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This simple three ingredient Italian recipe sure packs a big punch! If you’re looking to give your dish an Italian twist, Classic Italian Gremolata is the perfect accompaniment. This is an incredibly flavorful addition to everything from pasta to fish, chicken, vegetables, risotto, and an array of dishes! Whatever the dish – even noodles – Gremolata will take it from basic to beyond delicious in just a few minutes!
Classic Italian Gremolata Recipe
In Italian tradition, Italian Gremolata is traditionally served on osso buco which originates from Milan, but as I’ve said, it goes with so many dishes you’ll never run out of new options to try! This recipe really is a superb way to enhance any dish with its bright flavor and dart of color. And the best thing about it? All you need to make this recipe is some parsley, garlic, and lemon zest!
Ingredients in Gremolata
- parsley, coarsely chopped
- garlic, minced
- lemon, organic is best
- lemon juice
- salt
How To Make Classic Italian Gremolata (a 3 Ingredient Parsley Sauce)
- Make sure your knife is sharpened before finely chopping up the parsley and garlic together. Having a super sharp knife will make sure you make clean cuts through the parsley leaves so you’re not just banging at them with a dulled knife blade.
- Add the lemon zest and keep chopping the ingredients up until they’re completely combined and the size you want for serving, i.e. do you want more texture or more of a sauce consistency?
- Add in some lemon juice to taste as soon as you’re happy with the texture. I also like to add some sea salt which really isn’t the norm with this dish but I think it makes it just perfect and brings out all the flavor of the ingredients.
Tips And Tricks For Making Gremolata
- Pick up some organic lemon if you can since you’ll only be using the zest of it.
- Get your garlic as fresh a possible, look for garlic with a white color rather than the yellow and sticky appearance it gets as it ages. The darker garlic will also have a stronger smell that’s actually a little off-putting, whilst fresh garlic will be plump with a smell that’s definitely garlicky but still fresh. If you get stuck with older garlic, though, don’t worry, there’s a solution (been there!). Just remove the stem and blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes to take the edge off the taste.
- Although parsley, lemon, and garlic are the classic staples of this dish, you can always change it up depending on your preferences and the dish you’re serving it with. For example, you could swap the garlic for shallots or lemon for lime. You could even mix in some other fresh herbs like tarragon with parsley,
- Gremolata can be kept refrigerated for several days once you keep it in an airtight container!
More Italian Recipes
These recipes are ALL favorites of ours! I especially love the bolognese and the parmigiana!
Slow Cooker Italian Pot Roast & Peppers
Happy Cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Classic Italian Gremolata Recipe (3 Ingredient Parsley Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 cup coarsely chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic ( around 3-4 cloves depending on the size)
- 1 organic lemon washed and dried then the entire peel zested
- lemon juice to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop the parsley and garlic together until they're both chopped up together finely.
- Add in the lemon zest and then continue to chop the the ingredients together until they are well-combined and are the size that you desire for serving. I don't like mine like a sauce, I like some texture to my gremolata.
- Once you have reached the desired texture, add in some lemon juice to taste.
- Now, this is NOT traditional, but I added sea salt to mine and it makes it perfect. Add a little salt to taste to bring out the best of these fresh ingredients.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Charlotte says
Oh thank God. I was just looking for a parsley sauce that was simple yet tasted good. Thank you.
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