PERi-PERi Chicken at Home (Nando's-Style Marinade)

Name: PERi-PERi Chicken at Home (Nando's-Style Marinade)
Prep time: 4 h 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 5 h 5 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 6 red bird's eye chillies, stalks removed (4 for medium heat); 1 red pepper, roughly chopped; 6 garlic cloves; Juice and zest of 2 lemons; 3 tbsp red wine vinegar; 4 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp caster sugar; 2 tsp flaky sea salt; 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper; 1 whole chicken, about 1.6kg; 1 tbsp olive oil, for the tray

A butterflied chicken in a chilli, garlic and lemon marinade, grilled hard so the skin chars while the meat stays juicy.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 45 min
Marinating: 4 hr
Serves: 4

Easy · Total 5 hr 5 min · Updated 12 September 2026

Why This Recipe Works

A butterflied bird lies at an even thickness, so the thighs finish at the same moment as the breast instead of thirty minutes later. It also puts far more skin in contact with the heat, which is where the char comes from.
The marinade is built on two acids doing different jobs. Lemon juice seasons and tenderises the surface; red wine vinegar carries the chilli heat deeper without turning the flesh mushy the way a long citrus soak would.
The oven first and a fierce grill second gives you cooked-through chicken with blistered skin. A grill from raw burns the outside long before the inside is safe.

How to Make It

Blitz the marinade, coat the butterflied chicken, and leave it in the fridge for at least four hours. Roast it skin up at 200C fan for about 35 minutes, then move it under a hot grill for 6 to 8 minutes until the skin blisters and blackens at the edges. Rest it for ten minutes, then cut into quarters and spoon over the reserved marinade you set aside before the raw chicken went near the rest.

Ingredients

For the marinade

6 red bird's eye chillies, stalks removed (4 for medium heat)
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

For the chicken

1 whole chicken, about 1.6kg
1 tbsp olive oil, for the tray

Instructions

1
Put every marinade ingredient in a blender and blitz to a loose, bright red paste. Spoon a third of it into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. That is your sauce for the table, and it must never touch raw chicken.
2
Butterfly the chicken: sit it breast down, cut along either side of the backbone with kitchen scissors and lift the bone out. Turn it over and press down firmly on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until the bird lies flat.
3
Slash each thigh twice, down to the bone. Rub the remaining marinade over and under the skin and into the cuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
4
Take the chicken out 30 minutes before cooking. Heat the oven to 200C fan. Oil a shallow roasting tray and lay the chicken on it, skin up and flat.
5
Roast for 35 minutes. The skin should be coloured and the marinade sizzling.
6
Heat the grill to its highest setting. Grill the chicken 12cm from the element for 6 to 8 minutes, watching it constantly, until the skin blisters and chars at the edges.
7
Check it is done: a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh should run clear, and a probe should read 75C. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting.
8
Cut into quarters, spoon the reserved marinade over, and serve with the juices from the tray.

Tips for the Best Results

Heat is set by the chillies, not the paprika. Four bird's eyes is about a medium; ten is properly hot; deseeding them takes the edge off without losing the flavour.

If the skin is colouring faster than the chicken is cooking, drop the oven to 180C fan and add ten minutes rather than covering it. Foil steams the skin soft.

A probe thermometer is the difference between juicy and dry here. Thigh meat at 75C is safe and still moist; guessing usually means 85C and stringy.

Charcoal works better than an oven if you have it. Cook it flat over indirect heat, then move it over the coals for the last few minutes.

Make Ahead & Storage

The marinade keeps for five days in a jar in the fridge and freezes for three months. The chicken can sit marinating for up to 24 hours, beyond that the lemon starts to cure the surface. Cooked leftovers keep for three days and are better shredded cold into a wrap than reheated.

What to Serve It With

Corn on the cob, boiled then charred in a dry pan
Spicy rice with red pepper and coriander
Coleslaw, for something cold against the heat
Chips, or flatbreads to mop the tray juices

Nutrition (Estimated, per serving)

Nutrient	Per serving
Energy	520 kcal
Fat	34g
of which saturates	8g
Carbohydrate	6g
of which sugars	4g
Fibre	1g
Protein	46g
Salt	2.1g

These are our own estimates, calculated from the ingredient quantities above and divided by 4 servings. They are not laboratory figures, and yours will differ with the cut of meat, the brand of each ingredient and how generously you serve it. Treat them as a guide, not a measurement.

Frequently Asked Questions About PERi-PERi Chicken at Home

How hot is this compared with a restaurant PERi-PERi?

Six bird's eye chillies lands somewhere around a restaurant medium-to-hot. The honest answer is that you should make it once at four and adjust, because chilli heat varies enormously between batches of the same variety.

Can I use chicken thighs instead of a whole bird?

Yes, and it is easier. Bone-in, skin-on thighs need about 30 minutes at 200C fan plus 5 under the grill. Keep the skin on. It is what chars.

Can I make it without a blender?

Chop everything very finely and pound it in a mortar with the salt and sugar. It will be coarser and slightly less clingy, which is no real loss.

Is this the actual Nando's recipe?

No. Nando's has never published its recipe, and we would not reproduce it if it had. This is our own version, built with the same familiar ingredients of chilli, garlic, lemon, vinegar and paprika, and our own method.

Curious what it costs to buy instead of make? The Nando's menu prices are here, with calories beside every item.