Seeking the perfect basil garlic sauce? This basil chimichurri recipe yields a robust, bold, summery sauce perfect for drizzling on so many foods.
The great thing about having friends who love food as much as I do is that I can email or message them for advice and they can instantly inspire me (and sometimes save the day). I was chatting with Maris about needing something more for a dish I was working on (more on that on Monday) when she suggested that I make chimichurri to go with it.
Ding, ding, ding!
Since I had a lovely bunch of fresh basil waiting to be used, it was only natural that I adapt the sauce to focus on this summery herb. Basil. Garlic. Olive oil. Red wine vinegar. Seasonings. It's a simple combination that nets huge flavor results. You won't ever mistake this basil sauce for basil pesto -- it's a whole different fresh and tangy take on the herb favorite.
Making chimichurri sauce is so incredibly easy. You just stuff everything into a mini food processor, whirl it around and it's done and ready to use. You could also use a blender. I don't recommend making this one by hand.
This basil chimichurri is great with steak, chicken or even on rice with grilled onions, which is how I ate it. And it was good. So good. This basil garlic sauce would also be fantastic drizzled on fresh mozzarella and tomatoes as a different take on Caprese salad.
What have you been making with basil lately?
Note: This recipe is adapted from Simply Recipes' recipe for traditional chimichurri.
Basil Chumichurri Sauce
Seeking the perfect basil garlic sauce? This basil chimichurri recipe yields a robust, bold, summery sauce perfect for drizzling on so many foods.
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely packed fresh basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor (a mini food processor works great) and process until the basil pieces are small and even.
- Drizzle on chicken, steak or whatever you like.
It's hard being so awesome and brilliant, but someone has to do it. Hehe.
Looks fantastic, glad all turned out well!
LOL, don't forget modest too! 😉
I'm using basil on our pizza tonight!
Amazing basil sauce! I have started growing basil plants last month and was looking for great ways to use it, and this is awesome to try.. Thanks so much for this!
I just got a whole big bunch of basil in my CSA box. I think I'll try this!
Rivki, I also have a killer recipe for Basil White Bean Dip on the site. It's one of my favorite summer things. Let me know if you want me to dig up the URL.
I already made this at home this week – delicious and it was so great in the midst of the summer. Thanks!
This was wonderful- put it on a pizza with some great tomatoes!
Fast, easy and TOTALLY DELICIOUS! Had this on an otherwise unremarkable frozen cauliflower pizza and it made it just yummy. Thank you!
Can this sauce be frozen?
That's a great question, Nancy. I've never tried it, but I do freeze pesto (which has a similar ingredients list) with success, so I imagine it will be fine.
Fantastic on steak. I threw a tiny bit of white onion and a few mint leaves in with the rest of the ingredients and it was phenomenal. Thanks for a great recipe!