Easy Peruvian Chicken

This easy Peruvian Chicken is the perfect, easy weeknight meal that is full of flavor. Tender chicken thighs are marinated in a chili garlic soy sauce, then roasted with extra sauce. The potatoes are roasted in the same sauce until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The chicken and potatoes are served with a delicious Peruvian green sauce, that’s a hint spicy, creamy and fresh.

There’s nothing better than an easy weeknight meal that tastes gourmet, but is actually easy to make. This Peruvian Chicken and Potatoes is just that and it has quickly become a family favorite in my household. I love all of the flavor from both the chicken and potatoes in this meal.

This Peruvian chicken meal comes together in roughly 45 minutes. It’s full of fresh, zesty and savory flavors between the lime juice, garlic, fresh cilantro and soy sauce. The chicken marinates for 15 minutes, but honestly can marinate overnight. So, if you feel like prepping the marinade the night before and allowing your chicken to marinate overnight, making this meal will be that much faster and easier. Plus, the chicken will develop even more delicious flavor from marinating overnight. I usually don’t think that far in advance, so if you are like me, no need to worry! The fifteen minute marinade is long enough to develop flavor and a delicious tender texture in the Peruvian chicken.

Alright, alright, have I convinced you to make this yet!? It’s seriously good! Let’s get into the details of how to make this Peruvian chicken recipe.

The details

The components

peruvian sauce

The thing I love about this sauce is that it not only delivers on flavor, but it also delivers one the ease of making it. To make the sauce, all you have to do is throw all the ingredients in the blender, then blend until smooth. Simple as that! This sauce serves as a marinade for the chicken as well as a sauce to add flavor to both the chicken and potatoes while baking.

Peruvian chicken

I prefer using chicken thighs for this recipe, because the thighs are more moist and flavorful. Of course, you can use chicken breast if you prefer. This chicken marinates in the Peruvian sauce before baking which also helps to tenderize and flavor the meat.

the potatoes

Of course, you don’t have to add potatoes to this meal, BUT if you do, the Peruvian sauce makes these potatoes sooo delicious. The potatoes are an easy addition to the meal, because they cook right alongside the chicken on the sheet pan in the oven. I am always looking for meals that are not only tasty but a little bit easier to make. This meal is definitely easy to put together, and the potatoes add just that extra component to make the meal more complete. All you need to do is pair the Peruvian chicken and potatoes with a salad or vegetable and you’ve got a complete meal!

green sauce (Aji verde)

I absolutely love green sauce. It’s good not just for this Peruvian chicken recipe, but it can also be great for salads, sandwiches, dipping vegetables, crackers, you name it! This sauce pairs perfectly with this meal. It adds great flavor to both the chicken and potatoes.

Here’s how to make this Peruvian Chicken recipe

This Peruvian chicken recipe is truly easy to make. It honestly saves well, so if you have leftovers, they will taste just as good the next day. As I mentioned earlier I prefer using chicken thighs for this recipe, as they tend to be more moist and flavorful than chicken breast. If you want to make this meal ahead of time, or think you will have leftovers, I would definitely recommend using chicken thighs as they will save better than chicken breast.

marinate the chicken

This Peruvian chicken recipe needs only 15 minutes to marinate. You can of course allow the chicken to marinate overnight if you plan that far in advance :). However, the 15 minutes of marinade time is plenty to develop flavor and tender texture in the chicken. If you do choose to marinate the chicken overnight, store the leftover marinade in the refrigerator.

Soak the potatoes in ice cold water

Of course, if you don’t want to add potatoes to your Peruvian chicken meal, you can skip the potatoes!

If you do choose to add potatoes to your meal, here’s what you need to do. After cutting the potatoes in half, add the potatoes to a bowl of ice cold water. The reason for this step is to remove the excess starch in the potatoes. By doing this, the potatoes will cook more evenly and crisp up better in the oven.

You want to use ice cold water instead of hot water, because the hot water activates the starch, making it harder to separate the starch from the potatoes.

bake the chicken and potatoes

Add the chicken thighs and potatoes to a rimmed half sheet pan. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and potatoes, tossing to coat. Bake in a 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.

make the green sauce

While the Peruvian chicken bakes, I like to make the green sauce, also known as Aji verde. This sauce is easy to make, because you literally throw all ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth. Store the sauce in the fridge until ready to use.

serve and enjoy

Serve the roasted Peruvian chicken and potatoes with the Peruvian green sauce. You can add a salad or vegetable to complete the meal.

Storing leftovers

If you have leftovers, no need to worry! This meal saves great for the next day. It would make a delicious lunch! Just add your leftover Peruvian chicken and potatoes to an airtight container for up to three days in the refrigerator.

The green sauce, also known as Aji verde, can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can use this sauce to spice up a piece of chicken, on sandwiches, salads, as a dipping sauce for vegetables, etc. I’m sure you’ll find a way to enjoy this delicious sauce!

Here are a few other tasty weeknight meals you may enjoy

• Puff Pastry Tacos
• Homemade Hamburger Helper
• Beef Stew Hand Pies
• Baked Ziti with Sausage

Let me know what you thought!

If you make this Peruvian chicken, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I absolutely love reading all of your comments! Also, make sure to snap a picture and tag me @simplebakingwithpep on instagram. It truly makes my day to see all of your wonderful creations.

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