This beautiful, Marinated Achiote Chicken Recipe, also called Pollo Pibil, is juicy, succulent, and full of rich, deep Mexican flavors.
I'm not an authority on Mexican cuisine -- a local in Loreto, Mexico gave me a rough idea of ingredients and instructions for this dish.
When I was in Loreto, Mexico I visited an fantastic shop that I loved, Semillas y Especias el Gavilan, which translated means “Seeds and Spices Sparrow Hawk.” It was in this store that I learned this amazing Achiote chicken recipe.
Gabriel Vazquez owns and runs the shop, which isn’t just full of seeds and spices. This tiny shop also holds the largest dried pepper selection in Loreto.
A bought a bunch of Guajillo chile peppers -- hey were such a pretty, deep red color that I couldn't resist.
I asked Gabriel what he cooks with them, and he started telling me about a chicken recipe he makes for his friends.
Achiote Chicken Recipe
Gabriel immediately grabbed the achiote paste off another shelf, and off the top of his head, he described what I’m calling Marinated Achiote Chicken Recipe.
I was hanging on his every word as he so kindly, generously shared his creation with me.
When he mentioned adding orange juice, I was in. I imagined how delicious that tangy sweetness would be with the smoky guajillo peppers and the achiote paste.
I've also created a vegetarian counterpart to this recipe: Achiote Roasted Cauliflower.
Gabriel Vasquez inside his store, Semillas y Especias el Gavilan.
The Ingredients
- dried Guajillo peppers - Guajillos are available in any Mexican market, some larger grocery stores, and you can get them here on Amazon. (See below for more details.)
- Achiote paste - You can find Achiote paste in any Mexican market, some larger grocery stores, and you can get it here on Amazon. (See below for more details.)
- orange juice - Preferably freshly squeezed.
- fresh garlic - Use firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots, which are an indication it's old and likely bitter. (Pro tip: If there are green shoots in garlic, slice the cloves in half and remove them with the tip of a paring knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.)
- chicken - This recipe uses bone-in, skinless pieces of chicken. Fresh raw chicken should be a light pink color with white pieces of fat, little to no odor, soft and moist.
(See recipe card below for quantities.)
How to Make it
- Add the Guajillo peppers and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it stand for 30 minutes.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the hydrated peppers.
(Leave some seeds if you want more heat.)
- Add the hydrated peppers and the water to a blender along with the achiote paste, orange juice and garlic, and blend until smooth. It's the most beautiful brick-red color.
- Add the chicken pieces to a large zip-lock bag and pour in the achiote marinade, which shouldn’t be hot because of the addition of the orange juice. Move the chicken pieces around to be sure they’re all well coated, remove the air from the bag and seal it. Then put this in another large zip-lock bag to ensure it doesn’t leak. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and ideally overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and once the chicken is done marinating, add it, and all of the marinade to a large enough baking dish to hold the everything snugly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake just until it’s cooked through, about 45 minutes. Flip the pieces over about halfway through the cooking time and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once it’s cooked through, flip the chicken over once more, sprinkle sightly with a bit more salt, and serve.
What are Guajillo Chile Peppers?
- Available year round, Guajillos are currently one of the most commonly grown chile peppers in Mexico.
- Unlike many dried peppers, Guajillos have the same name whether they’re fresh or dried, though they’re most commonly found in their dried form.
- Guajillo chile peppers have a sweet, smoky flavor that’s especially delicious in sauces and marinades.
What is Achiote Paste?
- Achiote is another name for annatto seeds.
- Achiote paste, which is typically formed into a small block, is a Mexican ingredient that consists of ground annatto seeds and various spices that might include cumin, pepper, coriander, oregano, cloves, and garlic.
- A gorgeous deep red color, achiote paste originated in the Yucatán region of Mexico and can be used in sauces, marinades or rubs.
- The mild flavor of achiote paste is slightly sweet and peppery.
Substitutions
- If you'd like to substitute the bone-in chicken for boneless, skinless thighs or breasts, go for it. (You will need about 2 ½-pounds.)
- Guajillo chile pepeprs. The best substitute for Guajillos are Ancho chile peppers. (The flavor will be a bit more smoky and bitter.)
- The best achiote paste substitute in my experience is paprika paste, with the addition garlic, cumin and oregano. (For this recipe, use the amount of paprika paste listed for the achiote paste, and add 1 large garlic clove, ½ teaspoon ground cumin and ½ teaspoon ground oregano.)
Recipe Tips
- When you remove the Guajillos from the water, they will likely be full of water inside. When you remove their stems, pour the water that's inside them into the blender over a small strainer to hold the seeds back. (This is highly flavorful water!)
- When you buy a whole, cut-up chicken, the skin is almost always still on. If you have any trouble removing it, pull it with a paper towel. It'll come off easily this way -- especially on the legs and wings.
