Chermoula is tasty, easy, bright and delicious Moroccan Sauce that adds so much flavor to your meals! It’s perfect for fish and Seafood, but just as great on meats, sandwiches, salads, sandwiches and more! We absolutely LOVE it with Sardines–a true taste of the Mediterranean!
This flavorful delicious Chermoula sauce we’re making today is a no cook flavor booster to any meal you’re having! While I especially love it with seafood like Sardines, it can go just as well with other proteins, sandwiches, salads and more!
If you’re familiar with the Argentinian Chimichurri Recipe, you can consider it something like it, only with different spice profile. And if you ever tried my Grandpa’s viral Hot Pepper Sauce recipe, you can also compare them slightly in terms of flavor. Either way, Chermoula Recipe is one you can’t miss!
What is Chermoula
The name Chermoula or Charmoula is pronounced sher-moo-lah, and it’s a popular Moroccan condiment that’s made primarily of fresh herbs, garlic, quality Moroccan olive oil, some spice and lemon juice.
If you go to Morocco, you’ll find this popular Chermoula Sauce is made using a mortar and pestle, something like the classic way Italians made their Basil Pesto. However today so many of us (and probably them too) make these sauces using a food processor.
What is Chermoula Made of – Ingredient List
I’m sure you have most of these ingredients on hand as this bright and flavorful sauce is made of really simple ingredients and North African spices. Here’s what you need:
- Quality Moroccan Olive Oil —We use Mina Olive oil exclusively.
- Fresh garlic
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Lemon juice and lemon zest
- Fresh ginger
- Green chillies or jalapenos
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Cumin
- Ground Coriander
- Chilli Flakes and Paprika (Optional)
How to make Chermoula Sauce
All you need is to gather your ingredients, and you’ll need a food processor or blender. You may of course resort to the classic way of using a mortar and pestle, however for convenience, we’re making it using a food processor today.
Combine the herbs, garlic, ginger, spice, lemon juice and Olive oil into a food processor. When using lots of fresh herbs for a flavorful sauce like this, make sure to use the stems as well because they contain lots of flavor! And once processed, you won’t really feel the toughness of the stem texture which you most often disregard for other dishes.
Blend on high speed until you get that gorgeous, bright and vibrant green colored Chermoula Sauce.
Once the sauce is ready, remove it from the food processor into a serving bowl and it’s ready!
How to Use Chermoula sauce
The beauty of this vibrant and flavourful sauce is that you can use it on pretty much everything! It pairs beautifully with Mediterranean Recipes, but also think of anything that can use a citrusy herb sauce and it works just as well! here are just a few ways how we use Chermoula Sauce:
- Sardines
- Chicken Recipe
- Scallops
- Mediterranean Baked Fish
- Tuna Salad Recipe with Olive Oil Dressing
- Air Fryer Salmon
- How to Cook Lamb With Moroccan Spice
- Pita Bowl
- Pan Fried Potatoes
- Fried Eggplant Salad
- Mussels
- Honeynut Squash or Roasted Acorn Squash
- Lamb Gyro Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Breast
- Marinade for Chicken, Beef and Fish!
You can keep Chermoula sauce in your fridge and keep adding a spoonful here and there to your everyday meals and see how it elevates your dishes!
How to Store Chermoula Recipe
If you’ve missed our guide on Basil Pesto, well this is an opportunity to go through it. You’ll find EVERYTHING YOU NEED to know about making pesto, using, storing it, freezing and a sweet short video for it all.
So just like Basil Pesto , we store Chermoula sauce in an air tight mason jar in the fridge for 5 days. You may add a layer of olive oil on top to stretch it to 14 days, however, you won’t get the same bright fresh flavors of the herbs like you would if it was fresh.
Ideally I love to freeze chermoula sauce, the same exact way I freeze my Basil Pesto and that way we have it on hand anytime we need it 🙂
Chermoula Sauce Tips and FAQ
- Use your favorite herbs here, but classically chemroula sauce is made with parsley and cilantro. I have made it using parsley and oregano and mint as well and it was delicious for those who don’t like cilantro as much.
