Frango Assado (Brazilian Roast Chicken)

About This Recipe

Frango assado is Brazil's home-style roast chicken, marinated generously in garlic, lime juice, and paprika before roasting until the skin turns deeply golden and the meat stays tender and juicy throughout. It's a Sunday lunch staple across Brazilian households, often served alongside rice, farofa, and a simple salad, embodying the kind of unfussy, flavorful cooking found in Brazilian home kitchens on any given weekend. The technique that defines this chicken is the marinade time and basting: garlic and lime need real contact time with the chicken -- ideally several hours or overnight -- to properly tenderize and season the meat, while regular basting with the pan juices during roasting builds a deeply colored, flavorful skin. Some households add a splash of beer or white wine to the marinade for extra depth, a common variation across Brazilian recipes. Served with white rice, black beans, and farofa, frango assado is straightforward Brazilian comfort food -- reliable, crowd-pleasing, and a fixture of family gatherings across the country.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.6 kgwhole chicken
• 6 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2limes(juiced)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1.5 tsppaprika
• 1 tspsalt
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 1onion(quartered)
• 0.5 cupbeer or white wine(optional)
• 2 cupscooked white rice(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the marinade

   Combine garlic, lime juice, olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper into a paste.

2. 2

   Marinate the chicken

   Rub the marinade all over the chicken, including under the skin and inside the cavity. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

3. 3

   Preheat and prep

   Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Place onion quarters in a roasting pan and set the chicken on top. Pour in beer or wine if using.

4. 4

   Roast

   Roast 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 180C/350F and continue roasting 50-55 minutes.

5. 5

   Baste

   Baste with pan juices every 20 minutes to build a deeply golden, flavorful skin.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Check doneness (74C/165F in the thigh), rest 10 minutes, then carve. Serve with rice and pan juices spooned over.

Variations

• •

  Add sliced potatoes to the roasting pan in the last 45 minutes so they cook in the flavorful drippings.

• •

  Use bone-in chicken thighs instead of a whole bird for a quicker weeknight version, roasting about 35-40 minutes.

• •

  Add a splash of Brazilian cachaca to the marinade for extra depth, a variation found in some households.

Storage

Refrigerate leftover chicken up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat in a 180C/350F oven for 12-15 minutes to keep the skin from turning soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions