Chimichurri is a flavor-packed sauce or marinade from Argentina. Since I’m trying to eat more raw veggies, I decided to take a typical marinade and build a super healthy salad around it.
Don’t be intimidated by the large number of ingredients. This is really easy.
Time Saving Tip: You can make extra chimichurri and freeze batches for later.

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Salad Ingredients
- 10-12 oz meat of your choice, cut into chunks or strips (chicken, beef or pork work well)
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- ½ red bell pepper cut into strips
- ½ avocado cut into cubes
Chimichurri Marinade Ingredients
- ½ cup cilantro leaves (coriander here in Australia)
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- Splash of vinegar or lime juice
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Prepare the chimichurri marinade. Chop all the herbs. Combine the herbs and garlic in a bowl. Alternatively, you could use a food processor if you want a smoother marinade/dressing. Add the oil and a splash of vinegar or lime. Correct the seasoning, adding salt or vinegar, to taste. The chimichurri should be highly seasoned.
- Pour a 1/2 of the chimichurri into a baking dish just large enough to hold the meat you want to marinade. Add meat. Cover and store in the fridge for a few hours (at least 30 minutes!) Set the rest of the chimichurri aside.
- Heat up a large skillet. Cook meat until thoroughly cooked (3-5 minutes should do.) If cooking steak, you can leave medium rare.
- Combine veggies in a large salad bowl. Toss with the chimichurri you set aside. Add meat. Serve and top with sprigs of cilantro.