Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
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Easy Argentinian marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is bursting with bold savory flavors and just a hint of heat. This quick-seared steak is so tender and juicy it will melt in your mouth.
Have a totally Argentinian dinner party theme by pairing this incredible chimichurri flank steak with my Mexican Street Corn Chicken Pasta Salad or try my Argentinian Chimichurri Chicken Recipe OR make up a big batch of my Chimichurri Sauce and enjoy whenever the mood hits!
About 6 months ago I visited Austin, TX, for the second time. The first visit was when I was a freshman in high school. The second trip was for work. I spent 3 days eating my way around town including the best donut I’ve ever had and my first encounter with flank steak mingled with chimichurri sauce. That steak melted in my mouth.
The juicylicious flank steak combined with the tangy garlic chimichurri sauce had been on my mind ever since, so of course I had to recreate it at home!
Why This Recipe Works
A good marinade — This steak marinade is super simple, and only involves a couple of pantry staple ingredients. You let the steak sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours or overnight for sheer steak perfection.
Chimichurri sauce — If you’re a steak-and-sauce combo fan, may I suggest you back away from the A1 and make this super simple, garlicky chimichurri sauce ASAP. It will change the way you think of steak forever.
Universally loved — I don’t know many people who don’t like steak and if they don’t then maybe they just haven’t tasted this one yet! I promise, if you’re a steak lover, then you’ll love this flank steak recipe.
Perfect for guests — Steaks are great to cook for one sure, but it’s even more fun to grill them out for a crew. Wow last-minute guests or your monthly couples’ dinner party with these amazing chimichurri steaks.
Here’s How You Make It
There are three little steps to making this chimichurri steak, but don’t be put off by that, they’re all super easy and when you put it all together you’ll be so grateful you did!
- First, make the marinade by combining all the ingredients together in a jar or in a bowl. Either shake the ingredients together or whisk them together and then pour them over the steak in a large, air-tight bag. Seal it up and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to all night long.
- Now combine the chimichurri ingredients together in a blender or food processor. You want these ingredients to be chopped and mixed together well, but stop mixing way before you hit “smoothie” level blending. Use the “pulse” button on your food processor for best results.
- Now, preheat a skillet with some oil in it on your stovetop or heat up your grill to medium-high heat. Add the steak and sear on each side for 6-8 minutes. You want the steak to be browned on the outside and light pink on the inside.
- Let the steak rest for a few minutes, then when you’re ready to eat it, slice it across the grain, add chimichurri sauce over the top and dig in!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chimichurri sauce is typically made of parsley, garlic, some kind of vinegar, and spices such as salt, pepper, oregano, and red peppers in olive oil.
I based mine off the sauce I had in Austin. As most foods go, “standard” sauces can vary across regions. That’s why mine also includes cilantro, onions, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar and Italian seasoning. But feel free to experiment with herbs and spices till you find the perfect combination of chimichurri sauce for you!
Expert Tips and Tricks
- When grilling/searing your steak, you want to watch for a blackened outside and a juicy, barely-pink (but not red) center. As soon as the pink starts to disappear, your steak is ready. The other really important step is to cook the steak quickly at a high temperature. If you cook it too long it will get tough and lose that melt-in-your-mouth quality.
- Be sure to let the steak rest for about 5 minutes or so on a cutting board (so when you cut it the juices don’t run out everywhere), and then cut across the grain in very thin strips.
- If you don’t know what it means to cut “across the grain,” it’s easy as can be. Just look at the steak and you will see that it has parallel lines running in one direction – cut across the lines, in the opposite direction. This is called cutting across the grain. It makes a huge difference in how tender your meat will be when you eat it and trust me, you can definitely tell the difference when you’re chewing juicy and super tender steak instead of chewy tough flank steak.
Try These Recipes Next
- Best Quick Steak Marinade
- Mushroom Sauce for Steak
- Sirloin Steak Recipe
- Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Tiger Sauce
- Flank Steak Marinade
- Best Chimichurri Sauce
- Argentinian Chimichurri Chicken
- Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chimichurri Butter
- Grilled Tri Tip Steak with Tiger Sauce
- Chimichurri Sauce
Did you try this flank steak with chimichurri sauce? EXCELLENT! Please rate the recipe below!
Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds flank steak
Marinade
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- juice of 1 lime
Chimichurri Sauce
- ½ cup cilantro
- ½ cup parsley
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- ½ teaspoon Italian blend seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ⅓ cup oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar , or apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Whisk together marinade ingredients. Combine marinade and steak in a large ziplock bag. Seal and chill for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
- Combine all chimichurri ingredients in a blender or food processor, and pulse until smooth.
- Preheat a an oiled skillet or grill to medium-high heat. Sear steak for 6-8 minutes on each side until heavily browned on the outside and slightly pink in the middle.
- Thinly slice steak across the grain and serve with chimichurri sauce on top.
Notes
- When grilling/searing your steak, you want to watch for a blackened outside and a juicy, barely-pink (but not red) center. As soon as the pink starts to disappear, your steak is ready. The other really important step is to cook the steak quickly at a high temperature. If you cook it too long it will get tough and lose that melt-in-your-mouth quality.
- Be sure to let the steak rest for about 5 minutes or so on a cutting board (so when you cut it the juices don’t run out everywhere), and then cut across the grain in very thin strips.
- If you don’t know what it means to cut “across the grain,” it’s easy as can be. Just look at the steak and you will see that it has parallel lines running in one direction – cut across the lines, in the opposite direction. This is called cutting across the grain. It makes a huge difference in how tender your meat will be when you eat it and trust me, you can definitely tell the difference when you’re chewing juicy and super tender steak instead of chewy tough flank steak.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What sides do you like with steak chimichirri?
There’s a sides tab on the main page of this website that you can browse to see which recipes you’d like but for starters, mashed potatoes, rolls, or you can go a different route and try my blooming onion recipe, fries, beans, or any roasted veggie 🙂
This recipe was great. despite having a lot of garlic it doesn’t taste overly garlicky. We grilled the meat and served this with a couscous/tomato mixture. We were a little short on cilantro so added a little extra parsley. Used a white onion.
I’m meal prepping. Should I store the chimichurri separately from the steak? So excited to try it!
You can probably store it either way. Personally, however, I would store it separately. 🙂
Hi Tiffany, how much diced onions in CUPS should we use?
About a 1/2 cup or so.
what kind of oil? and a red onion a yellow or a sweet? making it in two days. thanks
Any oil works but I prefer extra virgin olive oil. Same goes for the onions, either one will be delicious but I like red 🙂 Hope you enjoy this dish!
Not the author but I’d recommend a neutral oil with a high smoke point like vegetable oil- and not red onion I’d go for just any normal white onion
This recipe was lights out, amazing!! I’ve never had chimicurri sauce before. It was delicious! My wife and kids battled over the leftover sauce. They put it on their BLTs for lunch the next day. Definitely a family favorite. I made this recipe two consecutive weeks in a row. Thank you!
Wow, sounds delicious! I’m glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe so much! 🙂
Kids love it. Followed the recipe and it was delicious. Definitely a go to recipe.
Fabulous recipe for a large group! The chimichurri sauce was a big hit!!
This was amazing! I followed the directions closely, except I increased the amount of marinade a little bit, and before I put the steak in my cast iron skillet, I slathered some butter on it. It sure smoked up the kitchen, but the taste was worth it! Next time I think I will do it outside. The chimichurri sauce was wonderful, and this will be my permanent, go to recipe.
This was so delicious! I made tacos with the leftover meat. A big hit with my family.