A Simple & Spicy Chimichurri Sauce

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A bunch of fresh herbs blended into a spicy chimichurri. That can be used as a marinade, sauce, salad dressing, dip or spread. Plus, it’s an easy way to use up herbs before they have a chance to wilt and go bad in the fridge.

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High hopes in the supermarket’s produce section can be a problem. Especially if I’m standing near the herbs.

As soon as I bring a bunch home. The clock is quickly ticking before I forget to finish them and they go bad in the refrigerator.

This recipe is the current solution to saving herbs from wilting away. A chimichurri with a spicy kick and an easy, freezer friendly option.

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Making a spicy chimichurri sauce

What gives this homemade chimichurri some heat? The combination of black pepper, red pepped flakes and pickled hot peppers in the ingredients.

If you want to modify the heat level: (1) wait to add all of the spices in until after you’ve added the herbs. That way you can adjust according to your taste. (2) Remove the ribs and seeds from the hot peppers.

Ingredients

• fresh herbs – including a large bunch of parsley and (optional) cilantro. I like to measure these out prior to washing them. That way I can throw them into the salad spinner together.
• garlic cloves – crushed with the flat blade of a knife to remove the peel
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• lemon juice – freshly squeezed from approximately 1 large lemon
• seasonings/spices – including crushed red pepper flakes, coarsely ground black pepper and kosher salt
• scallions – both the white and green portions
• pickled hot peppers – remove the stem and cut/tear into pieces. The inner ribs and seeds can be removed to reduce their heat level. Reserve any liquid that’s inside the peppers and add it when blending the sauce.

Tools you’ll want to use

You’ll need a food processor to properly puree all the ingredients into a chimichurri sauce. A small one, works well. Though there won’t be enough room to add all the herbs in at once. So you’ll have to work in batches.

Turns out that’s a good thing because it will give you better control over the chimichurri’s texture. (If you must use a larger food processor, I recommend pulsing once you add the herbs.)

Another (helpful but not necessary) tool is a large salad spinner to clean and dry the herbs.

How to make Spicy Chimichurri

Here’s how easily this sauce comes together. The entire thing is made in a food processor.

Start by pulsing the garlic cloves in the food processor until they’re finely chopped. Add all the remining ingredients, except for the herbs, and process into a liquid.

Next, stuff in some of the herbs. Pulse and add more. Repeating until all the herbs have been processed into the sauce and you reach your preferred chimichurri consistency.

How to use this spicy chimichurri sauce?

• Marinade, sauce, dip or a spread (it’s delicious on cooked chicken & seared tuna)
• Add it to a salad, like this arugula chimichurri salad with halloumi cheese – with pan fried halloumi cheese, cooked corn and dried blueberries
• Toss with pasta
• Stir into plain hummus for extra flavor
• Mix into mayonnaise to create a chimichurri aioli
• Flavor vegetables, like these dehydrated zucchini chips
• Make an avocado chimichurri sauce – by combining 2 tablespoons chimichurri sauce with 1 mashed avocado

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This post was originally published in 2015 and has been revamped and updated in June 2022.