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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I want to make this for thanksgiving, but I dont have kosher salt. Can I use table salt instead? How much would I have to use?
Hi Jen, It’s fine to use regular salt; I’d cut it to 2 teaspoons for the chicken and a heaping 1/4 teaspoon for the sauce.
My boyfriend and I usually get chicken from a local Peruvian resteraunt. I made this recipe and it was just as good.
I LOVED this chicken, made it twice in one week to share with my boyfriend! The sauce that accompanies the chicken is fantastic!!
Turned out extremely delish using exact recipe but with boneless skinless chicken thighs smoked with hickory wood on the grill. Next I will try everything I just named but on a whole turkey. This just might b the recipe for our Thanksgiving bird. Thanks again!
Wow. Love this recipe! It was a nice change up to the normal roasted chicken I make 1 -2 times per week. The green sauce was amazing.
Do you have to use lime or can you substitute? Allergic to lime but I want to try the recipe looks delicious!
Hi Rosalind, Can you have lemon? That would work well.
I would like to know if I can use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken for the Peruvian chicken recipe. I will be cooking for a large group.
Hi Renita, Yes, chicken pieces will work just fine. Hope everyone enjoys it!
Love this recipe!! I plan on trying it on skinless boneless thighs this weekend for the Kick Off of football season.. Smoking on the grill with hickory wood.. What do u think about that???
Hi Brian, I think skinless boneless thighs on the grill will be delicious. Please come back and let me know how it turns out.
Simply delicious…Sauce was to die for…raves from dinner guests…served with roasted plantains, persian rice (had some already made) and your caramelized onions with roasted peppers…(a new favorite of mine as well). Looking forward to leftovers tonight…Thank you !
The Green Sauce is spectacular! I considered making half a recipe the first time, but I’m glad I went ahead and made the full amount. My guests were raving about it and put it on everything. It has become a “must have” with roast chicken.
We keep kosher and would like to know what we can substitute for the sour cream in the Green Sauce?
Thanks for your reply.
P.S. Love your recipes. Please send me more.
Hi Betty, You can substitute more mayonnaise for the sour cream; you may just need to add another squeeze of lime juice. Glad you are enjoying the recipes!
I have been making a variant of this for years, I just use olive oil instead, no mayo or sour cream and I add parsley too, it’ turns out very creamy as well.
Avocado.
The sauce was amazing! We were using the leftover sauce on everything we ate for the next 3 days. Fabulous on a baked sweet potato….
I have a cut up fryer chicken that I want to try this with..how would you adjust the cooking times/temps? Would you cut the breast in half so they cook evenly with the other pieces? Thanks!
Hi Lauren, You can definitely use a cut up fryer chicken. I would leave the breast pieces whole so they don’t overcook before the dark meat is done.
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it. I enjoyed the spicy sauce with the chicken, but would probably only make a half batch of it next time. Way more than we needed. Definitely a keeper, and will make again.
My family does not like cilantro. Tastes like soap to us. Would fresh sage leaves or some other herb work as a substitute ?
Hi Susan, You can absolutely substitute other herbs. I probably wouldn’t use sage as it’s very strong, but a mix of basil, mint and parsley would be delicious.
I tried this recipe recently and it tasted great. I made exactly as directed and marinated the chicken overnight. It doesn’t taste exactly like the Peruvian chicken i get at my fav restaurant, but tasty nevertheless. I will be making this again with chicken parts and i also want to try grilling the chicken instead of roasting.
The Green sauce was a great addition to the dish . Thanks for sharing your recipe š
How long does the green sauce last for in the fridge?
Hi Ryan, The green sauce will keep well in the fridge for 4-5 days.
We have had the Peruvian-Style
Roasted Chicken with Green Sauce
four times now. It has become a family favorite. I have doubled the recipe and used the second chicken for tacos. The green sauce is delicious mixed with shredded cabbage as a crunchy topping for the tacos.
Hands down the most delicious chicken we have ever had! š
This was absolutely amazing and will definitely be going into our regular rotation. Seriously I am a huge fan of peruvian chicken and this was the best I have ever eaten. Also: the sauce was incredible!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing!
Was looking for a new way to serve whole roasted chicken so I gave this recipe a try for company over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Truly this was a hit! I prepared the chicken the day prior and let it marinade overnight in the refrigerator. I roasted according to directions and the fragrance filled the kitchen – most inviting to our guests. The chicken tasted wonderful both with and without the green sauce. I divided the green sauce into two bowls and added additional hot sauce to one for some who like it extra spicy. I will definitely make this again and several asked for the recipe. REALLY GOOD!
This has become one of the staple recipes in our house! When I made this for just my husband and I, I used the same amount of jalapeno stem/ seeds as suggested. With a little guy, we used a bit less but still included some so that it would have at least a little bite!
