Name: Oil-Free Chimichurri-Gremolata Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cup lightly packed fresh flat leaf parsley; 1½ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro; 1/3 cup water; 3 TBSPs lemon juice; 1½ TBSP apple cider vinegar; 1½ TBSP balsamic vinegar; 3 - 4 cloves garlic; 1/3 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds; 1 TBSP dried oregano; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, recommended for flavor depth and a kick, more if desired); 3/4 teaspoon salt; 1/3 teaspoon black pepper

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This smack-you-with-flavor Oil-Free Chimichurri-Gremolata Sauce is wonderfully intense. Yep. It had been too long since I’d posted yet another green sauce.

Hybrid

This sauce isn’t quite a chimichurri because it’s oil-free. It’s not really a straight gremolata either because it’s blended until smooth. It’s a little bit of both. Two fun words, one great sauce.

Enjoy Oil-Free Chimichurri-Gremolata Sauce with

pasta
burritos & wraps
bowls & salads
Slow-Roasted Zesty Greek Lemon Potatoes & fries
next week’s post

The blender is best for this recipe

When I’ve made this in my food processor it was more rustic. I like this best when it becomes a mostly smooth sauce, which happens when I make it with my high-speed blender.

Cilantro Substitutions

Does cilantro taste like soap to you? If so, you could sub spinach or just use more parsley in place of the cilantro. Parsley is traditional in chimichurri, but with this recipe you really have to be good with lots of parsley flavor if you go all in with parsley.

Flat Leaf Parsley

I use and recommend flat leaf parsley over the stuff that looks like a garnish you could find on your plate in the 1980’s. It’s a personal preference. The sauce gets smoother if you use flat leaf.

Let’s make Chimichurri-Gremolata Sauce

Ingredients for Oil-Free Chimichuri-Gremolata Sauce — Ingredients for Oil-Free Chimichurri-Gremolata Sauce

Ingredients for Oil-Free Chimichuri-Gremolata Sauce in the blender — Ingredients for Oil-Free Chimichurri-Gremolata Sauce in the blender

Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend, starting slow and increasing speed.

Waking up Sous Chef Catnip Dream with blender noise

Stop and scrape the sides as needed while blending. Blend until completely smooth. Taste, then add more cayenne, salt or pepper if desired.

This sauce is really strong, a little goes a long way.

Green Oil-Free Chimichuri-Gremolata Sauce in a tiny jar with a spoon on a glass table

Green Oil-Free Chimichuri-Gremolata Sauce in a tiny jar

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5 from 1 vote