Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
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Tender and juicy Peruvian-style roast chicken with a spicy, luscious green sauce.
This is my take on Pollo a la Brasa, the delicious roast chicken made popular by so many Peruvian restaurants. The chicken is first marinated in olive oil, lime juice, garlic and spices, and then oven-roasted until tender, juicy and crisp-skinned. The accompanying green sauce, which gets its color from cilantro and jalapeƱo peppers, is spicy, creamy and downright delectable. You can put it on virtually everything, and it even doubles as a fabulous dip or salad dressing.
What you’ll need to make Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken
Before we get to the recipe, a few words on buying a whole chicken. In the poultry department, you’re likely to find birds labeled “broilers,” “roasters” and “fryers.” These labels are based on the weight of the bird, and are meant to suggest a method of cooking. This recipe calls for a four-pound chicken, which is typically considered a “fryer.” This might seem strange since we’re roasting but don’t worry about it — all of these chickens can be used in recipes interchangeably.
How to make Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken
Begin by making the marinade. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, cumin, and oregano in a blender or mini food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Using your fingers or a wooden spoon, loosen the skin over the breasts and legs of the chicken.
Spoon 2/3 of the marinade under the skin.
And rub the rest over top. Place the chicken in a bowl and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and set the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. I like to tuck the wings underneath the bird and tie the legs together so the bird holds its shape.
Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, until the skin is golden, and then turn the heat down to 375 degrees and roast for about an hour and ten minutes more. Let the chicken rest, covered with foil, for about 20 minutes before carving.
While the chicken marinates, make the green sauce (recipe adapted from theĀ Serious Eats Food LabĀ by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt).
Simply combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, jalapeƱos, garlic, lime juice salt and pepper in a blender or food processor.
And process until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. It will seem thin at first but, don’t worry, it will thicken up as it sits.
Keep in mind that the heat in the sauce comes from the ribs and seeds in theĀ jalapeƱo peppers. I use about half of the seeds and ribs for a medium-hot sauce. If you’re worried about the heat, you can always leave them out at first and then blend them in to taste. (Also, be sure to wash your hands well after handling hot peppers, and do not touch your eyes while working with them.)
Transfer the sauce to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish the sauce with a sprig cilantro, if desired, and serve with the roasted chicken.
Note: The green sauce in this recipe is adapted from one of my favorite columns, the Serious Eats Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.Ā
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Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
Tender and juicy Peruvian-style roast chicken with a spicy, luscious green sauce.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice, from 2 limes
- 4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 4 pound whole chicken
For the Green Sauce
- 3 jalapeƱo chili peppers, seeded if desired (I use about half the seeds for a medium-hot sauce), and roughly chopped (see note)
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from one lime
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Combine all of the ingredients except the chicken in a blender or mini food processor, and blend until smooth. Remove the giblets from the inside of the chicken and pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels; place in a bowl, breast side up with the legs facing you. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingers, loosen the skin from the flesh over the breasts and legs, being careful not to tear the skin or push all the way through (you want the marinade to stay inside the bird). Spoon about ⅔ of the marinade evenly underneath the skin, and spread the remaining ⅓ evenly over the skin. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Spray a rack (preferably a v-shape) with non-stick cooking spray and place the chicken on top. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skin is golden. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees, and continue to roast for about an hour and ten minutes more, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh. (Keep an eye on it -- if it's browning too quickly, cover it loosely with foil.) Tent the chicken with foil and let rest for about 20 minutes. Tilt the chicken over the roasting pan to release the juices, then transfer to a cutting board. Carve the chicken and serve with green sauce.
For the Green Sauce
- Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender or food processor and blend into a smooth sauce. With the motor running, open lid and slowly drizzle in olive oil. It will seem very runny at this point but, don't worry, it will thicken up as it sits. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Note: Be sure to wash your hands well after handling hot peppers, and do not touch your eyes while working with them.
- Note: The nutritional information does not include the green sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 614
- Fat: 43 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 49 g
- Sodium: 694 mg
- Cholesterol: 340 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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It was excellent! I made this with a porcelain vertical roaster with a beer and pineapple juice in the roaster.
Anyway we can make it without sour cream or any other dairy product…. Got to keep it Kosher. No meat and dairy products together. Thanks in advance
I am Peruvian, and this recipe is making my mouth water. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, the Peruvian chicken places in our area usually have a green sauce and a yellow sauce, which mix great on rice. Any suggestions for a typical Peruvian yellow sauce?
