Make your own peri peri, or piri piri, sauce at home with this recipe. A traditional African sauce made from African Bird's Eye chilies, perfect for making Peri Peri Chicken and so much more!

Homemade Peri Peri Sauce (Piri Piri Sauce)

Make your own peri peri sauce, also called piri piri sauce, at home with this easy recipe. It's a fiery, garlicky African chili sauce made with bird's eye chilies, lemon and fresh herbs, and it's the sauce you need to make classic peri peri chicken.

I've been making this exact sauce for well over a decade and love the versatility and how easy it is to make.

You may have heard of the world's most famous brand of Peri Peri sauce - Nando's. This is a homemade version that is fairly similar.

Homemade Peri Peri sauce (or should I say Homemade Nando's?) is simple enough to make.

It requires no actual cooking, just some chopping and processing of the ingredients. It's an oil-based sauce, at least it is with our version, ideal for dipping, and it goes GREAT with chicken and seafood.

What I love most here is the heat. African bird's eye chilies give it that real peri peri fire, though you can swap in whatever red chilies you have. I use it as a marinade for chicken before grilling, as a dipping sauce, and as a finishing sauce spooned over just about anything, from shrimp to grilled vegetables. If you want it a bit tamer, I've added a milder version below using roasted red bell pepper. Same flavor, less fire.

Mike Hultquist holding a jar of homemade peri peri sauce. — My latest batch of homemade peri peri sauce.

Featured Reader Comment

"I LOVE this stuff! I made it with ripe red jalapeños with a few ghost chilis thrown it to kick it up a bit. My favorite so far is on fried chicken but it's great for cooking on the grill or broiler. Great mixed with Buffalo wing sauce!" -- Bob

Let's talk about how to make peri peri sauce, shall we?

Peri Peri vs. Piri Piri: What's the Difference?

There is no difference. Peri peri and piri piri are two spellings of the same sauce, and the same chili. "Piri piri" is generally traced to Swahili, meaning "pepper pepper." The sauce began with Portuguese cooking in Mozambique and Angola using African bird's eye chilies, and from there it spread to Portugal and beyond.

You'll see "peri peri" more in South Africa and the UK, where Nando's made it famous, and "piri piri" more in Portugal. In other parts of Africa you'll also hear "pili pili." Whatever you call it, it's the same fiery, garlicky, lemony chili sauce.

Peri Peri Sauce Ingredients

Chili Peppers. African Bird’s Eye peppers are traditional, but you can sub with other red peppers available to you, including red bell peppers. Roasted red peppers are wonderful here. Try it with fiery habanero peppers, ghost peppers, or a mix.
Fresh Garlic.
Smoked Paprika.
Fresh Herbs. Cilantro, basil (or use fresh oregano, which is more common).
Olive Oil. Or vegetable oil.
Lemon Juice.
Salt. To taste.

How to Make Peri Peri Sauce - the Recipe Overview

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process to form a smooth sauce to your preferred consistency. You can strain out some of the excess liquid if you'd like, or just use it as-is.

Enjoy! Refrigerate until ready to use.

BOOM! That's it. It's an incredibly easy recipe to make.

How to Use Peri Peri Sauce on Chicken

Peri peri chicken is the reason most of us look for this sauce, my friends. Here's how I use it.

As a marinade. Set aside some of the sauce for serving first. Rub the rest all over the chicken, under the skin as well, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight for the most flavor. The lemon juice is acidic, so don't push it much past 24 hours.
As a basting sauce. Brush more sauce on during the last few minutes of grilling or roasting, so the garlic and herbs don't scorch.
As a finishing sauce. Spoon the reserved sauce over the chicken right before serving.
Spatchcock it. A butterflied whole chicken grills evenly and soaks up the most sauce. Bone-in thighs and wings are great too.

Never reuse marinade that touched raw chicken as a serving sauce. Set the serving portion aside before you start.

For the full recipes, see my Peri Peri Chicken and Grilled Peri Peri Chicken Wings.

What to Serve with Peri Peri Sauce

Peri Peri sauce goes particularly well with grilled chicken of any kind. Peri peri chicken is the most common use for it, and I love it for peri peri chicken wings or peri peri chicken on the grill.

However, it's also wonderful with seafood, such as shrimp or whitefish. Try it on grilled vegetables!

Recipe Tips & Notes

If you can't source African Bird's Eye chilies, you can sub in an equivalent amount of red peppers of your choice.

I have made this with long red cayenne peppers, red jalapeno peppers, and fingerling peppers, even red habanero and ghost peppers, all to similar results.

