Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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
You may also like
- Grilled Chicken Fajitas
- Arroz con Pollo
- Chicken & Quinoa Burrito Bowls with Spicy Green Sauce
- Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
- Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas
- 9 Best Pots and Pans For Your Kitchen
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I think this is my favorite chicken recipe ever! And we have been calling the sauce, by itself, “Magical Sauce”. It’s good on eggs, bread, salad, vegetables, other meats (steak for example). This sauce has no limits that I know of. And the chicken alone is wonderful.. Instead of a whole chicken, I used bone-in skin-on thighs as my husband and I are ‘dark meat people’ (we bonded at a dinner when we met over drumsticks and thighs). I mariniated with the marinade under the skin and then cooked them on a rack to get more circulation (same as the whole chicken). I think my total cooking time to reach 165 degrees was about 35 minutes at the stated temperature. Seriously this recipe is super fantastic amazing . Thanks Jenn! You’ve come thru as you always do. Can’t wait for your cookbook!
Wicked good! Everyone, including all kids, LOVED this dish. Made it with just thighs, still tucked the marinade under skin & cooked at high heat. Kids are now fighting over who gets the leftovers for school lunch tomorrow…. a 10/10.
This is the best chicken!! I have even been making two at a time and using the 2nd for chicken sandwiches to send with everyone for lunches. The green sauce is fantastic with the chicken but also, just plain amazing!!! We have been putting it on everything – as salad dressing, dip for veggies, on tacos, etc…
Entire family LOVED this roasted chicken! We followed the recipe and used the seeds from only only jalapeƱo and it was just the right amount of heat that we like! We tend to eat rather lively dishes. So much flavor and we are using the green sauce in other recipes – tastes yummy with mashed avocado! We will make this dish again!
When my daughter came home from college for the holidays, this was one of the first dishes she asked me to make! Our whole family loves this, and my girls love to use any leftover green sauce as a salad dressing. Sometimes I make this with all drumsticks if I need something easier to serve to a group.
I doubled the recipe because I had a larger chicken. I allowed it to marinate for 2 days. LISTEN, I don’t usually care for baked, roasted or rotisserie chicken. However, I found this recipe/site while searching for Perivian Charcoal chicken. My blender gave out on me, but I’d give this recipe a 4.5 star based upon the chicken alone. I’ll bet that sauce would have kicked my rating off of the chart! This is company-worthy. I’m making this again, for sure! Thanks, so much!
Finally, my husband is hard to please, when it comes to new recipes. He gave this a 4/5 and told me this recipe was a keeper.
When your hubby says, “That was the best meal you’ve ever made.” You bookmark it.
Yummy!
Served a simple cucumber salad and garlic rice and made an easy strawberry, orange, mint dessert.
The sauce you want to drink!! I made the chicken (I made 2 actually) with the green sauce. The chicken was delicious and we had no leftovers. The sauce though was the star. my mother asked if she could just have a straw. Everyone asked me if they could take a little home to eat with salads and sandwiches and nips from the jar. Make a double batch of sauce. Excellent recipe for both chicken and sauce.
This recipe was to die for. I passed it on to a co-worker because it came out so good. The recipe calls for a 4 pound roasting chicken but I had a 5 pound one so I just up’d the ingredients just a little bit. I also let the chicken marinate for over 24 hours and that really helped with the flavor. This recipe is a keeper
Hi Jenn! Haven’t made this recipe yet but planning on it for a holiday party. 2 Questions:
What’s the biggest size of chicken you would use for this recipe?
If I’m traveling with the chicken, can I safely pre-cook it and warm it up again in my friend’s oven without losing the delicious crispiness?
Thank you for your amazing recipes!!!
Fran, I think you could use up to a 6 lb. chicken for this, but make sure to add some cooking time to account for the larger size. Also, unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend making this in advance. You will definitely lose the crispiness of the skin.
Hi Jenn,
Fabulous recipe! I’ve made it a dozen times. But I do have a question, does the chicken need to be marinated for 6 hours? I’m short on time today and would like to make this for dinner tonight, any suggestions?
