Chermoula • 5 Minute Chermoula Sauce {Video} • Two purple figs

Chermoula is a tasty, simple, light and delicious Moroccan sauce that will add so much flavor to your meals! It’s perfect for seafood, but just as good on meats, sandwiches, salads, sandwiches and more! We absolutely LOVE it with sardines – a true taste of the Mediterranean!

This spicy delicious chermoula sauce we’re making today is a no-cook flavor enhancer for any meal you have! While I especially love it with seafood like sardines, it goes just as well with other proteins, sandwiches, salads and more!

If you’re familiar with the Argentinian chimichurri recipe, you can think of it a little like this, just with a different spice profile. And if you’ve ever tried my grandpa’s viral hot pepper sauce recipe, you can easily compare them taste-wise, too. Either way, Chermoula Recipe is one you can’t miss!

What is Chermoula?

Pronounced sher-moo-lah, the name Chermoula or Charmoula is a popular Moroccan condiment made primarily with fresh herbs, garlic, high quality Moroccan olive oil, some spice and lemon juice.

If you travel to Morocco, you’ll find that this popular chermoula sauce is made with a mortar and pestle, much like the classic way Italians prepared their basil pesto. However, so many of us (and probably they too) make these sauces in a food processor these days.

What is chermoula made of – list of ingredients

I’m sure you have most of these ingredients on hand as this light and flavorful sauce is made with really simple ingredients and North African spices. Here’s what you need:

• High quality Moroccan olive oil – We only use Mina olive oil.
• Fresh Garlic
• coriander
• Parsely
• lemon juice and lemon zest
• Fresh ginger
• Green chillies or jalapenos
• Kosher salt and pepper
• cumin
• Ground coriander
• Chili flakes and paprika (optional)

How to make chermoula sauce

All you need is to gather your ingredients and you will need a food processor or blender. You can of course go back to the classic way of using a mortar and pestle, but for the sake of simplicity we’ll use a food processor today.

Combine the herbs, garlic, ginger, spices, lemon juice and olive oil in a food processor. If you’re using lots of fresh herbs for a flavorful sauce like this, be sure to use the stalks as well, as they pack a lot of flavor! And once processed, you won’t really feel the toughness of the stem structure that you tend to disregard in other dishes.

Blend on high speed until you get this beautiful, bright and vibrant green colored chermoula sauce.

Once the sauce is ready, remove it from the food processor into a serving bowl and you’re done!

How to use chermoula sauce

The beauty of this vibrant and flavorful sauce is that you can use it for pretty much anything! It pairs beautifully with Mediterranean recipes, but also think of anything a citrus herb sauce can use and it works just as well! Here are just a few ways we use chermoula sauce:

1. sardines
2. chicken recipe
3. scallops
4. Baked Mediterranean Fish
5. Recipe for tuna salad with olive oil dressing
6. Air Fryer Salmon
7. How to cook lamb with Moroccan spices
8. pita bowl
9. Fried potatoes in the pan
10. Fried Eggplant Salad
11. mussels
12. Honeynut squash or roasted acorn squash
13. Lamb gyros recipe
14. Air Fryer Chicken Breast
15. Marinade for chicken, beef and fish!

You can keep chermoula sauce in your fridge and keep adding a spoonful here and there to your daily meals and see how it enhances your dishes!

How to save the chermoula recipe

If you missed our guide to basil pesto, this is a chance to run through it. Here’s EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW about how to make pesto, how to use it, how to store it and how to freeze it, plus a cute short video.

So, just like basil pesto, we keep chermoula sauce in an airtight mason jar in the fridge for 5 days. You can drizzle olive oil on top to extend it to 14 days, but you won’t get the same bright, fresh flavors of the herbs as if it were fresh.

My favorite way to freeze chermoula sauce is to freeze my basil pesto so we always have it on hand when we need it 🙂

Chermoula sauce tips and FAQs

1. Use your favorite herbs here, but the classic chemroula sauce is made with parsley and cilantro. I also made it with parsley, oregano, and mint and it was delicious for those who aren’t too fond of cilantro.
2. When it comes to stalks, since the sauce will be mixed, don’t skimp on tossing the stalks in the food processor as they have so much flavor!
3. Feel free to turn up the garlic a bit if you’re looking for a garlic sauce, I find that well balanced.
4. Likewise, you can adjust the heat by adding more or less chillies and chilli flakes.
5. If you won’t be using the chermoula recipe within 2 days, it’s best to freeze it. When freezing, use the same instructions as our basil pesto.

Is Chermoula Sauce Healthy?

Oh yeah! Chermoula sauce is super healthy, especially when you make it with high-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, making it suitable for most diets.

What does chermoula sauce taste like?

If you’ve tried our chimichurri recipe, you might notice a similar light herb flavor and texture. However, this Moroccan delight has a richer smoky flavor thanks to cumin and coriander. And it’s also made with more lemon, so it’s a little more tangy.

How long does chermoula keep in the fridge?

While you can stretch this wonderful recipe to 14 days in the fridge, I highly recommend freezing it by freezing it the same way we freeze basil pesto. Ideally, I love to make and use a chermoula recipe within 2 days.