What Does Chimichurri Taste Like & How to Use It? [+ Recipe]

Chimichurri is a delicious Argentinian sauce perfect for summer days and grill parties. With herbs, olive oil, vinegar, and spices, this condiment pairs well with a range of meals, especially ones including meat. So, what does chimichurri taste like, and how to use it?

Chimichurri has a fresh, garlicky, herbal, and a bit spicy taste. It is the perfect sauce for grilled meat, roasted veggies, avocado toast, and pizza. It makes an even better pair with chicken salad, scrambled eggs, or various types of bread.

In the following text, I will help you discover the taste, smell, and best ways to use chimichurri sauce. You will learn how to prepare this sauce and get ideas on how to customize it to your taste. 

What Does Chimichurri Taste Like?

Classic chimichurri sauce contains finely chopped parsley, garlic, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. These ingredients give it a uniquely fresh, garlicky, herbal, and, at the same time, oily flavor, making it the perfect condiment for a summer meal. 

Depending on the amount of black pepper and red pepper flakes, you can make it more or less spicy. Consider also experimenting by adding some finely chopped jalapenos to the mix.

If you wish to make it more aromatic and enhance its herbal flavor, add fresh oregano, or mix in rosemary, cilantro, and basil. Though a classic recipe includes red wine vinegar, I suggest using lemon juice instead — this will make it more zesty and fresh. 

However, it takes time for the ingredients to blend and develop a unique flavor, so it is best to put chimichurri in the fridge and leave it there overnight.

What Does Chimichurri Smell Like?

Chimichurri has a distinct, strong garlicky smell with parsley and oregano notes. If you wish to make it smell like a true herbal garden, add some rosemary, basil, and cilantro. 

How to Use Chimichurri?

The great thing about chimichurri sauce is that you can use it in multiple ways. Here are some of my favorite options.

Drizzle Over Grilled or Roasted Meat

The most common use of chimichurri is to serve it with grilled meat. It is especially good with a lamb steak, but you can also use it with grilled chicken, pork, beef, or turkey meat. It is best to drizzle it over meat right after you take it off the grill or out of the oven. 

Add to a Soup

Chimichurri pairs well with cold soups such as gazpacho, potato-leek, cucumber, or basil zucchini soup. These soups are easy to make, refreshing, and ideal meals for dieters. However, if you find that some of these need extra flavor, add a tablespoon of chimichurri to them.

Add to a Bread Dough

To twist up a classic bread recipe, add a tablespoon or two of chimichurri to a dough. This will give your bread a herbal aroma and an interesting flavor.

You can also use it to make chimichurri rolls or muffins. The dough recipe includes warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil, and flour. All you need is to roll out the dough, spread chimichurri over it, shape it into muffins or rolls, and bake it for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven.

Stir with Vegetables

Another incredibly delicious way to use Argentinian sauce is to stir it with vegetables. While it is more convenient to serve it alongside grilled vegetables, stirring it all together can make the meal even better. 

Consider adding it while roasting asparagus, stir-frying spinach, broccoli and tofu, mushrooms and carrots, green beans, or eggplant.

Turn Into a Marinade

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With olive oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt, chimichurri can be a delicious alternative to a classic marinade. Consider using it to marinate pork, lamb, chicken meat, or fish for several hours before grilling or roasting. 

Serve as a Dipping Sauce

The Argentinian sauce makes a wonderful dipping for any fried food. It pairs well with fish and cheese sticks, chicken strips, potato croquettes, even deep-fried cornflowers, zucchini flowers, double-baked bread, arancini, and even Scotch eggs.

How Much Chimichurri per Person to Use?

The amount of chimichurri suitable to serve per person depends on how you use it. Three or four tablespoons of the sauce will be enough for grilled meat and vegetables, but you can always add more. 

The preferred amount in the soup is one or two spoons, while for deep-fried food, you can serve one cup per person. To make a small batch of chimichurri, use 1 cup of finely chopped parsley, ¼ cup of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of oregano, 2 cloves of garlic, ⅓ cup of olive oil, 2 pinches of black pepper, ½ tablespoon of salt, and red pepper flakes to taste.

