Chimichurri steak is made easily with tender grilled flap steak (bavette steak) drizzled with a vibrant, herbaceous homemade chimichurri sauce. With this chimichurri steak recipe, you’ll learn how to cook a flap steak and a simple yet delicious chimichurri steak sauce.
This is the best chimichurri recipe for steak but you have to try my Chimichurri Shrimp and Chimichurri Chicken next.
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Chimichurri steak is the perfect way to upgrade your flap steak dinner. This bright green sauce is bold, herby, tangy, and savory, with a subtle heat that makes it super addicting. If you love steak with slather of A.1. sauce, then I urge you to give this fresh sauce a try for a delicious, summery twist.
Why This Recipe Works
- Restaurant-Quality – From presentation to taste, after one bite of this chimichurri steak you’ll swear it came from a steakhouse and not your own kitchen.
- Affordable – Chimichurri is made with pantry staples and enhances the overall flavor and texture of even the toughest, cheapest cuts of beef. If you’re on a budget but still want to indulge, this sauce is the answer.
- So Easy – With just a few simple instructions, you can have flavorful steak on the dinner table in less than one hour from start to finish.
What is Chimichurri Steak?
Chimichurri steak is a cooked cut of beef topped with green Argentinian sauce. Classic chimichurri sauce includes fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. It’s quick, easy to make, and comes to life when served over steak.
Best Meat for Chimichurri
- Flap Steak – This cut of beef is also known as bottom sirloin butt or bavette steak. It’s very similar to flank steak when it comes to texture because they are from the same part of the cow (the belly). It has great marbling and although it’s a tougher cut of beef, it’s perfect for marinating.
- Skirt Steak – A more popular, pricy cut of meat. It’s a thin, long cut of beef with a deep beefy flavor.
- Flat Iron Steak – This cut is marbled and fatty, with a strong beefy flavor. It’s naturally tender.
Tools You’ll Need
Ingredients You Will Need for Chimichurri Steak
The ingredients for this flap steak recipe are super simple. The chimichurri has an array of fried and fresh herbs, aromatics, and other ingredients that you more than likely already have stocked in your kitchen.
Chimichurri Sauce for Steak
- Flat leaf parsley – Also known as Italian parsley, this adds a fresh peppery quality. Add it finely chopped.
- Quality olive oil – This enhances the overall flavor and texture of the sauce without overpowering the other ingredients.
- Garlic cloves – Minced.
- Shallot – Finely chopped.
- Fresno chili – These are a tad spicier than jalapenos, with a fruity, smoky taste. Remove the seeds so you get the flavor without the spicy notes. Finely chopped.
- Red wine vinegar – This adds a necessary acidic quality that offsets any bitterness. It also helps to break down the meat and tenderize it. You can use white vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice as alternatives.
- Seasoning – I use dried oregano, Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.
Steak
- Grass-fed flap – This is the best steak to use for this recipe. Alternatively, use skirt steak.
- Seasoning – Use Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
- Avocado oil – Use an oil with a high smoke point to effectively cook the meat.
How To Make Chimichurri Steak
Prep involves making the chimichurri sauce a few hours ahead, seasoning the steak, and letting it sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Pat steak dry and season both sides generously with kosher salt and pepper (remember, salt is flavor, add it liberally.) Leave at room temperature for 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add all chimichurri sauce ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. **For best results, see notes on when to prepare chimichurri sauce.**
3. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high-heat for 5 minutes. The skillet should be smoking, meaning it will be ripping hot before adding the steak.
4. Add avocado oil, ensuring the bottom of the skillet is coated. Add steak and cook for 4½-5 minutes for medium, using a kitchen thermometer to check for doneness (or until desired doneness is achieved; refer to steak temps in post), flipping once at the half-way mark
5. Transfer the steak to a plate and cover with foil. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
6. Slice into ¼ – ½ inch strips against the grain then top with chimichurri sauce. Enjoy!
Cooking Time for Flap Steak
This bavette steak recipe is cooked to medium. It’s moist and juicy when cooked this way but you can cook to your desired doneness.
