Chimichurri Shrimp ~ this can be a low carb and paleo friendly appetizer, or a comforting 30-minute meal when you pair it with pasta, couscous, or warm toasty bread. You’ll be amazed at the vibrant flavor of this easy shrimp recipe!
Chimichurri sauce is a unique uncooked sauce meant to go with grilled meats…it comes from Argentina where they take their ‘asado’ very seriously. This sauce is garlicky, spicy, and a brilliant emerald green thanks to the fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, and oregano. (Can you see why I love it so much?) A little like pesto, for you gringos, but a whole lot more zesty and vibrant. If you make the chimichurri sauce ahead (it gets better as it sits) this dish will take you all of 10 minutes. That barely gives you enough time to pour a glass of wine. We should all have such problems!
I think chimichurri is my desert island sauce. Try it and I’m pretty sure you’ll agree, and you don’t have to limit it to grilled meats…my absolute favorite way to enjoy it is over fried eggs…yum. My Cuisinart Food Processor is the perfect tool for this, it minces everything finely and evenly, and I just add each ingredient in succession, scraping down the sides as I go.
TIP: If you’re sensitive to raw garlic, don’t skip it, try roasted garlic — that will mellow out the flavor and the unwanted effects of the raw garlic.
When I serve this chimichurri shrimp as a starter, I love to leave the tails on so that people can use them as a little handle, it makes the whole dish so much easier to eat. That little bit of meat under the tail is the best morsel, too. If you plan to serve this over pasta, etc, you may want to buy smaller shrimp and remove the whole shell. This sauce would be amazing with scallops, too, if you can find them.
TIP: Like pesto, chimichurri is an uncooked sauce, and the flavor is best unheated. If you must heat it, do it briefly, and at the last minute.
The really great thing about this appetizer is that it can be made at the very last second. The shrimp takes just minutes to cook, so if you’re having guests you can throw it on when you hear the doorbell ring. The sauce can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time, too, and the flavors will actually have a chance to mature that way.
TIP: Go ahead and use frozen shrimp, either raw or cooked for this dish. All shrimp, even ‘fresh’, has been frozen at some point in order to get it from the boat to the market.
Love shrimp? Me too!
- Shrimp Taco Salad
- Edna Lewis’ Shrimp and Grits
- Shrimp in Romesco Sauce
- Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail
- New England Style Shrimp Rolls
Chimichurri Shrimp
Ingredients
- one batch chimichurri sauce, recipe here
- 1 pound raw shrimp, shelled and veined, leave tails on
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Toss the shrimp with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Heat a large skillet on medium heat, and when it is hot, add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook just until the shrimp curl and turn pink, then flip and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.
- Spread the chimichurri sauce in a casserole dish, serving dish, or skillet, and nestle the cooked shrimp down into the sauce.
- Serve with crusty bread for dipping, or serve over rice, couscous, or pasta.
Notes
- If you’ve got leftover fresh herbs, don’t let them go to waste — I’ll show you How to Dry Herbs in the Microwave!
I have some fresh grouper in my freezer. We always just grill the grouper with a little bit of olive oil and old bay seasoning. But your chimichurri recipe sounds like a delicious addition to serve on the side. Right? Thanks!
It would work great with grouper, for sure. Now I’m hungry.
I never use a whole bunch of cilantro and it used to go bad before I used it all. (cooking for one) I tried drying it and it just didn’t taste right. Then I tried rough chopping it, used to also throw away the stems until I found out that is where most of the flavor is, adding some garlic and olive oil, blending it up and putting it in a ziplock freezer bag. Spread it out flat in the bag and then when I need some, just break off a chunk and add it to whatever I’m making!
Great tip, love that!
What a great tip!
Do you have the nutritional information for this dish?
I just added the nutritional info to the chimichurri sauce post, Allie, if that helps you, but I can’t really add it here because the recipe is split, and for my app to work all the ingredients have to be in the recipe, does that make sense?
This looks amazing! Beautiful colors and wonderful flavors. Thanks for sharing!
This is a winner, Marie, hope you try it!
This looks beautiful! I’ve never had Chimichurri sauce, I am really curious how it tastes.
The shrimp and Chimichurri sound wonderful. I love the color of the Chimichurri.
My son Sean is going to LOVE this one Sue! He totally loves shrimp and chimichurri is his favorite sauce! Can’t wait to try your homemade chimichurri!