This recipe is taken directly from the Hispanic Food Network, founded by Mike Gonzalez — the Chimichurri Rojo ~ Red Chimichurri Sauce recipe published on hispanicfoodnetwork.com, credited on the site as an Argentinian recipe. It’s a different sauce from the herb-and-garlic green chimichurri already on this site: red chimichurri swaps most of the fresh parsley volume for paprika, cumin and cayenne, and skips the oil-forward, herb-heavy balance that defines the green version.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
The source lists a 5-minute prep time, a 5-minute cook time (really just resting for the flavors to meld, since nothing is cooked), and a yield of about 1 cup.
Method
The instructions are as short as the ingredient list: whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. There’s no cooking step and no waiting period required before it’s usable, though the source’s own notes point out it keeps well enough to make ahead.
Ingredient by Ingredient
The garlic and minced parsley go in raw, the same way they would in the green version, which keeps some fresh, herbaceous character even though the color and dominant flavor shift toward the spices. Paprika is the single largest seasoning by volume here — 4 teaspoons against just a teaspoon of cumin — and it’s what gives the sauce its red-orange color as much as its flavor. Cumin adds an earthy note that isn’t part of green chimichurri at all, and the quarter-teaspoon of cayenne is there for background heat rather than to make the sauce genuinely spicy. Red wine vinegar and olive oil, in equal quarter-cup measures, hold the whole thing together the same way they would in any chimichurri, giving it enough acidity and body to cling to grilled meat without being a paste.
How Red Chimichurri Differs From Green
Green chimichurri leans on fresh herbs — usually a heavy dose of parsley plus oregano — cut with garlic, vinegar and oil. This red version still starts from a parsley-and-garlic base, but the Hispanic Food Network’s recipe shifts the balance toward ground spices: 4 teaspoons of paprika and a teaspoon of cumin do most of the flavor work, with cayenne adding heat rather than fresh chile. The result is a sauce that’s more spice-forward and less herbaceous than the green original, with the red wine vinegar and olive oil holding the same supporting role in both.
Where and How It’s Used
According to the source, chimichurri rojo functions as “a sauce used as a cooking base, a marinating sauce or on top like any other condiment,” and the recipe is described as working with meat, fish, poultry, empanadas and roasted vegetables. The site also notes that cooks commonly baste it onto meat as it cooks, or spoon it over the cooked surface of meat as it rests — and that it’s often served as an accompaniment to asados, Argentina’s tradition of grilled meats.
Storage
The source’s own note says it may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
A Note on the Name
The Hispanic Food Network credits this as an Argentinian recipe and lists its cuisine tag as “Argentinian.” As with chimichurri generally, exact recipes and their regional claims vary by household and by source — this particular red version, with its paprika-and-cumin backbone, is one specific published take rather than a single standardized formula.
About the Source
The Hispanic Food Network was started in 2010 near Seattle, Washington, by Mike Gonzalez, a journalist, food blogger and television news anchor who has worked at NBC affiliate stations in Phoenix and Washington state. It’s built out into a recipe site and video platform organized by country — its Latin American recipe section runs from Argentinian and Bolivian through Uruguayan and Venezuelan — which is the kind of regionally-organized publisher this recipe’s Argentinian attribution is worth weighing against: it’s not an Argentina-only specialist site, but this specific recipe is filed and tagged under its dedicated Argentinian category rather than a generic Latin American catch-all.
Keep reading
- Francis Mallmann’s Chimichurri, as Published by Saveur
- Emeril Lagasse’s Essence: A Cajun-Creole Dry Rub
- Virginia Willis’ Georgia Peach BBQ Sauce
- Eastern NC Vinegar-Pepper Sauce (Saveur Recipe)