TL/DR – Chimichurri Grilled Chicken. Like a flavor tornado, this chimichurri recipe has added lemon zest and fresh oregano. A very versatile dish, the grilled chicken can be served with a couple of sides, as a sandwich or atop a salad. –
This Chimichurri Grilled Chicken is simple and fast. It can be optionally spicy and it keeps well in the refrigerator for lunch the next day.
Argentinian chimichurri sauce is typically served with steak, but it is great over grilled chicken. Chimichurri combined with lemon juice and olive oil also makes a great chicken marinade.
Process parsley, cilantro, fresh oregano, lemon zest, olive oil, optional red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to make the vibrant, flavor packed chimichurri sauce.
Toss a bit of the chimichurri into the marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Be sure not to marinate more than an hour because the lemon juice will break down the chicken and the resulting texture can get mushy. Gross.
Serve it with Buttermilk Packet Potatoes or grilled vegetables, or slice it and make a sandwich or a salad dressed with the sauce.
Chimichurri Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup packed Italian parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup packed fresh oregano leaves
- 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 T red wine vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove, chopped
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 t pepper
- 1/8 t red pepper flakes, optional
- For the chicken:
- 2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 T chimichurri sauce
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- juice of one lemon
- 3/4 t kosher salt
- 1/8 t pepper
Directions
- Step 1 Make the chimichurri sauce first. You will need some of it to marinate the chicken.
- Step 2 Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients into a food processor and process until very smooth and drips from a spoon. If it is too pasty, add an extra T of olive oil.
- Step 3 Set aside.
- Step 4 Put 2 T of chimichurri sauce, 2 T extra virgin olive oil, juice of one lemon, zest of one lemon, 1/2 t kosher salt and 1/8 t pepper into a large ziploc bag and swirl around to mix.
- Step 5 Add the chicken to the bag, seal tightly and coat the chicken well. Marinate for a half hour, up to one hour.
- Step 6 Refrigerate the chimichurri sauce until ready to serve.
- Step 7 Heat the grill to 350 degrees F.
- Step 8 Remove chicken from marinade and allow marinade to drip back into the bag.
- Step 9 Grill the chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side, until it reaches 165 degrees F internally.
- Step 10 Allow chicken to rest 10 minutes before serving.
- Step 11 Slice the chicken and serve it with the chimichurri sauce and potatoes or a vegetable.