Hi Melissa, It’s best marinated for at least 4 hours but if you’re short on time, the green sauce will still add a lot of flavor.
How will the green sauce taste if I omit the jalapeƱos?
Hi Jasmina, Sure, you can omit the jalapeƱos if you choose to (or just use less if you’re concerned about the sauce being spicy).
Another great recipe. The green sauce compliments this dish really well. I have made a lot of recipes from this site and have never been disappointed.
I’d like to use this marinade for our turkey at Thanksgiving. I usually brine the turkety. If I Brine the meat before and then use the marinade, will the meat be too salty.
Yes, it would be too salty. I would cut down or eliminate the salt.
Great recipe. It was so good with the chicken that the family wants the thanksgiving turkey done this way. I usually brine my turkey in a vegetable broth, sugar, pepper, allspice and salt mixture. Can I do that and add the marinade in the morning prior to cooking or do I run the risk of it being too salty.
Yes, it would be too salty. I would suggest eliminating the salt in the marinade.
Thank you. Great advice as I was wondering where to eliminate the salt. This way I get to keep all the amazing flavors from the marinade.
Made this chicken exactly to recipe, and it was fantastic! I love Kenji at Serious Eats, but sometimes I need something just a bit easier/quicker to prepare, and Jenn’s fits the bill nicely. Plus everyone loved it (even the kids)!
Hi – i’m really curious about adding avocado (making it more guacamole style) to the sauce.
Any thoughts on how to do this?
Hi Leigh, hard to say for sure because I’ve never tried it that way, but avocado sounds like a tasty addition. Keep in mind that it will definitely thicken up the sauce so it may be more of a “spread.” -Jenn
The green sauce was so good. Tasted just like the sauce I get at my favorite Peruvian restaurant
LOVE this recipe! I have made this for my family many, many times and they adore it. I have made it for friends several times and each time they request the recipe. I love sending them to Jen’s website!
Second straight Sunday using this marinade. Last week on 3 whole chicken butterflied and smoked over cherry wood, hickory and rosemary. Very delish!
Too bad that we can’t post pics here. Would be kind of nice to be able to post those beautiful peruvian birds from last week. Also would be nice to be able to see others. But anyways, Great Stuff!!!
Hello Jenn – this recipe is very popular in my home. About two weeks ago, I made extra marinade and saved it because I’ve been thinking about trying it with wings. Made them and my family loved it. Love your content, great pics, easy to follow recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Wow–made this as described and it was fantastic. The green sauce can truly be used on anything and I did put embarrassing amounts on my meal, as well as on breakfast tacos the next morning! Five stars all the way for ease and flavor!
Question for you, Jenn … do you think I can do this with my Thanksgiving turkey? Maybe double the recipe and adjust cooking time, of course, but would you proceed with the same under-skin/marinating method? Thanks–new to your site and really enjoying it!! Cristina
Hi Cristina, Glad you enjoyed it! I do the same thing with the sauce š You could absolutely do the same for your turkey; please let me know how it turns out. Sounds like a nice change from the same old same.
Did this with our turkey this year–fabulous! I doubled this recipe and followed the cooking instructions but just longer for our bigger turkey. The moistest turkey ever. Thank you!
You were so right – don’t make it in the crockpot, or if you do, don’t go for 8 hours! I don’t know why I felt the need to mess with perfection – laziness I guess.
Hi Jen! I love, love, love your website and use your recipes all the time. I’m making this roast chicken for the second time tonight, but I’m using a 6 lb fryer instead of a 4 lb (because my husband can literally eat nearly an entire 4 pounder on his own, and we have guests tonight!). How should I adjust the cooking times for the added weight? Thank you!!!
Hi Tara, I’d probably count on an additional 15-20 minutes, but you’ll have to keep an eye on it. Enjoy!
My family devours this recipe. Sauce is amazing. I added sweet potatoes to the roasting pan turning once and they were almost as good as the chicken. YUM!
