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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This was delicious! Everyone at the table thought it tasted like Viva chicken! Yum. I cooked mine in the instant pot for 28 min with a 23 min natural release ! Delish! Thanks!
I am obsessed with this recipe! It’s so delicious!!! I’m making it again today…whole chicken plus a package of chicken thighs too so I can share with my sister’s family too. It’s such a yummy addition to my list of meals that i love!!!!
Hi Jenn,
For boneless skinless thighs, you said in another comment to check for doneness at 35-40 minutes; does this mean roast at 425 for 20 minutes and then at 375 for 15-20 minutes more for a total of 35-40 minutes? Love all of your recipes, thank you for all your hard work!
Hi Lesley, Glad you like the recipes! I’d actually cook the thighs in a 400-degree oven for about 35 minutes. Hope you enjoy!
Wow this is good! Served it with potatoes. I wish I could have done something with those tasty drippings. We have leftover sauce, I guess we’ll make more chicken!
I used chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken and it turned out wonderful and the green sauce was excellent.
I will add to the many accolades of this recipe which is adapted from Kenji Lopez-Alt who also credits the original recipe to Pio Pio in NYC which serves a similar dish that inspired his recipe. I have eaten at Pio Pio a couple of times and their chicken is delicious. First of all, the chicken: Excellent in all regards. Also easily adapted to pieces. I have done Kenji’s version as well. Full chicken and also pieces. Recently I did thighs based on Jenn’s adaptation, skin-on boneless which I marinated overnight, cooked for 30 minutes at 425 and then simply finished under the broiler for about 6 minutes to crisp up. Served with Jenn’s version of the green sauce, some roast potatoes which I crisp in a cast iron skillet and green beans and was delicious. Best meal in a while and this is coming from someone with an excel spreadsheet of 450 tried and true recipes and a live in housekeeper / cook who helps me prep meals and test run new recipes weekly. I’ve been collecting and refining recipes for 30 years. We’ve lived in NYC, Hong Kong, London and Tokyo so we know our way around food. The green sauce is truly excellent. I think Jenn Segal’s modest changes work well and it is excellent modification. Kenji also has a recipe with chicken pieces (breasts) for a sandwich. On ciabatta, with lettuce and sliced avocado and the green sauce which is one of the best chicken sandwiches. So needless to say: I am a fan. I also don’t write reviews too often. But this deserved it. Kudos to Jenn and Kenji and Pio Pio.
I am a chef for a family and would love to see your spreadsheet of recipes.
Absolutely DELICIOUS! Marinated the chicken overnight, made the green sauce after marinade, so sauce had 24 hours in the refrigerator to meld. Results were phenomenal! Thank you, Jenn for another sensational recipe!
This was amazing!!! My family really enjoyed the flavour of the chicken and the green sauce.
This recipe is so delicious. I used chicken thighs that were marinated over night and cooked on my outdoor grill. Served with Mexican rice and steamed broccoli. YUM!!!
Love this recipe❣️ Flavors are spot on. The only thing I changed was instead of cooking in the oven I cooked it on a sittin’ chicken (beer can chicken) in the Hasty Bake around 275* until breast meat registered 165. Incredibly moist and delicious and so is that sauce, oh my😃Served with roasted cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus thrown in last 10 or so minutes then a good dose of fresh shredded Parmesan As always, thank you for sharing Jenn !!!