Portuguese Peri Peri Chicken with Homemade Sauce

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With only 10 minutes of prep and simple ingredients, this peri peri chicken recipe uses a savory homemade sauce and bakes to juicy, tender perfection! Better than takeout and great for weeknight dinners.

Nando's peri peri chicken has always been a favorite in my house - but since it isn't available everywhere, I knew I had to come up with a way to make it myself. After a few rounds of testing, this peri peri chicken recipe quickly became a staple in our kitchen. Honestly, it's even better than takeout!

What I love most about this recipe is how easy it is to make. It takes just 10 minutes of prep, and the rest of the work is all hands-off. Make the homemade peri peri sauce in the morning, pop the chicken in to marinate, and go about your day.

When it's time for dinner, all you have to do is bake it in the oven for the most juicy, flavorful chicken ever.

Ingredients to Make Peri Peri Chicken

For the chicken:

• Chicken: You can use chicken thighs and drumsticks to make peri peri chicken. Alternatively, try serving the sauce with chicken wings.
• Olive Oil: Light olive oil and extra virgin olive oil are both great choices for making peri peri chicken.
• Lemon: It's important to use fresh lemon for this recipe for the best flavor.
• Peri Peri Sauce: See the ingredients just below this list!
• Salt: I recommend Maldon sea salt flakes, Himalayan sea salt, or kosher salt.
• Black Pepper: Freshly cracked works best!

For the sauce:

• Vegetable Oil: Any neutral veggie oil will do, like canola or avocado oil.
• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic works best.
• Red Onion: The best for peri peri sauce. If you don't have red onion, another variety of onion will do - but it will alter the taste.
• Sweet Paprika: Look for the sweet variety and not smoked or hot!
• Roasted Red Peppers: You can buy these in a jar or can, or roast your own red peppers, if you prefer.
• Thai Red Chilis: This is where the heat from this sauce comes from. If you can't get your hands on fresh chilis, you can use chili paste like sambal oelek, whole dried chilis, or dried chili flakes. You can also use other hot peppers like habanero or jalapeno - but keep in mind that any substitute will change the taste of the sauce. For a more mild sauce, poblano is a good choice.
• Sherry Vinegar: Substitutes include white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or malt vinegar. You may want to slightly lessen the amount depending on which vinegar you use.
• Lemon: This should be fresh for best flavor. Definitely use fresh lemons and not bottled lemon juice!
• Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar are both fine. Dark brown has more of a molasses flavor.
• Dried Oregano

How to Make Peri Peri Chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a large roasting pan and place the lemon wedges on the bottom.
2. Add chicken to the pan with the lemon wedges, and brush both sides of each piece of chicken with oil.
3. Setting aside some of your peri peri sauce for later, brush both sides of each piece of chicken liberally with the remaining sauce using a basting brush. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Make sure your chicken is facing skin-side up. Roast for 30 minutes at 400°F.
5. Brush chicken with the peri peri sauce you set aside earlier. Roast another 15-20 minutes or so until the chicken reaches 165°F internally using a meat thermometer.
6. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with rice, fries, and/or slaw and some extra sauce!

This chicken recipe is perfect when served over my Portuguese Rice!

Isabel's Top Tips for Cooking Peri Peri Chicken

• Roast for a total of 20 minutes per pound; the total weight of my chicken thighs and drumsticks was around 2 pounds and took approximately 45 minutes total to roast. Use a meat thermometer for best results and see my Chicken Temperature Chart.
• Use my homemade Peri Peri Sauce for the best results! Although you can use store-bought sauce such as Nando's peri peri sauce, homemade is the best option and allows you to control all the flavors in the dish.
• You can marinate the chicken in the peri peri sauce for deeper flavor for up to 10-12 hours or overnight - or 30 minutes to 1 hour if you want to marinate it quickly.
  • Brush the chicken with the sauce, then add it to an airtight container or zip-lock plastic bag in the refrigerator and allow it to marinate until ready to use.
  • If you're marinating for 30 minutes to an hour, you can brush it when it's in the roasting pan, then cover the pan with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until ready. Uncover before roasting.
• Chicken should always read between 165°F and 175°F on a meat thermometer. Always use a meat thermometer and follow my chicken temperature chart to ensure the chicken is cooked properly.
• You can make peri-peri chicken using any cut of chicken, from bone-in to boneless, chicken breasts, thighs, or even wings. Pick your favorite and follow my chicken temperature chart for the best cooking times for your cut.