- Rare – 2 minutes per side
- Medium Rare – 2 ½ – 3 minutes
- Medium – 3 – 3 ½ minutes
- Medium Well – 3 ½ – 4 minutes
- Well-Done – 4 ½ minutes
Tips and Tricks
- Add the bavette steak to a very hot surface. The direct heat sears the meat and the steak cooks quickly. If the steak is slowly cooked, it becomes tougher.
- Use it as a chimichurri steak marinade. For this recipe, we use chimichurri as a topping but you can double the ingredients and use it as both a marinade and sauce. Cover raw flap steak with chimichurri and allow it to marinate for at least 30 minutes to season and tenderize the meat.
- Cook the steak when it is at room temperature. This allows it cook more evenly.
- Keep the whole steak intact while cooking. Leaving it as is and not slicing it beforehand makes it easier to flip.
- Allow the steak to rest for at least 5 minutes. This prevents the juices from escaping.
- Slice against the grain. Steak has lines going in one direction so cut in the opposite direction. This results in tender steak slices that are less chewy.
What to Serve with Chimichurri Steak
What do you eat chimichurri steak with? The answer is whatever you want! There are so many ways to enjoy bavette steak. Here are some ideas.
- Potatoes – This is one of the best sides with chimichurri steak. If you want a rich hearty meal, nothing beats steak and potatoes. Try it with Gruyère and Parmesan Potato Stacks and Potatoes Au Gratin Gruyere.
- Pasta – Add some protein to your favorite pasta dish. The herbaceous flavors of this steak pairs well with a creamy noodle dish like Pasta al Limone.
- Veggies – Grilled steak tastes great with grilled vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, Grilled Corn with Ginger-Scallion Butter, or even Grilled Corn Salad.
- Chimichurri beef tacos – Melt-in-your-mouth beef tastes amazing between warmed corn or flour tortillas.
- Sandwich – Place this between some toasted ciabatta bread for a great lunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is chimichurri meant to taste like?
Chimichurri has a zesty, tangy taste with a hint of spice. The main ingredients are parsley, vinegar, olive oil, and garlic.
Which is better flank or flap steak?
I prefer flap steak because it has more marbling, which makes it a more tender cut of meat. Flank steak is leaner, with less fat.
Is flap meat steak tender?
Flap steak is naturally fibrous so when compared to other types of steak, it is not tender. However, when properly seasoned and cooked, it has the potential to be quite tender.
Looking for More Beef Recipes
- Big Mac Tacos
- Steak Salad with Thai Dressing
- Steak Crostini with Horseradish Cream
- Beef Stock
- Easy Filipino Beef Adobo
- Beef and Daikon Radish Soup
Loving this Chimichurri Steak Recipe?
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Chimichurri Steak
Equipment
- Cast-Iron Skillet or Grill Pan
- Kitchen Thermometer
Ingredients
Chimichurri Sauce
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- ½ cup quality olive oil
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup shallot, finely chopped
- 1 fresno chili seeded, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Steak
- 1 pound grass-fed bavette (flap) or skirt steak
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1½ tablespoons avocado oil
Instructions
- Pat steak dry and season both sides generously with kosher salt and pepper (remember, salt is flavor, add it liberally.) Leave at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add all chimichurri sauce ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. **For best results, see notes on when to prepare chimichurri sauce.**
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over high-heat for 5 minutes. The skillet should be smoking, meaning it will be ripping hot before adding the steak.
- Add avocado oil, ensuring the bottom of the skillet is coated. Add steak and cook for 4½-5 minutes for medium, using a kitchen thermometer to check for doneness.(or until desired doneness is achieved; refer to steak temps in post), flipping once at the half-way mark.
- Transfer the steak to a plate and cover with foil. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice into ¼ – ½ inch thick strips, cutting against the grain then top with chimichurri sauce. Enjoy!
