Hiiii, friends. I come to you today with important news: This homemade chimichurri sauce with cilantro and parsley is going to change your view on vegetables. Easy? Yes! Inexpensive? Yes! Delicious? YES YES!
Chimichurri with cilantro?
Yes. While I do enjoy that extra grassy summer flavor parsley alone imparts in this sauce traditionally- I’m one of those team cilantro forward people. There is some next-level star quality happening in here and cilantro IS the person to thank for it.
10 easy minutes to vegan chimichurri bliss
Scout’s honor: you can make this recipe in 10 minutes using a blender! I mean, what more do you want in life? After those 10 minutes, you dive into dreamland with chimichurri as your #1 companion. This sauce is a quintessential spring staple in our house and I use it everywhere: slathered on sandwiches, dip for roasted vegetables, on tacos in place of salsa, and (don’t judge) even as a pasta sauce. This vegan chimichurri is THE choice condiment for whole roasted cauliflower. Okay, are you convinced yet?
How to make vegan chimichurri?
Think of this as pesto’s rule-breaking cousin. When he comes to town, the memories are legit. I sometimes get stuck in my mind that chimichurri takes all the time and dirties all the dishes. Then I make it again and turn into a certifiable chimichurri hoarder in 10 minutes. Ahem, don’t go in the fridge, nothing to see there.
Fresh herbs, check. Some garlic, check. Oil/Vinegar, check. Here’s the deal breaker: You NEED red wine vinegar and oregano in your life to make this happen, NO substitutions. In recipe testing this, I tried without oregano and with substituting other acids. IMHO this oregano and red wine vinegar duo are what truly creates those bright herby, grassy flavors and their hidden bold, acidic undertones. Can you tell I’m in love?
Customize your homemade chimichurri: Try these substitutions
We’ve got options here. Options galore. Once you start making chimichurri and slathering it on everything, have fun with these two substitutions!
- You can swap out the oregano and replace by subbing coriander in your chimichurri. Coriander drops really delightful aromas to this chimichurri.
- Not a fan of cilantro? Try replacing the cilantro in this recipe with MINT! Mint chimichurri gifts you a fresh, surprising flavor.
Easy Homemade Vegan Chimichurri Cilantro Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1–1.5 cups 1x
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Cold Prep
- Cuisine: Argentinian
Description
This homemade vegan chimichurri sauce will make your dinner a work of art- it’s got cilantro AND parsley for flavor, and it is SO versatile. This is an easy chimichurri sauce recipe that anyone can whip up and enjoy on repeat!
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 TB chili garlic paste
- 1/3–1/2 cup olive oil
- 2–3 TB red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Wash and roughly chop fresh herbs
- Smash and peel garlic cloves
- Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and process until combined, stopping to scrape sides and tamp down ingredients as needed.
- Put this emerald beauty on everything you eat. Rinse. Repeat.
Notes
** Herb bunches come in different sizes, usually, organic herbs come in smaller bunches and conventional herbs bunches are larger. (Weird but true) This recipe just barely reaches the minimum capacity for easy blending in my Vitamix so, if you have a smaller, single serving bullet-type blender that will work beautifully! I don’t mind using the tamper on my blender and stopping a few times to scrape the sides and potentially having a more rustic texture. To avoid this completely you can easily double the recipe and have no issues blending whatsoever.
** This homemade cilantro chimichurri is one of those sauces that come together over time. When testing salt/acid levels, I usually blend everything as listed and wait 10-15 minutes for that maturity status:adult before adjusting seasonings. If things are tasting a little dull and muted (like where are you hiding fresh herbs?!) you probably need more salt. If things are pretty boring and one-dimensional, add another dash of vinegar.
Keywords: Vegan, Chimichurri, Cilantro, Parsley, Easy Recipes
This was very tasty– I’ve never used red wine vinegar or oregano in chimichurri before. Will continue to going forward!
★★★★★