This is my copycat of the FAMOUS Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Burger. It is my single most requested recipe. And it’s one of FIVE of my recipes being featured in this month’s Super Food Ideas magazine!!!
Nando’s Chicken Copycat – and exciting news!!
A few months ago, I got an email that I never dreamed of receiving.
{Abbreviated} “Hi Nagi. I’m Rebecca, the editor of Super Food Ideas, Australia’s top selling food magazine….I love the way you write – friendly, understanding and self-deprecating; and also your recipes are fab.
It got me thinking, is there some way that we could work together? I think your recipes would be perfect for my readers…..If you’d be interested in looking at possibilities, email me back or just give me a call on…”
I actually gasped out loud, jumped out of my chair, did a little jiggy and picked up the phone straight away. Then I put it down, took a few deep breaths to calm myself.
“Be cool, be cool,” I said to myself. “Be professional, don’t come across like a dribbling fool.”
Well, so much for the pep talk. I made the call, tripped over my words with excitement, was convinced the editor would never take me seriously, thinking I was just a blubbering, over excited foodie….
And yet, it happened. My dream, something I never even thought of as a possibility until years down the track, has come true.
My recipes are being featured in Australia’s top selling magazine, Super Food Ideas! And not just plonked in some dark corner. There’s a WHOLE SPREAD of MY recipes with MY photos, MY words, MY ideas!! EEK!!!
When I received the mock up of the layout of the pages in Super Food Ideas for my recipes, with full page photos, I almost cried. It looked so professional it was overwhelming, so humbling, beyond what I can describe.
Look! Here it is – here’s my feature in Super Food Ideas!!
Someone once asked me why I don’t do more commercial shoots for clients. “Commercial shoots” being packaged food or food other people prepare that I then shoot for ads and catalogues. And my response was this: “I want to photograph food I love. Because my passion lies in creating food that I think is so delicious, I want to share it. With my family and friends, and on my blog! And photographing the food I love, striving to capture what I love about it so much, that’s what gets my juices flowing!”
Which is why contributing my own recipes to Super Food Ideas magazine is an opportunity that has me so excited. It really is my dream come true, sharing my own recipes and my own photos in a magazine!
Nando’s copycat Portuguese Chicken Burgers
Back to my Nando’s copycat Portuguese Chicken Burgers! I don’t think Nando’s is huge in America yet, but let me tell you, it has a cult following in Australia. I really mean it when I say this is probably my most requested recipe. If you’ve never tried Nando’s before, you are in for a treat if you try this. The marinade is incredible!
And it forms the base for a simple sauce for the burgers AND as a fabulous dipping sauce for wedges on the side!
Nando’s Peri Peri Sauce
The homemade Nando’s Peri Peri sauce is a copycat that tastes remarkably similar! It’s made with fresh red chillies, capsicum/bell pepper (this is the “secret” ingredient), garlic, vinegar, oil plus herbs and spices (paprika, oregano, onion, sugar, salt, pepper)
It’s literally a plonk-and blitz job, then just pour over the chicken.
What I really love about the Peri Peri Sauce marinade is that you can make it as burgers or not. The marinade is so full of flavour, you could easily serve it up for dinner without the buns. 🙂 Check out the caramelisation, isn’t it fab? Ooooh, the flavour infusion from the marinade…it’s incredible!
It also works as extra sauce for the burgers – OR stir it into mayonnaise to make a Pink Burger Sauce and for dipping wedges or chips (pictured above).
I asked Super Food Ideas to let me share it with you because I really wanted this on my blog. It’s one of five recipes I’ve created especially for Super Food Ideas. The other 4 are exclusive to the magazine – but never fear it’s only $3.20 (can you believe that?!) and you can get it at all the major supermarkets and newsagents in Australia.
Here’s a sneak preview of the other recipes I created for Super Food Ideas. All of them are “Double Duty” recipes where one base sauce is used as a marinade and to make a tasty side.
