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Chermoula Sauce is an interesting herb-based sauce that adds a pop of flavor to grilled, roasted, or steamed vegetables! I first tried this easy 5-minute sauce on green beans and carrots, but now this post has lots more ideas for vegetables to enjoy with Chermoula Sauce.
PIN Chermoula Sauce (for Vegetables) to try it later!
Chermoula Sauce is the perfect way to add amazing flavor to grilled, roasted, or steamed vegetables. And I don’t know of any awards for interesting sauces to perk up your side dishes, but if there was one I’d nominate this easy herb sauce!
And when I say the Chermoula Sauce is interesting, what I mean is we couldn’t stop eating it. When Jake and I first tried this, we kept remarking how plain steamed green beans and carrots had been transferred into something amazing by the tasty Chermoula sauce.
If you’re a fan of cilantro and parsley and you’ve never tried this easy 5-ingredient herb sauce, you have to make some soon! And look below for a lot of vegetable options that you could serve with this delicious sauce!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
What is Chermoula Sauce:
Chermoula (also spelled Charmoula) is sometimes referred to as cilantro pesto, and it’s a North African sauce made of chopped herbs and spices. It’s sometimes served as a sauce on fish or meat, but I especially love it on vegetables. And Chermoula is similar to Chimichurri Sauce, which is a South American sauce served on meat.
Can you make Chermoula Sauce without cilantro?
If you’re not a cilantro fan, there are versions of Chermoula Sauce that use more parsley and less cilantro, and even some versions with only parsley. Feel free to make those changes and adapt the sauce ingredients to your own taste.
Some vegetables to serve with Chermoula Sauce:
I’m guessing if you like cilantro and parsley you’ll enjoy Chermoula sauce on almost any kind of vegetable. But it’s especially good with roasted or grilled vegetables including green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, butternut squash, carrots, eggplant, turnips, and brussels sprouts.
What else can you eat with Chermoula Sauce?
I’m focusing on the deliciousness of Chermoula Sauce with vegetables in this post. But Chermoula is often served with fish and it also goes well with grilled or roasted chicken, lamb, or beef.
How to make Chermoula Sauce for Vegetables:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Measure out minced garlic or chop the garlic.
- Wash cilantro and parsley if needed, spin dry, and coarsely chop.
- Add garlic, cilantro, and parsley to food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the herbs and garlic are starting to look finely chopped.
- I used my favorite Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Costco; use olive oil with a good flavor for this.
- Then add the olive oil, lemon juice (I use my fresh-frozen lemon juice), paprika, and ground cumin and pulse until all ingredients are combined.
- I’d start with the smaller amount of paprika and cumin and taste to see if you want more, and also if you want a bit more lemon or olive oil
- Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, arrange vegetables on a serving platter and drizzle over the Chermoula sauce, saving some to pass at the table.
The first way I tried using Chermoula Sauce:
I first used Chermoula Sauce on these steamed green beans and carrots. See NOTES in the complete recipe below for cooking instructions for that.
More Fresh Herb Sauces you might like:
I’ve been a fresh herb enthusiast for many years, and I also love to make Basil Vinaigrette, Basil Pesto with Lemon, Chimichurri Sauce, Basil and Kale Pesto, Easy Gremolata Sauce, Spinach Basil Pesto, and Garlic Scape Pesto.
Ingredients
- 2 T minced garlic (more or less to taste)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley (see notes)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp. hot or smoked paprika (more or less to taste)
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin (more or less to taste
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Measure out minced garlic or chop 3-4 cloves fresh garlic.
- Wash cilantro and parsley if needed, spin dry in salad spinner, and then coarsely chop.
- Add garlic, chopped cilantro, and chopped parsley to the food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until the herbs and garlic are starting to look finely chopped.
- I used my favorite Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Costco for this recipe; it’s important to use olive oil with a good flavor.
- Then add the olive oil, fresh-squeezed lemon juice or frozen lemon juice, paprika, and ground cumin and pulse until all ingredients are combined.
- I’d start with the smaller amount of paprika and cumin and taste to see if you want more.
- Also taste to see if you want a bit more lemon or olive oil
- Season the sauce with salt and fresh-grounc black pepper to taste.
- To serve, arrange grilled, roasted, or steamed vegetables on a serving platter and drizzle over the Chermoula sauce, saving some to pass at the table.
- See notes below for the original recipe for Steamed Green Beand Carrots where I first used Chermoula Sauce.
Notes
I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice.
This recipe makes nearly two cups of Chermoula Sauce, or a generous amount for about 8 servings of vegetables, Chermoula Sauce will keep well in the fridge for a day but probably not too much longer than that.
USING CHERMOULA SAUCE ON STEAMED GREEN BEANS AND CARROTS:
- We used the thin French-style green beans, regular beans might need to cook a bit longer.
- Start by trimming the ends of the green beans and then cutting the carrots into thin strips that are the same thickness as the beans. (I cut the carrots slightly shorter than the beans.)
- I used a vegetable steamer that I inherited from my stepmother Norma, but if you don’t have a steamer you can rig one up with a small metal colander inside a pan. The pan you use for steaming needs to have a lid.
- Fill steamer or pot with water and bring to a boil. Then turn heat low but still at a level where there’s some steam.
- Start steaming the carrots first, because they take longer to cook.
- (Start making the Chermoula sauce while you’re steaming the carrots.)
- Once carrots have steamed for about 3 minutes, add the beans and steam for 4-5 minutes more.
- The vegetables should be slightly tender-crisp; check one after four minutes to see how they’re doing.
- When veggies are cooked to your liking, drain the cooked veggies for a couple of minutes, then toss then with about half the Chermoula sauce.
- Arrange the vegetables on a serving platter and drizzle over the rest of the Chermoula sauce. Serve hot or warm.
Recipe from Fine Cooking with minor adaptations by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8
Serving Size
1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 127Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 11gSodium 77mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 0g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet/ Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Chermoula Sauce is a low-carb fresh herb sauce that’s perfect for low-carb or Keto diet plans. It’s a bit high in fat for the original South Beach Diet, although all the fat is from olive oil.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Side Dishes for more recipes like this one. Use theDiet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe
This recipe for Chermoula Sauce was posted in 2011. It was last updated with more information in 2025.
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