Serving Suggestions
Achiote chicken is delicious with so many different side dishes. Below are a few of my favorites to serve with it.
Sometimes I make the Achiote sauce/marinade and serve it on it's own, right out of the blender, with tortilla chips. It's so delicious!
I baked the chicken in my Chamba pottery baking dish -- it can go on the fire, in the oven, and is beautiful to serve in.
Making it Ahead
- Since the chicken is cooked on the bone, it will be extra juicy and will be delicious for a few days.
- You can make the entire dish up to 3 days ahead. Let it cool completely, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The day you're serving it, remove it from the fridge about an hour before dinner. Heat it in a preheated 375°F oven just until it's hot, about 10 minutes.
I seriously encourage you to make this Marinated Achiote Chicken recipe (Pollo Pibil). It is truly out of this world.
Enjoy!
Marinated Achiote Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 dried Guajillo chile peppers (about 6-inch)
- 1 cup water
- 2 ounces achiote paste
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 3 small to medium-sized garlic cloves, peeled, roots trimmed (about 1½ tablespoons)
- 1 approximately (3½ pound) whole cut up chicken, skinless, bone-in
Instructions
- Prepare the chiles. Add the Guajillo peppers and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it stand for 20 minutes. Remove the stems and seeds from the hydrated peppers. (Leave some seeds if you prefer more heat.) Add both the peppers and water they hydrated in to a blender.
- Blend the marinade. Add the achiote paste, orange juice and garlic to the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Marinate. Add the skinless, bone-in chicken pieces to a large zip-lock bag and pour in the achiote marinade, which shouldn’t be hot because of the addition of the orange juice. Move the chicken pieces around to be sure they’re all well coated, remove the air from the bag and seal it. Then put this in another large zip-lock bag to ensure it doesn’t leak. Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and ideally overnight.
- Bake and serve. Preheat the oven to 375°F and once the chicken is done marinating, add it, and all of the marinade to a large enough baking dish (approx. 9 x 13-inch) to hold the everything snugly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Bake in the preheated 375°F oven just until it’s cooked through, about 45 minutes. Flip the pieces over about halfway through the cooking time and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once it’s cooked through, flip the chicken over once more, sprinkle sightly with a bit more salt, and serve.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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Natalie
Made this today and wow- super delicious. I followed the recipe to a T but grilled the chicken on the BBQ for a few minutes and then finished it in the oven. Will make again for sure!
valentina
Hi Natalie! This makes me so happy. Yay! Sounds fantastic to grill the chicken -- bet that bit of smoky flavor fro the char is perfect. Thanks so much for sharing and I hope you have a great weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Steven
Tried this recipe and it is fantastic!! I had a couple of differences 1. left skin on thighs 2. after marinating, grilled chicken on bbq - not all the way, only to mark 3. finished with sauce in cast iron skillet on bbq with lid 4. cut up and put on homemade corn tortillas with lime, cilantro and white onions. Had beer of course. Can't recommend this enough.
valentina
Hi Steven! Thanks so much for writing in and for the kind words. I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe and love the tweaks you made. Bet the grill added a delicious char flavor and homemade tortillas are amazing! YUM! So appreciate the note. 🙂 ~Valentina
Claudia Vera
Hi , what Brand of achiote paste did you use ? . I recently bought achiote paste and I thought it would be a game changer for my mixiote barbacoa sauce in terms of flavor primarily because I am trying to mimic a barbacoa that is exactly the color of your picture . The achiote paste I got didn’t seem to get me the results I was seeking in terms of flavor or color . My sauce was good , but I am looking for a specific flavor , so the color has been my major hint I have to go by .
valentina
Hi Claudia. Thanks for writing in. 🙂 I usually use Del MayaB brand achiote paste. For more flavor, you might try adding minced garlic and crushed chiles. Both are typically in achiote paste, but maybe a bit more would help you achieve the flavor you're looking for. I hope this helps! ~Valentina
Nic Grigg
Hi Valentina,
I have watched a TV Program with this type of recipe, it looks and sounds fantastic - will try it as soon as I can.
