Caribbean Style Roast chicken gets a tropical twist with this easy roasted spatchcock chicken recipe made with green seasoning marinade. Add some Caribbean flavor to family meals or holiday dinners with this easy roasted chicken recipe.
What Makes this Roast Chicken Caribbean Style?
The difference between this recipe and other roast chicken recipes out there is that the chicken is marinated in Caribbean green seasoning.
Caribbean Green seasoning, also called sofrito, epis and recaito in some cultures, is an herb based marinade. It is called green seasoning because of the bold green color. Marinating your chicken for at least 4 hours or over night makes this dish as Caribbean as it gets!
Why You’ll Love This Caribbean Roast Chicken Recipe
- An Easier Way To Roast Chicken: Spatchcocking the chicken significantly cuts down the cooking time and cooks the chicken more evenly
- Absolutely Delicious: If you’re bored with traditional roasted chicken, try this fresh, vibrant Caribbean green seasoning. We skip the chicken broth and opt for white wine as a delicious way to keep the chicken moist as it cooks.
- Perfect for Gatherings: Whether it’s a casual weeknight with family or an entree for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, this is a great shareable dish.
Ingredients for Caribbean Roast Chicken
The green seasoning acts as a marinade in this roasted chicken recipe.
- Whole chicken: Use the whole chicken and there’s something for everyone: roast chicken thighs, breasts, legs, and wings.
- Seasoning: Season the chicken with a simple mix of salt and smoked paprika since we are using a marinade.
- Lemon: This adds citrus flavor and tenderizes the chicken.
- Olive oil: Rub this all over the chicken so it’s roasted to golden brown perfection in the oven.
- Coconut aminos: Add this for umami flavor without the gluten or soy.
- White vinegar: Use this with water in order to wash the chicken.
- White wine or pineapple juice: Either of these ingredients tenderize the meat and keep it moist as it roasts.
Green Seasoning:
This Caribbean sauce is a delicious balance of bright and savory flavors, with fresh herbs, vegetables, peppers, and oil.
- Yellow onion
- Green onion
- Fresh thyme, leaves removed from the stem
- Garlic
- Celery
- Cilantro
- Wiri wiri peppers, seeds removed, substitute with scotch bonnet pepper if necessary
- Olive oil
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Roast a Chicken
Make the Green Seasoning
Add all of the green seasoning ingredients listed above to a food processor and blend until a smooth paste forms. Then set it aside while you prepare the chicken for roasting.
Clean the Whole Chicken
I’m Guyanese so I always prep and wash my chicken before cooking. For whole chickens, I remove the giblets, neck bones first. Sometimes I set them aside for bone broth but most times, I cook them alongside the chicken.
Place chicken breast side down into a roasting dish or pan. Press to ensure chicken is flat, then repeat the seasoning steps above: dry chicken skin with paper towels. Drizzle the juice of half a lemon, followed by 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Rub to cover all visible surface area of the chicken.
How to Spatchcock Chicken
For this recipe I spatchcocked (sometimes called butterflying) the chicken. To spatchcock or butterfly a chicken, completely remove the back bone of the chicken and press it flat, breast side up. This significantly reduces cooking time. My husband loves the chicken back, so I don’t completely remove the chicken back bone, but rather I just cut it down the back and press the chicken flat.
Season the Chicken
Using half of a lemon, drizzle lemon juice over the chicken, followed by 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the coconut aminos. Rub to cover the chicken evenly. Sprinkle generously with salt and paprika. Then add half of the green seasoning to inside of the chicken, ensuring to get the seasoning in all the nooks and grannies and any parts of the breast that may have pockets.
So basically anywhere else that you didn’t add seasoning to before. Sprinkle generously with salt and then lather with the remaining green seasoning. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and place seasoned chicken in the refrigerator to marinate over night.
Roast Chicken
Remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before roasting to allow the pan and the chicken to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450°F and place the chicken uncovered on the middle rack of the oven. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup pineapple juice (or white wine If not doing Whole30) to pan and cover with aluminum foil. Do not spoon juices on the chicken. Continue to roast for another 15 minutes to 30 minutes, then remove chicken from oven.
Let rest for 15, then spoon pan juices over the chicken before serving.
Storage
After it has completely cooled, store leftover Caribbean roast chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store pan drippings in a separate container to make gravy later.