Love that idea, Lynda! Trying that next time š
Do you think I could make the chicken in a crockpot – low for 8 hours? I’ve made it with chicken thighs and it was amazing – I agree with the review that said the sauce is like crack!
Hi Bonnie, You could…but I prefer to roast it in the oven so the skin gets crispy.
This recipe is amazing! I wish I had the gumption to make it more often.
To top it off somehow I convinced my daughter to prepare it. Win-win!
I made this for dinner Sunday and received raves from my husband and daughter. I am considered a great cook so they expect good food, but we all thought this dish was truly delicious (and very easy to make)! I love your site and have referred many friends! Thanks, Jenn!
I use slightly different recipe for the chicken (my rub is very similar, but we do it beer can style), but I felt obligated to rate your green sauce. It is perfect. We like spicy, so I keep all the seeds and ribs. My boyfriend calls it “magic sauce” and wants to eat it on everything.
This recipe sounds delicious. I do not like cilantro, can you suggest a substitution?
Hi Debby, You can use Italian parsley.
I think the recipe is good and seems authentic. I bet this kind of recipe is at least 2000 years old passed on generation after generation. I find it hard to believe that your others reviewers out there are commenting that they want to change it by using basil or something instead. Why don’t we just make chicken noodle soup and leave out the noodles meaning that Cilantro is central to this dish. Try it first before you change an authentic recipe and Americanize it into obscurity.
If you don’t like Cilantro you probably don’t like mint either. They’re related. Parsley would be ok. Do you like Mexican Oregano? How about Rosemary, Thyme, Sage? Sounds like a song I know. I personally hate mint but I love Cilantro. You can’t have real Peruvian flavor without Cilantro.
Made this last night with chicken thighs on the grill. AWESOME! Everyone gave it rave reviews. Kids thought the sauce was a little too “spicy” with the quantity of raw garlic so I will reduce in their version of the sauce next time. I had already excluded the jalapenos from theirs.
I discovered your site a few months ago while looking for kabobs, which I made along with the Basmati Pilaf. Wow! This though is just over the top delicious! I make extra green sauce mainly to use as a salad dressing (sweet kale salad combo from Costco). We recently went to DC and tried the chicken at Sardi’s….well, yours is wayyyyy tastier. I don’t think I’ll ever use any other recipe. Thank you very much for sharing all these wonderful recipes! I’ve tried many of them and they all came out perfect!
Love Love this recipe!! I don’t even like roasted chicken, but definitely loved this one. It had so much flavor unlike other roasted chickens. I recommend cutting the green sauce in half it makes a lot but definitely worth it.
Hi Jenn,
I am really enjoying your recipes. I also appreciate the information about the different types of whole chickens. I have often wondered, but never asked.
I wondered if I could roast leg quarters using this recipe? My concern is putting it on a rack, and also with cooking times.
Thank you so much for your time and sharing your talent.
Regards,
Doreen
Hi Doreen, So glad you are enjoying the recipes! Leg quarters will work beautifully for this recipe. If you have an oven-proof cooling rack, I’d put them on that (it really helps the skin crisp up all over) but if not don’t worry about it — you can just bake them right on a sheet pan.
Thank you for your quick response!
If I don’t have a roasting pan how would you suggest I roast the chicken. Is it possible to roast the chicken without a roasting rack or pan.
Hi Erica, Yes it’s possible but without a rack the skin won’t crisp up underneath the bird.
Doubled the marinade and marinated pounded boneless chicken breasts in it for 4 hours. Then grilled the chicken. Amazing! My guests loved it.
If you only save this recipe for the sauce, you will NOT be disappointed. Cilantro can tend to be overpowering to many, but this recipe really does it justice! In fact, some folks have asked me what the great flavor is? So versatile. You HAVE to try this. It is my favorite go-to sauce!
This is my go-to chicken recipe!
This is totally outrageously delicious!
The green sauce is amazing and goes with SO many dishes.