If you’re a little short on time and don’t want to roast the whole chicken, I’ve also found that this recipe is awesome on chicken thighs – cooks faster but has the same great taste! Just make sure whatever cut of meat you use that it has skin on it.
I’ll often rub the chicken down in the morning before heading to work, then it just needs to be popped into the oven when I get home! Also, the green sauce is even better the 2nd day, so if you want to make that the night before you won’t be disappointed!
Some day I’ll have leftovers from this recipe, but so far, it all disappears in one night!
I had a tough day at work and wanted to make something amazing to eat but not too much work and this fit the bill perfectly! I made a few changes but we loved it! I spatchcocked the chicken so it would cook quicker and I cooked it with indirect heat on the grill because it was too warm to turn on the oven. We have a dinner party coming up soon and this will probably be on the menu! Tonight I served it with the Black Bean and Corn Salad with the Chipotle Honey dressing. Wonderful! Thank you!
Hello Jenn
I love your site soo much. I’ve tried many of your recipes. I always looks forward for your emails with new recipes. I am thankful to my friend at church for sharing your site.
I have one question. Can I make this recipe in a vertical chicken roaster that you put over the grill like this one?
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/two-in-one-vertical-chicken-roaster/?pkey=e%7Cchicken%2Broaster%2Bgrill%7C209%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C3&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules
Thank you
Eileen, I have made several versions of this on the vertical roaster but in the oven, and it comes out beautifully. Can’t see why it wouldn’t also be great on the grill.
This dish is FABULOUS. Instead of using a whole chicken I bought the chicken already cut into pieces. It was less work and took less time to cook. As for the green sauce the first time I made it I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. The taste and consistency wasn’t right. The next time I made the sauce I followed the recipe as written and it came out great. This is now one of the regular dishes I make in my house.
This sounds great, even if it would turn my house into a furnace. Might be worth it. What kinds of sides would match up well with this? I don’t think our normal staple of roast chicken sides would match up with this style.
Hi Jim, The great thing about this dish is that you can keep the sides pretty simple. The chicken and green sauce have so much flavor — and you can put the sauce on whatever you serve with it. Honestly, you could do plain white or brown rice and a simple vegetable, like my French Green Beans with Shallots. Or if you wanted to do a starch and vegetable all in one, my Mexican Rice Pilaf would be very good. Here are the links:
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/mexican-rice-pilaf.html
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/french-string-beans-with-shallots.html
the peruvian chicken places around here offer the following sides:
fried rice
fried plantains
yuka
black beans
After having this at an authentic Peruvian restaurant, I was blown away and immediately went in search for a recipe. I’m glad I came across yours. This is the first recipe I tried from your site and it made me a believer.
I didn’t change a thing and it came out just as what I had at the restaurant. Perfect.
This is easily one of the best dinners I make. I’ve made it for my boyfriend and another time for his parents to rave reviews. The sauce is out of control good! We eat it on everything….sandwiches, chips, veggies, salads, rice…..
The great thing about the sauce is you can adjust the heat to your liking. It gets really hot with the ribs and seeds from the jalapenos but stays mild if you just put in the green parts. Tip: Use food safe gloves when you cut jalapenos!
I made this chicken with Jenn’s Mexican rice recipe and they complemented each other perfectly.
Thanks Jenn!
I cooked this Peruvian chicken and green sauce for my friends and family dinner and everyone loved it. I liked that the recipe was simple and quick. Love this website she has really good recipes that I can’t wait o try.
OMG the chicken was great …..but the green sauce!!!!! My husband had more sauce on his fork than chicken and he ate it all. Today I had to make a double batch and we’re going to put it on fried shrimp! It’s wonderfully versatile and just fabulous!
Omg!!! Best chicken recipe ever the green sauce is amazing and it taste good on everything! Made my chicken with an avocado salad and used a little bit of the sauce on my salad. My husband went back for seconds and thirds. Next time I make the sauce I will do as the recipe says and add the seed, I was afraid of the heat and didn’t add a lot from the peppers. It would have been perfect if it was more spicy.
This recipe was a hit in my house!!!
I made this yesterday, and was worried about the green sauce, as it was flaming hot right after mixing. I was wrong, as after 8 hrs. of mellowing in the fridge, it was a different sauce all together! Honestly, my husband thought the flavor of the chicken and sauce was the best he had ever had. One thing I did add was 1 teas. of cider vinegar to the marinade, as suggested by a neighbor who had lived in Peru. I served this dish along side citrus rice salad and steamed broccoli. Everyone invited asked for the recipe!