- When it comes to stems, since the sauce will be blended, don’t skimp on adding the stems to the food processor as they have so much flavor!
- Feel free to up the garlic a bit if you’re looking for a garlicky sauce, I find this to be well balanced.
- Similarly, feel free to adjust heat by adding more or less chillies and chilli flakes.
- If not using the chermoula recipe within 2 days, it’s best to freeze it. Use the same guide in freezing as we do with our Basil Pesto.
Is Chermoula Sauce Healthy?
Oh yes! Chermoula sauce is super healthy specially when you make it with quality Moroccan Olive Oil like Mina because it’s single sourced and loaded with more polyphenols than others. This sauce is also gluten free, vegan, keto friendly and dairy free so it’s suitable for most diets.
What Does Chermoula Sauce taste like?
If you’ve tried our Chimichurri Recipe you may find a similar bright taste of herbs and a similar texture. However This Moroccan goodness has a richer smokey taste thanks to the cumin and coriander. And it’s also made with more lemon so it’s slightly tangier.
How long does Chermoula last in the fridge?
While you can stretch this wonderful recipe to last you 14 days int he fridge, I highly recommend freezing it using the same way we freeze Basil Pesto. Ideally I love making and using chermoula recipe within 2 days.
Chermoula
Chermoula is tasty, easy, bright and delicious Moroccan Sauce that adds so much flavor to your meals! It's perfect for fish and Seafood, but just as great on meats, sandwiches, salads, sandwiches and more! We absolutely LOVE it with Sardines--a true taste of the Mediterranean!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cilantro loosely packed with stems
- 1 cup Parsley loosely packed with stems
- 4 cloves garlic more or less to taste
- 1/2 inch ginger knob more or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1 Jalapeño or green chillies
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes more or less to taste
- 2/3 cup olive oil Moroccan olive oil -Mina. Use more for a saucier Chermoula
Instructions
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Gather all ingredients and place them in a bowl of a food processor.
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Pulse or puree until the sauces is smooth with just a few chunks of herbs
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Place the chermoula sauce in a sauce pan and it's ready.
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Serve and enjoy
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Chermoula Sauce Tips and FAQ
- Use your favorite herbs here, but classically chemroula sauce is made with parsley and cilantro. I have made it using parsley and oregano and mint as well and it was delicious for those who don't like cilantro as much.
- When it comes to stems, since the sauce will be blended, don't skimp on adding the stems to the food processor as they have so much flavor!
- Feel free to up the garlic a bit if you're looking for a garlicky sauce, I find this to be well balanced.
- Similarly, feel free to adjust heat by adding more or less chillies and chilli flakes.
- If not using the chermoula recipe within 2 days, it's best to freeze it. Use the same guide in freezing as we do with our Basil Pesto.
Is Chermoula Sauce Healthy?
Oh yes! Chermoula sauce is super healthy specially when you make it with quality Moroccan Olive Oil like Mina because it's single sourced and loaded with more polyphenols than others. This sauce is also gluten free, vegan, keto friendly and dairy free so it's suitable for most diets.
What Does Chermoula Sauce taste like?
If you've tried our Chimichurri Recipe you may find a similar bright taste of herbs and a similar texture. However This Moroccan goodness has a richer smokey taste thanks to the cumin and coriander. And it's also made with more lemon so it's slightly tangier.
How long does Chermoula last in the fridge?
While you can stretch this wonderful recipe to last you 14 days int he fridge, I highly recommend freezing it using the same way we freeze Basil Pesto. Ideally I love making and using chermoula recipe within 2 days.
I have never tried this but so excited for a solid recipe to try!
I love this versatile, fresh, and flavorful sauce. So many helpful tips, too!
We have a lot of parsley in our garden and I end up making a lot of chimichurri. I wanted to do something a little different for some halibut steaks and this was perfect.
This sauce was so bright and flavorful! I used it as a spread on sandwiches instead of pesto and it turned out great!
This sauce looks incredible! Perfect for sandwiches and paninis, going to try it this weekend!