If you like pesto, than it’s pretty likely you will be a fan of chimmichuri as well.
Olive oil, parsley and garlic are the base of most chimmichuri sauces and then from there people tend to tweak it to their tastebuds. My taste buds like equal parts parsley and cilantro and a kiss of red pepper flakes.
While chimmichuri is super nutritious, it is also pretty rich (read: high in calories) since the base of this sauce is made up of extra virgin olive oil. And because I like to spread this yumminess all over everything I eat (especially when we are grilling!) I use my little c&d trick (the same one I use for my pesto) and cut the oil with water.
Not only does this make the sauce lighter but it actually makes it a little creamy, so instead of having a pool of oil on the top of your chimmichurri, you actually get a really rich, creamy consistency that is insanely delicious and (in my opinion) better than the original.
Chimmichurri is great spread on top of grilled anything (think: meat, fish, chicken, veggies, etc.). It’s also delicious mixed into some brown rice pasta, added to a grain salad, or dolloped on top of some soup.
Be sure to check out the video below and don’t forget to let me know what you think down in the comments below.
Low Fat Chimichurri
Yield: 3/4 cup
Prep Time:20 minutes
Total Time:20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1-2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp. water
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper
Directions:
Toss garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced up. Add parsley, cilantro, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, and red pepper and blend until every thing is well incorporated and you have a rich, bright creamy sauce.
Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking. Enjoy!
Nutrients per 2 tbsp: Calories 44; Total Fat 4.4g; Saturated Fat 0.6g; Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 201mg; Carbohydrate 1.6g; Dietary Fiber 0.4g; Sugars 0.2g; Protein 0.4g
Tammy Kingston
August 6, 2014 at 11:28 amDani,
This looks delicious, and I love your videos because you make everything look so easy and I am a visual learner. I do have a question though. After I watched the video, I read over the recipe, and it seems to be a recipe for the original oil laden chimichurri, and not the lighter one you demonstrated. I plan to follow the video demonstration, but thought you would want to know so it can be changed.
Love your recipes and you!
Dani
August 6, 2014 at 5:30 pmTammy! Thank you for pointing that out – truth be told I tested this recipe 4x before finding the winner and the one posted was the very 1st one (which needed a lot of love!). SO thanks for pointing that out – its fixed now and ready to roll!
suhani
August 7, 2014 at 10:35 amThis is a cool recipe. Question. Could you make an Indian dish or sauce or curry? Just Asking.
Shawn Poe
March 27, 2015 at 10:01 amMade this last night and it was delicious. Thank you.
David
June 27, 2015 at 3:46 amAwesome recipe, thank Dani! I’m currently working towards a vegetarian/vegan diet, so any interesting dips/sauces/marinades such as this are the awesomenest! (and a great rebuff to those ‘but veggies are boring and thus vegetarian dishes are boringer’)
Dani
June 29, 2015 at 11:35 amYou are very welcome! This is one of my favorites.