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Herby, garlicky, spice-rubbed Peruvian-inspired chicken is roasted until golden and paired with a vibrant, creamy green sauce. An easy, crowd-pleasing dinner that’s ideal for weeknights or casual entertaining.
January can sometimes feel like a quiet, colorless month. We’re deep in winter, the days are short, and sunshine feels limited. But I actually love this time of year because it’s when I shift from cozy holiday recipes to dishes that are still comforting — just a little more vibrant and nourishing.
Right now, I’m feeling so inspired to cook with fresh herbs, colorful fruits and vegetables, and lots of warming spices. That midwinter shift always sparks new creativity and feels refreshing in the best way.
Last week, I created this herby, garlicky, Peruvian-inspired chicken after my brother mentioned the idea of a chicken bowl with a creamy green sauce. I immediately loved the sound of it.
I tossed mixed chicken pieces with garlic, herbs, and spices, then roasted them until tender and juicy. While the chicken cooked, I whipped up the sauce, cooked a pot of rice, and chopped fresh mango and avocado.
Everything came together quickly, and the end result was colorful, cozy, and deeply flavorful. It’s satisfying, great for meal prep, and somehow even better the next day.
These are the details
Ingredients – for the chicken
- chicken thighs or breast – I use boneless
- olive oil or melted butter
- garlic cloves
- jalapeño
- ground cumin
- smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
- cilantro and parsley
- mango, chopped
- avocado, chopped
Ingredients – for the creamy green sauce
- mayo
- plain Greek yogurt
- fresh cilantro
- fresh parsley
- jalapeños
- garlic cloves
- lime juice
- toasted sesame oil
What you need in the kitchen
I use a casserole dish to bake the chicken. You’ll also need a blender or food processor to make the creamy sauce. Aside from that, a cutting board, knife, and some utensils are all you need!
The Steps
Step 1: Prepare the chicken
In a baking dish, toss together the chicken pieces. I like to use a mix of chicken thighs and chicken breasts. Add olive oil, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and a chopped jalapeño. Finish with equal amounts of chopped cilantro and parsley.
If cilantro isn’t your thing, use parsley only, or swap in parsley and basil instead.
Step 2: Bake the chicken
Bake the chicken for about 25 minutes. I use a casserole-style baking dish so the chicken can cook gently in the oil without drying out.
Once the chicken is tender and lightly crisping around the edges, remove it from the oven.
Step 3: Make the sauce
Add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. I use a mix of yogurt and mayo along with cilantro, lime juice, and sea salt.
Step 4: Serve
Serve the chicken and sauce over rice. Top with mango and avocado, or use fresh pineapple instead. Both fruits are common in Peruvian cooking and pair beautifully with the fresh, spicy flavors.
Altogether, this takes less than an hour — closer to 40 minutes, depending on your pace.
We’ve made this a few times over the past week, and we all agree the sauce is what really makes the bowl. So good!
Looking for other busy weeknight recipes? Try these!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon with Caesar Roasted Potatoes
One Skillet Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
Lastly, if you make this Peruvian Chicken with Creamy Green Sauce, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Peruvian Chicken with Creamy Green Sauce
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 619 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs or breasts
- 1/3 cup olive oil or melted butter
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeño, seeded if desired and chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and/or parsley
- 1 mango, chopped
- 1 avocado, chopped
Creamy Green Herb Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 2 jalapeños, seeded if desired
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 425°F.2. In a casserole dish, toss together the chicken, olive oil or butter, garlic, jalapeño, smoked paprika, cumin, cilantro, and parsley - season with salt and pepper. If time allows, marinate 1 hour or overnight in the fridge. 3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and begins to crisp. 4. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Season to taste with salt.5. Serve the chicken over bowls of rice with creamy sauce, mango, and avocado chunks. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on January 5, 2026
Psyched to try tonight, chicken currently marinated, sauce in fridge so I already know it’s awesome. Two questions:
1) The garlic in the marinade should be chopped, correct? If so, you might want to revise to make that clearer.
2) I should heat the sauce up, at least a tad, before serving, correct?
Thanks for inventing AND sharing.
Hi Jim,
The garlic in the marinade is kept whole, no need to chop it:)
I don’t heat the creamy green sauce.
