CONFESSION: I could drink Chimichurri Sauce. I know, I’m a little weird, but hear me out. This vibrant, super delicious Chimichurri Steak dinner is going to leave you with all the good feels!
I absolutely LOVE Chimichurri Sauce. Seriously, in the summer months when all we are doing is grilling on the deck, I put this vibrant, brightly flavored sauce on everything. I slather it on all the meats and seafood I can get my hands on. Its delicious flavor profile consists of parsley, cilantro and oregano along with shallots, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar and of course, a pop of lemon juice to brighten the flavors and keep the greens…green.
I do like to add a kick to mine by putting in a few pinches of red pepper flakes. If your family is just dipping their toes into this sauce for the very first time, and you’re not a fan of heat, keep the red pepper flakes out. It’s fantastic without it…red pepper flakes only add a kick, if you want one.
Steak. Let’s talk beef cuts. Honestly here, just grab the steak cut that you enjoy and will feed your family on your budget. If you like flank, choose that. Want a little fancier cut and individual steaks? Choose NY Strip or Ribeye. It’s not necessarily about the steak here. The Chimichurri Sauce is the real show-stopper.
A few posts ago I mentioned that we have this meat-man who we buy all of our beef and pork from. His name is Chad, and he sells the best grass-fed beef this side of the whole entire world. He treats his animals so well and I know they are being fed the best in the land. However, if you’re buying yours at a grocery store, just be selective. Choose what is fresh and what works for your family and budget.
A basic salad rounds out this meal since the main event is the meat + sauce. In the winter I like to open a pomegranate and put the arils on my salad. If that’s not your jam, choose raspberries or whatever fruit you like on your salad. I finish all of mine off with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. Do your due diligence and read the labels on your vinegar! Make sure the only ingredient is acetified grape must or juice. There should never be colors or sugars added, because then it’s not 100% balsamic vinegar.
Lastly…enjoy this meal. It’s a delicious one…share it with your loved ones and friends. If there is recipe you want to repeat that you’ve enjoyed in my clean eating series, you can refer back to it HERE.
Until next time…Eat Well. Travel Often. Love Much.
xoxo
Chimichurri Steak + Mixed Greens & Balsamic Vinaigrette
Traditional Argentinian Chimichurri sauce is one of the best condiments around! It features intense flavors of parsley, cilantro, garlic & shallots with red wine vinegar + olive oil! Delicious! Slather your steak with it and serve it with a brilliant mixed green salad on the side!
Ingredients
- Chimichurri Steak with Mixed Greens + Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1-1.5 lbs. flank steak (or hanger, or New York strip...it doesn't matter really, pick the cut you like...it's all about the Chimichurri Sauce)
- Chimichurri:
- 1 1/2 cups heavily-packed fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano or 1.5 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 small shallot
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 3 T. red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
- 2 T. fresh lemon juice
- kosher or sea salt + freshly ground black pepper
- Dash/Pink or up to 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (use one with a flavor profile that you enjoy)
- 4 cups mixed spring greens or salad greens of your choice
- Pomegranate arils or Raspberries (for salad garnish)
- extra virgin olive oil + balsamic vinegar for dressing the salad--make sure the balsamic vinegar is only grape juice/must--no added sugars or colors
Directions
- Step 1 *Preheat the oven to 400 F. ONLY if you’ll be cooking your steak to a more “done” or “well done” temperature. Otherwise, oven is off.
- Step 2 Chimichurri Sauce Prep–
- Step 3 Finely chop the parsley, cilantro, oregano, shallot and garlic. Place these chopped ingredients in a mixing bowl and add all other Chimichurri ingredients. Stir well to combine. If you’re using a food processor, then just add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse a few times. Set aside and let flavors rest while you prepare the steak + salad.
- Step 4 Salt + pepper your steak and allow to sit out at room temp for at least 15-20 minutes before you cook it.
- Step 5 Fire up the grill (OK, I realize we are in the throws of winter here in northern Minnesota…) OR you can use a grill pan or cast iron pan on your cooktop. Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in the pan (just enough so it makes a very slight glaze on the pan).
- Step 6 Once the pan has a nice medium-high heat, place your steak, seasoned side down, into the pan and sear. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Using a meat thermometer, check for its internal temperature. If you are one who likes your meat on the “more done” side, this is where you transfer the cast iron skillet into the oven at 400 F until it has finished cooking to the internal temperature of your liking.
- Step 7 Once the steak has reached the internal temperature of your liking, pull it out of the pan and allow it to rest on a carving board or cutting board, tented with foil for 10 minutes. TENTING is SO important! Please do not skip this. If you cut into it right away, all the juices will run away from your steak. Also, while you let your meat rest, the internal temperature can rise 5-10 degrees, so factor this into your cooking time.
- Step 8 While your steak rests, divide the salad between all of the plates.
