Make homemade peri peri sauce in less than 30 minutes and use it as a marinade for peri peri chicken, serve it as dip or to spice up roasted veggies!
Peri peri sauce, also called piri piri sauce, it's a traditional Portuguese-African hot sauce made mostly with African Bird's Eye chili peppers.
It's the perfect sauce for spicy food lovers, and can be used to jazz up roasted veggies, or dip tortilla chips, and as a marinade to make the popular peri peri chicken. But it also goes well with other kinds of meat, and even fish and seafood.
If you're in the UK, you'll probably know that the restaurant chain Nando's made it hugely popular over the past years, and even launched a bottled version in supermarkets. The good news is, you can totally make peri peri at home, it's totally easy and it's ready in less than 30 minutes!
RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS
- quick and easy – basically no cooking skills required, and it's ready in less than 30 minutes.
- dietary restriction-friendly – this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free.
- simple ingredients – made with basic ingredients like chili peppers, tomatoes, bell peppers, spices, lemon, onion, and garlic.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
Like many traditional recipes, there are many variations out there, today I'm sharing a super simple peri peri sauce recipe I've been making for years.
The ingredients are very simple, and mostly available at any store:
- African Bird's Eye chili peppers
- lemon
- red vinegar
- bay leaves
- tomatoes
- red onion
- garlic
- bell pepper
- extra-virgin olive oil
- brown sugar
- bay leaf
- oregano
- red bell pepper
- white or red wine vinegar
African Bird's Eye chili peppers are obviously the star of this recipe. However, they might be tricky to find, so Thai chillies or another kind of long, small red chilli will definitely work well.
Remember to always be careful when handling chili peppers, use gloves, or wash your hands immediately after.
INSTRUCTIONS
Homemade peri peri sauce is super easy to make in just 3 simple steps. The whole process doesn't take more than 30 minutes.
It doesn't require any particular kitchen tool: a food processor/blender and a pan, and you're good to go.
Step 1. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Step 2. Pulse all the ingredients until reaching the desired consistency. You can blitz until creamy or leave it a little bit chunky if you like.
Step 3. Transfer the piri piri sauce in a pan and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper according to your taste. Also, you want your sauce to be sharp and slightly sour, so you might want to give it an extra kick and add more lemon juice if you like.
The sauce is now ready! Use it straight away or transfer it into an air-tight container and store it in the fridge or freezer.
FAQ
Can you freeze it?
Absolutely yes! I usually store into individual freezer-friendly containers. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
How long does it keep?
It keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week, simply store it into air-tight containers.
How to serve it?
There are endless ways to serve this piri piri sauce! The most popular use is to brush it on a chicken (whole, thighs, breast, wings) then grill it until crispy perfection.
BUT, if you're spicy food fan, you'll find endless ways to use this spicy sauce.
It gives a nice kick of flavor to loads of basic recipes such as:
- roasted potatoes
- roasted vegetables
- grilled seafood or fish
- grilled meat
And it's also great served as a dip for tortilla chips or grilled pita bread, and even veggie crudites.
More homemade Sauce Recipes To try:
Homemade Peri Peri Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 70 g African bird's eye chillies, stems removed (you can also use Thai red chillies)
- ½ red bell pepper, seeds and white parts removed and roughly chopped
- 1 ripe tomato, halved
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoon white or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor, and blitz until the mixture reaches a smooth but still chunky texture. If you want a creamy sauce, then blitz for a further 10 seconds, until creamy.
- Transfer the sauce into a small pan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove the sauce from the pan and allow to cool.
- Transfer the peri peri sauce into an air-tight container and store in the fridge for up 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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