Traditional ingredients also call for a variety of herbs, though ours incorporates basil and cilantro. You might try oregano, tarragon, or rosemary. Nando's uses a rosemary extract for their herb flavoring.

You'll find regional differences throughout Africa and Portugal.

How to Make a Milder Peri Peri Sauce

This one is HOT, my friends. Bird's eye chilies don't mess around. For a milder sauce with the same flavor, swap some of the chilies for roasted red bell pepper.

Medium heat: replace about half the chilies (1/2 pound) with 1 large roasted red bell pepper.
Mild: use just a handful of chilies (2 ounces or so) and 2 roasted red bell peppers.

Roast the bell peppers yourself under the broiler or over a flame, then peel and seed them. Jarred roasted red peppers work too, just drain them and pat them dry. The roasted pepper adds a sweet, smoky flavor that's really nice on chicken. You can also remove the seeds and inner membranes from the chilies to cut the heat further.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed jar and use within 1 week, or freeze in small portions for up to 3 months. It freezes perfectly. It will last longer in the refrigerator if you use garlic powder instead of fresh raw garlic and dried herbs instead of fresh.

It is not recommended to process sauces with oil in a water bath.

This Recipe Is In our Cookbook - FLAVOR MADNESS

Did you know that you can find this recipe in our new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? It's waiting for you on PAGE 52.

Hot Sauce Bottles

Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce - Set of 4. If you like the smaller bottles that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles, 5 Oz - 24 Pack.

Amazon Affiliate links, my friends! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

More Spicy Sauce Recipes

Mike holding a jar of spicy peri peri sauce

If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.

Peri Peri Sauce (Piri Piri Sauce)

This peri peri sauce is made with fiery African Bird's Eye chilies with fresh herbs, garlic, and zesty lemon juice for vibrant and authentic flavor. Learn how to make it at home.

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Course: hot sauce, Main Course, Salsa

Cuisine: African, American

Keyword: hot sauce

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 0

Total Time: 10

Calories: 58kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings:

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4.91 from 60 ratings

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Ingredients

1 pound red chilies chopped – African Bird’s Eye peppers are traditional, but you can sub with red peppers available to you
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika you can sub in other chili powders
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped oregano (I enjoy fresh basil as a substitute)
1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Salt to taste

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Process to form a smooth sauce to your preferred consistency.
Enjoy! Refrigerate until ready to use.

Video

Notes

Makes about 1.5 cups
No cooking required.
For a milder sauce, see the roasted red bell pepper variation in the post.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 58kcal Carbohydrates: 2g Fat: 5g Sodium: 2mg Potassium: 79mg Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 310IU Vitamin C: 32.9mg Calcium: 5mg Iron: 0.3mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

This sauce is gluten free.

FAQs

What is peri peri sauce made of?

Peri peri sauce is made from African bird's eye chilies, garlic, lemon juice, oil, and herbs, often with a little paprika. My version uses smoked paprika, cilantro and oregano. It's blended raw, so there's no cooking at all

Is peri peri sauce very spicy?

Yes, this version is hot. African bird's eye chilies pack serious heat, and a full pound of them makes a fiery sauce. For a milder version, swap some of the chilies for roasted red bell pepper (see the tips above).

What peppers can I use instead of African bird's eye chilies?

Thai chilies are the closest substitute and work great. Red cayenne peppers, red Fresno or red jalapeño peppers make a milder sauce. Habaneros or ghost peppers take it to the wild side.

Can I use dried chilies?

You can. Soak dried bird's eye or Thai chilies in hot water for about 20 minutes, drain, then blend as usual. The sauce will be deeper and a bit less bright than with fresh chilies.

Is this the same as Nando's peri peri sauce?

It's not a copycat, but it's the same style of sauce, with the same bird's eye chili heat, garlic and lemon. Nando's makes several heat levels and its bottled versions include vinegar. This homemade version is fresher and more vibrant.

How long does peri peri sauce last?

Keep it refrigerated in a sealed jar and use it within 1 week. For longer storage, freeze it in small portions (an ice cube tray works great) for up to 3 months. The oil may separate, just stir or shake it.

Can I can peri peri sauce?

I don't recommend water bath canning this sauce. It's oil-based, and oil-based sauces aren't safe for home water bath canning. Freeze it instead.

NOTE: This recipe was updated on October 12, 2026 with new information, including a peri peri vs. piri piri section, tips for using the sauce on chicken, a milder roasted red bell pepper variation, and a FAQ. The recipe itself was not changed. Originally published February 10, 2016.Save

Peri Peri Sauce Recipe (Piri Piri Sauce)