Achiote Chicken (Pollo Pibil)
Authentic Pollo en Achiote – This easy Pollo Pibil (Achiote Chicken) recipe starts with a sweet and fiery citrus marinade made with only a handful of ingredients. Then bake or grill the chicken breasts and serve as a flavorful main dish, or use it to make other delicious recipes like tacos and more!
Why We Love Achiote Chicken
Achiote Chicken, also called Pollo Pibil, is an intensely flavorful Mexican chicken dish from the Yucatan region. You can usually find it on menus at more authentic Latin American restaurants, but Pollo en Achiote is surprisingly easy to make at home!
This vibrant dish involves chicken marinated in a blend of orange juice, achiote paste (made from crushed annatto seeds), herbs, and spices. Obviously, the achiote is the key ingredient that gives the dish its name… If you aren’t familiar, this paste offers robust flavor and color without being overly spicy.
Similar to Pollo Asado, the chicken is either grilled or baked (your choice) and can be served as whole chicken pieces with rice and beans. Or shred and include as part of your weekly meal plan in dishes like salads, tacos, and burritos!
Ingredients You Need
- Chicken – boneless and skinless, breasts or chicken thighs (we’re using breasts here)
- Orange – zested and juice
- Lime – juiced
- Achiote paste – also known as achiote annatto, it is sold as a solid block in a box
- Garlic – minced
- Mexican oregano – dried, or fresh and finely minced
- Salt – a pinch to taste
- Cilantro – fresh chopped to garnish
How to Make Pollo en Achiote
First, make the marinade. Set out a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken pieces. In the baking dish, combine the orange juice and zest, lime juice, achiote paste, garlic, oregano, and salt.
Use a fork or spatula to mash the achiote paste and other seasonings into the orange juice, until it forms a thick deep-red achiote marinade.
Get the Complete (Printable) Achiote Chicken Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Place the chicken pieces in the marinade and turn to coat. Then cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place the chicken pieces on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through.
Recipe Variations
Instead of chicken breasts, feel free to make this easy achiote chicken recipe with dark meat thighs. They are meaty and moist, with a bit more fat. Thighs usually need a bit less time to cook; bake them for 10-15 minutes or grill for 4-5 minutes per side.
Try swapping up the citrus fruits used in this recipe, if you like. Here we include orange and lime juice. But you can use more or less of one or the other, and/or add grapefruit juice.
Instead of baking, try grilling the pollo en achiote! Preheat the grill to 400°F. Use tongs to move the marinated chicken directly to the hot grill. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side.
Serving Suggestions
Either serve the grilled chicken breasts whole, or shred with two forks to use other recipes!
If serving Pollo Pibil as a main dish, consider pairing with classic Mexican-style sides like flavorful rice and beans. Try our green rice (arroz verde), yellow rice (arroz amarillo), or easy Spanish rice recipes. Or go low-carb with this fabulous cauliflower rice recipe! And as far as beans go, you really can’t go wrong with some simple black beans or frijoles de la olla (Mexican pinto beans).
Shredded pollo en achiote meat is perfect for loading onto crisp or soft tacos, or using in homemade burritos and wraps. Use cold chopped chicken to make refreshing taco salads or burrito bowls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The achiote paste is made with crushed annatto, and has a nutty, slightly peppery, smoky, and pleasantly bitter flavor. When combined in a marinade with fresh citrus and a few aromatics, WOW the taste is intensely bold with just the right hint of sweetness.
Leftover pollo pibil will keep well for 3 days in the fridge. Cool the chicken completely before transferring it to an airtight container and storing it.
Looking for More Easy Dinner Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
- Pollo Rojo (Red Pepper Chicken)
- Pollo Con Mole Poblano
- Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Achiote Chicken (Pollo Pibil)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 large orange zested and juiced
- 1 lime juiced
- 3.5 ounce box achiote paste
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Set out a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken pieces. In the baking dish, combine the orange juice and zest, lime juice, achiote paste, garlic, oregano, and salt. Use a fork or spatula to mash the achiote paste and other seasonings into the orange juice, until it forms a thick deep-red marinade.
- Place the chicken pieces in the marinade and turn to coat. Then cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400°F. (Alternately, you can preheat the grill to 400°F.) If baking, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place the chicken pieces on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through. If grilling, use tongs to move the marinated chicken directly to the hot grill. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side.
I would love to try this recipe! I’m wondering if it might work to use ground annatto (powder) instead of the paste? I have some in my pantry. Is it possible to substitute or are they too different?
This is the first time that I tried this Pollo Pibil (Achiote Chicken) recipe and it was a huge hit at home. My family loved even the leftovers!
This recipe was so easy to make and my whole family loved it. Can’t wait to make this again!
Holy flavor!!! We used this chicken to stuff burritos and they were beyond delicious. Can’t wait to use the leftovers on nachos!