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Home » Main Meals » Oven-baked peri peri chicken – just like Nando’s

Oven-baked peri peri chicken – just like Nando’s

Author: VJ Published : September 2020 Modified : December 2021 / 2 people have commented

Recipe
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If you enjoy Nando’s peri peri chicken, you are going to love this recipe for oven-baked peri peri chicken. Tasty chicken thighs are marinated in a spicy peri peri sauce before being baked in the oven to give you the juiciest most tender chicken pieces with the familiar peri peri flavour we all know and love.

Two peri peri chicken thighs on a white plate with rice, tomatoes and garlic bread.

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Table Of Contents
  1. Oven-baked peri peri chicken
  2. How do you make peri peri chicken?
  3. What do you serve with peri peri chicken?
  4. Can I freeze peri peri chicken?
  5. Can I make it in advance?
  6. What can I do with the leftovers?
  7. Other chicken recipes
  8. Pin for later
  9. Nandos copycat peri peri chicken recipe
  10. Peri peri chicken

Oven-baked peri peri chicken

When I was working in London, one of our favourite treats was a lunch-time visit to Nando’s for some of their famous peri peri chicken. Since leaving work, and moving away from London, I find myself in the position of not having a Nando’s restaurant nearby, and that particular pleasure is now just a distant memory.

Until, that is, I decided to try making it myself, at home. And now that I’ve perfected the taste, I can enjoy peri peri chicken any time I feel like it. I just wish I’d done this sooner 🙂

What I like about making this at home is that you can adjust the amount of chili you add. I prefer the peri peri to be hot enough to provide a ‘zing’ but not so hot that it numbs your mouth so you can’t taste what you are eating. With this recipe you just alter the chili to suit your own taste.

I also like to bake this chicken in the oven which to my mind is so much healthier than frying. And because the marinade contains olive oil, there’s no need to add any additional oil before baking.

The sauce itself is so easy to make. You just whizz all the ingredients in the blender and then pour over the chicken to marinate for an hour or two (or overnight in the fridge if you can wait that long). Then it’s just 20 minutes in the oven for the tastiest peri peri chicken ever.

A dish of cooked oven-baked chicken thighs

How do you make peri peri chicken?

This recipe will feed 4 people. If you want to make extra you should allow 100g or 4 ounces of raw chicken per person (add extra if your chicken is on the bone, and also add extra for seconds – I guarantee you will need it).

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Marinate: 2 hours
  • Cooking time 25 minutes in the oven

To start off with you will need some peri peri chilis. These are extremely hot little chilis that originated in Mozambique and Angola on the southern African continent. They are sometimes called bird’s eye chilis. If you can’t get hold of these you can substitute with dried chili flakes.

You will also need a small red bell pepper, a few cloves of garlic and some herbs and spices. See the printable recipe card at the end of this post for a detailed list of ingredients.

For the chicken I like to use skinless, boneless chicken thighs, but you can use any cut of chicken you prefer, with or without the skin. If you decide to leave the skin on the chicken pieces you will find it crisps up beautifully in the oven.

Just whizz all the ingredients for the peri peri sauce in a food processor so that they are very finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor then you will need a sharp knife, a chopping board and a lot of patience to get the chilis, bell pepper and garlic chopped as finely as you can get them, before mixing them with the remaining sauce ingredients.

Marinade the chicken

Place the chicken in a mixing bowl and pour the sauce over, then mix well to ensure the chicken is completely covered. This doesn’t make for the most attractive photo.

Raw boneless chicken thighs in a bowl of marinade.

Cover the bowl and allow to marinade for at least 2 hours. You can leave it overnight (or even for a couple of days) covered, in the refrigerator, for the flavours to really develop.

Once you are ready to bake the chicken, pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F and arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet and pour over any remaining marinade. You do not need to add any additional oil. There is sufficient olive oil in the marinade. If you are using chicken pieces that still have their skin on, then place them skin-side up.

Bake the chicken

Raw marinaded chicken thighs on a baking tray.

