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Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Copycat

Spicy, tangy, and garlicky peri peri sauce just like Nando's Chicken! It's made using sweet and spicy peppers, hence where it gets the name peri from, which means peppers in Swahili.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 whole red bell pepper
  • 5 African Bird's Eye Chilis or Thai chilis to taste
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • handful of parsley about 1/4 cup
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise optional

CHICKEN

  • 4 large chicken breasts cut horizontally into 8 pieces
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil for frying chicken

Instructions 

MARINADE

  1. In a food processor, add red bell pepper, chilis, garlic cloves, white vinegar, olive oil, oregano, paprika, rosemary, salt, sugar, parsley, and lemon juice. Pulse until it is a puree with no large chunks.
  2. Pour the puree into a saucepan, add the bay leaves, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  3. After 20 minutes, remove the bay leaves and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then add back to the food processor and blend until very smooth. Optional, add the mayo to make the marinade extra creamy.

CHICKEN

  1. Marinade the chicken in the peri peri sauce. You can marinade it in advance a few hours before, overnight, or just cook it right away.
  2. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and drop the chicken in, spacing apart.
  3. Allow the chicken to get a nice sear, about 3 minutes, then flip over and do the same with the other side. Then drop the heat to low and allow the chicken to cook through, about 1 to 2 more minutes or until the internal temperature is 165°F.
  4. Enjoy!

Notes

  • This remakes makes about 1 1/2 cup of marinade. It's most popularly used to marinade chicken in but you can also use it to grill veggies in or swap the chicken for tofu. You can also mix some of the marinade with some mayonnaise to create a dipping sauce for some fries.
  • To make this even more flavorful, roast your peppers and also add onion (red or yellow onion) to the recipe and roast it before adding to your food processor.
  • If you can't find African bird's eye chili, you can swap it for any spicy peppers you can find. Thai chilis work great or red serrano peppers. This article is great for understanding different types of peppers: https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/20-types-of-peppers-and-their-uses-article
  • If you don't want it to be spicy, make sure to take out the seeds from the peppers. You can always add cayenne powder later if you need more of a kick.
  • You can pan-fry this chicken but if you have a grill, it's even better as BBQ!
  • For an even stronger peri peri flavor, you can brush the chicken in more marinade as you cook it or right after you take it off the pan or grill.
  • If you want to make peri peri chicken without the hassle of making the marinade, I have a recipe for it here where you can buy the sauce: https://moribyan.com/2020/07/18/peri-peri-style-chicken-and-rice/

Did You Make This Recipe?

If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out. I love hearing from you!