I don’t have a recipe for Peruvian yellow sauce, although I believe it is made with Aji pepper paste, mayonnaise and garlic. You might not need it once you try the green sauce recipe here…it is sort of a combination of the green and yellow sauces offered at most Peruvian restaurants, which I always mix together too š
Hi I’m peruvian. This yellow sauce is more of a dish then just a sauce. It is called Papa a la Huancaina. It’s a cheese sauce.
The name literally translates to Huancayo potato. Huancayo is a province in Peru where te dish supposedly originates from.
The sause requires about 9oz of queso fresco,oil,evaporated milk,some garlic cloves, a couple of crackers some salt and of course aji Amarillo paste. You blend them in a blender to make a sauce the consistency or drinkable yogurt maybe a lil thicker and you pour them over boiled potatoes.
Finally.. I found this green sauce!.. I can’t wait to make it.. Thank U..
This coast chicken is so beautiful! I’m only now discovering Peruvian cuisine and I love the spices used. Amazingly flavourful. I was going to do this tonight then realized I haven’t got oregano! š One day I shall be organized enough to have every ingredient for this.
This chicken is super yummy! I made roasted potatoes to go with it and everyone loved it!
Hi Jenn,
Can I substitute the lemon for lime in the chicken marinade? I completely forgot to buy the limes when I was out.
Hi Ashfia, The flavor will be a little different but it will definitely work. Hope you enjoy!
This is such a flavorful chicken dish that appeals to adults and children. I have made it on multiple occasions and will say that it does taste best when the chicken has marinated overnight. The green sauce is delicious – but definitely more for the adult palate. Love serving it with roasted potatoes and a green vegetable.
I made this for some friends, the flavors are amazing. The green sauce I could use on so many things.
I love your site it is always my go to favorite for all different kinds of recipes and inspiration.
This recipe is great! The green sauce was a little thin at first, but it thickened up a bit. This recipe will definitely be used again. Great date night recipe.
Hi Jennifer, This chicken was so good, super tender, amazing flavour , Crispie on the outside and very tender inside. I have nothing to add to your recipes. Everything I have tried has been so delicious!
I’ve made this twice, and what a hit! It’s simple, easy and so delic!
This recipe was awesome. The roasted chicken turned out excellent. But the green sauce took it over the top. My 16 yr old drowned his chicken in the sauce. The chicken I used (5 lb) took a little while longer to cook but it was juicy and flavorful. This recipe is a keeper for our family. Keep bringing great family recipes to your site!
This chicken is an absolute favorite of my 2 sons. They raved about it, I’ve made it several times, it’s pretty easy to do and the kids love it.
Ok this was so good!! Can someone please tell me how to make the green salad dressing they use at peruvian restaurants.
Just for those of you who are new to working with jalapenos – if you do not use gloves, your hands may burn for 12 hours. I did not know this, I must have had very spicy jalapenos and my hands were on fire almost all night. I am glad I didn’t touch my eyes. There was no remedy that worked to relieve the pain since the capsaicin had already bound to the pain receptors. Capsaicin apparently mimics actual chemical burns, although it produces no real tissue damage.
I also found three jalapenos to be much spicier than New York-style Peruvian green sauce, when I finally worked up the nerve to try the sauce after my hands had cooled off the next day.
You must have had some mutant jalapeƱos! Or, you mistook another variety of chile for them. Or, you are extremely sensitive. I have never had a reaction like that, and I have very sensitive skin. But I have inadvertently rubbed my eye after cutting some, and that was not pleasant.
Ate Peruvian chicken in a restaurant in Wheaton, Maryland. Making some today. Peruvian roast chicken, and hens. I know its going to be great. Love it!!
I made this today. It was delicious! I butterflied the chicken and cooked it in the BBQ and all my guests had second helpings, Definitely making this one again! I left the cilantro out of the sauce as I didn’t have any, and it was still great.
Thanks for your answer. Only n America….getting prompt advice from a bona fide chef and on a Labor Day weekend to boot! I’ll let y’all in on the results.
