Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) with Peruvian Green Sauce ( Aji Verde) and Avocado Tomato Cucumber Salad. Can be made in 40 minutes- perfect for weeknights!
Row row row your boat, gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.~
While in Seattle we lunched at a little Peruvian restaurant and ordered Pollo a la Brasa, aka, Peruvian Chicken. It came with an addicting spicy green sauce and a simple side salad, and instantly I was hooked.
Instead of roasting a whole chicken in the traditional way I used boneless, skinless breast and thighs and grilled them instead of firing up the oven- making the cooking process faster, cooler (during the summer months) and without the skin, a bit lighter and healthier.
For mixed households, vegans can substitute portobellos for the chicken using the same flavorful marinade- it’s very easy to grill up both the chicken and portobellos.
Watch how to make Peruvian Chicken!
And be sure to make this fresh Avocado-Cucumber and Tomato Salad – it’s so simple and tasty and if you want, serve it all up with rice. If you are a fast chopper and a multitasker, the whole meal can be made in about 35-40 minutes. Seriously!
On the home-front: We’ve been taking it easy. Yes catering some weddings, but really not as many as previous years. I’m loving my life- I can’t remember a summer where time felt so plentiful. It’s really a luxurious feeling. I’m not sure if I’ve told you this, but this will be our last year catering.
The plan is to travel part of the year and focus on this blog. Yes, surprisingly blogging is a “business”, and one that doesn’t cause as much stress anxiety. I’m sitting here typing in my PJ’s! For the last 22 years, I’ve led a pretty stress-filled life (my choice) with the restaurant, then with the catering business- so anyways- I’m so excited to slow down, take care of myself and get to do more of what I love!
Look how clean and healthy this Peruvian Chicken looks! Especially if you go light on the green sauce, which I’ll admit, is difficult to do.
Mildly spicy, citrusy, earthy the Peruvian chicken is flavorful and juicy, and the portobellos are just as tasty! This whole meal could be easily be made vegan, so be sure to look at the recipe notes.
The quick easy peruvian marinade is made with olive oil, garlic, spices and lime juice.
Marinate the Peruvian chicken while the grill heats up. Here I’m using boneless skin-less thighs, but breasts would work too, as well as bone-in, skin on chicken. Keep in mind that boneless breasts cook the fastest and are the leanest, not including these portobello mushrooms.
Portobellos can be sliced or grilled whole. Be sure to brush the marinade on lightly, because mushrooms are porous can actually soak up too much, if you are not careful.
While the grill heats up, whip up the Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce in the blender.
As the chicken and portobellos grill, make the Avocado Tomato Cucumber salad.
Avocados and cucumber are diced, and cherry tomatoes are halved. Then it’s simply drizzled with olive oil, lime juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Serve the Peruvian Chicken with rice for a heartier meal.
Serve the Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce separately or build bowls.
Love hearing your feedback and comments….let us know how you like it, or how you adapted it….and remember to tag your creations #feastingathome on instagram so I can see what you are making!
PrintPeruvian Chicken with Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce
A simple recipe for Peruvian Chicken with spicy Peruvian Green Sauce is bursting with flavor and can be made with either chicken or portobellos ( a tasty vegetarian option) or both for mixed households. Served with Spicy Cilantro Sauce, Avocado Cucumber & Tomato Salad and optional rice, these can be made into individual Bowls, or served separately.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Adaptable
- Cuisine: South American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ –2 pounds chicken ( thigh or breast, boneless, skinless- see notes) Or substitute portobellos.
Marinade
- 4 garlic cloves- finely minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey, agave or sugar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika or smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano ( or 1 tablespoon fresh) or sub thyme or marjoram
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce ( optional)
Cilantro Sauce
- ½ cup sour cream ( or sub mayo or vegan mayo)
- ½ jalapeño (use less for less spicy)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup chopped cilantro- thin stems ok.
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- squeeze of lime ( 1 tablespoon, save other half for salad)
Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad
- 2 cups diced or sliced english or turkish cucumber
- 1 large perfectly ripe avocado, diced
- handful cherry tomatoes ( yellow and red are nice )
- cilantro leaves for garnishing
- olive oil for drizzling
- generous, 5 finger pinch kosher salt
- squeeze of lime
Optional Bowl Additions- cooked rice or beans…. or both.
Instructions
Preheat grill to medium high.
If making rice, start this now on the stove.
