You’ll love everything about this Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) with Aji Verde Sauce!  It’s easy and bursting with flavor; this can be made in under an hour, baked in the oven or cooked on the grill- perfect for weeknights or special gatherings.  Vegan adaptable. Video.

 You'll love everything about this Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) with Aji Verde Sauce!  It's easy and bursting with flavor; this can be made in under an hour, baked in the oven or cooked on the grill- perfect for weeknights or special gatherings.  
Row row row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.~

This flavorful, juicy Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde Sauce is one you’ll need to make soon! Cook it on the grill or roast it in the oven, either way, you’ll love it. The Peruvian Green Sauce called Aji Verde is bursting with so much flavor, You’ll want it on everything! We pair the chicken with a simple avocado-tomato salad for a light and lean dinner.  The recipe can easily be adapted for vegans (see the recipe notes).

 how to make Peruvian Chicken | Video

How to make Peruvian Chicken

Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) with Aji Verde Sauce, rice and avocado salad in a bowl.

Step one: Make the Marinade.

The easy flavorful Peruvian Chicken marinade is made with olive oil, garlic, spices, and lime juice. Just mix it up in a bowl.

 Peruvian Chicken Marinade with cumin, paprika, lime juice,

Step two: Marinate the chicken.

Marinate the Peruvian chicken while the grill or oven heats up. Or marinate overnight for even more flavor!

Peruvian chicken in a marinade.

Here I’m using boneless skinless chicken thighs, but breasts and bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces would work too. Remember that boneless breasts cook the fastest.

For a vegan option, substitute Portobellos!

vegan option: marinated portobello mushrooms.

Portobellos can be sliced or cooked whole. Be sure to brush the marinade on lightly because mushrooms are porous and can actually soak up too much if you are not careful.

Step three: Make the Aji Verde Sauce.

The creamy delicious Peruvian Green Sauce ( called Aji Verde) truly makes the meal- so don’t skip this part! See recipe notes for a vegan version! Blend the Aji Verde Sauce ingredients in the blender. So easy!

 Peruvian Green Sauce or Aji Verde

Step four: Grill or Roast.

Grill the chicken over medium heat until internal temp reaches 170F for thighs and 165 for Breasts. Grill optional portobellos until tender and juicy.

Alternatively, you can roast on a parchment-lined sheet pan in a 425F oven until thighs reach 170F or breasts reach 165f.

Grilling the Peruvian chicken.

Step five: Make the Salad.

As the chicken cooks make the Avocado Tomato Cucumber salad.

making the avocado 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. Very simple.

Avocado salad with tomatoes and lime.

Step six: Serve!

Serve the Peruvian Chicken with the Aji Verde Sauce on the side, and the fresh Avocado Salad, either separately or in wide bowls.  Add Cilantro rice for a heartier meal.

Grilled Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) with Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce)and Avocado Tomato Cucumber Salad. Can be made in 40 minutes- perfect for weeknights!

What to serve with Peruvian Chicken

This Peruvian- style meal is such a great combination of flavors! Pollo a la Brasa is one of my favorite recipes on the blog- please tell us what you think in the comments below!

xoxo

Sylvia

 

More recipes you may like:

Hope you like this Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde Sauce as much as we do. Let us know in the comments below!

xoxo

Sylvia

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Grilled Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce and Avocado-Tomato Salad |www.feastingathome.com

Peruvian Chicken

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Description

You’ll love everything about this Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa) with Aji Verde Sauce!  It’s easy and bursting with flavor; this can be made in under an hour, baked in the oven, or cooked on the grill- perfect for weeknights or special gatherings.


Ingredients

Units
  • 1 1/22 pounds chicken (thighs or breast, boneless, skinless- see notes) Or substitute portobellos!

Marinade:

Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde) : 

  • 1/2 cup sour cream or mayo (see notes for vegan option)
  • 1/2 jalapeño (use less for less spicy)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro- thin stems ok.
  • 1/4 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
  • 12 perfectly ripe avocados, diced
  • 1 cup 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

  1. Preheat Grill to medium-high, or preheat OVEN to 425F. 
  2. If making rice, start this now on the stove.
  3. 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.)
  4. Make Peruvian Green Sauce by placing all the ingredients in a blender and blending until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.
  5. Grill: 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.
  6. Bake: Place the chicken on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake until cooked through; 165F for chicken breasts and 170F  for chicken thighs.
  7. 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.
  8. 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

Chicken: Feel free to use bone-in, skin-on chicken, although cooking time will increase.  Traditionally, in Peru, a whole chicken is marinated then roasted in the oven, which you can also do!

