adding the most beautiful vibrant texture and color plus, more importantly, FLAVOR!
Whether you use it as a sauce, marinade, or dressing (I’m a fan of all three!) it’s sure to take your recipes to the next level.
It’s also keeps marvelously in the fridge so feel free to meal prep a batch to enjoy all week long.
Chimichurri Ingredients
- Fresh Cilantro
- Green Onion (scallions)
- Minced Jalapeño (totally optional)
- Avocado Oil and/or Olive Oil
- Fresh Minced Garlic
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Dried Oregano Leaves
- Salt + Pepper
The addition of fresh jalapeño serrano pepper in this sauce is 100% optional. The rest of the ingredients, however, all play a pretty key role in the sauce and would absolutely be missed if left out.
When it comes to the oil you can use either avocado oil, olive oil, or a combination of both like I did. I love the mild butteriness of the avocado oil and the color of the olive oil together.
For the vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar could be used in place of red wine vinegar.
Tasty Uses for Cilantro Chimichurri
- sauce for chicken, steak, fish, shrimp
- as a tasty salad dressing
- drizzled over grilled or roasted vegetables
- as a marinade for protein or veggies
- topping for soft tacos (fish tacos or steak tacos)
I adore chimichurri every which way. Some recent favorites have been as a salad dressing for my Chimichurri Chickpea Salad, on my Spicy Sriracha Shrimp Tacos, and drizzled over the most delish Chimichurri Cauliflower Steaks.
There’s a local Latin restaurant here in Texas that has the most delicious Salmon Chimichurri Salad. In the two dozen or so times I’ve been to Gloria’s, I’ve ordered nothing but that salad. It’s just so good that I can’t imagine ordering anything else.
Their cilantro chimichurri dressing is crazy flavorful and totally inspired this recipe which is a tasty adaptation of both the restaurant’s sauce and the delish Ecuadorian Chimichurri from Layla at Laylita’s Recipes.
Once I get a chance to whip up the salad at home I’ll for sure share the recipe here! It’s gloriously simple and super healthy too!
Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
This recipe yields about a cup and a half of gorgeous green sauce or about 12 servings of 2 TBSP per serving.
You can cut the recipe in half if needed or go ahead and make the full batch knowing you’ll be spooning it over everything in sight!
Store leftover chimichurri sauce an airtight jar or container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. When you’re ready to dive back in, simply bring the sauce back to room temperature and get ready to faceplant!
Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro approx 1 bunch chopped + packed
- ⅔ cup fresh chopped scallions aka green onion – white + green parts
- 1 jalapeño
- 4 fresh garlic cloves (must be fresh – no jars)
- ½ cup avocado oil
- ¼-½ cup olive oil to taste
- 1 lime yielding approx. 2 TBSP juice
- 1-2 TBSP red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp coarse kosher salt
- ½-¾ tsp dried oregano leaves
- ¼-½ tsp black pepper or season to taste
Instructions
- Quick note before you begin: I like using a combination of avocado oil and olive oil for color and flavor. It's so good this way! Feel free to use just one oil if needed. You can also use more or less oil depending on preference or intended use for the sauce. I added 1 cup of oil to my chimichurri since I like to use it as a topping, dressing, and marinade.
- Wash and dry a portioned "bunch" of cilantro and remove the bottom 2-3 inches of the stems. Finely chop. Bunches of cilantro vary in size so to help with measuring, you will need 1 packed cup of cilantro. Mostly leaves with the smaller portions of stems left on for easy chopping.
- Remove the root portion of the green onions (scallions) and thinly slice/chop. Add to a medium-large bowl along with the cilantro.
- Remove the stem then scoop out the seeds/insides from the jalapeño using a spoon. Finely mince and add to the bowl.
- Smash, peel, and finely mince garlic. 3-4 cloves is ideal here and fresh garlic is a must. Feel free to add any additional garlic to taste after the chimichurri has had some time to sit and meld it's flavors.
- To your bowl add the minced garlic, avocado oil, olive oil, freshly squeezed lime juice, and red wine vinegar.
- Season by adding salt, dried oregano leaves, and pepper.
- Mix well and allow sauce to sit for 20 minutes before serving to help the flavors mingle. You can even make this sauce in advance and let it chill in the fridge overnight before using.
- Store chimichurri sauce in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. When you're ready to dive back in, simply bring it back to room temperature and get ready to faceplant!
Notes
- topping/sauce for chicken, steak, fish, shrimp
- as a tasty salad dressing
- drizzled over grilled or roasted vegetables
- as a marinade for protein or veggies
- topping for tacos (fish, steak, shrimp)
Nutrition
If you get a chance to try this tasty cilantro chimichurri sauce, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
I absolutely LOVE this sauce! I pretty much use it on everything savoury.
It really is good on nearly everything! We marinated shrimp in it the other day for tacos and they were so good!
I know a lot of people don’t like cilantro, but I adore it. To me, it has a citrusy flavor. Anyway, I love this sauce and eat it with so many different dishes!
I love it too! Thanks Renee!