This grilled chimichurri chicken with couscous salad was a perfect weeknight spring/summer meal. The smoky char of perfectly grilled chicken (thanks to my husband) with the zesty, herbaceous punch of chimichurri sauce, and light and tangy couscous salad was a light and flavorful meal. As I usually do, I marinated the chicken overnight for maximum flavor and juiciness.
Chimichurri is a sauce that is simply made from lots of fresh herbs, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. The great thing about this dish is that it uses the chimichurri for both the marinade and as the dressing for the couscous salad and the chicken. I used Israeli (or pearl) couscous here as I like more than the small stuff. I added some fresh cherry tomatoes, as well as some feta cheese. I ate all of my bowl, plus what my daughter didn’t finish of hers because I could not stop eating this.
Grilled Chimichurri Chicken with Couscous Salad
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 cup parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano if you don't have fresh, sub a tsp of dried
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt more to taste
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
For the couscous salad:
- 3 cups cooked pearl couscous
- 1/4 cup chimichurri sauce more to taste
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
For the chicken:
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until mixed but there is still some texture and pieces of the herbs left. Pour 1/4 of the sauce over the chicken and coat well. Refrigerate overnight or at least 1 hour. Place the rest of the sauce in the fridge until ready to use.
- Toss the couscous with 1/4 cup of the sauce, tomatoes and feta. Taste and add salt or more dressing if needed.
- If grilling the chicken, heat the grill to medium high and cook the chicken until it reaches 165 in the middle. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing. You can also cook the chicken in the oven or on the stove top. If I am using the oven I like to broil it first to get some char like the grill, then switch to baking to finish it.
- Put some couscous salad in a bowl and top with sliced chicken. Drizzle with extra chimichurri and serve.