With a mix of fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro, garlic, tangy vinegar, rich olive oil, and a hint of red pepper flakes, this lively chimichurri rice is the perfect side dish to wake up your weeknight dinner.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This flavorful rice is one of my favorite ways to add fresh herbs to any easy weeknight meal. I take my fan-favorite cilantro chimichurri and mix it into fluffy rice for a spectacular rice side dish that's amazing with everything from grilled steak to tofu.
Whether you're serving up chicken cutlets and spicy roasted vegetables or grilled carne asada, this versatile and simple side dish is an easy way to upgrade your meal with bright, bold, herbaceous flavor.
It's an amazing way to add a new flavor to your weekly meal prep or you can prepare the rice and freeze it for a day you are running short on time.
Plus, you can make it in a variety of different ways. For the chimichurri, you can use a food processor, a hand blender, or you can chop and combine everything by hand depending on the texture you're looking for. For the rice, use a traditional stovetop method, a rice cooker, or your Instant Pot!
No matter how you prepare it, I think you're going to love this fresh, colorful addition to your meal.
What You’ll Need
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Parsley: Use fresh parsley for this recipe. I like to use Italian or flat-leaf parsley because it is easy to measure. Curly parsley works just as well for this recipe.
Cilantro: Wash fresh cilantro before chopping it to ensure you've removed any grit or dirt in the leaves. If you aren't a fan of cilantro, just use more parsley. You can also swap the cilantro for mint like in our delicious mint chimichurri sauce.
Dried Oregano: I like to use dried oregano for this recipe, but you can also use fresh oregano.
Garlic: Only use fresh garlic for this recipe. If you can't find fresh garlic, grocery stores often have jarred chopped garlic that can work for this recipe as well.
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Adding a pinch of red chili flakes adds a small amount of heat that works very well in this dish. If you are sensitive to spicy food, you can omit this.
Olive Oil: A good quality extra virgin olive oil is always nice to use. The chimichurri doesn't have a lot of ingredients, so it's nice to use a higher-quality oil if you have it available.
Red Wine Vinegar: If you don't have red wine vinegar on hand, you can try using white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice. It will taste a bit different than the original recipe but it will still be delicious.
Kosher Salt: I use kosher salt in all of my recipes. It is less salty by volume than table salt or sea salt, making it easier to taste as you go.
Black Pepper: I love to use freshly ground black peppercorns. These Malabar black peppercorns are what I use in all of my recipe testing.
Rice: You can use whatever variety of rice you like for this recipe. Long-grain rice is nice, but so is short-grain, basmati rice, brown rice, or even sushi rice.
Recommended Equipment
Blender, Food Processor, or Immersion Blender
How to Make Chimichurri Rice
Step One: Finely chop the parsley and cilantro.
Step Two: Mince the garlic.
Step Three: If using a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients. Pulse until they are finely chopped and the olive oil and red wine vinegar are emulsified.
For a coarser texture, combine the hand-chopped herbs and garlic with the remaining ingredients. Mix well to combine.
Step Four: Taste for seasoning. Let the chimichurri sit to allow the flavors to meld while you prepare the rice.
Step Five: Rinse the white rice in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs clear. This helps remove excess starch. Prepare the rice according to the package directions. After the resting period, fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains.
Step Six: Drizzle the fresh chimichurri sauce over the cooked rice. Gently fold the sauce into the rice until it’s well combined.
Step Seven: Transfer the chimichurri rice to a serving platter or individual plates. You can also let it cool and add it to an airtight container for later use or meal prep.
Variations and Substitutions
Make a rice salad. Serve this dish cold with mixed vegetables like corn and black beans for a tasty rice salad. It's nice with some cauliflower rice mixed in. You can also add some diced tomatoes for colorful tomato rice.
Use brown rice. You can make this recipe with brown rice as well, or try an alternative grain like quinoa, farro, or spelt.
Try a rice cooker. If you'd prefer not to cook the rice on the stovetop, a rice cooker is an excellent investment. You can also use an Instant Pot to cook your rice.
Fried rice. Try making a fried rice with this recipe! Brown the rice in a pan with some oil over medium heat and add sautéed veggies like diced carrot, peas, celery, white or red onion, green peas, and bell pepper. Be sure to mix in some scrambled egg and green onions, too!