1. Garlic Lime Marinated Prawns (Shrimp) with Green Rice – one lime and garlic mixture used to marinate the prawns and as the flavour base for a green spinach rice;
2. Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork Cutlets with Corn and Capsicum Salsa – classic Cuban Mojo marinade is used to both infuse the pork with flavour and as a dressing to toss through the chargrilled salsa;
3. Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce and Marinated Chicken – my favourite Chinese vegetable dish uses a sauce which is also brilliant for marinating chicken; and
4. Middle Eastern lamb Koftas with Aromatic Lentil Rice – the same base spice mixture is used to flavour the kofta and to season the rice.
I hate to blow my own horn, but the green spinach coriander garlic lime rice that is made from the marinade for the prawns/shrimp is really good. REALLY good!
This Portuguese Chicken Burger is one of my “go to” recipes for when I’m entertaining large groups. I throw huge quantities of chicken and marinade into ziplock bags then make the blokes do the BBQ’ing (the girls sip wine and do important stuff like discuss the best value hairdressers in town). I lay out baskets of rolls and platters of lettuce and tomato with the Pink Sauce and Peri Peri Sauce on the side and I make everyone DIY their own burgers. NO PLATES. Te he! Napkins only! Don’t make me wash up! -Nagi x
More Burgers, Sliders and Sandwiches
Big, juicy Hamburgers
Steak Sandwich – super quick
Chicken Burger – juicy seasoned chicken breast steak with the lot!
Cubanos – The famous Cuban roast pork sandwich from The Chef movie
Pastrami Sandwiches – Rye bread piled high with homemade pastrami. EPIC!
Veggie Burger – Meatless made amazing. Puts those doughy bricks at the shops to shame!
Browse all Burgers and Sandwiches & Sliders recipes
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Nando’s Portuguese Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
Peri Peri Sauce/Marinade
- 1 – 3 birds eye red chilies (1 is mild, 3 is reasonably spicy) (Note 1)
- 1 large red bell pepper/ capsicum , cut into chunks
- 5 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp malt vinegar , or any other plain brown vinegar except not balsamic
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- Few drop of red food colouring (optional)
Pink Sauce
- 3 tbsp Peri Peri Sauce
- ½ cup whole egg mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream (or yoghurt)
Burgers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless (each large enough for a burger)
- 4 soft rolls
- 2 tomatoes , sliced
- Lettuce of choice
On the side
Instructions
- Place the Peri Peri Sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender and whizz until smooth. Pour 1/2 cup into a ziplock bag with the chicken. Marinate for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Mix together 3 tablespoons of the Peri Peri Sauce with the Pink Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a fry pan over medium high heat OR the BBQ. Add the chicken and cook each side for 4 to 5 minutes, or until dark golden brown. Remove from fry pan onto a plate, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- To make the burgers, split a roll in half and top with lettuce, tomato, chicken then Pink Sauce. Drizzle with the residual Peri Peri Sauce if desired. Serve with French fries or wedges!
Recipe Notes:
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Easy Baked Wedges
Ingredients
- 3 large Sebago potatoes , peeled and each cut into 8 wedges (Note 1)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 390F/ 200ºC fan forced (add 20C/30F for convectional).
- Toss the potatoes in onion powder, paprika and salt. Drizzle over olive oil, and toss again.
- Spread out on a baking tray, then bake for 40 to 50 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and crispy.
- Serve with Pink Dipping Sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Samia says
Just wanted to knw in pink sauce you use one whole egg. Raw?? or cooked??? I am little confused.
Nagi says
Hi Samia! I don’t use egg in the pink sauce, I use a type of mayo called Whole Egg Mayonnaise, but you can use any you want!
Daniel Burstinghaus says
My family and I absolutely love this recipe. Some of us faster eaters have to make a conscious effort to eat more slowly to make sure we don’t get bad indigestion from devouring it too quickly.