Made this for my husband and myself, by far the best chicken I’ve ever had. This was my first time roasting a whole chicken, can’t believe how easy it was! The green sauce was a huge hit, and I have shared this recipe with all my coworkers š Also I appreciate the easy to follow instructions. Thanks! Will definitely be doing this one again.
I made your shrimp tacos recipe last night, Yummy! Tonight I’m trying the peruvian chicken recipe.
My question is ” will I lose too much of the marinade sauce if we put it on the B-B-Q rotisserie”?
Thank you for the excellent recipes!
Hi Marta, It should work fine. I hope you enjoy it!
Do you think it would work to use FF plain greek yogurt instead of the mayo and sour cream?
Hi Ellen, I don’t think it’d be bad, but the mayo rounds out the flavor because it’s not tangy like the sour cream and yogurt.
This chicken and sauce are truly amazing! I live part of the year in NYC and have eaten at peruvian restaurants several times (pio pio is one of my favorites), and let me say that I now have no reason to go out to get chicken with green sauce, this recipe was restaurant style without having to leave the house! Definitely a keeper. Putting the sauce between the skin and the meat was key as well as letting it marinade over night. Also, I think packing the cup of cilantro leaves, as opposed to loosely filling it, was key to making the sauce taste great- its amazing how much cilantro can fit in a cup… anyway. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks very good. I used to go to a Peruvian place that did a yellow creamy sauce with raw onions in it. It was really delicious and would love to find out how to make it. Any ideas?
Jesse, My guess is that it was a garlic mayonnaise. Try garlic, mayo, chopped onions and a little lemon juice.
Peruvians use yellow peppers called Aji Panca.
Great recipe. I’m peruvian and Pollo a la Brasa is something I grew up with. It made me so happy to find this recipe on your blog. I will definetly try it out! Thanks for sharing š
I made this for the people I cook for, I got a special phone call saying this dish was “off the charts” !!
I rarely duplicate recipes from week to week but this one is definitely a keeper. I served it with a solerito salad to start and made plain basmati rice and steamed broccoli.This was awesome!!
Another rave review on this one! Absolutely loved it. Should have listened to your statement about using half the jalapeno seeds for a medium hot sauce. I figured that I liked things hot and upped the seeds to at least three-quarters, OUCH! I will scale that back a tad next time, LOL! I agree with John that the sauce would make a great dip too.
Thank you for bringing this chicken recipe into my life. I am no-sugar, nothing-processed, low-carb so I omitted the sugar in the chicken rub and it was still phenomenal. For the green sauce, I used my own homemade mayonnaise and strained some homemade kefir to the consistency of sour cream for that substitution. I also didn’t have fresh jalapenos on-hand, but I used pickled and the sauce still was great, but I’m positive that fresh would be infinitely better. This was so great that my 5yo son asked to have it cold in his lunch for school! Maybe I need to plan a trip to Peru…. š
I love this recipe! My husband loves this recipe. The first time I made it we butterflied a whole chicken and then grilled it….it was delicious. I have tried baking the chicken and the flavor is great but it is even better off the grille. This is a five star recipe.
One of our favorites, excellent!
I made this for Valentine’s Day. It was awesome. I used the sauce on pasta and as a dip. Excellent.
I made this and the chicken came out great. However, I couldn’t get my green sauce to look like yours. My sauce was really thick, it had good flavor but it wasn’t solid green. It was more white with green specks.
My first batch, when I used a food processor, not a blender came out as you described. The second I did, I used the blender and the sauce was smooth, green & creamy. I wonder if that’s the difference? Or maybe you need to up the amount of cilantro…
Sounds fantastic. Both the chicken and the green sauce.
I just used this recipe to make chicken wings. I was only able to marinate a few hours . The wings were so delicious that my husband wants me to make them for our Super Bowl party! For the green sauce, I substituted greek yogurt for the sour cream and used 1.5 large jalapenos and it was the perfect heat level! I am psyched that I made a double batch of the wings and froze one batch so we can enjoy next weekend with very little prep. The green sauce will not last until then so I will experiment with more yogurt and less mayo to see how it compares! Thanks so much for posting this!!
This dish was easy to make and tasted phenomenal. The whole family enjoyed it. I will definitely make this again, especially on a whole chicken. I did thighs and legs for this go around; but I can only imagine a whole chicken like this could only be better!
@ Dann s Washko
I have made this at least three times since discovering this recipe in September. Each time I have done it with a whole chicken which I have butterflied and roasted in a hooded BBQ. My family love it! Any leftovers I have on toasted sandwiches with the sauce and it is super good!! This would have to be one of my favourite roast recipes!
Such an great dish, I used drumsticks and boy o boy did my family love it! The green sauce was just fantastic and I will definitely be using it on its own as a dip. I did up the garlic and used about 6 for the sauce and another bunch for the chicken.