Use precooked rice. Sometimes when I am short on time, I pick up the precooked brown or jasmine rice from Trader Joe's. They're an easy dinnertime shortcut. They also have a tasty Peruvian chimichurri rice in the frozen section if you're really pressed for time.
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: Store leftover chimichurri rice in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
Freezer: You can also freeze leftover rice. Let the rice cool completely and then transfer to a freezer-safe container, like a resealable plastic or silicone bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating: I recommend reheating rice in the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
There are a few reasons why you may not be seeing fluffy rice. It's possible there was not enough liquid added, or that the rice was not cooked for long enough. Try adding about half a cup of water and continuing to simmer to improve the rice's texture.
Chimichurri was found originally in the cuisines of Argentina and Uruguay.
Chimichurri is a very bright, bold condiment. The vinegar makes it tangy, the olive oil adds richness, parsley, cilantro, and oregano make the flavor fresh and vibrant, and the garlic adds a bit of savory sharpness to the dish. A pinch of red pepper flakes adds just a hint of heat to the overall flavor profile.
How to Serve
This easy rice dish is a versatile side dish for the main dish of your choice. Try it with:
Carne Asada: Use this carne asada marinade for a delicious grilled main or serve it alongside a carne asada quesadilla. I like using flank steak or skirt steak for this recipe.
Burrito, Rice Bowls, or Tacos: Add the rice to a burrito or rice bowl with all your favorite toppings, like ground beef or turkey, pico de gallo, black beans, and sour cream or cilantro lime crema. You can also serve it as a side for tacos, like these tasty chicken tinga tacos.
Bean and Lentil Dishes: I love serving this rice with this mung bean curry, Mexican chickpeas, or this mujadara with red lentils.
Chicken: Try serving this rice with grilled chile lime chicken, grilled chicken with cilantro lime crema, or something simple like Italian chicken cutlets or a roasted half chicken for an easy dinner.
Seafood: This restaurant-quality pan-seared salmon or this blackened ahi tuna are favorite main dishes.
Pork & Steak: Be sure to try this smoked pork butt. This juicy blackened steak is a delicious option as well.
Salad: I love having a salad with a simple protein like cast iron chicken thighs and some chimichurri rice. This Prasini salad is a simple and delicious choice.
Expert Tips
- Rinse your rice before cooking it. This washes away some of the starch, helping the rice achieve the best texture. It also allows you the chance to remove any debris or broken pieces of rice in the bag.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe. Serving a crowd? Select the number next to "servings" in the recipe card below and drag to the number of servings you would like to make. This recipe easily scales up!
- Taste as you go. This is the most important tip I learned in culinary school to improve the quality of your food. Be sure to taste the chimichurri before adding it to the rice and add more salt or vinegar as needed for a balanced flavor.
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More Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe
Chimichurri Rice
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Blender, Food Processor, or Immersion Blender
- Fine Mesh Strainer
Ingredients
Chimichurri
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley packed
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems packed, see note 1
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar see note 2
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
- salt and black pepper to taste
Rice
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
Instructions
Chimichurri
- In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients. 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 and serve.
Rice
- Rinse the white rice in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs clear. This helps remove excess starch.
- Prepare the rice to package directions.
- After the resting period, fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains.
- Drizzle the prepared chimichurri sauce over the cooked rice. Gently fold the sauce into the rice until it’s well combined.
- Transfer the chimichurri rice to a serving platter or individual plates. You can also let it cool and add it to an airtight container for later use or meal prep.
Notes
- If you are not a cilantro fan, just use more parsley.
- If you don't have red wine vinegar on hand, try white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon or lime juice.
- Fridge: Store leftover chimichurri rice in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- Freezer: You can also freeze leftover rice. Let the rice cool completely and then transfer to a freezer-safe container, like a resealable plastic or silicone bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: I recommend reheating rice in the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through.
Elaine says
This was so bright and delicious! We love to have Mexican once per week, so I am always looking at ways to change things up. This rice was perfect! I used brown rice and it was perfect for our Mexican supper!
Genevieve says
So glad you enjoyed the dish, Elaine!
Arianne says
The herbs and spices add such a delicious flavor to the rice and it's so easy to make. I served it with grilled carne asada and it was so tasty and satisfying! 2 thumbs up!
Genevieve says
Wonderful, thanks Arianne!
Ella says
Oh I absolutely loved this! So simple yet so flavoursome. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing 😀
Genevieve says
Thanks so much Ella!