Thank you!
valentina
Thanks so much, Nic! I hope you love it as much as we do! 🙂 ~Valentina
Cynthia Heffley
Hello can I you bitter orange in this recipe?
valentina
Hi Cynthia, Thanks so much for writing in. I probably would use bitter oranges -- part of what makes the recipe work well is the sweetness from the orange juice. Perhaps a mixture of both, will more of the regular. Hope this helps and that you enjoy the recipe. Stay well! 🙂 ~Valentina
Robert Gray
As I write this, I am less than an hour away from Loreto. Over the last 30 years I have been to Loreto numerous times, but have not visited "El Gavilan". I will on my next visit, and I will find out what the missing pepper is. In all honesty I have not tried this recipe yet, but did try one very similar to this that I got from a local Mexican recently. Absolutely delicious....very much like the first time I ever had it, in the Yucatan, almost thirty years ago. We are going to make it again this week, and I will be using this recipe. BTW...last week when I made this I used a crock pot. Initially I made the marinade thicker, similar to a BBQ sauce. Added the chicken and some sauce to a bag, with extra OJ and marinaded overnight. Next day, emptied the bag into the crock pot and cooked on low for about four hours. I removed the liquid to a sauce pan and added the left over sauce from the day before, thickened with corn starch, and served it as a sauce over rice, and the chicken. Delicious.
valentina
Hi Robert. Wow, I wish I was on my way to Loreto! How lovely that would be. I hope you get the chance to check out El Gavilan. It's such a cool little store. Your version of the Achiote Chicken does indeed sounds delicious! Thanks so much for writing in and checking out my post. 🙂 ~Valentina
Robert Gray
Valentina, I made it to Loreto and met Gabriel of Especias de Gavilan, a very nice fellow. I copied and printed out the pertinent information for him, and handed him the sheet. He was smiling as he read the sheet, and then said, "Ah, I remember this lady". Gabriel said he intended to leave you with the understanding that you can use any chili, depending on how spicy and hot you want the end result. His final comment to me was that he was going to check out your website:)
valentina
Hi Robert! This makes me so happy! Love that you made it to the store and met Gabriel. Such a great little place, and I love Loreto as a whole so much! I'm so happy to know I didn't forget a pepper after all. Yay! And awesome he's checking out the site. I did send him the link to the post about him a couple of years ago, but wasn't sure he'd seen it, so thank you! Eat well and stay well during these crazy times. ~Valentina
Gail
I have recently returned from Mexico to the UK, with lots of dried chilli and achiote paste, so am giving this a go and am really looking forward to the end result.. Many thanks for your recipe, Could you also give me an idea as to what to do with dried Hibiscus flowers that looked too good to pass up.
valentina
Hi Gail, I'm so happy you're going to make this chicken. I hope you love it as much as we do. As for hibiscus flowers, I have done too much experimentation here -- but, I know of a beautiful site that has tons of recipes using it. From enchiladas to ice cream . . . . Click here to get to them. Enjoy and thanks so much for writing in. 🙂 ~Valentina
Xenia Fisher
Hi Valentina.
I’m in the process of making your dish to cook for tomorrow night’s “birthday surprise dinner”. It’s for our Spanish guest. I’m using Maryland’s and was wondering why you say to remove the skin?
I’m from Sydney and found a little hole in the wall Mexican shop that had a small supply of authentic ingredients...one of those being the Achiote paste!
I’m also making my Tortillas from scratch...first time...praying for favour :}
Xenia
valentina
Hi Xenia, I like to remove the skin in this recipe because we aren't crisping it. Since the chicken is braised in the marinade/sauce, I don't think it adds anything, and since it's a bit healthier without it, I remove it. I love the skin on for roasting! 🙂 All of that said, it won't hurt to leave it on if you prefer it. And so awesome that you're making your own tortillas! I'm sure they'll be so delicious. Lucky friends who will be at your dinner! 🙂 I'm happy you're trying the recipe and thanks for writing in. Cheers! ~Valentina
Xenia Fisher
Thanks for explaining.
What a great success your dish proved to be. I left my skins on and the chicken browned nicely. I blogged my Mexican cooking experience with pics'n'all, giving you due credit :} I would love it if you could take a look?
ThnX again Valentina.
Blessings, X(enia:)
Nick
Hello Valentina, I just made this dish for my family last night and it was great. Paired it with Mexican style rice and Peruvian beans to compliment its flavor. Nothing short of awesome. I just added a fresh jalapeño for a familiar spice note and it went well. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
valentina
Thanks so much for sharing, Nick. So happy you everyone loved it! Sounds delicious fresh jalapeño and rice. Coincidentally, I just got back from the Latin market and bought more achiote paste to make it for a big family dinner tomorrow. 🙂 Cheers! ~Valentina
Brian
I’m a bit surprised this isn’t a grill type dish, have you ever tried or do you bake to keep the moisture and flavor?
valentina
Hi Brain, You could definitely grill this, and I know that char flavor would be excellent. I like baking it directly in the marinade because yes, it stays extremely moist. That said, as long as you take the chicken off the grill as soon as it's cooked through, and no longer, it should still be moist. To grill it, wipe of the marinade when you're ready and do not discard it! While the chicken is grilling, add the marinade to a sauce pot, bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer, cooking it for about 20 minutes. Drizzle it over the grilled chicken. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it turns out. Enjoy, and thanks for visiting my site. 🙂 ~Valentina