Nagi says
I have a big soft spot for this recipe so THANK YOU for trying it and letting me know you enjoyed it Daniel!!! 🙂 N x
Beck says
Don’t get me wrong, the burger was yum….but those wedges were the real star dipped into the pink sauce! My husband indicated that he’d be very happy with a massive bowl of them alone for dinner! Best homemade wedges I’ve ever had, the seasoning was great and combined with the sauce they were out of this world and perfect food for watching the footy with. I have leftover chicken and wedges for lunch today – lucky me! I’m looking forward to making it all again soon, that peri peri sauce was just perfect. Thanks for taking care of my weekend eating Nagi!
Nagi says
Woah! YAY!!! I love the wedges too, they are DELISH!!!! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!!!
Eva Domkowski says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! A Keeper for sure!
Nagi says
So glad you enjoyed it Eva! Thank you very much for coming back to let me know! N x
Linda Wiseman says
Oh Nagi,
How wonderful that you were featured and you deserve the very best!!! Maybe someday you will have your very own cooking show and all of us in America will be watching YOU cook all of your yummy creations!
Congratulations!!!!
Anna and I are sending you a big hug!
Linda
Nagi says
Hiiiiiii Linda! Oh gosh, it has been WAY TOO LONG! I have to pop over and have a read to see what you guys have been up to! <3 N x
erin from Joliette, Canada says
Delicious! Love the mayo! Will definitely make this again!
Nagi says
Thanks Erin! SO GLAD you enjoyed this!!! Personal favourite of mine 🙂
Josie Halbach says
We have 1 Nando’s in Calgary, but we’ve only gone there once….8 yrs ago. We don’t eat out often because we’re quite cheap & we prefer to make our own food. I don’t have much of an opinion in regards to comparison; I haven’t had Nando’s enough to know anything. What I do know is that this recipe is freakin’ DELICIOUS!!!
What I want to focus on though, is how much you’ve taught me about potatoes. I primarily use red potatoes. I don’t know why. I do find that sometimes they are waxy-ish. Sometimes the recipe (random recipe) is a struggle when I use reds. Since reading, following, & enjoying your recipes I have realized not all potatoes are the same. In fact they’re VASTLY different. I realize now that assuming all potatoes are the same is akin to thinking all berries are the same. I don’t know when or why I believed russets were bad & reds were the best. I recently found “strawberry blonde” potatoes. It’s like a whole new world. You’re making me expand my horizons! Between this and orzo, I’m having so much FUN!
Thank you again, the wedges were amazing. This whole recipe is so simple & incredibly rewarding.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Homemade is BEST, I think it’s so great that you don’t eat out much!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this, thanks Josie! And you know, the only reason I know the basics of different types of potatoes is because I LOVE them so much and it used to drive me up the wall when my potatoes wouldn’t come out crispy or fluffy or whatever it was supposed to be!!! 🙂
Sue says
Hi Nagi
Can I use chicken breasts in this and if so, how long to cook them for?
Thanks & loving your site.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Sue! Yup, breast is fine too. Slice them in half horizontally to make them thinner then cook for the same time per recipe!
Jenny snape says
I have used bone in chicken pieces. Can you cook these in the oven too?
Love, love , love your recipes and my family are happy with all these new recipes we’re having x
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Jenny! So glad you’re enjoying my recipes, thank you! Yup, you sure can make these in the oven. 180C/350F for around 40 minutes, until they’re beautiful dark brown!
Melissa says
Hi there, I hope you don’t mind but I’d love to share this recipe on my blog (with full credit to you and the link to your website). I made these burgers and they were just DELISH!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Of course!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Nguyet @ Taming of the Spoon says
I finally was able to make this for dinner last night and loved it! So easy to put together and so delicious. I want to smother pink sauce on everything now.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
YAY YAY YAY! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Nguyet! Isn’t the sauce ridiculously delicious?? N x
Bobbie says
Hi Nagi, nando’s is really big over here in the UK, there’s a nando’s in every big shopping outlet!!! Me and the fam absolutely love it, so when I saw this recipe we were so excited, I’m planning 2 make it 1 day this week, but the question I have is, did you use skinless chicken thighs???