I hope you love this dish!
My family absolutely loved this dish! I followed the recipe exactly, and the flavors were incredible. I deseeded the jalapeño, which gave it a mild heat that was perfect for us. While the chicken was cooking, I whipped up the creamy herb sauce and a pot of rice—everything came together easily for a delicious meal. This has officially become our new favorite chicken recipe!
Yay! Thanks so much, Elona! Love to hear your family enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it!
Excellent flavor and great easy supper.
I used a mix of parsley & the cilantro for the sauce & skipped the jalapeño.
I mixed both mango & pineapple together with advocado for the salsa. Fun pop of colour & yum taste. Will definitely make this again.
Thanks so much, Elsa! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and your comment!
Excited to make this for a large group that I’m serving for Valentine’s Day! Question… I can make the sauce in advance, right?
Hey Angela,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! I hope everyone loves this recipe:)
Tiegan,
I absolutely love watching your Instagram videos. I think you are so talented, the only thing I would say for this recipe is that the sesame oil it was so strong. I kept trying to tweak it to make it better but just had to throw it out. I found out after doing a search that that kind of oil is not typically used in Peruvian sauces. The chicken was great!
Hey Victoria,
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! Sorry about the sesame oil, you can definitely omit it if you wanted:) Glad to hear you enjoyed the chicken!
Made this tonight and it’s so tasty! Will make it again in a heartbeat 💗
Hey Michelle,
Thanks so much for making this dish and your comment, love to hear it was a winner!
Absolutely delicious! The chicken is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and the punch of flavors with the creamy, spicy sauce is just perfect. This is going into our regular rotation, no question!! I did crisp the chicken in the air fryer for 4 minutes before serving but that’s just because my normal oven is really bad at broiling, lol. Fantastic!! Thanks for another delicious meal!
Hey Summer,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this dish and your comment, love to hear it was a hit!
I plan on making this tomorrow, it sounds delish. I could only find pure sesame oil, is this the same? Also, which mango do you use, red or ataulfo? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Joanna,
That is not the same for sesame oil:) I typically find toasted sesame oil in the asian foods section at my local grocery store. I used an ataulfo mango.
Please let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you love this recipe!
Hi Tieghan! 🙂 I couldn’t find the toasted one – is there a substitute you recommend or should I just omit it? Thank you!
You can omit it:)
made this tonight and really great! Reminded of us of the Alpaca Restaurant we love when we visit my daughter in Durham NC. I added black beans, corn, onion and mushroom, I subbed in mango salsa as I didn’t have a ripe mango available. I only used one jalapeño that was seeded as I don’t like it spicy. Will definitely make again
Thanks so much, Denise!! Love to hear this dish turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it!
Wanting to try this tomorrow! Is 6 gloves of garlic going into the chicken marinate?
Hi Nicole,
Yes, that is correct:) Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it!
Made this last evening and it was a big hit. I forgot the parsley and looking forward to making it again with that. But the sauce is great. Keep making these recipes – love this style of eating and cooking!!!!
Hey Ashley,
Perfect! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your feedback, I’m so glad it was enjoyed!
Omg, yummmm! I can’t wait to make this! Which rice did you use? Will Jasmine work… I’m getting the ingredients in my cart now. 😋
Thanks so much, Stacy!! I typically do jasmine or basmati rice:) I hope you love this recipe!
This was a winner! I saw a comment regarding the Sesame Oil flavor overpowering the sauce and I’d strongly disagree – it’s noticeable but in a good way. I added honey and salt to the sauce and it so tasty that it even got my kids to eat chicken (which they NEVER do). I’m going to add this to our weekly rotation, but with all of the fresh herbs and cloves of garlic, it was a bit labor-intensive.
Hey Lindsay,
I appreciate you giving this recipe a go, great to hear it turned out well for you!
Are the jalapeños meant to be seeded in the sauce? If not, is it pretty spicy? (Asking for 5 and 6 year olds)
Hey Tim,
I would go ahead and seed your jalapeños:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
Made this tonight and it was great! I’d half the green sauce recipe as we had a lot leftover. Can you freeze the sauce?
Hey Lindsay,
I appreciate you giving this recipe a go, great to hear it turned out well for you! Yes, you can freeze the sauce.