Nando's Peri Peri Chicken Burgers

4.96 from 73 votes

Nando's Peri Peri Chicken Burgers

Recipe video above. This is my copycat of Nando's famous Peri Peri Chicken Burgers! Chicken marinated in a homemade Peri Peri sauce, seared for an authentic char, piled onto warm buns and slathered with a homemade "Perinaise" (Peri Peri Mayonnaise sauce). This is moreish, burger perfection, better than take-out!

Serve with French fries or wedges for a real-deal Nando's experience at home. Excellent for gatherings - marinade large batches of chicken, cook on the BBQ, set up a DIY burger station!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Marinating time3

Total Time3 30

Course: BBQ, Dinner

Cuisine: Portuguese

Keyword: nandos chicken burger, per peri chicken, peri peri chicken burger

Servings:

Calories: 472cal

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

Peri Peri Sauce/Marinade

1 - 3 birds eye red chilies (1 is very mild, 3 is mildly spicy) (Note 1)
1 medium red capsicum / bell pepper , roughly cut into 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces
5 garlic cloves , peeled, whole
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil , or other plain flavoured oil
4 tbsp malt vinegar (Note 2)
2 tbsp smoked paprika (substitute regular / sweet paprika)
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp onion powder (substitute garlic powder)
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
3 drops red food colouring (optional, Note 3)

Perinaise

3 tbsp Peri Peri Sauce (above)
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise (or other mayonnaise)
1/4 cup sour cream (or yoghurt)

Burgers

2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breasts or chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless (each large enough for a burger)
4 soft rolls , split and lightly toasted (if desired)
2 tomatoes , sliced
Lettuce of choice

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Prepare chicken breast - If using breast, pound to 1 cm / 0.4" even thickness (cover with go-between or freezer bags, use a meat mallet or rolling pin). Then trim each chicken piece so it is a bit larger than the buns (factor in 20% shrinkage when it cooks).
Peri Peri Sauce - Put the Per Peri Sauce ingredients in a jug and blitz until smooth using a stick blender, or other appliance of choice (food processor, blender, NutriBullet).
Marinade chicken - Pour 1/2 cup of the sauce into a bowl or ziplock bag. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Marinate for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours, in the fridge.
Perinaise - Mix together the Perinaise ingredients. Set aside.
Cook chicken - Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a fry pan over medium / medium-high heat, OR brush BBQ grill with oil then heat. Cook breast for 3 minutes on each side, thighs for 4 minutes (in batches, if they won't fit in the pan), lowering the heat as needed if they are charring too much (char = legit!).
Rest - Remove the chicken onto a plate, loosely cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. (Meanwhile, toast the rolls)
Assemble - To make the burgers, spread the base of a roll with Peri-naise. Top with lettuce, tomato then chicken, then top with more Peri-naise and extra Peri Peri sauce if desired!

Notes

1. Spiciness - Use the whole Birds Eye chillies, with the seeds. 1 is barely noticeable in the assembled burger, 3 chillies is on the low end of mildly spicy. If you like spicy, I'd go up to 5. You can always start with less, taste the sauce then add more chilli and blitz. (Remember, spiciness is diluted in finished burger).

Best substitute - Thai chillies, followed by red pepper flakes / chilli flakes (start with less, blitz, taste, repeat as needed).

2. Malt vinegar - Brown vinegar made from ale, nuttier and less sharp than most vinegars. Substitute with red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

3. Red food colouring - For legit looking Peri Peri red sauce. Entirely optional!

Leftovers - Cooked chicken will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Peri Peri sauce will keep for 3 to 4 days (or freeze 3 months), and the pink sauce will keep for at least a week.

Nutrition per burger, assuming half the pink sauce is used (average usage) and 1/2 of the Per Peri sauce is leftover too (use it for dipping, pour over veg, dollop on scrambled eggs, spread like pesto on sandwiches. SO GOOD!).

Nutrition