Peri Peri Chicken: Seasoning & Sauce Recipe

Every trip to Nando’s left my son and me craving more of that Peri-Peri Chicken, so as a chef I had to work it out for myself. After growing a few fiery bird’s eye chillies in the garden, I put together a seasoning and sauce that gets us close to the real thing at home.

This Peri-Peri rub is good for marinating, grilling or baking, and it brings that bright, smoky South African flavour straight to your table. It is a proper barbecue favourite, which is why it earned a spot in my 10 Best Summer Recipes roundup.

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PPin it

What Peri Peri Actually Is

Piri Piri’s Journey to Africa

Peri peri, or piri piri, takes its name from a Bantu word meaning roughly pepper pepper, which tells you most of what you need to know about it.

The chilli itself is South American. Portuguese traders carried it to their colonies in Mozambique and Angola in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, where it grew well, went wild, and was taken up far more enthusiastically than it ever had been in Portugal. What came back was a fiery marinade for grilled meat, and that is what peri peri still is.

Crafting the Perfect Peri Peri Seasoning Blend

There is no single correct blend. Chilli and paprika are the constant, and after that it varies by region, by restaurant and by household. Mine leans on ground coriander far more heavily than most, and carries a pinch of mace, which is unusual and deliberate. Both are explained further down.

Where Peri Peri Comes From

Peri peri, made with the little African bird\u0027s eye chilli, started life as a fiery marinade for grilled meat and travelled the world from there, with Nando\u0027s making it famous in the UK. That is where I first fell for it, and now I love mixing my own blend fresh and dialling the heat exactly to my taste.

Versatility in Every Sprinkle

The best thing about peri peri is how far you can move it. Dial the chilli up and it is genuinely fierce; dial it down and it is warm and aromatic rather than hot, and still tastes of itself. That makes it a more useful thing to have in the cupboard than most spice blends, because it is not locked to one heat level or one dish.

Chef’s Journey in Cultivating Piri Piri

Bird’s eye chillies grow well in a pot and stay under about a metre, so a windowsill or a balcony is enough. One plant gives you far more chillies than you expect. They run between 60,000 and 100,000 on the Scoville scale, which is roughly twenty times a jalapeno, so treat the first harvest with respect and taste before you commit a whole batch. Sow the seeds from January onwards; these are the ones I grow, and here is where I get them.

How to Make Peri Peri Seasoning

The heart of this recipe is a proper homemade peri peri seasoning - a dry spice blend you can shake over almost anything. Mine builds its warmth and depth from paprika, dried bird’s-eye chilli, ground coriander and oregano, with a little cardamom and a pinch of mace for that aromatic, Nando’s-style character, plus salt, pepper and a touch of sugar to balance the heat. The exact measurements are in the recipe card below.

Making it could not be simpler: tip everything into a bowl or jar and whisk or shake until evenly blended - no cooking needed. Toasting and grinding whole spices gives even deeper flavour if you have the time, but ready-ground works beautifully. Store it in an airtight jar somewhere cool and dark and it stays good for months (brightest in the first three).

It is a proper all-rounder, not just for chicken: rub it over wings, thighs or drumsticks, or sprinkle it on roast potatoes and chips, prawns, roasted veg, grilled corn or steak - even popcorn. To set the heat, the chilli does all the work, so dial the bird’s-eye chilli up for a fiery blend or down for something gentler.

Which Cut of Chicken to Use

The card is written for breast because that is what most people have in the fridge, but peri peri is traditionally a thigh, leg-quarter or whole-bird dish, and it is better on the bone. The seasoning and the sauce do not change; only the timings do.

• Thighs and drumsticks, bone in and skin on What I would use if I were cooking this for people rather than photographing it. They carry more fat, so they survive a fierce grill without drying, and the skin crisps into the marinade. Give them 30 to 35 minutes in a hot oven, then a few minutes under the grill.
• Breast What the card is written for, and the quickest. It is also the least forgiving: lean meat and high heat is how you get a dry result, so the overnight marinade matters more here than on any other cut, and so does the thermometer.
• A whole spatchcocked bird The most impressive and the most authentic to how it is actually served. Cut out the backbone, flatten it, marinate it overnight and roast at 200C for about 45 minutes, basting with the sauce. Worth doing when the barbecue is lit.
• Wings The best vehicle for the sauce there is, because the ratio of surface to meat is so high. Toss them in the seasoning, roast until crisp, then toss again in the sauce once they are out.

How to Make Peri Peri Chicken, Step by Step

The card below carries the quantities. This is the same method with the reasoning attached, in three parts: the dry seasoning, the sauce, and the chicken itself.

