This Chimichurri Sauce recipe is the ultimate Mexican marinade or condiment. Great on grilled steak, chicken, or vegetables. And so easy to make!
Macy’s Great American Chefs Tour is embarking on a cross-country road trip, pairing the celebrity chefs of Macy’s Culinary Council with live cooking demonstrations, food tastings and a celebration of local culinary talent. Chef Rick Bayless hosted in San Francisco as part of the more than 15-city tour. And I got invited to attend *claps hands wildly*
Rick Bayless! Most people know him from winning the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Master with his authentic Mexican cuisine. But his list of accomplishments is vast.
- He also has a highly rated Public Television Series
- Seven award-winning cookbooks
- Daytime Emmy nominee
- Winner of the Julia Childs IACP cookbook of the year award
- His cookbook Mexico—One Plate at a Time won the James Beard Best International Cookbook of the Year award in 2001
- He’s owner of the award-winning restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo
- Plus he has a line of products which include salsas, grilling sauces, and organic chips
Hello. That’s some resume.
And? He’s so friendly, personable, and genuine. It was an absolute pleasure to be around him, truly.
Rumor has it that Chef Rick never travels without a lime juicer and is obsessed with avocados. He confirmed both. He also introduced us to lemon cucumbers. Say whaaaat? I’ll be at my local Farmer’s Market this Thursday searching…
And his refrigerator is never without a batch of this Chimichurri Sauce.
Isn’t it gorgeous?! He served us an Herb Green Ceviche with Cucumber and it was smothered in this Mexican chimichurri. We couldn’t get enough of it.
Chimichurri sauce is also perfect on chicken before grilling or roasting, stir it into scrambled eggs, or add it to salad dressing and cream sauces. It can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to a month.
Other homemade sauces we love
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Mexican Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 head garlic , cloves broken apart (but not peeled)
- 2 serrano peppers
- 1 medium bunch cilantro ,thick bottom stems cut off
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley ,thick bottom stems cut off
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Set a dry skillet over medium heat. Lay in the unpeeled garlic cloves and chiles. Roast, turning frequently, until soft and blotchy brown in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles and 15 minutes for the garlic.
- Cool until handleable, then slip the skins off the garlic, pull stems off the chiles and roughly chop (no need to remove the seeds.)
- Place garlic and chiles in a food processor along with the cilantro (about 1 cup if packed), parsley (about 1 cup if packed), the oil, and the salt.
- Process until nearly smooth (it will be pasty.) Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Scrape into a storage container and refrigerate until serving time.
Notes
- This sauce is spicy! If you prefer a toned down version, you can swap out the serrano chiles for jalapeños.
- Sauce can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator up to a month.
Fabulous
Served this over grilled steak. Excellent.
THIS IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made a batch on Saturday7/18, & today is Tues, 7/21 = GONE!;)
SO FLAVORFUL & YUMMY, & I USED ON everything!
I’m MAKING DOUBLE BATCH TOMORROW.
Is this freezer friendly? if so, how long?
THANKS MUCH!
Hi Christine! I honestly, don’t know if this freezes well, sorry! You’ll just need to eat it in the same week. HA. Enjoy!
This sounds wonderful! I will be making tomorrow, how can I “pin” this?
Hi Christine! Just hover over the photo and the pin it button will appear. Enjoy!
Thanks for inviting me to tag along with you for another fun afternoon of experiencing top chefs and some of their recipes. I’ll try this Chimichurri, even though I might be the only one in this house to partake.
Lemon cucumbers are to die for! My mother grows them and sells at a local farmer’s market. Seeing that beautiful picture makes my mouth water thinking about them!
You’re basically a celebrity for being in the same room as Rick! Jealous. He’s one of my total faves. I need to seek out these lemon cucumbers…I have a feeling they must be magical.
I have admired Rick Bayless and his cooking for many years. I have one of his cookbooks and it is my Mexican food bible. His shows on Public Television are warm and inviting and so informative. He has his daughter , wife and other friends on with him. Makes him so personable and down to earth. Love everything I’ve seen him make with one exception…I don’t think I am a big fan of black corn fungus (Cuitlacoche)!! Haha
I’ve heard of Rick Bayless but never realized what a big deal he was! I’m glad to hear we was such a genuine guy too, and that you were able to go to this awesome event. I’ll have to check out his cookbooks at the library and give ’em a whirl!
I’m SO jealous! I loooove Rick Baylesssssssaaaaaaa.
I met Marcus Samuelson in DC last summer on the Macy’s tour! It was super fun. I’d LOVE to meet Rick Bayless; he’s one of my all-time favorite chefs. I was so happy when he won Top Chef Masters.
Thanks for sharing the avocado tip. I’d never heard that one before! And the lemon cucumber?!! LOVE!! I’m going to be on the lookout now!
I met Marcus, too. He was so kind and engaging. Rick Bayless was like that also…they seem the type of chefs you could just sit at a kitchen table with and talk to for hours. Although, I’d sure like it to be their kitchen and not mine!