Leftovers make for great meal prep. Add leftover chicken to salads, bowls, rice, soups, quesadillas, and more!
Tips for the Best Roast Chicken
- After cleaning the whole chicken, pat dry it with a paper towel. Dry skin results in crispy skin once it is roasted.
- Use a baking sheet if you don’t have a roasting pan.
- Do not overcook the chicken. The chicken is fully cooked when it reaches 165°F. Use a meat thermometer and insert it in the thickest part of the chicken (typically the thigh) for an accurate measurement.
Making Caribbean Roast Chicken Whole30
To make this recipe Whole30 simply skip the wine and use apple or pineapple juice instead, and as always ensure that your juice of choice is Whole30 Compatible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baked chicken is cooked at a lower temperature (325°F-375°F). However, chicken cooked at a higher temperature is considered roasted.
You can roast chicken between the temperatures of 350°F and 450°F.
Roast the chicken uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover and continue to cook for another 15 to 30 minutes. I learned this trick from Ina Garten and it makes such a huge difference. I go for the full 30, because I like my chicken falling off the bone!
Roast Chicken (Caribbean style)
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Roasting pan
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 5-6 pounds
- 2 teaspoons of salt or salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos
- 1 cup of white vinegar used with water to wash the chicken
- 1/2 cup white wine or pineapple juice
Green Seasoning:
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 2 heads green onion
- 1 bundle of fresh thyme leaves removed from the stem
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1/4 cup of cilantro
- 2 wiri wiri peppers seeds removed, substitute with scotch bonnet pepper if necessary.
- 1 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions
Making the green seasoning
- Add all of the green seasoning ingredients listed above to a food processor and blend until a smooth paste forms.
Seasoning the chicken:
- Wash and prep chicken with vinegar and water. Remove the liver, neck bone and gizzards if included. You can discard these bits or add them to the roasting pan if you like.
- Using kitchen shears, cut the chicken down the breast bone, then turn chicken back side up and press on the back bone to flatten chicken.
- Turn chicken breast side up and dry inside chicken with paper towel.
- Using half of a lemon, drizzle lemon juice over the chicken, followed by 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the coconut aminos. Rub to cover the chicken evenly.
- Sprinkle generously with salt and paprika
- Add half of the green seasoning to inside of the chicken, ensuring to get the seasoning in all the nooks and grannies and any parts of the breast that may have pockets.
- Place chicken breast side down into a roasting dish or pan.
- Press to ensure chicken is flat, then repeat the seasoning steps above: dry chicken skin with paper towels. Drizzle the juice of half a lemon, followed by 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Rub to cover all visible surface area of the chicken. So basically anywhere else that you didn’t add seasoning to before. Sprinkle generously with salt and then lather with the remaining green seasoning.
- Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and place seasoned chicken in the refrigerator to marinate over night.
Roasting the chicken:
- Remove chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before roasting to allow the pan and the chicken to come up to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 450 °F.
- Remove plastic wrap from chicken
- Place chicken uncovered on the middle rack of the oven
- Roast uncovered for 30 minutes
- Add 1/2 cup pineapple juice (or white wine If not doing Whole30) to pan and cover with aluminum foil. Do not spoon juices on the chicken.
- Continue to roast for another 15 minutes to 30 minutes, then remove chicken from oven.
- Let rest for 15, then spoon pan juices over the chicken before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The information listed in the recipe card is an estimate provided by an online nutrition tool. The tool evaluates ingredient names and amounts then makes calculations based on the number of servings listed for the recipe. It is provided as a general guideline and not as a precise calculation. For precise nutrition information please feel free to add the ingredients to your preferred nutrition calculator or consult a doctor or licensed nutritionist.
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Micheal mahabeer Says
Althea, this was the best baked chicken I have ever made in my life. Super tender and juicy! The drumstick bone pulled right out. Thank you!!! Definitely a keeper recipe! Only addition to the green seasoning was a stalk of cilantro and quarter bell pepper.
Althea Brown Says
I’m so glad you tried it and made it your own. Yes!!!
Louis Corbin Says
Tried this recipe over the holidays for an alternate to the Thanksgiving turkey. My son and I whipped up the family meal.
Easy to follow recipe, and absolutely delicious and succulent outcome. Family loved it!! I did too, a lot!!
Althea Brown Says
Thank you so much for trying my recipe and sharing. So glad it was a hit
marlene Says
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Family love it