I don’t stay in one lane in my kitchen, which is how a chimichurri rojo ended up sitting next to all the Italian food on this site. It’s the red one — smoky and paprika-driven where the green version is herby. Mine starts with a cup of oil steeped with five tablespoons of paprika until it turns a deep brick red, then gets loaded with capers, shallot and parsley. You spoon it over sliced steak and it turns a plain seared ribeye into the thing everyone at the table asks about.
The whole idea here is that the flavor lives in the oil. You warm avocado oil with paprika just until it is barely hot, let it cool until it is a dark, glossy red, then strain it - so you get all that smoky-sweet paprika flavor and none of the grit. From there it is a quick stir of shallot, capers, parsley, and vinegar. It is happy on whatever you have going on the grill: a wagyu strip steak, a thick reverse sear tomahawk, or a quick-cooking marinated skirt steak. If you lean toward a greener sauce, my sous vide ribeye with tomato chimichurri is the fresher cousin to this one.
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Why You'll Love This Chimichurri Rojo
- It's a sauce, not a project. Make the chimichurri, then throw the steak on the grill.
- It works on any steak. Filets, ribeyes, strip, skirt, even leftover steak the next day. The sauce carries all of it.
- Big flavor from pantry basics. Paprika, capers, vinegar, a shallot, parsley. Nothing you have to hunt down.
- The infused oil is where it comes from. Warming the paprika into the oil pulls out color and depth you can't get by stirring it in cold.
- It's better made ahead. Give it an hour and the shallot and capers soak in.
Chimichurri Rojo Ingredients
Almost all of this is pantry and produce-drawer stuff, and the steak is whatever you want it to be. See the recipe card below for exact quantities.
- Steak - any cut you love (filets, ribeyes, strip, or skirt), grilled and sliced
- Avocado oil (or another neutral, high-smoke-point oil)
- Paprika - fresh sweet or smoked
- Shallot, finely chopped
- Capers, coarsely chopped
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Red wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
A note on the paprika: this is where the entire sauce comes from, so use one you would actually want to taste on its own. Fresh sweet paprika - Hungarian or Spanish - is the move, and smoked paprika works too if you want it smokier. Skip the jar that has been in the back of the cabinet for two years. Flat paprika makes a flat sauce.
How to Make Chimichurri Rojo
Make the sauce first, then grill the steak. The only step that needs your attention is the oil - paprika burns fast, so do not wander off. Exact quantities are in the recipe card.
Warm the oil and let it cool
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the avocado oil and paprika together, swirling now and then, about 5 minutes, just until warm. Watch it closely - burnt paprika turns the whole sauce bitter. Pull the pan off the heat and let the oil stand until it is completely cool and has turned a dark red; the color and flavor deepen as it sits.
Strain the oil
Pour the paprika oil through a fine-mesh strainer - line it with cheesecloth if you want it crystal clear - into a small bowl, leaving the paprika solids behind.
Stir in everything else and set aside
Whisk the strained oil together with the shallot, capers, parsley, and red wine vinegar. Season with kosher salt to taste, then set aside while you grill the steak.
Grill the steak
Season the steak with salt and pepper and grill it over high heat to your preferred doneness. Pull it and let it rest a few minutes before slicing.
Slice and spoon
Slice the rested steak against the grain, fan it on a plate, and spoon the chimichurri rojo generously over the top.
Substitutions
- No avocado oil? Any neutral, high-smoke-point oil works - grapeseed, refined canola, or light olive oil. Skip extra-virgin; its flavor fights the paprika.
- Smoked vs. sweet paprika. Sweet paprika keeps it bright; smoked paprika pushes it deep and bacon-y. Half and half is a great middle ground.
- No capers? Chopped green olives or a spoonful of brined green peppercorns give you the same salty-briny pop.
- No red wine vinegar? Sherry vinegar or a squeeze of fresh lemon both bring the acidity the sauce needs to cut the oil.
- No shallot? A few tablespoons of finely minced red onion or a couple of minced scallions step right in.
Variations
- Sauce-meets-marinade. Toss the raw steak in a few spoonfuls before grilling, then finish with fresh sauce after it rests.