Make the marinade in a small bowl. Using a garlic press, finely mince the garlic and place it the bowl. Add oil, lime juice, honey, cumin, paprika, coriander, oregano and salt and optional soy sauce. Stir. Toss it with the chicken in bowl, coating all sides well, and/ or brush it onto the portobellos.
Make the Cilantro sauce by placing all the ingredients in a blender and blending until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.
When the grill is hot, grill the chicken and/ or portobellos, searing both sides well ( using a metal spatula to flip) then turn heat down or move to a cooler side of the grill to allow chicken to cook through. Portobellos will cook faster, so plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Make the salad by placing the diced cucumber in a wide shallow bowl. Add avocado, spacing it out evenly. Add a few cherry tomato halves. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Squeeze with lime juice. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Serve with the rice. If making bowls, place ¾ cup rice on the bottom of the bowl, add sliced chicken or portobellos to one side, avocado salad on the other side and drizzle with the cilantro sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to use bone in, skin-on chicken, although cooking time will increase on the grill. Instead of grilling you can also roast in the oven at 400F, or pan-sear, then finish in the oven. Traditionally, in Peru, a whole chicken is marinated then roasted in the oven, but to save time here, I used boneless, skinless thighs, and breast would work just as well.
Keywords: Peruvian Chicken, Peruvian Chicken Recipe, Grilled peruvian chicken, Peruvian Green Sauce, peruvian green sauce recipe
This was sooooo yummy. We can’t wait to make it again. The only adjustments we made were half amount of garlic in marinate. Otherwise the green sauce outstanding,a nice touch of heat with half a jalapeño, delicious on rice as well as chicken! The salad refreshing and crunchy with a side of fluffy rice. Thanks for sharing. This was a perfect summer meal! Enjoy!
★★★★★
Out of this world tasty! My 17 year old said it has to become a regular feature on our menu. Thank you very much for taking the time to create such a fantastic site. I’m really enjoying cooking your food and it’s helping me reach my goal of becoming a more creative cook. A little lockdown mission I set myself here in the uk. Thank you x
Thanks so much!
Made this today and my family absolutely loved it. I made it with both the chicken and the mushrooms. Next time I make the green sauce I’m going to make it a little bit more spicy.
★★★★★
Thanks Tina!
I’ve been wanting to get more brave with spices, and this recipe was exactly what I was looking for. My husband and both daughters (8 and 12) cleaned their plates! It was very easy, very flavorful, and I’m definitely adding it to our meal rotation. Thank you!
★★★★★
Simple and delicious! We made it into bowls with brown rice, and it was jam packed with flavor. We made the sauce with mayo because my baby has a milk protein intolerance and it was still great. Thank you for yet another great recipe!
★★★★★
P.S. I think the instructions miss adding the honey to the marinade? Unless I missed something??
You are right! Fixed it- thanks!
thanks Mary!
Can I marinate the chicken overnight?
Yes!
I made this tonight for Valentines Day, and it was amazing! Thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome, great to hear!
Looks delicious, I’m wondering if I could substitute parsley for the cilantro in the sauce. Sorry, gotta hate on cilantro, Tastes like soap to me. What do you think?
★★★★
I think that would work. But honestly, I bet in the sauce, it wouldn’t taste like soap (all blended up). Up to you!
Sounds good, but the real green sauce is made with a herb called huacatay.
Correct, this is not authentic, harder to track down the Peruvian chilies as well.
Hi there, I’ve made this recipe and loved the outcome every single time! Just wanted to ask how long does the cilantro sauce last usually if you store it well?
★★★★★
Great to hear! I would say 4 days? Best test is just to smell it. If it smells good- it will be fine!
Made this chicken on charcoal last night…it was perfect..it had umami!!!That doesn.t happen very often for me!!!Used skin on boneless thighs…Was surprised to see there was no pepper in the recipe but that’s up for suggestion..alot of options in that department!Maybe a few pepper flakes next time..All in all was very good!!
★★★★★
awesome recipe, and easy to make!
★★★★★
I made this for dinner & it was so flavorful!
I marinated the chicken for about 10 hours before I grilled it.
I also made “cilantro lime” rice to go with it!
Absolutely mouth watering, I want more.
★★★★★
wow this was great – we all loved it! i iwll use that green sauce in a number of different ways. this is a keeper.
★★★★★
Awesome! I love that sauce too!