This grilled Peri Peri Chicken recipe is on-trend with its spicy homemade Peri Peri sauce. It's very similar to Nando's Peri-Peri chicken, but easily made at home! This post is brought to you by Pompeian.
Peri Peri Chicken
I have a new obsession with peri peri chicken, and it happened on accident. For our summer vacation this year my family spent three weeks in Europe.
From the moment we landed in London, we began to see signs for Nando’s, a casual dining restaurant chain, known for their South African peri-peri chicken. It was actually quite comical because it seemed like every time we turned around there was another Nando’s.
It wasn’t until our last day in Ireland that we finally caved and gave peri peri chicken a try. It was love at first bite.
The peri-peri sauce is what makes the chicken, and I think the reason we found it so irresistible was that it was a whole new flavor for our taste buds.
Peri-Peri (also known as Piri Piri) has African and Portuguese roots. The best way to describe peri peri sauce is spicy with notes of lemon and garlic— there's a lot more going on than just heat. It’s the type of sauce or condiment that you want to dip everything in!
I promised my family that when we returned home, I would try to make my own version of peri-peri chicken, and I’m proud to say that I kept good on my word.
Peri Peri Sauce
With summer still in full swing, I decided to use my peri peri sauce recipe as a marinade and a condiment for grilled chicken skewers. It would taste equally delicious on grilled shrimp (my mouth is already watering at that combo!).
Note: My version of peri peri sauce uses red chili peppers instead of bird's eye chili (the traditional pepper used to make peri peri sauce). This was purely out of convenience as bird's eye chilis aren't easy to find in my area. You can play up the spiciness with the number of peppers used. I start with two and go from there.
Peri Peri Chicken Recipe
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2-3 red chili peppers, sliced (or bird's eye chilis if you can find them!)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
As with all of my recipes that call for olive oil, I use Pompeian. For this recipe, I used Pompeian Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is perfect for sautéing, sauces and stir-frying. The delicate flavor of Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil is fruity and aromatic with apple notes and a sweet almond aftertaste; is well balanced with a hint of spiciness.
How to Make Peri Peri Chicken
1. Skewer chicken tenders.
2. In a blender, add Pompeian Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil, chili peppers, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour half of the peri peri sauce in a bowl. Use the remaining sauce to baste the chicken.
5. Grill chicken until thoroughly cooked.
6. Serve grilled chicken skewers with a side of peri-peri sauce for dipping.
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2-3 red chili peppers sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
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Skewer chicken tenders.
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In a blender, add Extra Virgin Olive Oil, chili peppers, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
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Pour half of peri-peri sauce in a bowl. Use the remaining sauce to baste chicken.
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Grill chicken until thoroughly cooked.
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Serve grilled chicken skewers with a side of peri-peri sauce for dipping.
What to Serve with Peri Peri Chicken
Peri Peri chicken is versatile and can be enjoyed with a variety of side dishes. Some of the most popular sides to serve with peri-peri chicken are yellow rice, corn on the cob, coleslaw, sweet potato wedges, beans, vegetables, hummus and pita bread, and salad.
mohit verma says
January 28, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Yummy! Those sauces sound delicious. Now I want chicken.
Nes says
Amazing taste, in UK there are at least few versions of peri peri chicken takeaways, it's good to try and make your own. I absolutely love it, and your pictures make me hungry