Place the baking tray in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through (smaller pieces of chicken will take less time). If you are using larger pieces of chicken, with the bone still in, you should cook it until the internal temperature reaches 75C/165F, and there should be no pink juices running out when you prick the chicken with a skewer.

Cooked chicken thighs on a baking tray.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and serve.

What do you serve with peri peri chicken?

I like to serve this peri peri chicken with a spicy mushroom rice, a few slices of fresh tomatoes to cut through the peri peri, and a slice of garlic bread.

You could also serve it with potato wedges or crispy french fries and a side dish of fresh corn on the cob.

The baked chicken also makes a delicious burger. Just sandwich between one of these crusty Portuguese bread rolls for an easy lunch or light supper.

Can I freeze peri peri chicken?

You can freeze the raw chicken in the marinade. Just tip the marinade and chicken into a ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator before baking.

Can I make it in advance?

You can safely store the chicken in the marinade in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

What can I do with the leftovers?

What leftovers? 🙂

Seriously though – this chicken is perfect served in a sandwich, or even just cut into slices and served with a plate of cherry tomatoes and a crusty breadroll for a light lunch.

If you’d like to be notified of any new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter. As a thank-you gift, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

Two peri peri chicken thighs on a white plate with rice, tomatoes and garlic bread.

Other chicken recipes

If you enjoyed this peri peri chicken, you may also like to try some of my other chicken recipes.

  • Easy garlic chicken stirfry in a crusty breadroll
  • Garlic chicken tray bake with rice
  • Orange chicken thighs with a tangy sauce
  • Crispy orange chicken
  • Peri peri chicken livers

Or why not just have a browse through my section on main meals for a bit of inspiration for your next supper.

Pin for later

Why not pin this recipe for peri peri chicken to your pinterest board so you can make it later. Just click the image below.

Nandos copycat peri peri chicken recipe

Two chicken thighs on a plate with tomatoes, mushroom rice and garlic bread.

Peri peri chicken

If you enjoy Nando's peri peri chicken, you are going to love this recipe for oven-baked peri peri chicken. Tasty chicken thighs are marinated in a spicy peri peri sauce before being baked in the oven to give you the juiciest most tender chicken pieces with the familiar peri peri flavour we all know and love.
Recipe by: Veronica
Main Course
British, South African
Calories 259
Prep 5 minutes
Marinade 2 hours
Cook 25 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
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5 from 1 vote

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Equipment

  • Mixing bowl
  • Baking sheet
  • Food processor OR
  • Sharp knife and chopping board

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 pound (450g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Marinade

  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium red bell pepper
  • 2 small bird's eye chilis or use the equivalent of dried chili flakes
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor and whizz around until very finely processed.
  • Place the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl and pour the marinade over. Mix through until the chicken is completely coated.
  • Cover the chicken and place in the refrigerator to marinade for 2 hours.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F
  • Arrange the chicken pieces on a baking tray and pour any remaining marinade over the chicken.
  • Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 75°C / 165°F
  • Remove from the oven and serve with a bowl rice or a plate of french fries, and a slice of garlic bread.

Notes

You can freeze the chicken and marinade in a ziploc bag for up to 3 months.  Allow to defrost in the refrigerator before baking.
You can store the chicken in the marinade in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When adding the chili, adjust the quantities given in the recipe to your own taste.
Substitute fresh chili for dried chili flakes to taste.
Substitute fresh garlic for garlic from a jar.

Nutrition

Calories – 259kcal | Carbohydrates – 6.3g | Protein – 33.6g | Fat – 10.8g | Saturated Fat – 2.1g | Cholesterol – 87mg | Sodium – 366mg | Potassium – 359mg | Fiber – 1.2g | Sugar – 3.4g | Calcium – 34mg | Iron – 2mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I’d love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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Filed Under: All Recipes, Main Meals

About VJ

In my previous life, I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, and you'll probably find a little South African influence creeping in due to the many years I spent there.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ethel

    21 August 2021 at 10:41 am

    I will try this

    Reply
    • VJ

      21 August 2021 at 10:57 am

      I hope you enjoy it 🙂

      Reply

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