Hi there, I was wondering if I could marinate the chicken for perhaps 2 or 3 days.Is there a danger of the limes maybe “cooking” the chicken like in ceviche? Thanks a ton , recipe looks awesome as does your website. Stan
Hi Stanley, Good question. No worries, the chicken will be fine (and full of delicious flavor) if marinated for 2-3 days. Hope you enjoy!
We cannot get enough of this recipe. ( We have made it twice in two weeks) I made it with legs and thighs, cooked them at 425 for 25 minutes then grill on the BBQ. Wow! Thanks for an amazing recipe.
I’m sure it’s delicious, but in Peru the sauce gets its green color from huacatay, a local herb, not cilantro. Also they use aji peppers instead of jalapenos. That having been said, I think this would be a close substitute and I bet it’s excellent.
I subscribed to your blog because of this recipe! I cant wait to make it! I’ve dreamt about this green sauce….
Hi Judy. I don’t know about Glenn, but I sassed my grandmother once when I was little and had a mouth full of soap in about 30 seconds!
My suggestion is to cut back on the herbs and spices but don’t leave them out entirely. They’re what gives the dish its pizzaz, not to mention that they ALL have excellent health benefits. Do a search like this, “paprika health benefits,” on all of them, and you’ll understand what I’m saying. Jenn gave us a powerhouse recipe here.
BTW, my father’s name was not Zion. He would have loved the Peruvian Chicken except that he would have wanted it about a zillion Scoville Heat Units hotter.
@Glenn. Many years ago, when my children were small, they are parents themselves now, I washed their mouths out with soap, to my shame but would probably do it again. They were of course fighting with bad language. My son laughed and my daughter cried. I hope that’s not why you know the taste of soap!
I have some skin on and bone in turkey breasts (probably about 4 pounds… you know how big turkey breasts are!) do you think this would work well on those? I need to get them out of my freezer!!
Hi Rachel, I do think it will work…the taste will be different but still good for sure.
Hi Glenn. Funny thing about taste buds. All the people who don’t like cilantro say the same thing…it tastes like soap. And the people who like it, love it. Almost everyone loves goat cheese, but to me it is disgusting….tastes like goats smell. And I’m not a picky eater. My daughter, the picky eater, loves goat cheese. I seem to remember studying something about this in high school biology class.
Do you have a recommended substitution for cilantro? To me, cilantro is particularly unpleasant and tastes like soap. You can guess why I know what soap tastes like :).
Hi Glenn, You can use Italian flat leaf parsley and it will still be delicious.
We loved the chicken! But the green sauce was FABULOUS. I made it a second time and served it with cold boiled shrimp along side the cocktail sauce.
Thank you again Batzion for your advice. Is your father’s name Zion?
Judy, if you get limes from your cousin, ask for more than you need for this recipe because you can freeze whole limes and lemons and then grate them (the whole thing) over many dishes such as salads, fish, chicken, veggies — wherever your imagination takes you.
I really hope you are able to make this dish because it is spectacular, and you can use whatever sauce you have left over on other things.
Thank you for writing kathy d. Have a good weekend. And to everyone else.
Thank you for replying. Jen I think I sent you a message that belongs on here. Could you repost it for me?
Batzion thank you. I don’t live anywhere near Jerusalem. Not a town for me. Too many frumers. I don’t even go to the market in Tel Aviv. In my supermarket we get ordinary stuff and you should see the prices we are expected to pay for fruit. Almost $40 for a pound of peaches. We should not buy st that price but we do. Years ago tomatoes were sooooo expensive that we did stopbbuying them and they reduced the prices. We should do what Egypt did. When the price of bread went up they rioted. Also years ago. Well we’ll struggle along. My cousin in the north has limes in his garden. I’ll see if I can get from him. Shabbat Shalom.
Hi Judy. Have you tried the Shuk (Mahane Yehuda Market) in Jerusalem? They have many fine fruits, vegetables and spices from all over. Usually, you can sample to see if it’s what you want.
Israel does have habanero peppers (hotter than jalapeno — you could reduce the amount). They are grown in Moshav Ein Yahav in the Northern Arava but should be available just about anywhere.
Also, Israel does grow limes. The most famous are the Jaffa limes which are in demand around the world.
I used a blender instead of a food processor, and it worked out fine.
I hope this helps you.
Kiryat Ono, Israel. If you know Israel then it’s near Bar Ilan university. Tel Hashomer hospital and not too far from Petah Tikva.
