Add tons of fresh, creamy flavor to your meals with chimichurri butter, a mix of bright, tangy chimichurri and rich softened butter. It's a delicious spread for bread, grilled meats, or a flavorful addition to roasted veggies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This chimichurri compound butter is one of my favorite ways to incorporate fresh herbs into my weekly menu.
Classic chimichurri is an herbed sauce from South America (specifically Argentina) with simple ingredients and bold flavor. It's an easy to recipe to make - just measure the herbs, spices, garlic, oil, and vinegar, blend, and serve.
This chimichurri butter takes that delicious sauce and incorporates it into creamy butter for a versatile and flavorful condiment Try it on grilled steak or chicken, seafood, roast meats, rice bowls, and bread, or cook your eggs in it for a mouthwatering breakfast.
You can serve it with potatoes, steamed, roasted, or grilled vegetables, or on the outside of the best grilled cheese you've ever tasted!
Get creative with this recipe and let me know what you try! I love hearing from you.
What You’ll Need
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- Fresh Parsley: Use fresh parsley for this recipe. Flat-leaf parsley, also called Italian parsley, is my preference because the leaves and flat and therefore easier to measure. However, curly parsley will work just as well.
- Fresh Cilantro: If you aren't a cilantro fan, use more parsley instead.
- Dried Oregano: You can use fresh oregano if you'd like, but dried oregano is what I use when I make this recipe.
- Fresh Garlic: You can also use jarred, chopped garlic in water if you don't have access to fresh garlic. I don't recommend using garlic powder.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: A pinch of red chili flakes adds a nice kick to this recipe. If you're very sensitive to heat, you can leave this out.
- Olive Oil: A good quality extra virgin olive oil is nice to use here, but any olive oil will work well. You can also try avocado oil for a more neutral flavor.
- Red Wine Vinegar: This adds the tanginess to the chimichurri. If you don't have red wine vinegar, I would recommend white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Kosher Salt: I like to use kosher salt because it is less salty by volume than table salt or sea salt, making it easier to taste your food as you go.
- Black Pepper: Freshly ground black pepper is best. It has much more flavor than pre-ground pepper.
- Butter: You'll need 2 full sticks of butter for this recipe. My preference is to use unsalted butter because the chimichurri sauce is already so flavorful. If you only have salted butter on hand, you may want to use less kosher salt in the chimichurri itself.
Recommended Equipment
Food Processor, Mini Food Processor, or Immersion Blender
Plastic Wrap or Parchment Paper
How to Make Chimichurri Compound Butter
Step One: Prepare the chimichurri recipe. In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients. For a coarser texture, peel and finely mince the garlic, then place everything in a jar and blend with an immersion blender. You can also chop everything by hand.
Step Two: Pulse the ingredients until they are finely chopped and the olive oil and red wine vinegar are emulsified. Taste the chimichurri for seasoning. Add more salt or vinegar as needed and serve.
Step Three: In a large bowl, place the softened butter and chimichurri
Step Four: Mash with a fork until well-combined.
Step Five: Place the butter at the bottom of a sheet of plastic wrap. While firmly holding the edges of the plastic wrap between your fingers, roll the butter upward in a log shape
Step Six: Create a tight seal by rolling both ends of the plastic wrap.
Step Seven: Use right away or place in the refrigerator to harden for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and cut into slices.
Variations and Substitutions
Citrus: In place of the red wine vinegar, try using lime juice or lemon juice. You can add lime zest and lemon zest, too!
Green Onions: Try adding some chopped green onions to the chimichurri for a mild onion flavor.
Jalapeño: In place of the red pepper flakes, you can use a bit of fresh jalapeño.
Mint: Try using this mint chimichurri sauce in place of the chimichurri in the recipe.
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: You can store leftover butter in a fresh piece of plastic wrap, or you can transfer it to an airtight container.
Freezer: You can also freeze chimichurri butter. Wrap any remaining butter in plastic wrap, twist the ends, then freeze. The butter will last for several months.
Reheating: There is no need to reheat this recipe. If you'd like to soften your butter, you can leave it at room temperature until it softens or microwave the butter for about 10-15 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
Traditional chimichurri is herbaceous and acidic, containing fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a bit of heat from red chili flakes.
This recipe does not use a traditional chimichurri because it uses both parsley and cilantro. A traditional recipe uses only parsley and oregano.
Yes, you'll want to refrigerate the butter. Because of the fresh herbs and garlic, this butter won't last long if you leave it out on the counter.
How to Serve this Chimichurri Butter Recipe
Check out these great meals for using compound butter!
Steak: Try placing a pat of this butter over a hot steak. I like to use skirt steak or flat iron steak with this carne asada marinade (seriously the best steak recipe I've ever developed).
Other Meats: Try some grilled chicken, like this grilled Tajín chicken, a roasted half chicken, some pork chops, or roasted lamb, like this lamb breast recipe.
Seafood: Add chimichurri butter to this pan-seared salmon for a flavorful dinner, or add it to this new recipe for pan-seared blackened ahi tuna!
Vegetarian Proteins: Want some vegetarian options? Try this over tofu steaks, tempeh, or black bean patties.
Veggie Sides: Some of my favorite vegetable sides include these spicy roasted vegetables, Brussels sprouts and asparagus, and roasted broccolini with lemon. These would also be wonderful with crispy potatoes, like these air fryer smashed potatoes.
Appetizer: Serve softened chimichurri compound butter with a hunk of French bread and some of your other favorite appetizers, like this whipped feta dip and roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine.
Expert Tips
Taste for seasoning. The most important thing I learned at culinary school, and the best advice I can give to any home chef, is to always taste test. Before you mix you're chimichurri into the butter, be sure to taste for seasoning. Add a pinch of salt if needed.
Mix the ingredients well. While it's fine to have a fairly rough chop on the ingredients for the chimichurri sauce, it's important to integrate the butter and chimichurri fully before rolling and refrigerator.
Get creative. This butter is delicious on a ribeye, but it's good for so many other things, from breakfast to cheese boards. Be sure to use your imagination and see what you come up with for this delicious compound butter recipe.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment 💬 and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! You can also tag us @twocloveskitchen on Instagram or follow us on Facebook!
More Condiments to Try
📖 Recipe
Chimichurri Butter
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
- Measuring Cups
- Food Processor, Mini Food Processor, or Immersion Blender
- Rubber Spatula
- Plastic Wrap or Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Chimichurri
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley packed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, packed, see note 1
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Butter
- 2 (8-ounce) sticks of butter softened
Instructions
Chimichurri
- In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients for the chimichurri. For a coarser texture, use an immersion blender or chop everything by hand.
- Pulse the ingredients until they are finely chopped and the olive oil and red wine vinegar are emulsified.
- Taste the chimichurri for seasoning. Add more salt or vinegar as needed.
Butter
- In a large bowl, place the softened butter and chimichurri and mash with a fork until well-combined.
- Place the butter at the bottom of a sheet of plastic wrap. While firmly holding the edges of the plastic wrap between your fingers, roll the butter upward in a log shape until you have created a tight seal.
- Use right away or place in the refrigerator to harden for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and cut into slices.
Notes
- If you don't like cilantro, replace it with more parsley.
- Fridge: You can store leftover butter in a fresh piece of plastic wrap, or you can transfer it to an airtight container.
- Freezer: You can also freeze chimichurri butter. Wrap any remaining butter in plastic wrap, twist the ends, then freeze. The butter will last for several months.
- Reheating: There is no need to reheat this recipe. If you'd like to soften your butter, you can leave it at room temperature until it softens or microwave the butter for about 10-15 seconds.
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