- Step 9 Add pomegranate arils or red raspberries on top of the salad greens.
- Step 10 Drizzle with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and a balsamic vinegar of your choice.
- Step 11 Once the steak has finished resting, slice it against the grain into strips and slather it with the Chimichurri Sauce~Enjoy!
My husband was from Uruguay and made Chimichurri regularly from memory. I’m glad to have a recipe so now I can make it too. Thanks for your post!
You’re so welcome! Chimichurri is incredible and many people have their own ‘version’ of it. I bet your husband’s is divine! Make sure to really pack the herbs in for a full-flavored chimichurri sauce (and a less oily one). Enjoy!
Oh My!!! Sounds delicious!! Must make this on the weekend!
Absolutely! And slowly savor it…Enjoy!
That looks so good! I am craving steak and a salad now. 🙂 I have never tried chimichurri but I really want to. Looks like it adds a lot of delicious flavor to the meat.
The flavor that it adds to a rather boring grilled meat is out of this world; enjoy!
Believe it or not, but I’ve never had this sauce and this post makes me think I haven’t lived…..Got to get me some!
Bahahaha! You must go make it; enjoy!
Wow! Another amazing recipe! I can’t wait to try this one! Thank you..it sounds delicious!
You’re so welcome; enjoy!
This looks amazing! I would love to make this yummy steak!
Put it on your grocery list! Enjoy!
Looks yum
It’s really good; enjoy!
Ooo this looks delicious!! I wonder if it would go well with a burrito style bowl, with some rice and beans, avocado, etc!
Oh heck yes! Put it on all.the.things! You can’t go wrong with chimichurri sauce!
This will be great on so many things other than steak too! Yum
Oh, it absolutely is! I put it on all grilled meats and fish and it’s also great on grilled or roasted vegetables!
This sauce looks amazing! I am going to have to make up a batch and try it on a bunch of different things. Veggies and sweet potatoes come to mind. I like the other comment about a burrito idea!
I put this sauce on everything. It’s great on potatoes, pasta, anything to slurp up the juices!
This looks and sounds so delicious. I just was thinking yesterday that I’d love a steak.
Nothing beats a good steak with an excellent accompaniment!
Sounds decadent! I’m always looking for new dinner ideas, so I’m going to pin this for later.
That’s great! I’ve also created a pin for this recipe on my Pinterest board for Clean Eating. Enjoy!
This sounds amazing. I am cooking steak right now and I wish I had seen this!
Next week for sure! Enjoy!
Not only do the recipe and photos look fabulous, but I admire anyone who can use the term “acetified” with confidence. I’ve had some fails with steak, so look forward to using the tenting technique to reduce the meat’s dryness. Yum.
Hahahaha! I love it. Yes, “acetified” is a real term. Tenting meat is the best kept secret. Don’t be afraid of letting it sit for a good 10 minutes fully tented. It won’t get cold when tented properly and the juices remain in tact!
My husband would love you!
Bahahahaha! Well, make this recipe for him and tell him you made it up 😉 Enjoy!
We raise our own beef so with a freezer full of beef , I am always looking for a different way to fix beef. Thanks for sharing!
That’s fantastic! When we buy beef from our “meat man,” we buy 1/2 cow at a time so we’re in the same boat…always looking for delicious way to prepare it!
We are HUGE fans of Chimichurri! Sometimes we make it with cilantro to change things up!
This recipe includes a bit of cilantro as well. I think Chimichurri is similar to pesto in the fact that it can be made out of so many herbs. It’s so delicious!
That looks delicious! Thanks!
You’re welcome; enjoy!
That looks amazing! I LOVE chimichurri sauce but have never tried it with steak before. Will definitely need to!
Chimichurri sauce goes well with most anything, but it’s especially great on grilled steak!
Yum! My husband and I love balsamic and steak so this is a great recipe for us.
Yes! The balsamic vinegar on the salad compliments the steak so well.
Looks devine!
It’s amazing. The Chimichurri flavors are incredible!
Wow! I wish I was having this for dinner tonight! My mouth is watering! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness that looks delicious!!!
This looks so delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever tried chimichurri sauce. I’ll bet that does make the steak even better. I need to do that!
Looks delicious, I’m a sirloin (well ideally tenderloin – but budgets and all that – haha) girl myself, you are so fortunate to have a great “meat guy” close by.
Thank you! We’ve been buying from our “meat man” for close to 10 years now…I love having him available!
That steak is mouth-watering, thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
You’re so very welcome…enjoy!!
This looks delicious! I’m going to have to share this with my hubby. He is the chef in the family!
Oh, my goodness. I love me a good steak!!! This recipe looks fantastic!!!
I’m plant based so no meat for me. But I’ll have to try the sauce and find a use for it!
This looks so delish! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Oh man, this looks soooooo good! I am craving a good steak now.