Make this easy mint chimichurri sauce recipe refreshing and packed with flavor. This tangy and garlicky sauce pairs perfectly with grilled meats or seafood and enlivens any dish you add it to.
The mint chimichurri is the perfect sauce to make in summer when fresh herbs don't seem to stop growing in my garden.
A large bunch of mint, another one of parsley, and a few other simple ingredients are all you need to make the most delicious tangy accompaniment for anything you might want to throw on the grill these days.
And why stop there? This delicious sauce is perfect for adding to other dishes as well. We love to top soups with it, make chimichurri rice or pasta, and drizzle it on salads. Really, this sauce is super versatile.
And if you like this mint chimichurri recipe, you should definitely try the Choripan con Chimichurri, a recipe for a more traditional chimichurri sauce that is to die for!!!
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Good to know!
Leave the sauce to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving, allowing the flavors to mingle and develop.
The olive oil will look strange after spending some time in the refrigerator, but that doesn't mean the sauce is spoiled. It's normal for oil to start to solidify when exposed to cold temperatures, and it will return to its normal state as soon as it comes to room temperature.
Although you can use a food processor to shred the herbs, I recommend finely chopping the herbs by hand and grating the garlic on a fine grater.
Recipe ingredients
- Fresh mint and parsley: Equal amounts, about 15 g/ ½ oz of each, the leaves weighed after removing the stalks.
- I measured, and 15 g would be about ¾ cup of chopped fresh mint leaves or parsley.
- Garlic: Grate or press three large fresh garlic cloves. You can add more if you like garlic; I know I do.
- Red wine vinegar and lemon juice make the mint chimichurri tangy and refreshing.
- Sugar or honey: A little bit to balance the sauce's tanginess.
- Olive oil: Good quality fruity extra-virgin olive oil. Taste it to make sure it's not too bitter. You will need to be generous with the oil; if it's too bitter/strong, it might ruin the recipe. If you feel that the olive oil is too strong, replace some of it with a neutral-tasting oil, like canola oil.
- Spices: Red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, dried oregano, ground cumin, fine sea salt or Kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
Substitutions
- You can sub the red pepper flakes with very finely chopped fresh chili peppers. Depending on how hot you like the sauce to be and on the sort of pepper you are using, you can remove the seeds entirely or partially.
- I love to use lime juice instead of lemon juice sometimes.
Make some Wild Garlic Sauce or Flavorful Lovage Pesto, too.
How to make mint chimichurri?
Wash and dry the fresh herbs. Pick the leaves from the stems. Chop the leaves finely, and set them aside. Grate the garlic cloves into a small bowl (1)
- Combine: Add vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt, and pepper to the bowl with the garlic. Mix well.
- Whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is slightly emulsified (2).
- Adjust the taste with sugar or honey and an extra pinch of salt if necessary.
- Stir in the chopped mint parsley mixture (3).
Recipe FAQs
A South American herb and garlic sauce originating in Argentina and Uruguay but popular all over Central and South America. It's mostly served with grilled meats; it's tangy, spicy, and refreshing.
Apparently, the name comes from the Basque tximitxurri, which translates as "a mixture of several things in no particular order."
You can, although I prefer to chop the herbs with a large chef's knife and grate the garlic on a fine grater when making chimichurri. Don't process the leaves to mush; they should be only finely shredded.
Keep refrigerated; it will be fine for about 3-4 days. This also means that you can make chimichurri sauce well in advance.
Refrigerate the leftover sauce in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap but allow them to come to room temperature before serving. Stir the sauce well before serving again.
How to serve it?
Try it with Baked Lamb Chops with Potatoes, Fried Lamb Chops in the Cast-Iron Skillet, Lamb Lollipops, Roasted Leg of Lamb, or Oven-Roasted Lamb Shoulder.
It also goes perfectly with any kind of grilled meat (beef, pork, chicken) and is delicious with seafood.
Serve it with Butterflied Roast Chicken, Cast-Iron Chicken Breast, or Beef Tagliata steak.
Drizzle some on salads; I particularly love drizzling it on top of any tomato salad, for instance, this Panamanian Tomato and Avocado Salad.
You can also drizzle it on roast potato wedges, pizza, pasta, rice, couscous, bulgur, etc.
Fresh Mint Chimichurri
Ingredients
- 15 g fresh mint ½ oz/ ¾ cup chopped leaves, Note 1
- 15 g fresh parsley ½ oz/ ¾ cup chopped leaves, Note 1
- 3 garlic cloves large
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil Note 2
- ½ teaspoon honey or sugar Note 3
Instructions
- Prepare herbs: Wash and dry them with paper towels. Pick the leaves from the stems. Chop the leaves finely and set them aside.
- Combine: Grate the garlic cloves into a medium bowl. Add vinegar, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is slightly emulsified.
- Adjust the taste with sugar or honey and more salt if necessary.
- Stir in the chopped herbs.
- Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to mingle.
Notes
- Weigh the leaves after removing them from the stems.
- Choose good-quality fruity olive oil. First, taste it to make sure it's not too bitter. You will need a generous amount; if it's too bitter/strong, it might ruin the recipe. If you feel the olive oil has too strong a flavor, combine it with neutral-tasting oil like canola.
- Honey or sugar is there to balance the tanginess of the sauce. Use to taste but remember that chimichurri is supposed to be tangy.
- Leftovers will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- If you refrigerate the sauce, allow it to come to room temperature (30-60 minutes) and give it a good stir before serving.
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