My Chimichurri Sauce Recipe | An Easy Way to Spice Up Dinner

Take it from one who knows. Finding and keeping your motivation to cook in the empty nest can be challenging! At the end of the day, sometimes it just seems easy to go out, order in, or go with a meal kit service like Hello Fresh.

Now maybe some of you have become foodies during your empty nester years. Maybe you’re all into cooking shows, or you read cookbooks for fun. I’m here to tell you, I’m just not that girl!

So if you’re like me, and you’re always looking for a new, simple way to motivate you to actually make a meal, I’m here to help today! I’m sharing my Chimichurri Sauce recipe. It’s healthy and it will spice up any kind of grilled meat you can think of. (But I like it on chicken or flank steak the best!) So let’s get cooking (or actually food processing, to be more accurate)!

What is Chimichurri Sauce?

Chimichurri is pronounced chee-mee-CHOO-ree, which might just be the most fabulous word to say! 😂 You can go ahead and roll those Rs, because it originated in Argentina! It is typically made with parsley, minced garlic, oregano, and white vinegar. Later, Uruguay added red pepper flakes for an additional kick. 

My Chimichurri sauce recipe is very traditional and only takes about 5 minutes to prepare! I use Italian parsley (also known as flat-leaf parsley). It has more serrated leaves than its ruffled cousin, curly-leaf parsley, and it has a stronger flavor, with a clean, slightly peppery taste.

Some people have compared Chimichurri to pesto because it looks kind of similar. It’s not pesto! Pesto is made from basil, olive oil, garlic, nuts, and cheese and it’s used with pasta. Chimichurri, on the other hand, is made from oil, water, vinegar, parsley, and assorted herbs and it’s used with meats.

Suzy’s Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

1 cup firmly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
3-4 cloves garlic (I use pre-chopped.)
2 Tblsp. fresh oregano leaves (or 2 tsp. dried oregano)
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tblsp. distilled white vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar, if you prefer)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Place the parsley, oregano, and garlic into a small food processor. (Linking to the one I have – it’s perfect when you’re just cooking for two!) Place into a small bowl and stir in the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Adjust the seasonings to your taste. (True confessions, I put all the ingredients into the food processor and pulse to the desired consistency!)

Serve immediately or refrigerate. Can be stored for a week or two.

My favorite way to enjoy this Chimichurri sauce recipe is over a simple chicken breast. I think chicken breasts can be somewhat bland, and adding the Chimichurri makes them delish! I like to cook a bunch of chicken breasts at one time in my slow cooker. It makes them so moist! Then I store them in the freezer until needed for soups, salads, tacos, or as a base for Chimichurri sauce, of course! Enjoy!