1. The seasoning first. Tip all the dry ingredients into a jar or a spice blender and shake or blitz until the colour is even. There is no cooking to it. If you have whole spices and five spare minutes, toast the coriander and cardamom in a dry pan until they smell nutty and grind them fresh, which is a noticeably bigger difference than it sounds. Keep it in an airtight jar somewhere dark. It will not spoil, but it fades, so make a small batch you will actually get through.
2. Now the sauce, starting with the chillies, which is where the whole thing is decided. Bird’s eye chillies run 60,000 to 100,000 Scoville, so this is the step to take slowly. Almost all the heat sits in the white pith and the seeds, not the flesh, so deseeding is your dial: leave everything in for a proper Nando’s-hot sauce, take the seeds out of half for something around medium, and deseed the lot for a warm, aromatic sauce that still tastes of chilli. If you are using dried chillies rather than fresh, cover them in just-boiled water and leave them twenty minutes until they are soft and pliable, then use them along with a little of the soaking water. Wear gloves, or at least keep your hands away from your eyes for the rest of the evening. Taste a small piece raw before you commit: chillies from the same plant vary enormously, and this is the only chance you get to find out before it is a whole batch of sauce.
3. Blend the base. Chillies, garlic, onion, red pepper, lemon juice and vinegar into the processor, and run it until everything is finely chopped rather than perfectly smooth. The red pepper is doing two jobs here: it carries body and sweetness, and it dilutes the heat without watering down the flavour, which is why it is the first thing to increase if you have overdone the chilli.
4. Add the dry spices. Paprika, oregano, sugar and salt, then blend again to combine. The sugar is not there to sweeten it, it is there to round off the vinegar and the raw chilli edge, and you will notice if you leave it out.
5. Emulsify in the oil. With the motor running, pour the oil in slowly in a thin stream. Going slowly is what makes it come together into something glossy and stable rather than a layer of oil sitting on top of a puree. If it does split, keep blending and add a splash of cold water.
6. Simmer it. Into a saucepan, up to a gentle simmer, and give it 10 to 15 minutes. This is the step that separates a homemade sauce from a raw blitzed one: it takes the harsh edge off the vinegar and the garlic, and pulls everything into one flavour instead of several competing ones. Stir now and then, and keep it gentle so it does not catch.
7. Cool and store. Let it come down to room temperature before it goes anywhere near a jar, then into a sterilised bottle and the fridge, where it keeps about a month. The vinegar and the salt are doing the preserving. It is worth making the full quantity even for one meal, because the sauce is the part that takes the time and it is just as good in week three.
8. Marinate the chicken. Score the meat so the marinade reaches past the surface, then coat it in the seasoning with a little oil, or with a ladle of the finished sauce instead of the oil, which is richer. Half an hour does something; overnight in the fridge does a great deal more, and this is the single biggest difference between peri peri chicken that tastes of peri peri all the way through and peri peri chicken that tastes of it only on the outside.
9. Cook it. Grill, griddle or frying pan on a medium-high heat, and resist turning it constantly, because the char is most of the point. Chicken breast is done at an internal 72C with a five-minute rest afterwards, which is a recognised time-and-temperature combination rather than an undercooked shortcut; if you would rather work to the simpler official single reading, the Food Standards Agency figure is 75C. A probe thermometer is worth more here than any amount of judgement by eye, because peri peri chicken is dark on the outside long before it is cooked in the middle.
10. Rest, then serve. Give it five minutes off the heat before it is cut, or the juices end up on the board rather than in the meat. Slice it, spoon over more of the sauce, and put the rest of the jar on the table, because people always want more than you think. There are serving suggestions further down, and the leftovers make an extremely good sandwich the next day.

Recipe Card for Peri Peri Chicken

What to Serve With Peri Peri Chicken

🍽 Chips or crispy roast potatoes are the obvious one, and the right one, with a sharp coleslaw to cut the heat and something cooling alongside, either a garlic yoghurt dip or plain soured cream. Grilled corn, charred peppers and a green salad round it out, and a cold beer does more for a fiery plate than any amount of bread. If you have made extra sauce, put the jar on the table.

Tips

• Set the heat at the chillies, not at the end The pith and seeds carry the heat. Deseed to taste before you blend, because once it is a smooth sauce the only way down is more red pepper, more lemon and more oil, and that dilutes everything else too.
• Marinate overnight if you possibly can This is the tip with the biggest return on this dish. Thirty minutes seasons the surface. Overnight gets it into the meat.
• Keep the skin on It protects the meat from the grill and it is where the marinade catches and chars. Remove it before serving if you would rather, but cook with it on.
• Do not fiddle with it on the grill The dark, blistered patches are the flavour. Turn it once, not five times, and let the heat do it.
• Make the sauce in a full batch The sauce takes almost all the effort and keeps a month in the fridge. Making a single portion of it is the least efficient way to cook this dish.
• Rest it, always Five minutes. Cutting straight off the heat costs you the juice, and on a lean breast you notice it immediately.

