Grilled or roasted, this Pollo Asado recipe makes the most tender, juicy and flavorful chicken. Marinated in an easy pollo asado marinade made with a mixture of citrus juices, Mexican spices and achiote powder, this chicken recipe can be a stand alone meal or made into pollo asado tacos, burrito bowls, salads and more.
Pollo Asado (Chicken Asado)
This Pollo Asado recipe is easy to make, very healthy and packs lots of great flavor.
This roasted or grilled chicken gets it’s vibrant red-orange color from the addition of achiote powder or achiote paste, it’s bright citrusy taste from fresh orange juice and fresh lime juice, and a distinct earthy, peppery and smoky flavor from the addition of warm spices.
This Mexican dish is a great dinner option, excellent for meal prep, backyard barbecues and to serve on holidays like Cinco de Mayo.
Why You’ll Love Pollo Asado
- Healthy: Made with lean protein, fresh citrus juice and spices, this easy chicken recipe is low-carb and gluten-free.
- Choose the Cooking Method: Make grill chicken outdoors in a gas grill or a charcoal grill, or indoors in a grill pan. You can also roast the chicken in the oven if you prefer.
- Choose your Favorite Cut of Chicken: You can make this recipe with your favorite chicken pieces. Bone-in or boneless, with the skin on or skinless. It’s up to you!
- Versatile: Serve this flavorful chicken with your favorite side dish or make it into tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads and more!
What’s Pollo Asado?
Asado or asada is a Spanish word that means grilled, barbecued or roasted. Pollo asado is a Mexican grilled dish made with different cuts of marinated chicken. The citrus marinade includes spices like ground cumin, ground coriander, dried oregano and ground annatto seeds (achiote powder or achiote paste) which gives the chicken its signature orange and red color.
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the complete list of ingredients and quantities, check the printable recipe card below.
Chicken: You can use a whole chicken cut up into pieces or your favorite chicken part. When I’m in a rush, I usually use boneless chicken breasts (which is my husband’s preferred cut) or boneless skinless chicken thighs. I personally love bone-in chicken thighs and chicken legs which have so much flavor and always produces juicy chicken.
Pollo Asado Marinade
- Citrus Juices: In Mexican cuisine as well as other Latin American cuisines, sour orange is used in marinades. Since that sour oranges are hard to come by in the United States, we use a combination of fresh orange juice and fresh lime juice. The combination of both juices resembles the flavor of sour orange. If fresh lime juice is not available, fresh lemon juice can be used.
- Achiote: Achiote powder or paste can be used. This ingredient can be found in the spices or Spanish aisle of any grocery store.Read more about this ingredient below.
- Oil: Olive oil or any mild oils such vegetable oil can be used.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best. Garlic paste can also be used.
- Black Pepper and Salt: Salt is incredibly important when making a marinade. I use sea salt or Kosher salt. To add a nice peppery flavor, freshly ground black pepper is best.
- Spices: You can buy whole spices, toast them in a dry skillet and grind them at home or you can buy already ground spices. We add ground cumin, ground coriander and dried oregano. You can add red chili powder and cayenne to add a bit of spicy heat if you’d like.
What’s Achiote?
Achiote or annatto seeds is a spice and food coloring agent that comes from a tree native to tropical regions in Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Whether is ground to a powder, made into a paste or infused into oil this, achiote is used in many different cuisines. Achiote has a very distinct and vibrant orange – red color. It has a subtle earthy and peppery taste that add flavor to many dishes, from rice to stews and marinades.
Annatto seeds are very hard to grind so unless you have a very good grin
Did you know?
- Achiote is what gives process cheese like Velveeta and American singles it’s distinct yellow-orange color.
How to Make Pollo Asado (Chicken Asado)?
- Mix the marinade: Add the marinade ingredients to a resealable plastic bag or large bowl. If using achiote paste, make sure you break up the paste so it mixes well with the rest of the marinade ingredients.
- Marinate: Coat the chicken with the marinade. Marinate up to 4 hours.
- Preheat oven or Grill: Preheat the oven and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place a wire rack inside the baking pan. Clean the grates of your grill and preheat it, creating 2 zones of heat. Direct heat (that’s the hot grill part) and an indirect heat side (or cooler side).
- Cook: Remove the chicken from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Place chicken skin side up on the roasting rack or skin side down on the grill. Bake or grill (see specific directions below).
- Rest: Remove the chicken from the heat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF when checked with an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken. Allow to rest, tented with aluminum foil for 10 minutes before serving.
What Cuts of Chicken Can I Use to Make Pollo Asado?
This easy recipe can be made with any part of a chicken. You can buy a whole chicken and cut it up into pieces or prepare the dark meat (thighs, legs, wings) or the white meat (breast). Both skin on and skinless chicken as well as boneless and bone-in chicken can be used.
How to Tell if the Chicken is Cooked?
The best way to tell if your chicken is fully cooked is by using an instant-read thermometer. The chicken is fully cooked when its internal temperature reaches 165ºF when you check the thickest part of the meat with an instant-read meat thermometer.
What is the Safe Temperature for Cooked Chicken?
For safety, always cook chicken until the juices run clear and the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use an instant-read thermometer for accuracy.
The Secret to Perfectly Juicy Grilled Pollo Asado?
The secret to tender and juicy grilled chicken or pollo asado is the cooking method. Grilling over direct heat and indirect heat is key! Here are a few other tips for grilling chicken.
- Clean and Oil the Grill Grates: It’s an important step that you shouldn’t skip!
- Heat up the Grill: Create 2 zones of heat. Direct heat (that’s the hot grill part) and indirect heat (or cooler side).
- Grill Over Direct Heat: Place the marinated chicken, skin side down, on the grill, directly over the heat first. and cook for about 20 minutes, turning once every 5 minutes.
- Grill Over Indirect Heat: Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165º F degrees.
What to Serve with Mexican Pollo Asado?
This delicious chicken asado pairs very well with so many dishes. Some of our favorites are:
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Homemade Refried Beans
- Easy Pico De Gallo
- Mexican Green Chile Rice Casserole
Storing and Reheating
Storage: Leftover chicken asado will keep, stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheating: Although you can enjoy pollo asado cold or at room temperature, the chicken can be reheated in the microwave or in a preheated 300ºF oven, for about 10-15 minutes. You can also use an air fryer for about 5-7 minutes at 375ºF
Pollo Asado Tips and Notes
- Do not marinate the chicken for more than 4 hours.Marinating chicken with an acidic marinade for too long will change the texture of the chicken, turning it mushy.
- Always use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is done and fully cooked. The chicken is done when the internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken reaches 160º – 165º Fahrenheit.
- Due to carryover cooking, you can remove the chicken from the grill when the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160º F, the temperature will rise to 165ºF while the chicken rests.
- Specific cooking times for roasting and grilling different chicken cuts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- You can use achiote powder or achiote paste to make this recipe.
- If using achiote paste, break up the paste so it mixes well with the rest of the marinade ingredients.
Best Pollo Asado Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon achiote powder ground annatto seed or achiote paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican preferred)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt or Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 pounds chicken thighs legs and/or breast, bone-in or boneless, skin-on or skinless, trimmed of any excess fat.
To serve (optional)
Lime wedges, chopped cilantro
Instructions
Mix Marinade
- Add the marinade ingredients to a resealable plastic bag big enough to hold the chicken (or a bowl if preferred). Mix to combine. If using achiote paste, make sure you break up the paste so it mixes well with the rest of the marinade ingredients.
Marinate
- Add the chicken to the bag and seal the bag. Massage the bag making sure the marinade coats the chicken well. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or for up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Do not marinate for more than 4 hours! If Grilling: Prepare the Grill
About Cooking Times
- Exact cooking times will vary depending on the chicken parts you are using (dark meat vs white meat and bone-in vs boneless. Check the chef’s notes for suggested times.
To Grill in a Gas or Charcoal Grill
Prep and Preheat Gas Grill:
- Clean and oil the grill grates. You can brush the grates with oil or use cooking spray. Preheat an outdoor gas grill to medium-high heat (between 375º – 425ºƒ) and turn off the burners on one side of the grill to create 2 cooking zones. A direct heat zone and an indirect heat zone.
Prep and Preheat Charcoal Grill:
- Clean and oil the grates. Light a chimney with enough charcoal to cover half of the grill (Fill a charcoal chimney ¾ full). When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out the coals on one side of the grill, leaving the other side empty. This creates 2-zones, a zone of direct heat and a zone for indirect heat. Set the clean and oiled cooking grate in place, cover the grill, and allow to preheat for about 5 minutes.
Grill – Check grilling times for bone-in and boneless chicken on the recipe notes below
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any excess liquid. Discard marinade. For bone-in chicken, place the chicken pieces, skin side down on the grill directly over the heat and cook for about 20 minutes, turning once every 5 minutes or so. You can close the lid in between flipping the chicken. Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill and cook over indirect heat for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160º – 165º Fahrenheit.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and allow to rest, tented with aluminum foil for 10 minutes before serving.
Oven Roasting:
- Preheat the oven to 400º Fahrenheit and line a baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place a wire rack inside the baking pan. .
- Lay the chicken skin side up on the wire rack leaving 1-2 inches between each piece
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165º Fahrenheit, flipping once through the cooking process.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest, tented with aluminum foil for 10 minutes before serving.
Optional Garnishes
- Serve chicken garnished with chopped cilantro and/or lime wedges (optional).
Recipe Notes
- Do not marinate the chicken for more than 4 hours.Marinating chicken with an acidic marinade for too long will change the texture of the chicken, turning it mushy.
- Always use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is done and fully cooked. The chicken is done when the internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken reaches 160º – 165º Fahrenheit.
- Due to carryover cooking, you can remove the chicken from the grill when the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160º F, the temperature will rise to 165ºF while the chicken rests.
- Grilling Times: All times are approximate. Exact times will vary depending on the size of each chicken piece.
- Bone-in chicken dark meat: Grill on direct heat for 20 minutes turning once every 5 minutes or so and closing the lid between flipping. Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill, and cook over indirect heat for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160º – 165º F
- Bone-in chicken white meat: Grill on direct heat for 15 minutes turning once every 5 minutes or so and closing the lid between flipping. Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill, and cook over indirect heat for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160º – 165º F
- Boneless chicken: Grill on direct heat for 10-15 minutes turning once every.every 5 minutes or so and closing the lid between flipping. Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill, with the thicker part of the meat facing the hotter side of the grill. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and cook over indirect heat until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160º – 165º F.
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