Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
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Enjoy tender, juicy Peruvian-style roast chicken drizzled with a spicy and irresistibly good 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 jalapeño 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 the Serious Eats Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt).
Simply combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, jalapeños, 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 the jalapeño 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.
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Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Green Sauce
Enjoy tender, juicy Peruvian-style roast chicken drizzled with a spicy and irresistibly good 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 jalapeño 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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The green sauce is AMAZING! I was putting it on everything. The chicken was super moist and delicious on its own. I had to wait a day to make it because I didn’t read the recipe throughly in the beginning and started a little late for dinner since it has a 6 hours or overnight marinating time. Well worth the wait.
I make this recipe all the time! It’s very flavorful and really easy to pull together. I could drink the green sauce straight up! I once lightened the green sauce a bit and subbed a portion of the sour cream/mayo with greek yogurt…it was still tasty, but I think it’s worth going for the full tanginess of the sour cream/mayo combo.
This recipe also makes killer leftover nachos or tacos. Just reheat some of the meat, put it in a tortilla or on chips, and top with your favorite toppings…but don’t forget to drizzle on the green sauce at the end!
This green sauce is the best hands down. I have tried others – they don’t compare. When I make this sauce I double and freeze some. We use on everything. Great recipe.
Wonderful recipe and part of our regular dinner rotation. It is best with whole chicken, but we make it often with boneless skinless chicken breasts and just marinade for a shorter time. The green sauce is absolutely delicious and is wonderful on roasted potatoes or drizzled over rice and black bean burrito bowls.
THIS CHICKEN DISH IS FABULOUS!!!!! (Trust me, because I don’t type a lot of reviews unless super satisfied)
I made zero changes to any ingredients because they all work perfectly together. But what I have done is used the marinade with bone in Chicken breasts instead of the full fowl. I baked at 450 for 35 minutes then 375 for another 15, super juicy and perfect, although I do have a weird oven, so times may be different.
I’ve used this marinade with pork tenderloin and BOOM! Lovely! And don’t get me started on the Green Sauce, which is a staple! I use this stuff on everything! From just dipping vegetables to fish to even a sauce on roasted vegetables on rice. Plus, more importantly for me, I usually have all of these ingredients on hand, and don’t have to whip out to grab anything.
Thank you so much for another winner!!!!
Excellent recipe – the chicken comes out moist and flavorful, but picky eaters won’t be put off by the spices. The green sauce is delicious and we used it on two other meals later in the week. I have tried a different recipe for Peruvian chicken and green sauce and this was better – we will use this recipe again.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Is there really anything left to say? Honestly, this is one delicious bird. The recipe is super easy to make and the green sauce — really, there are no words. It’s true what others have said. I could eat that sauce on anything. Between the flavorful meat and the green sauce this is sure to be one meal that will impress your family and friends. I have followed Jenny’s advice to lift the skin with a wooden spoon to get in the marinade. It worked out just fine, the next time I made this recipe I opted to use disposable medical gloves that really allowed me to get the marinade in all the nooks and crannies. Seriously, if you haven’t tried this recipe, give it a go. It rivals all of the Peruvian chicken places I frequent near my home.
This is the best roasted chicken recipe ever. It is so worth the effort and not as hard as it sound. I marinated the chicken early in the morning, started roasting around 4pm (between the meetings), and only had to make the green sauce after work was over. I served it with rice and coleslaw all topped with the green sauce. I did not use any seeds and only two jalapeño because of our sensitivity to spicy foods but I made no other changes. The chicken out of the oven was irresistible, I had to try it. Perfect crunch, complexed flavors and enjoyed by all, especially my picky eater. I am sharing it with all my friends.
This was one of the first recipes I tried from your website and I have to say I was hooked! I have made this a ton of times and it is always a hit in our home. The green sauce is like icing on a cake! Heavenly! I am from the Caribbean and love food that’s packed with flavor and spice! This recipe, like all the others I have tried from your site (and book!) did not disappoint. I use legs and thighs and it’s so good! Thank you!
Hands down this is my favorite recipe from your site! My husband loves it so much we make it every Sunday! And the leftovers are fabulous added to your smoky red lentil soup. F