Chermoula, Moroccan Sauce Ready in 10-Minutes – Moroccanzest

Chermoula is one of the main pillars of Moroccan cuisine. Once you learn how to make Chermoula sauce, you will know how to make many delicious traditional Moroccan recipes. 

Moroccan chermoula is a fragrant sauce that is easy and quick to make in less than 10 minutes. The main ingredients are preserved lemons, fresh herbs, aromatics like parsley, cilantro, garlic, and a few spices you probably already have in your kitchen (paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper). Of course, you add a generous amount of olive oil to it. 

Chermoula sauce is ideal for flavoring fish. I’ve tried it with almost all fish—cod, trout, shark, etc. It’s also a great way to flavor seafood. One of Morocco’s most delicious seafood dishes is pilpil: a shrimp and mussel tagine cooked for a few minutes in the chermoula sauce. Try this magical Chermoula recipe; you’ll be amazed at what you can create in your kitchen. Keep reading for more details on the ingredients, how to use Chermoula sauce, and more.

Chermoula Ingredients

This Chermoula recipe enhances the flavors of veggies and beans by using most fish and seafood. It is vegan, healthy, and ready to make in less than 10 minutes, with ingredients you can easily find in your local grocery store. 

Here’s what you’ll need to make the Moroccan Chermoula sauce recipe:

• Preserved lemons. You can skip preserved lemons if you don’t have them – I sometimes do when I run out of preserved lemons – and the taste will still be very good. But for the best taste, get a jar of preserved lemons. It will last for months! I will share my favorite brand in the recipe card below.
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Fresh garlic
• Herbs: fresh cilantro and parsley
• Spices: cumin, paprika, pepper, salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Finely chop the preserved lemon and herbs and puree the garlic. Toss all the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. You’re done! That was easy right? 

You can store this sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week, but I like to use it right away and make some whenever I need to. 

How to Use Chermoula

This yummy, easy-to-make Moroccan chermoula marinade is used in many ways in Morocco.

Here are some of the most delicious and easiest ways to incorporate it into your recipes.

Fish

Chermoula is the main sauce used in Morocco to flavor fish. You can make a delicious fish tagine by placing tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and fish in a tagine dish or an oven tray and then drizzling the Chermoula sauce. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the veggies are well cooked. The result is the juiciest, most fragrant fish and veggies you probably ever tasted! I recommend avoiding strong-tasting fish like salmon and opting for white fish. Cod and trout are excellent to start with!

Moroccan fish tagine is primarily made with chermoula, red peppers, and preserved lemon

Shellfish 

Another way to appreciate this marinade is to use it to flavor shellfish. It’s also quick to make, as shellfish can be cooked in 10 to 20 minutes. Mix your favorite shellfish—shrimp, clams, scallops, and/or mussels—in a bowl with the Chermoula sauce. Then transfer to a deep pan and simmer on low heat until your shellfish is well done. 

Vegetables

Chermoula is also a delicious addition to vegetables. Add it to your veggies before roasting, and serve it as a fragrant side dish.

Beans

One last way to enjoy Moroccan Chermoula is to add it to cooked beans like lentils, chickpeas, fava beans, and white beans. You can eat it as it but my favorite it way is to warm it up for 5-10 minutes on the stove to allow the beans to soak up the flavors. Then, serve it with fresh bread. It’s a hearty, healthy, and filling dish. The best part is that you can use canned beans and save time.

Moroccan white beans – Loubia – with chermoula

Chermoula vs. Chimichurri

Given the use of fresh cilantro, parsley, and pureed garlic, Chermoula sauce is sometimes mistaken for chimichurri.

While these two sauces have many similarities, they each have their particularities. 

The first difference is acidity. Moroccan sauce gets its acidity from fresh lemons and preserved lemons, which add a gentle acidity with an interesting note of sweetness (from the preserved lemons). Chimichurri, on the other hand, gets its acidity from vinegar, which has a more acidic, bold flavor.

The second difference is the spiciness: Chimichurri often uses spicy hot pepper, while chermoula’s most robust fragrance is brought by cumin and paprika.

Chermoula Sauce in Morocco

The Chermoula sauce recipe I share with you is the one I grew up enjoying every week in Morocco, in many dishes. 

It’s still the same recipe used now. It’s used in every Moroccan kitchen and restaurant and enjoyed by locals. The best part is that you don’t need unique ingredients or tools, making it very accessible to replicate in your kitchen.

Chermoula Sauce Minced vs. Blended

A question I always get is should I mince or blend my ingredients to make the Chermoula? 

The answer is you can do both. Both ways are used in Morocco. If you mince the ingredients, ensure you mince finely to liberate the aromas as a blender would do. 

Blending the ingredients can make the steps quicker and the sauce more homogeneous. So, really go with what looks the most convenient to you.

Equipment

Traditionally, Chermoula sauce was made in a traditional brass mortar. This is how I grew up seeing my grandmother do it. All ingredients were added to a deep Moroccan mortar and then lightly pureed. 

Traditional Moroccan mortar was a must for making Chermoula for tagines.

Chopping boards weren’t a thing back then, and this was the most convenient way to do it. Now, chopping finely or blending your ingredients in a blender will do the trick.

How to Store Moroccan Chermoula

Thanks to lemon, Moroccan chermoula can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I highly emphasize using an airtight container, as you don’t want your fridge to smell like garlic and cumin for a few days. I don’t recommend freezing Chermoula sauce as herbs lose their power with freezing. 

That’s all you need to know to make the delicious Moroccan Chermoula. If you want easier-to-make traditional Moroccan recipes, I highly recommend checking this Moroccan recipe ebook.