What Goes Good with Chimichurri?

A wide range of meals goes well with chimichurri. This fresh, herbal sauce can make a lovely contrast to grilled or deep-fried dishes, complement breakfast meals such as scrambled eggs or avocado toast, and even comfort food like pizza. 

Grilled Steak

Grilled steak is one of the meals most commonly served with chimichurri, and for a good reason. The sauce’s herbal, tangy, and spicy flavor and tender grilled meat is a winning combination. 

To prepare the meat for the grill, make cuts to ensure it soaks in all spices and season it with salt and pepper. If you wish, you may season the meat with chimichurri before grilling or use it as a sauce after the meat has been cooked.

Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken and chimichurri make a great pair. You can use the sauce to marinate parts such as chicken legs or breasts or coat the entire chicken before roasting. Since chimichurri makes lovely dipping, consider also serving it on the side of this meal. 

Sauteed Shrimp

Sauteed shrimp is a delicacy on its own, yet served with chimichurri, it becomes even better. It is a simple meal that takes 10-15 minutes to prepare. 

Season shrimps, heat the skillet to medium-high, and melt butter with olive oil. Toss shrimp into a skillet and fry it for two minutes on both sides. 

Serve it with chimichurri as a dipping sauce.

Roasted Vegetables

Chimichurri can be an addition to numerous vegetable meals, especially those with crispy qualities such as asparagus, green beans, cornflower, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and zucchini. However, it can combine well with potatoes, eggplant, spinach, and kale.

Toss your preferred vegetables in a skillet or on a grill, and add the sauce to the veggies while cooking to create a blend of flavors. If you prefer, you can also drizzle chimichurri over the veggies once they are done.

Eggs

To make an extravagant breakfast, consider adding chimichurri to scrambled eggs. Whisk eggs with seasoning, heat the skillet to a medium-low, and pour the mix into it. Before the eggs start thickening, pour in a half cup of chimichurri, and let it all cook together.

Aside from scrambled eggs, this sauce will complement fried or poached eggs, especially with toast or garlic bread.

Avocado Toast

A mild taste of avocado is a great way to enhance chimichurri’s herbal and tangy flavor. So, avocado toast with chimichurri makes another delicious breakfast combination. You only need to slice up the avocado, place it on crispy toast, and pour over a couple of spoons of chimichurri.

You can also spread the sauce over the toast and then add sliced avocado, combining it with poached egg and bacon.

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Cucumber Salad

The chimichurri pairs well with a variety of salads, including cucumber salad. It is a simple dish that requires nothing more than slicing some cucumbers and mixing them with Argentinian sauce. 

If it seems too simple, add fresh bell peppers, sweet corn, avocado, chicken or turkey meat, and bacon. 

Grain Salad

Grain salad might be a good choice if you prefer chimichurri in healthier meals. Try a combination of rice, quinoa, oats, wheat, and amaranth. 

Cook the grain mix for 40-45 minutes to medium heat, then take it off the stove and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Mix cooked grains with grilled paprika, fresh cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and chimichurri sauce. To add to the texture of the salad, consider adding chickpeas as well.

Hummus

Hummus is another dish that makes a great pair with chimichurri. The basic spread includes chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and spices. To prepare it, cook chickpeas, grind sesame seeds, make a juice of squeezed lemons, mix with spices, and use a food processor to turn it into a paste.

Before blending, add minced garlic, cooked black beans, roasted pepper, or eggplant. Once all of the ingredients are blended, drizzle a tablespoon of chimichurri over it, and serve it with double-toasted bread.

Pizza

Finally, chimichurri can be a great addition to pizza. It makes a wonderful topping for Neapolitan, Capricciosa, seafood, mushrooms, and vegetable pizza. Alternatively, you can spread it over pizza dough before adding other toppings and baking — you’re going to love it!