Sorry, no I don’t know Israel at all. You must be in a small town, because from what I’ve read, Israel produces all kinds of fruits and vegetables and tons of other delicious things. JalapeƱos, I don’t know….but there must be some other kind of medium chili pepper that you can find. Do you have outdoor markets where you live?
I can’t get limes in my area. Lemons I presume. Don’t think we have ‘jalapeƱo’ peppers here. Just ordinary ones. I don’t have a food processor :'( . I hate this country! We should be able to get everything other countries have as long as it’s kosher.
Judy, Lemons are fine if you can’t find limes. Just omit the jalapeno and use a pinch of ground cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. If you don’t have a food processor you can use a blender.
Can I leave out the herbs? I’m so not partial to them. Surprise we get hellmans mayo here and I use it.
Judy, where do you live? Can you say?
This recipe is very good. I have made this several times already and everyone who tries it at my house loves it. The sauce goes really well with the chicken and gives it a nice flavor.
Thanks
Do you think I could do this recipe with chicken quarters with the skin still on? Would I just roast the equivalent weight in chicken quarters and treat it like a whole bird? This is probably a dumb question, but I’ve just begun experimenting with chicken — before this my only experience was with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs.
Hi there, Not a dumb question at all! You can definitely do this recipe with bone-in chicken quarters with the skin on — and yes cook time would be about the same if you stick to the same weight. Hope you enjoy it!
My husband and I don’t eat cilantro, I’m wondering if parsley would be an ok sub?
Hi Sue, Parsley would work just fine. Please come back and let me know how it turns out.
I did it with parsley and this chicken is heavenly good. the sauce turned out yummy, and my husband loved it all. thanks
Made his twice already and is definitely one of the best chicken recipes I’ve come across! I just purchased a grill and was wondering if you have any tips on grilling the chicken instead of roasting it in the oven. Thanks!
Hi Renee, I would use bone-in chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken. You can bake the chicken in the oven until almost done, then put the pieces on the grill for 5-10 minutes to char and crisp up the skin. Or you can cook the chicken pieces entirely on the grill — check out my jerk chicken recipe for instructions on how to grill bone-in chicken pieces:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/04/caribbean-jerk-chicken.html
Jenn,
We really enjoy this chicken!! A couple months ago, we were having guests over so we decided to do this chicken – 2 of them. At the last minute, some of the guests had to cancel so I cooked one and decided to freeze the other (vacuum sealed). We thawed the chicken yesterday and smoked it last evening in our Weber Kettle using both apple wood and mesquite. It turned out fabulous. The green sauce is great – so good with many other things (had some on my breakfast burrito this morning). Putting the marinade on the chicken and freezing it for later is a time saver for a future meal. Your recipes are always wonderful.
Great tip, Jane. Thank you!
This chicken and sauce were great! Husband said it’s a keeper.
Have you tried this on other meats? There was no good chicken in the market yesterday (everything was skinless) but I have pork!
I haven’t but I believe one of my readers tried it with pork and said it was delicious.
I just made the marinade and WOW! This stuff is amazing! I can’t wait to taste it with pork (and later with chicken).
I really wanna try this, but my husband only eats chicken breast. would this recipe dry this out since your using chicken w its skin still on?
Hi Hafsa, Unfortunately, I think it would dry out. I have a lot of wonderful recipes on the site using boneless skinless chicken breasts — check out the Moroccan chicken and the Perfectly Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Herbs. You could always make the green sauce in this recipe as the sauce…
I want to try it. Looks really good
Did you also put mayo in the marinade? It looks like that in the pictures.
Hi Linda, There is no mayo in the marinade. The mixture looks creamy from the purƩed garlic.
Can you shallow fry this chicken?
Hi Anthony — Yes, that would work fine. Many readers have also grilled it (cut in pieces or butterflied) with excellent results.
I am already doing the green sauce and that is my family’s favorite but I have to try this marinade for the chicken !!
Made this last night, it was delicious. Even the kids ate it up. Fried some plantains as a side in addition to rice and beans and corn tortillas. Really flavorful chicken even though I marinated it only four hours.
I made this the day after it was published – all I can say is YUM again!! There was a lot of sauce left over since the kids didn’t eat very much of it – but I actually found a variety of uses for it – it was very delicious. Again, another winner!