Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Portuguese

Piri-piri chicken

Non-vegetarian

Frango piri-piri

Spatchcocked or jointed chicken marinated in a hot sauce of fresh red chillies, garlic, lemon, paprika and olive oil, then grilled or roasted until charred and juicy.

Piri-piri chicken is a Portuguese grilled dish, ready in about 5 hours 15 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on and fresh red chilli. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
15 min
Cook
50 min
Rest
10 min
Total
5 h 15 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
731

Includes at least 4 hours' marinating (overnight is best).

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Blend the chillies, garlic (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab), paprika (opens in a new tab), oregano (opens in a new tab), vinegar, oil and salt into a smooth sauce. Set aside a few spoonfuls for basting and serving.

    Food safety: Wear gloves when handling hot chillies and avoid touching your eyes.

  2. Step 2

    Slash the chicken in the thickest parts, rub all over with the rest of the sauce and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

    • 240 min

    Food safety: Keep raw chicken refrigerated while marinating and don't reuse the raw marinade without boiling it.

    Meat coated in a spiced marinade in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Ip Photographer on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Heat a grill to medium or the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C. Cook the chicken, skin side up if roasting, turning and basting with the reserved sauce, until charred in places and cooked through.

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C at the thickest part.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Rest for 10 minutes, then cut up and serve with the remaining sauce.

    • 10 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Not attributed to one place · Origin disputedDeveloped in Portuguese-speaking Africa (notably Mozambique and Angola) from African bird's-eye chillies, and now strongly associated with Portugal's Algarve.Also popular in Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Grills & kebabs · Main courses
Cooking method
Grilled, Roasted, Marinated / cured
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), smoky, garlicky, citrusy
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Fresh red chilli · Garlic · Lemon juice · Paprika · Dried oregano
Techniques
Roasting · Grilling · Charcoal grilling · Marinating · Curing

Allergens

  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom wine vinegar

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

731 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 312 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 27%
  • Carbohydrate 2%
  • Fat 70%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy731 kcal234 kcal
Protein49.5 g15.9 g
Carbohydrate4 g1.3 g
Net carbohydrate3.3 g1 g
Sugars0.9 g0.3 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.8 g0.2 g
Fat56.6 g18.1 g
Saturated fat13.7 g4.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol197 mg63 mg
Sodium1061 mg340 mg
Salt equivalent2.7 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
588 mg
Calcium
47 mg
Iron
3 mg
Magnesium
59 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
140 µg
Vitamin C
23 mg
Vitamin D
0.5 µg
Vitamin B12
0.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
21 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Charcoal gives the most authentic flavour, but a hot oven finished under the grill works well.

Common mistakes

  • Basting with the raw marinade near the end — baste only with the reserved, untouched sauce.

Serve with

  • Serve with chips, rice and a tomato and onion salad.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a 180 °C oven until piping hot, or eat cold.

Variations

  • Mozambican-style: Coconut milk is sometimes added to the sauce in Mozambique.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like