- Garlic lover's version. Grate a clove of raw garlic in with the shallot for a sharper, more traditional chimichurri edge.
- Add some heat. The classic rojo leans smoky, not spicy, but if you want warmth, stir in a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or a minced fresh chili to taste.
- Beyond steak. Spoon it over grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, a fried egg, or charred bread. It does not stay in its lane.
Storage
Refrigerate the chimichurri rojo in an airtight jar for up to 1 week; the oil may firm up slightly in the cold, which is normal. Let it sit out 20 to 30 minutes before serving and give it a stir to bring the oil back together. Freezing is not recommended - the fresh shallot and parsley lose their texture, and the sauce comes together fast enough that it is worth making fresh each time.
Top Tip - Don't Burn the Paprika
Five tablespoons of paprika in hot oil goes from fragrant to scorched in seconds, and burnt paprika turns the entire sauce bitter with no way to fix it. Keep the heat at medium, swirl the pan, and pull it the moment it is warm and smells toasty. Then let it cool all the way before straining — the color deepens as it stands, and you want every bit of that.
Chimichurri rojo is the red version of Argentina's classic green chimichurri. Where the green one leans on fresh herbs and garlic, the red gets its color and smoky depth from paprika (here, a paprika-infused oil) plus capers, shallot, and parsley. It lands redder, smokier, and brinier than the green, and it's built to spoon over steak.
Any of them. The sauce is bold enough for a fatty ribeye and bright enough to dress up lean filets or quick-cooking skirt steak. Grill the steak, slice it against the grain, and spoon the sauce over the top.
Yes, and it's better for it. After an hour in the fridge the shallot and capers settle into the oil and the flavor rounds out. Keep it refrigerated up to a week and bring it back to room temperature before serving.
Straining leaves the gritty paprika solids behind so you're left with pure, smooth, deeply colored oil. Warming the paprika first pulls its color and flavor into the oil; straining gives you all of that without a sandy texture in the finished sauce.
More from Whisk & Wine
If this sauce earned a permanent spot in your fridge, here is what to cook and pour it over next.
More Steak & Beef Recipes
From a special-occasion wagyu strip steak to a low-and-slow sous vide ribeye, here is where to go deeper on cooking great steak at home - every one of them a happy home for a spoonful of this sauce.
Steak with Chimichurri Rojo (Red Paprika Chimichurri)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: About 1 cup sauce (serves 4) 1x
Description
A bold, smoky-briny chimichurri rojo built on an infused paprika oil and loaded with capers, shallot, and parsley - spooned over any sliced grilled steak. Make the sauce first, then grill the steak.
Ingredients
- For the steak:
- 2 (5 oz) steaks - filets, ribeyes, or your favorite cut
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Neutral oil, for the grill
- For the chimichurri rojo:
- 1 cup avocado oil
- 5 tablespoons paprika
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- ¼ cup capers, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Kosher salt, to taste
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Add the avocado oil and paprika to a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Warm for about 5 minutes, swirling occasionally, just until warm. Do not let the paprika burn.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Let the oil stand until completely cool and dark red, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Strain the paprika oil through a fine-mesh strainer (lined with cheesecloth, if desired) into a small bowl. Discard the solids.
- Whisk the strained oil with the shallot, capers, parsley, and red wine vinegar.
- Season with kosher salt to taste. Set aside.
- Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Grill the steaks over high heat to your preferred doneness (about 125 to 130°F internal for medium-rare). Rest 5 to 10 minutes.
- Slice the rested steak against the grain.
- Spoon the chimichurri rojo over the sliced steak and serve.
Notes
- Watch the paprika - it scorches in seconds and burnt paprika is bitter. Keep the heat at medium and pull the pan the moment the oil is warm.
- Make ahead: the sauce is even better after an hour. Refrigerate up to 1 week; bring to room temperature and stir before serving.
- Want heat? The classic rojo leans smoky, not spicy. For warmth, stir in crushed red pepper flakes or a minced fresh chili to taste.
- Paprika quality matters: use fresh sweet (Hungarian or Spanish) paprika, or smoked paprika for a deeper, smokier sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cooling Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
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