Chimichurri Sauce

Homemade Chimichurri Recipe

When you eat keto, seasoning your protein with just salt and pepper gets old. I hit that wall years ago. But I also don’t want to spend an hour on a weeknight dinner, so I started keeping chimichurri in the fridge at all times. Five minutes of chopping, one jar, and every meal that week gets an upgrade. The fresh parsley, cilantro, oregano, and garlic give any grilled meat a bright, herby punch that makes plain chicken or steak feel like something I’d order at a restaurant. This is the recipe I come back to more than any other condiment I make.

What Is Chimichurri?

Chimichurri is a traditional Argentinian herb sauce originally made for grilled meats. I think of it as Argentina’s answer to pesto, but lighter and sharper. The base is finely chopped parsley and cilantro in oil, with garlic, red pepper flakes, and red wine vinegar adding an acidic, garlicky bite. It’s an oil-based condiment, not a cream sauce, so it’s naturally low carb even when you’re generous with it. I use it as a finishing sauce, a marinade, and a dipping sauce depending on what I’m cooking that night.

How to Customize Your Chimichurri

I’ve made this enough times to know what works and what doesn’t when you start tweaking the recipe. Here’s what I’ve learned.

• Use flat-leaf parsley, not curly. I’ve tested both. Flat-leaf has more flavor and chops into that spoonable texture you want. Curly is tougher and tastes grassy by comparison.
• If you hate cilantro, skip it and double the parsley. I’ve made a parsley-only version and it still holds together. You lose the citrusy brightness cilantro adds, but the garlic, vinegar, and red pepper flakes carry the sauce. A small handful of fresh mint fills that gap nicely, especially with lamb.
• If you don’t like heat, skip the red pepper flakes entirely. If you want more kick, I add extra flakes or a few slices of fresh jalapeno. Start small and taste as you go.
• For a stronger garlic flavor, use more cloves and let them sit in the sauce for at least an hour. The garlic mellows slightly as it rests.
• Always taste your sauce before you jar it. I adjust the salt, vinegar, and garlic every single time based on what I’m tasting.
• Red wine vinegar is the authentic choice and the one I always reach for. Lemon juice is a legitimate swap, not just a backup. It makes the sauce brighter and cleaner. One of my readers paired lemon juice with extra red pepper flakes over grilled shrimp and I’ve been making that version regularly since. I’d avoid balsamic entirely because it changes the flavor and adds more carbs than other vinegars.
• A tablespoon of finely minced shallot or red onion adds a nice layer. Shallot is milder and sweeter. Red onion is sharper, so I use less (about two teaspoons). Neither is traditional, but both are good additions I’ve tested multiple times.
• Olive oil works perfectly in place of avocado oil. I use whichever I have on hand.
• For chopping, a food processor saves time, but pulse in short bursts (3-4 pulses) so you don’t turn it into a paste. I actually prefer hand-chopping when I have the time because you get those visible herb flecks that look and taste more authentic. If you hand-chop, go fine so the texture stays spoonable.
• Once mixed, I put the jar straight in the fridge overnight. Room temperature for an hour works if you’re in a rush, but overnight rest gives you noticeably deeper, more layered flavor. I ran a side-by-side comparison and overnight wins every time.

What to Serve with Chimichurri

I put this on everything. That’s not an exaggeration. Chimichurri works across proteins, vegetables, and eggs. My favorite pairings are skirt steak, flank steak, and grilled chicken thighs. It’s also great on pork tenderloin and grilled fish. If you already make my cilantro lime marinade, think of chimichurri as its bolder, more herbaceous cousin. I also keep cilantro aioli and keto garlic sauce in rotation, but chimichurri is the one I reach for most.

It also works as a marinade, not just a finishing sauce. I coat skirt steak or chicken generously, cover it, and let it sit in the fridge for 2-4 hours (up to overnight for a deeper soak). The vinegar helps tenderize the meat, but I don’t go beyond 12 hours or the texture gets soft. After grilling, I always spoon fresh chimichurri on top because the cooked batch loses some of its brightness. Beyond protein, I drizzle it on roasted cauliflower, over scrambled eggs in the morning, or alongside my keto horseradish sauce for a two-sauce steak night. Once you have a jar in your fridge, you’ll find uses for it all week.

How to Store Chimichurri

Since every ingredient in this recipe is a fresh herb or a pantry staple (oil, vinegar, garlic), it keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days with no problem. I actually prefer it after it’s been sitting overnight. The herbs, garlic, and vinegar meld into the oil as it rests, and by day two you have a sauce with significantly more depth than a freshly mixed batch.

I make a full batch every Sunday and store it in a mason jar in the fridge. It’s ready to go whenever I need it. If you want to freeze it, pour the sauce into ice cube trays and freeze. I’ve tested this and it thaws fine, though the fresh herbs lose a tiny bit of brightness after a few weeks. I’d use frozen chimichurri within 3 months for the best flavor.