This Peri Peri Chicken is juicy, spicy and loaded with flavour! I’ll show you how to make Peri Peri sauce that you’ll want to smother on everything, AND how to spatchcock a chicken so it cooks in super quick time!
It took a little bit of time to get the recipe right for my peri peri (piri piri) sauce, but I’ve got to admit, I did kind of pat myself on the back in the end. It’s so amazingly delicious. It’s also pretty darn hot! But that’s the way I like it. You can always reduce the chillies to make it less spicy.
I’m going to admit something else too.
You know I started with the recipe for this sauce?
I totally looked at the ingredients on the back of a bottle of Nando’s Peri Peri sauce. I mean, that’s Peri Peri gold standard isn’t it?
My next step was to cut out all of the weird stuff – you know, the stabilisers and antioxidants. And to swap out the stuff that you can’t buy in the shops like lemon puree (for lemon zest and juice) and rosemary extract (for dried rosemary).
Finally, I wanted to bulk out the recipe (hence the red peppers) and give it a little more depth of flavour (hence the roasting of the peppers, onions, garlic and chillies, and the addition of smoked paprika).
And the result is tongue-tinglingly damn tasty. This recipe ensures you have enough to marinade the chicken, with plenty leftover for dipping.
My recipe below shows lots of photos and info to make this recipe (plus there’s the full recipe card at the bottom of the post), but if you want to really see how it’s done, check out the video here:
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
📋 What do we need to make Peri Peri sauce?
So how do we get from this ⬆️ to this ⬇️ ?
How to make the Peri Peri Sauce
- We start by roasting the peppers and red onion with oil, paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne and salt. Then add the garlic and chillies and roast for a further 10 minutes.
- We then transfer this smoky-roasted goodness to a blender, along with dried Bird’s eye chillies, white pepper, lemon zest and juice and dried rosemary and blend it all up to form a thick paste.
- Then add oil and some red wine vinegar and blend again to a lovely thick, spoon-able consistency. If you want it thinner, simply thin it out with more oil, or you can stir in some cold water.
How to spatchcock a chicken
Now we need to spatchcock the chicken. Spatch-cocking basically means removing the backbone, opening up the carcass, and flattening it out. Doing this means it cooks so much quicker in the oven.
- Place the chicken breast-side down on a sturdy chopping board, with the legs towards you.
- Using heavy-duty scissors or poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone. It’s a little fiddly, as you have to cut through each of the rib bones as you go. So it’s better to go slowly, rather than trying to cut through multiple ribs at once.
- Once you’ve cut through both sides of the backbone, discard the bone (or save it to make stock). Turn the chicken over and press down with both hands on the breast bone to flatten the chicken.
Now place the chicken on a baking tray and smother with a few tablespoons of Peri Peri sauce. Bake for 45 minutes, then baste the chicken and spoon on a little more sauce. Finish off the chicken in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
It will come out of the oven a deep dark red. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes to ensure it’s extra juicy.
Then serve with the rest of the Peri Peri sauce.
What to serve with peri peri chicken
- Special Fried Rice
- Homemade Oven Chips
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Perfect Baked Potatoes
- A simple Green Salad
- Creamy Homemade Coleslaw
Piri-piri or peri-peri – which one is it?
I don’t think there’s a definitive answer on this, but both terms, along with the term pili-pili are used to describe the African Bird’s eye chilli. So technically, if you’re using African Bird’s eye chillies, I guess any of these terms are correct.
However:
- Piri-piri is the correct spelling in Portuguese.
- Nando’s calls their sauce Peri Peri.
- Piri Piri (at the time of writing this) is searched for about 4 times more often than peri peri in google.
I’ve used the term peri peri in my recipe because that’s what I’m more used to hearing in the UK.
More Of My Spicy Chicken Recipes
More Copycat and Street-Food Recipes:
- Copycat Firecracker Chicken (Wagamama)
- Orange Chicken (Panda Express)
- Pad Thai
- Gua Bao (Pork belly Bao buns)
- Pork Gyros
- Spicy Pork Ramen
Peri Peri Chicken with Homemade Peri Peri Sauce
Ingredients
Peri peri sauce:
- 2 red peppers sliced into large pieces
- 2 red onions peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) oil divided, (sunflower oil, vegetable oil or your favourite flavourless oil is fine).
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 red serrano chillies deseeded and sliced in half
- 10 dried African birds eye chillies
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
Chicken:
- 1 medium chicken (1.4kg-1.6kg or 3 lbs-3.5lbs) spatchcocked
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (fan).
