Grilled Chicken with Caribbean Green Seasoning – the seasoning that doubles as a marinade and sauce. It’s a quick and easy, paleo, gluten-free and chicken-licking good!
Happy Monday Everyone! You want to know something? I always have this Caribbean green seasoning in my freezer – all the time.
It pairs well with absolutely ANY grilled food – a little goes a long way – smear it on fish, steak, vegetables and my favorite – chicken — before grilling or roasting. Or stir it into stews, soups and anything that is just not quite right – scrambled eggs, salad dressing and canned sauce and it is all good. It lasts a long time in the refrigerator so you do not have to freeze it if you do a lot of cooking.
If you have never tried this sauce, it packs a punch of flavor and takes only a few minutes to put together and you can adjust the spice blend to suit your preference. Don’t care for cilantro? Don’t use it. Too much garlic or ginger? Reduce the quantity. Cooking for kids? Get rid of the pepper. You get the idea, right?
It is herb blend where you can add or remove any herb or spice that is not to your liking. There are many, many variations on this green seasoning. If you are a heat seeker, then go for it – two, three, ten… I’m not counting. Let your taste buds guide you.
Here, I used this green seasoning on chicken to create a quick, yet flavorful weeknight chicken with minimal effort or prep work. The chicken is seasoned with salt, fresh ground black pepper or Cajun seasoning and then marinated with the green seasoning. If you can, marinate the chicken for several hours or overnight to let it penetrate the chicken. Most of the time it is a spur of the moment dinner so I do not have time to marinade.
Green seasoning is a traditional Caribbean or African seasoning and it’s sorta like Argentina chimichurri. You can freeze the remaining seasoning or simmer and serve with chicken.
This green seasoning chicken is great with a side of vegetable, this baked crispy fries or Caribbean rice and beans or any of your favorite side order.
Enjoy!
Green Seasoning Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup chopped celery leafy part
- ½ cup fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup chopped sweet basil
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- ¼ cup chopped garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon bouillon powder optional
- Water or vegetable oil
- 3 1/2 – 5 pound chicken cut up
- 2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning adjust to taste and size
- ½ teaspoon bouillon powder
- 1 lime or lemon
Instructions
Green Seasoning
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender into a fine paste. You might have to do this in several batches. Add just enough water to facilitate blending. If you are using a food processor, you do not need liquid.
- Store it in glass jars with air tight lids and place them in the fridge to be use in a couple of days or you can pour it in a ice cube tray and freeze them. After they are completely frozen, remove and store in zip lock bags for up to 2 months. Thaw before using.
- Trim chicken of excess fat and pat dry with a cloth or paper napkin. Rub with lemon, and 2 teaspoons creole spice or season with salt and pepper. Then add about ¼ cup green seasoning. Freeze the rest or reserve to serve with chicken
- When ready to roast. Using a thong remove chicken green seasoning marinade and remove excess marinate. Reserve the marinade.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°.
- Roast chicken until the skin is nicely browned for about 40-45 minutes; depending on the size of your chicken. There should be no pink near the thighbone and the juices run clear. As you are cooking, check both white meat and dark meat. If the white meat is cooked before the dark meat, take it out and set it on the serving plate until all the other parts of chicken is ready
- An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
Grilling
- When ready to grill, using a thong, remove chicken from the green seasoning marinade and remove excess marinate. Reserve the marinade
- Preheat grill to medium- high heat.
- Place chicken on the grill and grill for about 10-15 minutes an each side. You may need to turn the chicken occasionally on each side until it is cooked all the way. Do this in batches if you have a small grill.
- While cooking you may occasionally baste with green seasoning.
- If desired, in a small saucepan, simmer the remaining green seasoning marinade and the one from the chicken for about 7 minutes. Serve with chicken or mix with chicken.
Nutrition Information:
ImmaculateBites says
Yes , you can use the stems- 1/2 a cup is fine. I knew you would like this one.
kelsey says
Just wandering, I hardly find leafy celery in my area. Is it ok to use the stems. If so, same quantity?
kelsey says
My new favorite. Love it so much.
Stacy says
I made this chicken with chicken legs and let marinate overnight and it was AMAZING! 5 stars all the way.
corazon says
love this so mush my dear i will it too.
Blueberry says
I tried this and served it to friends at dinner. I tell you, everyone wanted the recipe at the end of the evening. I just redirected them to your website. Thanks alot.
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to know it was a hit with your friends and a million thanks for referring Immaculatebites to your friends. Greatly appreciated
Nagi@RecipeTin Eats says
THIS IS PURE MAGIC. I bow to you for being the first recipe ever I have seen that uses celery leaves! Also, a HUGE cheer for a marinade/sauce double up – massive fan of that! And generally, this looks amaaaazing. It is SO refreshing to see a unique chicken recipe. Pinning pinning pinning wildly!! And subscribing too, I LOVE finding awesome new blogs!!
Jehancancook says
This looks amazing!! I always hAve green seasoning on hand and have made this type of chicken from time to time and while simple it’s amazing! You make me wanna lick my screen!!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This chicken looks so delicious and SO flavoursome.. I must try out the recipe!
Charlene @ that Girl Cooks Healthy says
Hey Imma, this looks mouthwatering. I love the fact you incorporated the Caribbean green seasoning to the chicken. I have some frozen chicken laying around, will definitely sample this recipe.
Uma says
Hi,
This looks delicious. I am a little confused though – you mentioned cilantro in your post but the ingredients list only has parsley in it. Am I not reading this right?
ImmaculateBites says
Sorry about the mix up. I did not use cilantro in this particular blend – you may add if you like.
kelsey says
Can it be grilled in the oven same way as the baked chicken legs .
ImmaculateBites says
Absolutely! That is how I do it in order to achieve it’s crispness.If not you can roast in a roasting pan.
Odette says
I love this, it looks so good job well done.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Odette.
Kendra says
OMG! I am making Today! I mean like Now!
ImmaculateBites says
Let me know how it works for you
Cheryl says
This looks painfully good. I can almost taste the super crispy herbaceous skin as we speak! This sounds a lot like the chimichurri I ALWAYS keep on hand – it goes perfectly on anything and especially anything grilled! Yum
ImmaculateBites says
Cheryl you got that right.