The best things in life are usually accidents first. Like the time I went out for arepas, and they gave me aioli instead of chimichurri for dunking my yucca fries. “No worries,” I said as they brought out the other. And because the aioli was still on my plate, I decided to take the fries in a dip of each. That’s when I landed on the best sauce of my life—Chimichurri Aioli. Herby, zesty, tangy, creamy. All the right things in one vessel instead of two.
My friends Lindsay and Steph share the same deep love of arepas. I was probably with them during my sauce revelation. So the other night when we got together to make arepas at home, I signed up to make the Chimichurri Aioli sauce.
After some research, I found that my idea was not so incredibly profound. Latin aiolis and chimichurris share a lot of the same ingredients. It should come as no surprise that they taste perfect together. I deleted the parsley that so many chimichurris call for, added green onions, jarred jalapeños for spice and tang, and a couple tablespoons of good-quality mayo to land this sauce in the aioli category. The end result was as just as good as that initial accident. It’s best on everything. Use it as a sauce for arepas and tacos. Or as a dip for chips or sweet potato fries. But when in doubt, everything.
While I work on recreating my favorite Beef, Plantain, and Pickled Onion Arepa, I give you this sauce and these quick vegetarian tacos. Roasted sweet potato coins, cooked black beans, quick-pickled red onions, cotija (Which I called cojita when asking where it was. The faux strikes again.), and plenty of chimichurri aioli. Spicy, sweet, and sour. And best of all, these tacos are weeknight friendly. They come together fast. Pour a margarita already.
Herby, zesty, tangy, creamy. Chimichurri and Aioli are better together. Use as a dip or a sauce. But mostly, use on everything.
Ingredients
Scale
3/4 c. cilantro, destemmed
1 green onion, very roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
thumptip of a jalapeño
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. olive oil
3 tbsp. good quality organic mayo
Instructions
Into a high-powered blender or food processor, add cilantro, green onion, garlic, lime juice, vinegar, jalapeño, and salt. Pulse for about 30 seconds until everything is broken down to the same size.
Add in olive oil and blend until evenly combined and speckled.
Add in mayo at the last second and blitz until just combined. Store covered in the fridge for a week.
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I love both sauces individually so I can only imagine how delicious this combination would taste! Sometimes genius arrives not by choice – but by chance indeed. Yum!
Hola Arepa is dreamy and I’m forever grateful you recreated this sauce, so good! Next time I go (I’m coming back to MSP in September!) I’m stopping there for a drink and an arepa, for sure. xo
I went to Hola Arepa on Saturday for the first time and LOVED it!! I had the chimichurri on my arepa and the aioli for my fries and couldn’t have asked for anything better. And I cannot wait to recreate this at home. Thanks Melissa!
Were you visiting or are you here?! Isn’t Hola thee best? You have to try Pinch of Yum’s arepas. I have my slow cooked arepa beef recipe half written down from the last time I made it. I just need to test it again. MSP mag posted a video of Christina, the head chef, making the arepas. For the meat, she makes a paste. It looks gross but yields the best returns!
Ah, I’ve been to Hola Arepa and alternated between the chimichuri and the aioli. It really is the best of the both worlds, isn’t it? Thanks for the inspiration- I’ll definitely be making this aioli to go with tacos this week.
How did I miss that you were in the Twin Cities?! Let me know what you think of the sauce. I hope Hola would be proud, or at least give it a thumbs up.
I used to work with a girl whose parents were born and raised in Venezuela, and she would bring in the most delicious arepas, that I still think about constantly today. If I had this aioli to smother them with, I think I could survive solely on those two items for a lifetime.
I love both sauces individually so I can only imagine how delicious this combination would taste! Sometimes genius arrives not by choice – but by chance indeed. Yum!
As soon as my cilantro plant grows large enough to yield 3/4s of a cup, I am all over this. I made the arepas last night, and they were bomb.
This is drool-worthy. I’m such a sucker for chimichurri, so combining it into an aoli is pure genius!!
Chimichurri and aioli–two great things that’d be great together. Genius!
I’ve been dreaming about this stuff since we had it. SO INCREDIBLE. Arepas 4evr!
Hola Arepa is dreamy and I’m forever grateful you recreated this sauce, so good! Next time I go (I’m coming back to MSP in September!) I’m stopping there for a drink and an arepa, for sure. xo
Yesss! I’m crashing your party!
I went to Hola Arepa on Saturday for the first time and LOVED it!! I had the chimichurri on my arepa and the aioli for my fries and couldn’t have asked for anything better. And I cannot wait to recreate this at home. Thanks Melissa!
Were you visiting or are you here?! Isn’t Hola thee best? You have to try Pinch of Yum’s arepas. I have my slow cooked arepa beef recipe half written down from the last time I made it. I just need to test it again. MSP mag posted a video of Christina, the head chef, making the arepas. For the meat, she makes a paste. It looks gross but yields the best returns!
What is a thumptip of jalapeno?
It’s about the size of the tip of your thumb.
Ah, I’ve been to Hola Arepa and alternated between the chimichuri and the aioli. It really is the best of the both worlds, isn’t it? Thanks for the inspiration- I’ll definitely be making this aioli to go with tacos this week.
How did I miss that you were in the Twin Cities?! Let me know what you think of the sauce. I hope Hola would be proud, or at least give it a thumbs up.
Melissa, I love the story of why you decided to marry these two sauces. Sounds like a productive and delicious evening at that arepa spot!
I used to work with a girl whose parents were born and raised in Venezuela, and she would bring in the most delicious arepas, that I still think about constantly today. If I had this aioli to smother them with, I think I could survive solely on those two items for a lifetime.
I’m right there with you. Arepas for lyfe!