- Place the peppers and red onion on a baking tray. Drizzle on 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil. Sprinkle on the paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp of the salt and toss together.2 red peppers, 2 red onions, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 ½ tsp salt
- Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Add the garlic and serrano chillies and toss together again, then place in the oven for a further 10 minutes.4 cloves garlic, 2 red serrano chillies
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a blender (make sure you pour in all the juices from the tray). Add the dried chillies, white pepper, lemon zest and juice, and the dried rosemary. Blend until smooth.10 dried African birds eye chillies, 1/4 tsp white pepper, zest and juice of 1 lemon, ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- Add the remaining vegetable oil and the red wine vinegar and blend again.120 ml (1/2 cup) oil, 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Now it's time to spatchcock the chicken. Place chicken breast-side down on a sturdy chopping board, with the legs towards you.1 medium chicken (1.4kg-1.6kg or 3 lbs-3.5lbs)
- Using heavy-duty scissors or poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone. It's a little fiddly, as you have to cut through each of the rib bones as you go. So it's better to go slowly, rather than trying to cut through multiple ribs at once.
- Once you've cut through both sides of the backbone, discard the bone (or save it to make stock). Turn the chicken over and press down with both hands on the breastbone to flatten the chicken.
- Place the spatchcocked chicken on a baking tray and pour over one-third of the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ tsp salt and the black pepper.½ tsp black pepper
- Place in the oven (still at 180C/350F (fan)) for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, baste the chicken and spoon over 2 more tablespoons of the sauce. Place back in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve with the remaining sauce.
Video
Notes
Can I make it gluten free?
Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten free. However, it’s always best to check your ingredients, as some brands may use wheat/barley in their products (i.e in certain types of vinegar) or packing environments.How long will peri peri sauce keep?
Covered and refrigerated, this peri-peri sauce should keep for 2 weeks.Nutritional Information is per serving – including one-quarter of the peri peri sauce per person.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first published in July 2019. Updated May 2022 with video and a bit of housekeeping.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Mario’s Famous Peri-Peri is much much better than Nandos. I have tried them all.
My wife doesn’t like things too spicy, so I cut the cayenne pepper in half, use 1/2 a Freso chili in lieu of the Serranos, and used 2 African birds eye peppers in lieu of 10. My sauce was a 3 hotness on a scale of 0-10, 10 being fiery hot.
I also need to increase the cooking time by 15 minutes and set the oven to broil for the last 7 or 8 minutes. The skin was charred but still a little rubbery.
The meat was very moist I might put some of the sauce on the pan and place the chicken on top so it can flavor the bottom of the chicken too.
Overall, my wife and I really enjoyed this recipe.
Can you can this sauce to store for a later date?
Hi Fawne, covered and refrigerated, the peri-peri sauce should keep for 2-3 weeks.
This was the best peri peri marinade recipe yet!! I couldn’t find African bird’s eye chilis or fresh red serrano peppers, but substituted with other varieties of chili peppers and the balance of flavors from the roasted red bell peppers, red onions, garlic, etc. was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Thank you Nicky 🌹
I enjoyed this recipe and all my family thanks ever so much for sharing this wonderful recipe
Hi Nicky
We had the Piri PIri spatchcock chicken last night (Saturday) and it was absolutely delicious, I kept to your recipe but made it on Friday (day before) and it was amazing,
I also cooked crispy sweet potato wedges to accompany it which worked very well.
Certainly will be making it again.
David
Hi there,
Is the 180 temp for a fan oven?
Thanks!
Hi Nicky,
Love your recipe for Peri Peri. In terms of the spelling I am pretty sure that the Portuguese in Mozambique adapted a traditional recipe with African ingredients and used Peri instead of Piri. Back in the day Lourenco Marques (renamed Maputo after independence) was famous for Peri Peri chicken and especially prawns. Many Portuguese moved over the border into South Africa after independence and the rest is history. Nandos originally started in South Africa.
Be it Peri Peri or Piri Piri it is delicious and addictive !! Thanks again for your r ecipes and apologies for my ramblings.
Dear Nicky,
The best chicken I have ever eaten. My
daughter’s (28, 23) favorite take away is Nandos, they both said it was definitely better than Nandos 😊😊 (I know it was a very sincere complement as I always ask them to critic my food). The marinade sauce was super delicious which is the secret. I cooked it on charcol.
Thank you so very much.
Thank you Trisette – I’m so happy you and your daughters enjoyed it. High praise indeed 🙂 I bet it was fantastic over charcoal!
Just tried this recipe and it was great, even marinated the chicken over night for extra flavour. One question, could the oil used in the sauce be substituted for anything’s else to reduce the calories?
SO glad you liked it Sam. The oil really does help to give the sauce a more velvety texture, but you could trying reducing the amount by half if you’d prefer.
Hi! What’s the substitute for red wine vinegar?
Hi Zohra, You can substitute with white wine vinegar, or a mixture of 3 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tbsp red wine.
You could also use fresh lemon or lime juice. That’s what I use when making this dish. Very good that way.