Chimichurri is used a lot in Central and South American cooking. It is used as, a marinade for meat, in cooking, and a sauce, or in our house, all of the above. PLUS it’s a great dip for tortilla chips and the fastest “fancy” dip/topping/sauce you’ll ever make. This is something that I’m always asked to make for parties and I gladly oblige because it takes me 5 minutes and is super budget friendly! I like to serve it alongside my Last Minute Salsa and Zesty Guac for a little fiesta. Crazy impressive with minimal effort.
The traditional chimichurri’s are made with parsley and/or cilantro, garlic, oil & vinegar. Depending where you have it, other ingredients such as: red chili pepper flakes, oregano, onion, paprika, cumin, even citrus, basil or other herbs are used. I liken it to the Latin version of pesto. Make it your own!
The recipe we came up with has been a hit with our family (remember how much we love garlic) and is my go to for a lot of our meal prepping. It easily lasts over a week in the refrigerator and makes the BEST pulled chicken ever if you use the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro – divided – and makes sure you rinse. Cilantro is notoriously sandy and there’s nothing worse than a gritty dip.
- 1 bunch of parsley – divided
- 2-3 cloves garlic – peeled
- ½ red or yellow onion
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- Garlic salt & pepper to taste
- 2 dashes red chili flake – adjust to desired level of heat
Instructions
- Place ½ bunch parsley & cilantro, garlic, onion, vinegar, chili flake, salt and pepper in food processor
- Blend while adding olive oil in until smooth and place in medium bowl
- Chop remainder of parsley and cilantro as fine as you can, add to bowl and stir
- Adjust salt to taste
You’ll want the combination of textures of the pureed portion and the chopped. The authentic chimichurri is all chopped and sometimes I’ll do that. This is not only a quicker version, but I think it’s a tastier version. By pureeing the ingredients you’re brining out more of the flavor. Combine the two textures and you’ve got combination of flavors and mouth feels that will blow you away!
We use this as a marinade for chicken, fish, steak or, my favorite, pulled pork in the crock pot (recipe to follow). We use it as a dip of sorts for chips, veggies, meats, sandals. Got carried away, but I bet it would even taste good on a shoe! Point being this recipe can be used for so many things. Even if you just sit it along side the Last Minute Salsa and put out a back of tortilla chips, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Want more recipes from Living Life Loving Us? Sign up below!
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see our full disclosure policy here.