Chicken, veggies, salmon, even your cereal!! (Well, OK, maybe not your cereal…)
EVERYONE I have served this to absolutely raved about it.
Would give 50 stars if I could. Thank you SO much, Jenn!
Nice green sauce, added moisture if any of the pieces of chicken were cooked more than some.
My kosher salt is big crystals. Does it need to be ground ?
Hi Sandy, It doesn’t need to be ground — use it as is.
In the picture showing the marinade ingredients in the mini food processor, what is the white stuff in the upper left?
Hi Wanda, That’s chopped garlic š
I made this again last weekend and did it with chicken pieces on the grill. OMG. It was outrageous. It is toe-to-toe with the honey, lime, sriracha chicken. The green sauce is wonderful. I don’t like cilantro and substituted Italian flat leaf parsley and a few basil leaves. Delicious. We used sauce over grilled salmon the next day too, fab.
Love this idea, Jen!
I Love cilantro, but I like the idea of trying different herbs…
Maybe greek style with lemon instead of the lime and fresh mint? And perhaps a wee bit of fresh dill?
Thanks for the tip!
This is an execellent recipe . I really like many of your recipes . I cook this all the time and is always a hit . I serve this recipe with Oven baked saffron rice .
As I am a beginning cook, it took me ages to make this roast chicken dish. I had started with a chicken the size of a pony that my dad’s farming friends in Lac la Biche had provided. This chicken was frozen like an iceberg in my freezer all winter until the moment of discovery last week when I took it out.
I put it on the counter for a day but it didn’t seem to be thawed. I was afraid we would get food poisoning thawing out the bird for days on end on the kitchen counter so I put it in the fridge. I had to do other stuff and did not get around to the bird until days later.
Then I wanted to make the marinade. I did not have cumin, paprika or oregano in the house. My mum gave me the cumin and paprika (she has ten million spices at her place) and I bought the oregano plus the other ingredients for the marinade plus the sauce.
Finally I had the marinade made and I put the bird in the fridge overnight yesterday. It was roasting day today. I did it. The chicken was beautiful but the dipping sauce was extra hot. I didn’t follow your good advice about deseeding. As a result we have fairly hot dipping sauce.
I thought this was a very good recipe. I will use the left over chicken to make a chicken pot pie (without a crust as I don’t know how to make a good pie crust).
I would use the rest of the chicken for a chicken soup but no one in the family likes my chicken soup. Actually I am a very bad cook but this recipe was so good that the chicken was eaten.
Although older boy said he preferred Sobey’s rotisserie chicken, younger boy who is a picky eater, ate this chicken. I will make it again but this time I will use less chilli for the dipping sauce.
If you have a good chicken pot pie recipe, I’d love to try it.
The Peruvian chicken looks delicious , but the recipe don’t say amount of the ingredients.
Hi Nelly, Click on the recipe tab at the top of the post or scroll all the way down beneath the step-by-step photos.
Delicious! It was also family friendly. The kids really enjoyed the green sauce with the chicken.
What a wonderful recipe! I followed it completely – no changes. š I served the Peruvian Chicken as suggested by you: Mexican Pilaf with a side of your French Green Beans. The Green Sauce that went with the chicken was delicious! These are the first three recipes I have ever followed from your website, and I am super impressed! Thank you for your terrific work. Looking forward to trying some of your amazing looking desserts. š Bisous from Belgium!
This recipe is absolutely perfect. I followed all of the instructions exactly, but I used the rotisserie of my grill to cut the chickens (double the recipe). The results were fantastic and better than the abundance of Peruvian restaurants in the northern Virginia area. Your family will beg you to cook this dish frequently. Thank you for posting!!!
I really, really like this recipe. I used cut up, bone-in chicken parts so it’s easier to cook and they turned out very well. Super tasty! I’m not a fan of chicken breast because to me it’s dry when cooked but it came out moist. I can’t remember how long I had it in the oven because I really wanted the inside to be done and not bloody. The sauce is great also. I only added a bit of jalapeƱo because I was afraid it will be too spicy but I’ll definitely add more next time.