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! Vegan adaptable!
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. Or marinate overnight for even more flavor! 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!
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Peruvian Chicken with Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Adaptable
- Cuisine: South American
Description
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.
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 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce ( optional)
Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde) :
- ½ cup sour cream or mayo (see notes for vegan option)
- ½ jalapeño (use less for less spicy)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup chopped cilantro- thin stems ok.
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- a 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 Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican Pinto 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 in the bowl. Add oil, lime juice, honey, cumin, paprika, coriander, oregano and salt and optional soy sauce. Stir. Toss it with the chicken in a bowl, coating all sides well, and/ or brush it onto the portobellos. Marinate while the grill heats up or overnight for more flavor. (The portobellos will soak up the marinade so if marinating overnight go lightly, reapply before grilling.)
- Make Peruvian Green 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 the heat down or move to a cooler side of the grill to allow the 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 Cilantro Lime 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.
A note on Peruvian Green Sauce ( Aji Verde): Mayo is traditional. I prefer sour cream, or a blend of sour cream and mayo.
***This can easily be made vegan by subbing vegan mayo, or instead of mayo, using 1/4 cup raw cashews and 1/4 cup water, with a tablespoon of lime juice and upping the salt to 1/2 teaspoon, blending in a high-powered blender. If your blender is not “high-powered” soak the cashews for 4 hours first, so they soften.
Keywords: Peruvian Chicken, Peruvian Chicken Recipe, Grilled peruvian chicken, Peruvian Green Sauce, peruvian green sauce recipe
This is a really easy, great recipe. We used thighs and served them with the green sauce on toasted, buttered buns as grilled chicken “burgers”. The whole family loved it!
★★★★★
Loved it! Added 1/2 avocado and a roasted jalopeno to the green sauce…kicked up the flavor and heat while thickening the sauce. Delicious! Loved the flavor of the chicken.
★★★★★
Absolutely AMAZING! I will be making this weekly, absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
This was an amazing meal. The marinade was easy and the chicken was delicious. I used a whole chicken cut into fourths and used my grill. My husband is in food heaven!!
★★★★★
Awesome Caroline 🙌 Great to hear and glad you enjoyed this!
This was absolutely a wonderful meal! The chicken turned out perfect and very flavorful. The salad was refreshing and complemented the meal. It was my first time making something “Peruvian”. I didn’t use as much jalapeño for the sauce since we prefer less spice and it was still great with the chicken. Will definitely make this one again and for any houseguests who I’m sure would love it too! Thank you
★★★★★
Yay Pauline! Glad you liked it! 🙌
A big hit, as are all your recipes, Sylvia. The flavors were incredibly balanced, it was easy to put together, and everything looked so vibrant and healthy. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing talents with us…for free no less! I used to be so anxious when I hosted a meal, but now I go to your website and unfailingly find fabulous, healthy meals, that not only taste great, they are easy to follow and look amazing. I have received so many compliments from my husband, and our friends, that I finally enjoy making meals and hosting dinner parties. I have passed your website on to countless people, and I rarely search for a recipe outside of your website because you never disappoint.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Susan, glad you are enjoying the blog!
This was the easiest and the best meal we have had all summer! Wonderful flavors! Thank you!
★★★★★
Yay!🙌
Absolutely delicious! The chicken had so much flavor, and the green sauce was an amazing addition to the chicken. I could even see using it with your salmon tacos! The avacado salad was light, fresh, and easy to throw together. My three young boys ate seconds and thirds. We also paired this recipe with your Everyday quinoa recipe…also a winner! Thank you for a fantastic dinner. We will be trying more of your recipes!
★★★★★
Thanks Allison, glad you liked it!
Incredible. I could eat this every day!
★★★★★
Yay!!! Great to hear. Thanks for sharing! 🙌
Wow!!!! This was absolutely so flavorful! Perfect combination of heat and spice. This is definitely a keeper in our household. Highly recommend. I never leave comments, but this surpassing any recipe I have found on line.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Lori- and so happy you liked it! 👏
We all loved this recipe. I made all parts. Only thing different is doubled the sauce. It was delicious! Thanks
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks so much!
Enjoyed this very much! The chicken was good by itself or with the addictive aji verde. Yogurt was substituted for the sour cream/mayo. It is on my list for my list of regulars from the grill.
★★★★★
Perfect, glad you liked it!
Easy to make and refreshingly delicious
★★★★★
Thank you again for another delicious recipe. I marinated the chicken breasts for a couple of nights and the chicken turned out so yummy and moist. The sauce really complimented the chicken. My husband and I raved about it. It’s definitely a keeper and can’t wait to make it for company post social distancing.
★★★★★
Nice to hear! Gald you both liked it!
This was delicious! My dad is from Peru and always talked of how good Pollo a la Brasa is. He said this is the best he’s ever had! Only thing I did differently was use sugar instead of honey because I didn’t have any. And I doubled the recipe for sauce because it is phenomenal and we put it on everything, even the cilantro lime rice we made it with. Thanks!
★★★★★
Awesome Josie!
is the chicken marinated for any length of time prior to grilling?
Yes, 20 minutes or overnight.
We loved this! The flavors were great and I really appreciate the ability for it to work with both meat eaters and vegetarians.
★★★★★
This recipe was so delicious! Just had friends over for the first time in months since Covid-19 and was looking for something easy enough to make for both adults and kids while catching up! Was perfect! Thank you 😊
★★★★★
One of my favorite grilled chicken recipes! have made it several times
★★★★★
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.