A note on Peruvian Green Sauce ( Aji Verde): Mayo is traditional. I prefer 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.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: -with chicken breast, one avocado and the green sauce
  • Calories: 241
  • Sugar: 2.1 g
  • Sodium: 146.5 mg
  • Fat: 17.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 8.5 g
  • Fiber: 3.1 g
  • Protein: 14 g
  • Cholesterol: 48.4 mg

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Comments

  1. I don’t usually leave comments about things I cook….but this recipe was so fantastic I needed to share!! We cooked this during a family vacation, and everyone was raving about how good every element was. We were all ready to make it again at the end of the week! Love it.

    1. Oh Yay Sarah, very happy you enjoyed! I really appreciate you coming back and dropping a comment. It truly is the best way to support this blog. Very appreciated. 🙂

  2. I made the whole meal with the green sauce, cilantro lime rice, and pickled onions. Instead of the salad, I did the roasted asparagus and served those on top of the green sauce and topped with pickled onions. I did double the marinade for the chicken and used jasmine rice for the rice. This was a better meal than you can get in most restaurants. My husband was raving about the meal!






  3. I have 2oz of this cooked chicken in a salad every workday along with chimichurri as my dressing. So delicious and flavorful I don’t get tired of it. I’ve started getting the big pack of chicken and separating it into 3 bags with the marinade then freezing them until the next time I need to make some chicken for my lunches.






  4. A favourite that I make regularly and a go-to for when I have guests over. I typically double the marinade and do chicken thighs for meat eaters and sliced tofu steaks for veggies. For the green sauce, I sub a vegan plain yogurt (PC coconut plant based yogurt for fellow Canadians) instead of vegan mayo/sour cream which I find too salty.

    Rave reviews from everyone I serve this to.

  5. Wow! My family said I am a chef and need to start a restaurant after this dinner. We loved it so much. I did martinet the chicken overnight and added a few drops of liquid smoke because I cooked it in a griddle instead of a grill. It was so fresh and summery . Thank you so much!






  6. I’m a personal chef and just received this text from a client “ Peruvian chicken is THE best chicken I have ever eaten. WOW!!! ”

    My clients love the recipes which I appreciate because I don’t have a lot of extra time to create new recipes. As a former restaurant chef and longtime personal chef I can say the recipes are the real deal!






  7. OMG I made the Peruvian chicken, aji sauce, cucumber salad, and cilantro lime rice last night and my goodness was it delicious!! I made the aji sauce in the morning and let the chicken marinate all day in the refrigerator. Next time I’ll add a few seeds from the jalapeño to spice up the aji sauce because we like a little heat. Everything else is perfect as is.
    My husband loved this meal so much he said it needs to be on regular rotation. This recipe is perfect for everyday and worthy for company.

    Thanks for yet another delicious recipe.






  8. I loved this recipe. There was such a depth of flavor. I baked this dish and poured the marinade over the chicken in the pan. The cooked down sauce was great poured over the chicken. When I heated up the left overs, I added dates, cut into 6 pieces. I really enjoyed the sweetness with the chicken and flavors. I think next time I will add the dates to the marinade.
    Thanks for all your great recipes.
    Sandy

  9. Hubby said it was like a trip to a restaurant. I made the whole meal, along with cilantro rice. No grill so we had the roasted chicken the first night and pan fried portobellos the second. Really great flavors. Thank you! Remaining green sauce is going on fish tomorrow night.






  10. This meal was absolutely delicious!! Husband grilled the marinated chicken & I grilled the portobellos, both were so flavorful. The salad was crisp & fresh & a perfect accompaniment to the awesomely flavored rice. The Cilantro Verde sauce was the bomb!!! Thank you Sylvia!!






  11. Peruvian chicken was a huge hit. Ended up marinating it for two days. Made the cilantro lime rice with the aji and the avocado salad. Will make again often. Everyone loved it.






  12. I make this all the time. It’s a great way to make chicken really flavourful. It always goes down especially well when we have guests over for a bbq!






  13. Excellent recipe!!! My whole family loved this and my kids aren’t fond of mushrooms but loved the grilled portobellos with Peruvian sauce almost more than the chicken:))






  14. absolutely delish! Must try. the whole family loved it. I will have to try more of your recipes now 🙂






  15. Made for the first time – this will be a regular meal at our house! It was easy and delicious! I only had one English cucumber so I tossed some fresh asparagus tips into the salad. Added some nice crunch. Can’t wait to try some more of your summer grilling recipes! Thanks for sharing! I enjoy reading your blog!






  16. This marinade was an absolute hit with my husband. He said it is _the_ perfect chicken. I made it twice this week, it’s that good.






  17. Delicious recipe, but have leftover green sauce… how long will that keep in a mason jar in the fridge?






  18. Absolutely divine! We had it with oven chips, for speed, and did the chicken in the oven at the same time. Loved the sauce too.

    Is there any chance you could include metric measurements with your recipes? Being British, using cups to measure ingredients is completely alien to me!






    1. Delicious recipe! My friends who never had Peruvian chicken ate it all clean!
      I also made the cilantro rice, the salad, and the sauce. Thank you so much!






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