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Bobbie! Yes I used skinless thighs. Sorry, did I not specify in the recipe? I am obsessed with Nando’s! And I remember from my time in the UK that it’s big over there too!!
Mike says
Boy, I wish you had amended your recipe shown here to say skinless. I have a half dozen boned, but skin-on thighs marinating in the fridge right now! Hope they turn out flavorful enough– we don’t have Nando’s restaurants here in the states (or at least in South Dakota near Mr. Rushmore) to use as a reference.
Nagi says
Don’t worry Mike! Skin on it will be just fine – actually, probably even more flavourful because you’ll get the extra juiciness from the skin! 🙂 Thank you for the tip, I will update the recipe now!
Dea@passthatplateplease says
Very rarely buy magazines but bought this at Woolies as soon as I saw your post. Congratulations, really pleased for you. I can smell the chicken in my slow cooker now, my mouths watering thinking of the crispy chicken I’m about to have for dinner. Last night made the Pad See Ew for my kids. They totally loved it. Thanks for adding a few more recipes to my repertoire, so much taste for minimal effort. Great recipes to get my children helping me in the kitchen, hopefully will be able to pass the love of cooking onto them.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Dea – thank you so much for your lovely message! I’m so touched that you got the magazine to see my recipes, I really am. 🙂 Oooh, your kids are so lucky that you make such amazing food for them! I also love that they clearly have such an international palette. 🙂 Thank you again for taking the time not only to write in but to read my feature in the magazine!!! N x
ann says
Just finished perusing SFI. A great spread Nagi – food and photography brilliant. Well done!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Oh Ann! Thank you so much, I’m so flattered that you read it!!! I was so nervous for this first one, I never told the editor that I reshot of couple of them THREE TIMES until I was happy with it!! (No hard task mind you, I was happy to eat them! And the homeless guy I take food to was extremely happy too – he especially enjoyed the prawns with the green rice!!) <3 N x
carol says
Looks so good!! I have got to try it.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hope you do!! 🙂
Immaculate says
Congratulations Nagi! They definitely picked the right person for the Job. Your pictures are flawless ! They do stand out, most important they make you hungry.
P.S I always do a guessing game when I see your pictures… and get a chuckle out of it. Well deserved Girl!!!!!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Ba ha!! I wish I could say the same for yours – but I rarely get it right! Thank you for your kind words Imma. 🙂
zonderzooi says
This burger is mouth watering! Is it possible to make the dip dairy free? I’m going to make this recipe soon but I normally don’t use much diary. Thanks!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi there! Yes you certainly can! In fact, you can just use the marinade plain as the dip 🙂 No need to add the sour cream and mayo!
Ai Ping | Curious Nut says
I am a Nandos FANATIC! I love the extra hot peri peri sauce. Omg omg omg.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I KNEW we were soul sisters!!! We have such similar tastes!! 🙂
Kevin | Keviniscooking says
I’ve never heard of Nandos until now, but this recipe is simply DE-lish! And WOW congratulations, what a wonderful, exciting, amazing and monumental achievement for you. An entire SPREAD of your recipes in a magazine. Kudos… I will hold that dream for myself as well. Everything manifests from that right? xoxo
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Ke? No Nando’s in San Diego? Hmm. Maybe I should start a franchise there!! 😉
Stella @ Stellicious Life says
CONGRATULATIONS Nagi! I’m so happy for you! (And you can be proud and do some jiggy, those pages look gorgeous!)
It’s also my dream to be featured in my country’s food magazines one day 😉
This burger looks irresistibel, pinning it!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thank you so much Stella!!! I’m still doing the jiggy, to be honest. 🙂 Still can’t believe this is happening!! 🙂 N x