FAQ for Peri Peri Chicken

What is peri peri?

Peri peri (piri piri) is a spicy sauce and marinade made from bird’s eye chillies, garlic, lemon and herbs, popular in Portuguese and Southern African cooking.

How spicy is peri peri chicken?

It can be as mild or as hot as you like - just adjust the number of chillies in the sauce.

Can I bake it instead of grilling?

Yes. Roast it in a hot oven, then finish under the grill or on a griddle for a few minutes to get those charred edges.

How long should I marinate the chicken?

At least 30 minutes, but a few hours or overnight in the fridge gives the best flavour.

What is peri peri seasoning made of?

It is a dry blend built around paprika and a hot chilli (African bird’s-eye / peri-peri chilli, or cayenne as an easy swap), plus garlic and aromatics. My version leans on paprika, dried bird’s-eye chilli, ground coriander, oregano, a little cardamom and mace, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. It is a dry seasoning, quite distinct from the wet peri peri sauce made from fresh chillies, garlic, lemon and oil.

Is peri peri the same as piri piri?

Yes - peri peri, piri piri and pili pili are all the same thing, just different spellings of a Bantu word meaning roughly “pepper-pepper”, after the African bird’s-eye chilli. “Piri piri” is the Portuguese/Mozambican spelling; “peri peri” came into English via South Africa. The flavour and the seasoning are identical whichever way you spell it.

What can I use peri peri seasoning on besides chicken?

Loads of things - it is a real all-rounder. Try it on roast potatoes and chips, prawns and other seafood, roasted vegetables, grilled corn, steak and burgers, or even popcorn. It is also lovely stirred into mayo, yoghurt or softened butter for a quick dip, sauce or compound butter. Use it as a dry rub before cooking or as a finishing sprinkle.

How long does homemade peri peri seasoning keep, and how should I store it?

Kept in an airtight jar somewhere cool, dark and dry, it stays good for up to a year. For the brightest flavour use it within about three to six months, as ground spices slowly lose their punch. It will not spoil like fresh food, but stale spices taste flat - so make it in small batches you will actually get through.

Is peri peri seasoning gluten-free?

A homemade blend of spices and dried herbs like this is naturally gluten-free, and usually vegan too. The only thing to watch is shop-bought blends, which can hide anti-caking agents or fillers - so check the label if you are strictly avoiding gluten. Making it yourself sidesteps that uncertainty completely.

How do I turn the dry blend into a peri peri sauce or marinade?

Easily - the dry blend is the flavour base. For a marinade or paste, mix a couple of tablespoons of the seasoning with olive oil (and a squeeze of lemon and a little crushed garlic if you like) into a loose paste and rub it into the meat. For a pourable peri peri sauce, blend the seasoning with oil plus lemon juice or a splash of vinegar until smooth. Adjust the liquid to get the thickness you want.

How much peri peri seasoning do I use per portion of chicken?

As a rough guide, about half a tablespoon to a tablespoon per chicken breast, or roughly 4-5 tablespoons for a kilo of chicken. Coat the meat lightly and evenly - mixing it with a little oil first helps it stick and stops it scorching. You can always add a final sprinkle after cooking, so start light and build up to taste.

Should I use smoked or sweet paprika for peri peri seasoning?

I reach for smoked paprika because it gives the blend that gentle, barbecued depth that peri peri is known for. Sweet paprika works too and keeps things milder and fruitier, so if you prefer a softer flavour, use that or split the two half and half. Whichever you choose, add the chilli separately so you can control the heat on its own.

Can I make peri peri seasoning without salt?

Yes, you can leave the salt out completely and the blend still tastes lovely, as the paprika, garlic and chilli carry it. I would just add a little salt to your dish at the table instead, so you can judge it by eye. The same goes for the pinch of sugar - skip it if you are watching either, though the flavour will be a touch sharper.

How do I make the seasoning milder or hotter?

The heat lives almost entirely in the chilli, so treat it as a dial. For a family-friendly, milder mix I cut the cayenne or bird’s-eye chilli right back and lean on the smoked paprika; for a proper kick I simply double it. Start low and taste as you go, because you can always stir in more, but you cannot take it out once it is in.

Serve them with a batch of crispy homemade onion rings for a proper Nando’s-style plate.

A Few Words from the Chef

I first fell in love with peri peri at Nando’s, like so many people do, and now I love making it from time to time at home. The best part for me is mixing my own spices fresh and adjusting the ratios exactly to my liking. Once you have made your own blend, you will never look at the bottled stuff the same way again. Tell me how hot you like yours.

I hope you enjoy this fantastic recipe for Peri Peri Seasoning & Sauce! Did you tweak it in any way? Did you end up growing you own chillies? What accompanied your delicious dipping sauce? I’d love to hear your insights in the comments. Don’t forget to hit the star button! Happy cooking!

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