Chermoula paste is a delicious wonder paste from North Africa with many nutritional benefits. Made with parsley leaves, fresh cilantro, and other ingredients, it adds an irresistible flavor to your dishes!
❤️ Why you'll love it
Chermoula works best with fish, chicken, and vegetables, so it's a great option for weekday meals when you're short on time. It is also fantastic on a sandwich or in a wrap, so it's a great way to get more greens into your diet.
This super easy recipe will last for up to a week in the fridge and longer when frozen. So you can make a big batch and store it in an airtight container to keep on hand.
💭 What is chermoula paste (sauce)?
Chermoula is essentially a green herb paste made from coriander, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and lemon juice, and it tastes fantastic.
Think of it as one of those 'secret ingredient' types of things. You can add it to just about anything!
Chermoula is a spice paste popular in Moroccan cuisine with many uses beyond flavoring fish or chicken for the oven. It has a somewhat tart taste that works so well with meat and chicken dishes!
🥘 Chermoula vs chimichurri
Chermoula and chimichurri are both green herb pastes that are frequently used as sauces or condiments. Both are easy to make at home with traditional Mediterranean ingredients.
They are great to have on hand for adding flavor to quick weekday meals. They're also useful for spicing up sandwiches, wraps, or veggies.
Chermoula and chimichurri have similar flavor profiles, but each has distinct characteristics that set them apart. Chimichurri is often more garlicky than chermoula. It has a more intense flavor since it contains loads of garlic.
Chermoula sauce is more fragrant due to the fresh herbs and citrus juice and is often mixed into other dishes. Chermoula and chimichurri are both delicious, so you can't go wrong with either one!
🥘 Equipment Used
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I use a blender for this African spice paste, but you can also use a food processor. You can also use a small personal blender if you are making a smaller quantity.
🧾 Ingredients Used
- Fresh parsley and cilantro: You can buy fresh vegetables from your local grocery store. Parsley has inflammatory benefits, and cilantro is said to be a powerful cleansing vegetable.
- Olive oil: The oil will help turn the ingredients into a paste. You can use any cooking oil you prefer.
- Garlic: You can either use fresh garlic cloves or garlic powder for this recipe.
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice will add a zesty, fresh flavor. You can also use lemon zest.
- Spices: Smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, black pepper, salt, and turmeric powder.
🔪 How To Make Chermoula Sauce
This chermoula paste recipe comes together very quickly.
- Add ingredients to a blender or food processor.
- Blend till coarse or to your desired texture preference.
- Add more olive oil if you need to.
- Pour into an airtight container to store.
🥫 Storing and Reheating
Store this chermoula recipe in an airtight container for about a week in the fridge. After this time, it may start to lose its flavor.
You can freeze it in an airtight container for about a month to preserve it for longer. Then, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight when you're ready to use it.
Another way to store chermoula paste it is to pour the sauce into ice cube trays, then freeze it. When frozen, pop them out and place them in a resealable bag.
💭 Tips and Variations
- Add chermoula sauce to mayonnaise for a quick homemade sauce to serve with fish or chicken.
- It's also excellent mixed with yogurt or drizzled over a bowl of steamed veggies.
- Chermoula is great with a bit of spice, so feel free to add more cayenne pepper or ground paprika than the recipe calls for.
- There are different ways to make this African sauce. Add sour cream, red chilli, sweet paprika, fresh coriander, red pepper flakes, or coriander seed for variety.
- To use as a salad dressing, add a little more oil so it's runny.
- As with all spice blends, the quality and freshness of your ingredients will make a difference in the product. Make sure you use lots of fresh sweet herbs and spices when possible.
🍽️ What can I eat Chermoula with?
Chermoula paste is perfect for a salad dressing or as a marinade. Use it with chicken or fish, or add it to soups or stews. Chermoula sauce is the primary marinade I use to make my Chermoula chicken recipe.
You can also whisk this sauce into mayonnaise and use it in almost any other way you can think of!
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
What does chermoula taste like?
Chermoula is a bold, fragrant blend of herbs with a bit of a citrusy, garlicky taste, thanks to the lemon juice. It's often used as a marinade for fish and chicken and is also great as a sauce for vegetables.
What is chermoula paste made from?
Besides the herbs, the main ingredients in chermoula are oil and lemon juice. Lemon juice balances the flavors of the spices and herbs, so don't omit it. Besides that, chermoula is a very forgiving, simple recipe that you can adjust based on your preferences. You can use any neutral-flavored oil, but olive oil is the most used.
📚 Related Recipes
Check out these other African spices and sauces!
📖 Recipe
Chermoula Paste
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup parsley
- 2 cups cilantro
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a small personal blender.
- Blend till coarse.
- Add more olive oil if you need to.
Notes
- Add chermoula to mayonnaise for a quick homemade sauce to serve with fish or chicken.
- There are different ways to make this African sauce. Add sour cream, red chili, sweet paprika, fresh coriander, or coriander seed for this spice mix.
- To use as a salad dressing, add a little more oil so it's runny.
- As with all spice blends, the quality and freshness of your ingredients will make a difference in the product. Make sure you use lots of fresh sweet herbs and spices when possible.
Nutrition
Tayo Oredola is the founder of Low Carb Africa, where she shares healthy, low carb dishes with global flavors. She is passionate about teaching people how to cook drool-worthy dishes while losing weight and living their best lives. Tayo’s recipes have been featured on MSN, Women’s Health, Parade, Yahoo News, Pure Wow, Essence, and other online publications.
A plethora of flavors
Yes, for sure!