This peri peri chicken recipe is savory, spicy, and packed with bold flavor. The sauce is so simple to make using pantry ingredients - I know you're going to want to make it again and again for more than just chicken!

Peri Peri Chicken

Recipe Author: Isabel Laessig

My Portuguese Peri Peri Chicken recipe is paired with my homemade peri peri sauce for a flavorful dinner that's better than Nando's. 

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Marinating time 1 hour hr

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Servings 6

Calories 259 kcal

Video

Equipment

• Large roasting pan

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

For Peri Peri Chicken

• ▢ 3 chicken thighs - approx. 1 pound
• ▢ 4 chicken drumsticks - approx. 1 pound
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 lemon - cut into wedges
• ▢ ¾ cup peri peri sauce - divided
• ▢ Salt and pepper - to taste

For Peri Peri Sauce

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic - crushed
• ▢ ½ medium red onion - diced
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons sweet paprika
• ▢ 2 large fire roasted peppers
• ▢ 6-7 Thai red chilis - seeds removed, finely chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup sherry vinegar - or red wine vinegar
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ Zest of one lemon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• ▢ 4 teaspoons dried oregano
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Instructions 

Making Peri Peri Sauce

• Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, then saute the onions, garlic and paprika until softened, about 5 minutes.
  1 Tablespoon olive oil,½ medium red onion,2 Tablespoons sweet paprika,4 cloves garlic
• Add the onion mixture along with Thai red chilies, fire roasted red peppers, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, dried oregano, salt, and pepper to a blender.
  2 large fire roasted peppers,6-7 Thai red chilis,¼ cup sherry vinegar,3 Tablespoons lemon juice,Zest of one lemon,2 teaspoons brown sugar,4 teaspoons dried oregano,1½ teaspoons salt,1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• Blend until smooth.

Making Peri Peri Chicken

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a large roasting pan and place the lemon wedges on the bottom.
  1 lemon
• Add chicken to the pan with the lemon wedges, and brush both sides of each piece of chicken with oil.
  3 chicken thighs,4 chicken drumsticks
• Setting aside some of your peri peri sauce for later, brush both sides of each piece of chicken liberally with the remaining sauce using a basting brush. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  Salt and pepper,2 Tablespoons vegetable oil,¾ cup peri peri sauce
• Make sure your chicken is facing skin-side up. Roast for 30 minutes at 400°F.
• Brush chicken with the peri peri sauce you set aside earlier. Roast another 15-20 minutes or so until the chicken reaches 165°F internally using a meat thermometer.
  Salt and pepper,¾ cup peri peri sauce
• Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with rice, fries, and/or slaw and some extra sauce!

Final stepPlease consider Leaving a Review below to tell me what you think of the recipe! This helps me know what you're looking for, so I can continue to provide you with high-quality recipes at no cost.

4.94 from 15 votes

Notes

• Roast for a total of 20 minutes per pound; the total weight of my chicken thighs and drumsticks was around 2 pounds, and took approximately 45 minutes total to roast. Use a meat thermometer for best results and see my Chicken Temperature Chart.
• Use my homemade Peri Peri Sauce for the best results! Although you can use store-bought sauce such as Nando's peri peri sauce, homemade really is the best option and allows you to control all the flavors in the dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 259kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 19gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 851mgPotassium: 382mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1310IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg