Peri-peri sauce

Name: Peri-peri sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 60 g fresh red chilli, stems removed; 4 cloves garlic, peeled; 60 ml lemon juice; 2 tbsp wine vinegar; 1 tsp paprika; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp salt; 80 ml olive oil

Vegetarian

A hot, sharp sauce of bird's eye chillies blended with garlic, lemon, vinegar, paprika and olive oil — the Mozambican-Portuguese baste for grilled chicken and prawns.

Peri-peri sauce is a Mozambican sauce from Mozambique, ready in about 15 minutes and made with fresh red chilli, garlic and lemon juice. It serves 8 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep: 10 min
Cook: 5 min
Total: 15 min
Serves: 8
Level: Beginner
Calories: 90

Ingredients

8 servings of 30 ml

60 g Fresh red chilli (opens in a new tab), stems removedBird's eye (piri-piri) chillies, about 10–15.
4 cloves (16 g) Garlic (opens in a new tab), peeled
60 ml Lemon juice (opens in a new tab)
2 tbsp (30 g) Wine vinegar (opens in a new tab)
1 tsp (2.5 g) Paprika (opens in a new tab)Swap: Smoked paprika
1 tsp (1 g) Dried oregano (opens in a new tab)
1 tsp (6 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
80 ml Olive oil (opens in a new tab)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Blend the chillies, garlic (opens in a new tab), lemon juice (opens in a new tab), vinegar, paprika (opens in a new tab), oregano (opens in a new tab) and salt until smooth.
- 3 min
- Blender (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Don't lean over the blender when you open it — the chilli fumes sting.
2
Step 2
With the motor running, pour in the olive oil (opens in a new tab) to make a thick, emulsified sauce.
- 1 min
3
Step 3
Simmer in a small saucepan (opens in a new tab) for 5 minutes to mellow the raw garlic (opens in a new tab) and help it keep, then cool and jar.
- 5 min
- low heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
- Glass jar with lid (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Mozambique · Commonly attributedDeveloped in Portuguese-colonial Mozambique and Angola around chillies originally from the Americas; equally part of Portuguese cooking and popularised worldwide via South Africa.Also popular in Portugal, South Africa, Angola, United KingdomMore food from Mozambique
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Condiments, chutneys & relishes
Cooking method: Blended, Simmered
Taste: spicy (chilli heat), tangy, garlicky, citrusy
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · 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
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Make-ahead
Cook more with: Fresh red chilli · Garlic · Lemon juice · Wine vinegar · Paprika · Dried oregano
Techniques: Simmering · Wet grinding · Emulsification

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

90 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 31 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

Protein 1%
Carbohydrate 9%
Fat 90%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	90 kcal	288 kcal
Protein	0.3 g	1.1 g
Carbohydrate	2.1 g	6.7 g
Net carbohydrate	1.8 g	5.7 g
Sugars	0.6 g	2.1 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	0.3 g	1.1 g
Fat	9.2 g	29.5 g
Saturated fat	1.3 g	4.1 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	—	—
Sodium	293 mg	938 mg
Salt equivalent	0.7 g	2.3 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 50 mg
Calcium: 8 mg
Iron: 0.3 mg
Magnesium: 4 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 11 µg
Vitamin C: 14 mg
Vitamin D: —
Vitamin B12: —
Folate (DFE): —

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
“—” 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

Keep half for marinating raw meat and the other half, untouched, for basting and serving.

Common mistakes

Basting with the same sauce you used to marinate raw chicken — keep the serving portion separate.

Serve with

Marinade and baste for frango piri-piri (grilled spatchcock chicken) or prawns.
Splash over chips, rice or grilled fish.

Food safety

Discard any sauce that has been in contact with raw meat, or boil it before serving.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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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

Fresh red chilli, stems removed60 g
Garlic, peeled4 clove · 16 g
Lemon juice60 ml · 62 g

Used in step 1

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

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

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