Easy Peri Peri Chicken Recipe
Easy Peri Peri Chicken Recipe – Bone-in pieces of chicken are marinated in spicy South African Peri Peri sauce and oven baked for a deliciously bold and flavorful dish!
What is Peri Peri Chicken
Peri Peri chicken is a delicious roasted chicken dish popular in South Africa. It consists of skin-on and bone-in chicken pieces marinated in a spicy Peri Peri sauce, then roasted in the oven. The skin gets lightly crisp and the meat is super juicy, with an incredible amount of vibrant, smoky/spicy flavor in every bite!
The true origins make this dish a Portuguese-African fusion, as Portuguese traders introduced the spicy bird’s eye chilies to this part of Africa. To the American palette, the taste would seem like an exotic version of baked buffalo chicken.
To make this easy Peri Peri chicken recipe for a midweek dinner ready in under an hour, I use store-bought Peri Peri sauce as the base and marinate it overnight. I also amplify the flavor with lemon juice and a blend of vibrant seasonings for some extra pizazz.
My daughter who spent a large part of last year in South Africa loves this recipe. Try it yourself, you will not be disappointed!
Ingredients You Need
- Chicken – your favorite bone-in pieces with the skin on
- Peri Peri sauce – medium or hot
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed is best
- Spices – garlic powder, smoked paprika, dried basil (or oregano), and salt
Note: You can certainly buy African bird’s eye chilies in bulk and make your own Peri Peri sauce, but I have recently found bottled Peri Peri sauce in almost every grocery store I visited around town. Nando’s Peri Peri sauce is the most common variety, a product from the popular restaurant chain in South Africa.
How to Make Authentic Peri Peri Chicken
- Place the chicken in a baking dish. Pat the pieces dry with a clean paper towel so the skin will get extra crispy. Then and sprinkle them liberally with salt.
- Next, make the marinade by combining the Peri Peri sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and dried basil in a small mixing bowl.
- Pour 1/2 cup of Peri Peri mixture over the chicken. Move the chicken around the pan to get all of the pieces evenly coated in the sauce. Then cover and chill for at least one hour, but up to 24 hours.
Reserve the rest of the Peri Peri sauce for later use.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven and move the chicken pieces to a large rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place them skin side up, separating them so they do not touch.
- Brush the remaining Peri Peri sauce from the baking dish over the tops of the chicken.
Get the Complete (Printable!) Peri Peri Chicken Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
- Roast the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes. Then brush the tops of the chicken again with the reserved Peri Peri sauce. (The sauce from the bottle, NOT the marinade from the baking dish.)
- Pop the pan back in the oven and roast again for another 20 minutes, or until the thickest pieces are cooked through and the skin is crisp.
Use an internal meat thermometer to make sure the chicken registers 165°F before serving.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Piri Piri sauce is meant to be hot, and the medium is hot for most people. Only buy the hot variety if you can really handle the heat!
- We use whole fryer chicken pieces. Feel free to use different pieces of bone-in chicken, like just wings, drumsticks, or chicken thighs.
- If you prefer boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, reduce the cooking time from 40 minutes to 20-25 minutes.
- You can grill the marinated Peri Peri chicken for a deep, smoky charred flavor. Heat the grill to medium heat, and cook the pieces of chicken for about 15 minutes on each side, until the inside temperature registers 165°F with a meat thermometer. (For boneless grilled chicken, 5 minutes per side.)
- Marinate the chicken pieces late the evening the night before, or in the morning, the day you plan to cook. Then baking them is a breeze for dinner!
Serving Suggestions
In South Africa, Peri Peri chicken is most commonly served with fries. It’s casual comfort food that’s meant to be enjoyed as part of a homestyle meal – nothing fussy, but certain to make everyone at the table pay attention!
The smoky and spicy flavors make this chicken perfect to pair with nearly any side dish you like! Here are a few staple sides we love:
- Coleslaw
- Corn on the Cob
- Mashed Potatoes
- Grilled Vegetables
- Fluffy white rice or low carb Cauliflower Rice
- Jollof Rice (African rice)
- Sweet Potato Fries
Frequently Asked Questions
Peri Peri is the South African spelling of the dish’s original Portugese name, Piri Piri. Both versions translate to pepper-pepper, a nod to the bold spices and heat of the dish.
A traditional Peri Peri sauce has got a good kick of heat that is tingly and strong, but not overwhelmingly spicy. You can, however, find different varieties with different levels of spiciness.
The chicken pieces should be in the Peri Peri sauce marinade for at least 1 hour. You can marinate for up to 24 hours, but no longer than that… The meat will actually get too tenderized, to the point of being unpleasantly soft.
Cooked chicken will keep well for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Let cool completely, then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge. To keep the skin crisp I recommend that you reheat in a 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes until warmed throughout. Or easily reheat in an air fryer!
Looking for More Easy Chicken Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Chicken Vesuvio (Italian Baked Chicken)
- Peruvian Baked Chicken Roll Ups
- Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Recipe
- Grilled Maple Mustard Chicken
- Mind-Blowing Nashville Hot Chicken
Get the Complete (Printable!) Peri Peri Chicken Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
Easy Peri Peri Chicken Recipe + VIDEO
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (8 pc fryer pack)
- 9 ounces Peri Peri Sauce medium or hot (like Nando’s)
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried basil or oregano
- Salt
Instructions
- Place the bone-in chicken pieces in a baking dish. Pat the chicken pieces dry and sprinkle liberally with salt.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the Peri Peri sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and dried basil. Mix well.
- Portion out ½ cup of Peri Peri sauce to pour over the chicken pieces. Move the chicken around the pan to make sure it is well coated. Then cover and chill for at least one hour, but up to 24 hours. Reserve the rest of the Peri Peri sauce for later use.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400°F. Move the chicken pieces to a large rimmed baking sheet, skin side up, separating them so they do not touch.
- Use a basting brush to brush any remaining Peri Peri sauce, from the dish, over the tops of the chicken.
- Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Then brush the tops of the chicken again with the reserved Peri Peri sauce. (Sauce from the bottle, NOT the baking dish.)
- Roast again for 20 minutes, or until the thickest pieces are cooked through.
great, a new recipe for me, I love anything that helps add flavor to chicken, thank you!
I had never heard of Peri Peri but when I saw it, I knew I wanted it! I ordered it and made this recipe last night and it was incredible!! Thank you!
YUM. I had never made this before, now it’s going in the rotation! Its delish!
Another delicious chicken recipe! Even my picky kids loved it. I will add this to our regular rotation!
This peri peri chicken recipe is amazing and I love all the flavor that this adds to my basic chicken dinner nights. thank you so much for sharing this dish!