Nando's chicken thighs, a delicious piri piri/peri peri chicken, are an easy, homemade, spicy version of the popular restaurant dish.
Nando's chicken thighs are marinated in a tasty piri piri sauce, giving them a nice kick of spice. They’re crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, making them a flavorful choice for any meal.
For more flavorful chicken recipes, check out Baked Chicken and Sweet Potatoes, Teriyaki Chicken Thighs in the Oven, Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs, or Sticky Honey Lime Chicken Thighs with Soy Sauce.
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What is Piri Piri Chicken?
A copycat of a famous restaurant dish: Nando's Peri Peri Chicken, a chain restaurant originating in South Africa.
This dish uses peri peri sauce, a spicy marinade made from bird's eye chilies, garlic, and lemon. Originally from Portugal, it's known as piri piri in Portuguese and peri peri in South Africa. You can buy the sauce in small bottles, but a little goes a long way.
Use it to make this Peri Peri Dip, for instance. Or try our easy-to-make, super-hot Peri Peri Seasoning. If you can't get the sauce, make this amazing Homemade Hot Peri Peri Sauce.
Recipe ingredients
The chicken: This recipe is typically made with a whole chicken, cut into pieces, marinated, and cooked. However, I used whole legs, splitting them into drumsticks and thighs, though you can use just thighs or drumsticks. I prefer thighs for their extra meat.
The chilies: I used 4 regular red chilies, which are not very spicy, and added one Bird's eye chili for extra heat. It was hot enough for us, but you can adjust the number of Bird's eye chilies to your taste. If children aren’t eating and you like spicy food, try using at least 2.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make Nando's chicken thighs?
Blend the ingredients for the marinade together, marinate the thighs for several hours or overnight, and bake. The result is utterly delicious meat, crispy and spicy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside.
Marinate the chicken
Roughly chop all the ingredients and place them into a food processor. Process until you get a rough paste. Massage the paste into the meat, then cover the dish with cling film and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Cook Nando's chicken
The original recipe is made on the barbecue, but since grilling only happens a few times each summer, it’s not always an option for a quick family dinner.
So, I use the oven instead, which is my favorite way to cook chicken. It's versatile, easy, and always a hit in our house - I've got plenty of recipes on the blog to back that up! Check out Oven-Baked Chicken Thighs, Honey Mustard Chicken Legs, or Roasted Chicken with Vegetables.
To cook Nando's chicken thighs perfectly, all you have to do is place the marinated pieces on a baking tray and bake them for about 45-50 minutes or until the juices run clear.
Remember to baste the meat with the marinade and juices from the tray every 15 minutes or so.
How to serve Nando's chicken?
Serve immediately with any kind of side dish you like. Perfect would be Simple Buttered Rice or any simple rice dish.
Rice and White Cabbage Salad or Purple Cabbage and Carrot Coleslaw would be nice, as would any kind of potato, such as Polenta Potatoes. You could serve the tighs the way the Portuguese serve them: with fries and lettuce, tomato and onion salad.
Store and reheat
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm it in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 15 minutes or until heated through.
You can also freeze the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge and reheat well before serving.
Nando's Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Large ceramic bowl or ceramic/glass baking dish
- Large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs Note 1
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- 4 red chilies Note 2
- 1-2 Bird's eye chilies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 green onions
- 3 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons flaked sea salt
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Marinate chicken thighs:
- Chop chilies: Remove the chili seeds (or leave them for extra heat), roughly chop the chilies, and place them in a food processor.4 red chilies + 1-2 Bird's eye chilies
- Make the marinade: Roughly chop the garlic and green onions. Add them to the food processor together with the parsley, torn bay leaves, ground coriander, sweet paprika, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil. Process until you obtain a rough paste.4 garlic cloves + 3 green onions + 3 tablespoon parsley + 2 bay leaves + 1 teaspoon ground coriander + 2 teaspoons sweet paprika powder + 1 teaspoon sugar + 2 teaspoons flaked sea salt + 5 tablespoons lemon juice + 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Marinate the chicken: Place the chicken parts in a large ceramic or glass casserole dish. Add the peri peri sauce and massage it well into the chicken. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.4 chicken thighs + 4 chicken drumsticks
Cook Nando's chicken:
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Roast chicken: Place the pieces on a large, lightly oiled baking sheet, skin side up. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, basting with the pan juices and marinade every 15 minutes.
- Check doneness: Make a small cut into the thickest part of the chicken leg, near the bone - if the juices are clear and the flesh white with no hint of pink or red, it's done. The internal temperature measured with an instant-read thermometer should be 165°F/ 74°C.
Notes
- Chicken: You can either use a whole chicken cut into 8 parts, 4 chicken quarters divided into thighs and drumsticks at the joint, or 8 chicken thighs.
- Regarding the red chilies, the ones I used weren't particularly hot. However, Bird's eye chilies are quite spicy, so I only used 1. Adjust the quantity of chilies based on your preference and how much heat you prefer.
john says
Why is there no mention of oven temperature?
Adina says
Of course, there is. Step 4 in the instructions: 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
mjskitchen says
What a mouthful of flavor with every bite. This sounds and looks delicious!
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Such a delicious marinade, Adina! Love the flavors. I'm sure the whole family would be crazy about it!
Foodido says
Its not South African. It was created by Portuguese settlers in Mozambique. Nandos is South African.
Sissi says
I've never had piri piri chicken either and like you have heard about it so many times... It's been on my tasting list for my first trip to Portugal (not even planned yet!), but your chicken looks soo good I might try your recipe and make it at home first!
Adina says
It is really a no fuss recipe, Sissi, you should definitely make it yourself.
angiesrecipes says
Very very delicious! I need to make this soon!