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Flavor up soups, salads, pastas, and bread with this easy gremolata recipe that’s packed with fresh herbs and quick to make. It’s a delicious, easy-to-make blend of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic!

A white bowl filled with gremolata with a wooden spoon resting inside
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When you’re looking for a quick way to take any dish up a notch, turn to homemade gremolata! It’s quick to make with just 3 ingredients.

And for the uninitiated, this is a delicious Italian inspired recipe. It has parsley, garlic, and lemon zest and can be used as a dressing or garnish.

Reader rating

★★★★★

“I had forgotten how delicious this stuff is! Excellent in stews and soups too, it brightens the flavors, reminds me of summer.” —Elizabeth

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A white bowl filled with fresh gremolata with a wooden spoon resting inside

grab these ingredients

Gremolata can be made with ingredients that are likely sitting right inside your fridge and pantry. Jump to the recipe card for the quantities.

  • Parsley: This recipe begins with loosely packed Italian flat parsley. (The difference between Italian and curly parsley here.)
  • Lemon: Use one lemon for its zest. I recommend keeping the rest of the lemon in the fridge to use the juice later on a delicious pasta! (Gremolata pasta, anyone?!)
  • Garlic: Finally, finish up the dish with fresh garlic. Powder won’t work for this recipe, as we want the zingy flavor of a fresh clove!

Gremolata Tip

Interested in adding more flavor to your gremolata? Adding a good, high-quality olive oil will give it more of a sauce consistency while adding flavor. You can also add some crunch with pine nuts or a bit of heat with chili flakes.

A head of parsley resting on a pink background

How to make Gremolata

This gremolata recipe is ready in as little as 5 minutes. With a recipe that quick, it’s the perfect addition for nearly any dinner! Grab a cutting board, knife, and grater – let’s get started. This is just an overview, though. Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.

Step 1: Prepare the Parsley
First, remove the thick stems from the parsley, and then wash and thoroughly dry the leaves. Finely chop – it should reduce down to about 1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley.

An up close view detailing the color and texture of parsley leaves

Step 2: Prepare the Garlic
Simply grate the garlic.

pro Tip

Grate the garlic and then the lemon to make cleaning your grater easier. The lemon juices will help flush out that sticky garlic!

A head and clove of garlic beside a grater with garlic in the grooves

Step 3: Prepare the Lemon
Wash and dry the lemon, and then zest just the yellow portion. Avoid grating any of the white pith layer, which can be bitter.

Two lemons beside a grater with lemon zest in the grooves
Because lemons are often treated with a wax coating, remember to give them a hearty wash before zesting.

Step 4: Chop the Ingredients
Transfer the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest to a cutting board to mix everything by chopping it together. Boom, you now have gremolata!

A cutting board topped with a small piles of chopped parsley, grated garlic, and lemon zest
A cutting board topped with a pile of gremolata

How to Zest a Lemon

To zest a lemon, you can go the easy route with a cheese grater or potato peeler! If you don’t have those tools on deck, a good old kitchen knife will do. Lightly grate the outer layer of the lemon to remove the peel. As mentioned above, try not to get too deep into the white part!

A white bowl filled with fresh homemade gremolata with a wooden spoon resting inside
A white bowl filled with gremolata with a wooden spoon resting inside

How to use gremolata

Now that your gremolata recipe is ready to go, you need something to enjoy it with! Try the sauce incorporated into one of these dishes.

How to Make Gremolata (Italian Parsley Condiment)

5 from 1 rating
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Flavor up soups, salads, pastas, and bread with this easy gremolata recipe that's packed with fresh herbs and quick to make. It's a delicious, easy-to-make blend of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic!

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup loosely packed Italian flat parsley, about ½ a bunch
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 clove garlic
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Instructions 

  • Parsley: Remove thick stems from parsley. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves. Finely chop – you should end up with about ½ cup of finely chopped parsley.
    A bunch of fresh parsley with green leaves and long stems, perfect for a zesty gremolata, is artfully displayed on a pink background.
  • Garlic: Finely grate the garlic.
    Garlic cloves and minced garlic rest on a black-handled grater, perfect for crafting a zesty gremolata, all set against a striking pink background.
  • Lemon: Wash and dry the lemon, then zest just the yellow portion (avoid grating any of the white pith layer, which can be bitter).
    Two lemons sit beside a zester, their vibrant zest freshly grated, ready to bring a pop of flavor to your homemade gremolata on the pink backdrop.
  • Chop: Transfer parsley, garlic, and lemon zest to a cutting board to mix it all by chopping it together.
    A fresh gremolata of chopped green herbs and yellow zest is neatly arranged on a pristine white cutting board.

Notes

Store gremolata in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
Optional Add-Ins: good quality olive oil (to make it saucy!), pine nuts, chili flakes

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 4kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.8g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0mg

Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.

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5 from 1 vote

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2 Comments

  1. Elizabeth says:

    5 stars
    Thanks for the post, I just got the ingredients. I had forgotten how delicious this stuff is! Excellent in stews and soups too, it brightens the flavors, reminds me of summer.

    1. Sarah Bond says:

      So tasty right!? Enjoy! 😀