Air Fryer Peruvian Chicken With a 378-Calorie Aji Verde Hack

Max of Max Cooks builds a Peruvian-style chicken and green sauce plate that hits 378 calories, 60g protein, 11g fat, and 10g carbs per portion. The whole recipe leans on one specialty ingredient, aji amarillo paste, and swaps the usual mayo-based aji verde for a blended Greek yogurt and cottage cheese sauce that keeps the creaminess without the fat. Everything cooks in an air fryer in about 15 minutes.

The Marinade Is Aji Amarillo Plus Pantry Spices

The on-screen ingredient list for the marinade (2 servings): 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 tsp tomato paste, 1 tsp aji amarillo, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1/2 tsp chili powder. Max holds up the jar of aji amarillo and calls it the secret sauce. He bought it on Amazon. Aji amarillo is a Peruvian yellow chili paste with fruity heat in the 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville range, and it does the heavy lifting for both the color and the flavor here. He mixes everything into the raw thighs by hand with a nitrile glove and lets it marinate at least 15 minutes, longer if you have the time.

Air Fryer at 390 Until Done

The thighs go straight from the marinade bowl into an air fryer basket. He runs them at 390 degrees for about 15 minutes. The frames show the payoff: deeply charred, burnished thighs with crisp edges that look grilled rather than air fried. Thighs are the right cut for this method since they stay juicy at high heat, and the honey and tomato paste in the marinade drive the char.

The Green Sauce Swap: Cottage Cheese Instead of Mayo

Traditional restaurant aji verde is built on mayonnaise, often with Parmesan or feta. Max blends this version instead (2 servings): 150g 0% Greek yogurt, 80g cottage cheese, 1 tsp aji amarillo, 1/2 bunch cilantro, 2 green onions, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp jalapeno, juice of 1 lime, and salt and pepper to taste. He anticipates the cottage cheese objection on camera and answers it directly: it gets blended smooth, so the texture disappears. A Vitamix run turns it into a thick, flecked green sauce that coats the chicken like the full-fat original. The macros above include the sauce, which is rare for recipes like this.

The Portion Math

The recipe makes two portions total. One portion of chicken with one portion of sauce comes to 378 calories and 60g protein, and the sauce quantity is generous. He plates one portion with smashed potatoes on the side, which pair well with the extra sauce. As a protein-per-calorie ratio, 60g for 378 calories is stronger than most meal-prep chicken recipes because the sauce adds protein instead of fat.

Key Takeaways

• One jar of aji amarillo paste powers both the marinade and the sauce. It is the only specialty purchase in the recipe.
• Chicken thighs, air fried at 390 for about 15 minutes, get a char that looks grill-quality.
• Blending 0% Greek yogurt and cottage cheese replaces mayo in aji verde and keeps the sauce creamy at a fraction of the fat.
• Full recipe makes 2 portions. Each portion with sauce: 378 calories, 60g protein, 11g fat, 10g carbs.
• Marinate at least 15 minutes. Longer is better.

Resources

• Inca's Food Aji Amarillo Paste on Amazon - the style of jarred Peruvian yellow pepper paste used in the video
• Aji Verde recipe from Chili Pepper Madness - a traditional mayo-based version for comparison