📍 Where this dish comes from: Brasília · Cathedral of Brasília
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Brazilian Frango Assado, plated and ready to serve

In Brazil, Sunday lunch often starts with a golden roast chicken picked up from the rotisserie at the corner bakery. This home version marinates a whole chicken in garlic, lime, paprika and herbs, then roasts it until the skin crackles. It is simple, juicy and naturally keto.

Per serving: 777 calories · 4.2 g net carbs · 57 g protein · 58 g fat (calculated from the ingredients)

What You’ll Need

Brazilian Frango Assado, Garlic and Lime Roast Chicken

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Prep Time: 2 15

Cook Time: 1 15

Total Time: 3 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Brazilian

Servings: servings

Calories: 777kcal

Ingredients

1 whole chicken about 4 pounds (about 2 2/3 pounds edible meat and skin)
6 cloves garlic finely grated
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons fine salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter softened
1 small onion quartered

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Instructions

Mix the garlic, lime juice, olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper and parsley into a loose paste.
Pat the chicken dry. Loosen the skin over the breast and thighs with your fingers and rub half of the paste underneath, directly on the meat. Rub the rest all over the outside and inside the cavity. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Put the onion in the cavity, tie the legs together and place the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan. Rub the softened butter over the skin.
Roast for 60 to 75 minutes, basting with the pan juices twice, until the skin is deep golden and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 175°F (80°C).
Rest for 10 minutes before carving. Spoon the pan juices over the pieces.

Notes

Leaving the chicken uncovered in the refrigerator dries the skin, which is the key to that crackling bakery-style finish. If the skin browns too quickly before the thighs are done, tent the breast loosely with foil. Weights in the nutrition calculation are for the edible part, not the bones.

Chef's Tip: Spatchcock the chicken by cutting out the backbone and pressing it flat. It cooks in about 45 minutes and every piece of skin gets crisp.

Keto Swap: The bakery rotisserie chicken in Brazil usually sits on a bed of farofa or comes with mayonnaise potato salad. Serve it with a cauliflower salad or a big green salad and a spoonful of the garlicky pan juices.

Success Tip: Roast two chickens at once. The second becomes shredded chicken for lettuce wraps, salads or fricassê later in the week.

Nutrition is calculated from the ingredients and is an estimate per serving. Net carbs exclude fiber and allulose.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 777kcal | Protein: 57g | Fat: 58g | Fiber: 1g

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Cooking Brazilian Frango Assado in the kitchen — Making Brazilian Frango Assado

About This Dish

Rotisserie chicken is a Sunday tradition in many Brazilian cities, and families often line up at bakeries and rotisseries before lunch to collect a hot chicken. The glass-fronted rotisserie ovens, where rows of chickens turn slowly in front of the heat, are jokingly nicknamed TV de cachorro, dog TV, because dogs sit and stare at them. The chicken is commonly sold with a bag of farofa soaked in the dripping juices. Brazil is one of the largest chicken producers in the world and the leading exporter of chicken meat. Garlic, lime and paprika are the classic Brazilian seasonings for roast chicken.

Pairs Well With

Brazilian Salada de Palmito, Hearts of Palm Salad with Tomato and Lime
Brazilian Salpicão de Frango, Holiday Chicken Salad

This recipe is from The Ultimate Brazilian Keto Cookbook by Gisele Costello, Chapter 5: Chicken (Cathedral of Brasília). See all Brazilian recipes