I am obsessed with how easy and delicious this Peruvian chicken is! It is so crispy and cooks quickly with the air fryer. Plus, it’s perfect for the summer as the air fryer makes for such crispy chicken without heating up the kitchen as an oven does.
The Peruvian chicken is smoky, savory, and juicy, and when served with cilantro lime sauce, everyone will ask for seconds! Thanks to the simple but scrumptious marinade, this tender and moist chicken is full of bold flavors. Even better, all you need are some simple pantry staples to whip up the marinade. Try my air fryer fish tacos recipe and air fryer fried chicken recipe for another delicious air fryer recipe.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Lime — Always use fresh lime juice instead of bottled lime juice as the flavor is more fresh and bright.
- Chicken — Feel free to use either chicken thighs or chicken breasts for this recipe. I like using chicken with the skin as I love the crispy skin, and it helps the chicken stay moist.
- Cilantro — Pick cilantro that is brightly colored and has fresh, fragrant leaves. To keep your cilantro fresh longer, fill a jar with an inch of water, and place the stem ends of the cilantro into the water. Then cover the top loosely with a plastic bag and keep the cilantro in the fridge.
- Greek yogurt — Make sure you purchase plain Greek yogurt for the cilantro lime crema and not flavored yogurt. For the creamiest and richest results, use full-fat yogurt. You can also add some mayonnaise for additional creaminess.
How to Make Air Fryer Peruvian Chicken
Step 1: Add the chicken to a zip lock bag.
Step 2: Add the garlic, lime juice, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, and olive oil and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour to 3 hours.
Step 3: To a food processor, add the jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, honey, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and salt. Blend on high until smooth.
Step 4: Add the chicken to the air fryer basket once finished marinating.
Step 5: Air fry chicken thighs for 18 to 25 minutes or 15 to 20 minutes for chicken breasts. Let the chicken rest before serving.
Step 6: Drizzle the sauce on top of the chicken and garnish it with fresh chopped cilantro.
Tips For This Recipe
- The easiest way to make sure the chicken is ready is by using an instant-read thermometer. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 165F.
- Make sure to remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno before adding it to the food processor.
- Bring the lime to room temperature and roll it on the counter to make juicing it easier.
- If you have time, marinating the chicken overnight makes the Peruvian chicken even more flavorful.
- When making Peruvian chicken in the air fryer, make sure there’s space between the pieces of chicken in the air fryer basket so the hot air can reach every part of the chicken. It’ll help make sure your chicken crisps up nicely.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you plan to have leftovers, you can store the chicken and cilantro lime crema separately to keep the chicken from getting soggy. When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, everything should keep for up to 4 days.
Once cooled, you can freeze the air fried Peruvian chicken in an airtight container for up to 2 months. I do not recommend freezing the cilantro lime crema.
You can reheat the chicken in the air fryer at 350F for 5 minutes or until reheated. The air fryer will keep the Peruvian chicken crispy.
I highly recommend you thaw the chicken before marinating it and air frying it. It’s difficult for the marinade to penetrate the frozen chicken.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Air Fryer Peruvian Chicken Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Air Fryer Peruvian Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts
To Garnish:
- fresh chopped cilantro.
For the Cilantro Lime Crema Sauce
- ½ jalapeno with seeds and membranes removed
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ lime juiced
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise or veganaise optional
Instructions
- Add the garlic, lime juice, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, and olive oil into a zip lock bag with the chicken and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour to 3 hours.
- While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce: add all of the sauce ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend on high until smooth. Optional: Add the mayonnaise or veganaise for an even creamier sauce. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Once the chicken has finished marinating, add the chicken pieces into the air fryer and cook at 370 F for: chicken thighs- 18 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness of the pieces), chicken breasts 15 to 20 minutes, or until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 F. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Drizzle the sauce on top the chicken and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
Video
Notes
- The easiest way to make sure the chicken is ready is by using an instant-read thermometer. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 165F.
- Make sure to remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno before adding it to the food processor.
- Bring the lime to room temperature and roll it on the counter to make juicing it easier.
- If you have time, marinating the chicken overnight makes the Peruvian chicken even more flavorful.
- When making Peruvian chicken in the air fryer, make sure there’s space between the pieces of chicken in the air fryer basket so the hot air can reach every part of the chicken. It’ll help make sure your chicken crisps up nicely.
Hello Friend! I have just recently purchased my first air fryer and I just recently found you on youtube! The first recipe that I tried was your whole chicken in air fryer and it turned out wonderful! You will not believe me when I tell you that after dinner that night I wondered if by chance you had a recipe for Peruvian chicken and I about fell off my chair when I just ran across your latest recipe... Peruvian Chicken! LOL! I hesitate to mention that in your youtube video you did not add the lime juice to your Crema sauce, so I am glad to see how much to add to the sauce here in your recipe. I will try this recipe in the coming days. Thank you so much! Tonight, I am fixing chicken tacos with the leftover chicken.
Hi Pam- You are definitely going to love my Peruvian Chicken recipe, it's so good. Let me know how it turns out for you. Enjoy!
I’m a beginner chef and made this tonight! Oh my goodness! I already shared the recipe with everyone I know! It was so easy to prepare, tasted AMAZING, and made me feel like a real gourmet! Thank you!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Samantha!
Made this with boneless skinless chicken breasts — was still super tasty and a bit healthier (although I do want to try it bone-in with skin sometime). Second time around, I replaced the optional mayo with a whole avocado — turned out creamy and delicious!
That's great David! Nice additions too 🙂
Hi there new subscriber here, just got the Cosori air fryer and am going to make this chicken tomorrow. Should I use regular paprika or smoked paprika? What are your thoughts?
You can use either, but smoked could be really nice in this recipe!