Homemade Peri-Peri Sauce
Deeply flavorful African Peri-Peri Sauce made with bird’s eye chillies, onions, peppers, garlic & lemons. This sauce is a must-have for spicy food lovers.
I hope you’re ready for a bit of fiery, kick ass condiment Heaven because I’m serving it up big time today. This homemade peri peri sauce recipe is the bomb and you should have a jar in your fridge at all times to serve on everything from sandwiches to juicy chicken.
As a South African, my house is never without a few bottles of this glorious red hot sauce. We use it on everything from chicken, steak and pork to adding it to marinades and dressings. If you’re my brothers (or any member of my extended family, really), you eat it on absolutely everything.
What is peri peri sauce?
Peri-peri sauce (or piri-piri sauce) is an African chilli sauce made with spicy chillies (African bird’s eye chilies brought to Africa by the Portuguese) blended with aromatics like garlic, onion and herbs.
For me it’s the perfect mix between Harissa and a classic Hot sauce. You have the flavor depth and character of Harissa with the punchy kick of hot sauce, and then some. Some versions are so hot in fact, that just smelling them will make your eyes water. This recipe packs serious heat but I’ve tempered it with roasted red bell peppers, tomatoes (not super traditional) and lots of lemon juice, vinegar and herbs. You can also thin it out with a little more olive oil and a splash of water if you want it to be more “saucy”.
Ingredients and Substitutions
The key ingredient to any peri-peri sauce is the African bird’s eye chili you find in markets and stores all over Southern Africa. If you struggle to find bird’s eye chillies Thai chillies or any long, small red chilies will work well. Serrano peppers or Fresno peppers can also work but if you can get your hands on African chillies, use them. You won’t regret it.
- African Bird’s eye chillies. Use any red, small chilli/chili peppers as a substitute.
- Red bell pepper.
- Red onion.
- Fresh garlic cloves.
- Tomatoes.
- Olive oil. I used extra-virgin olive oil but feel free to use any oil of your choice.
- Red wine vinegar. White vinegar can be substituted.
- Fresh lemon juice.
- Bay leaves.
- Dried oregano.
- Smoked paprika.
- Salt and black pepper.
- Sugar.
How To Make Peri-Peri Sauce
1. Blend
Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend into a smooth paste.
2. Cook
Transfer the blended paste to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
3. Store
Transfer to jars or an airtight container and allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Can I make this in advance?
You can store the cooked sauce in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container or jar and it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Transfer the sauce to freezer-safe containers before freezing.
Serving Suggestions
The best way to use this delicious sauce is by slathering a chicken with it and grilling it over a wood fire until the skin is dark, crisp and gnarly from the chillies (and is inspired by a classic Nando’s chicken). It’s also amazing on shrimp/prawns, chicken wings, pork or beef. But as I said, it’s a pretty versatile sauce and can be used in marinades, dipping sauces or dressings and I even add small amount to sauces, stews and other dishes to add not only a spicy kick but also serious depth of flavor. And once you’ve made this you’ll find it hard not to crave it and put it on/in everything. You’ve been warned.
Recipe ideas:
Video
Ingredients
- 2 red onions peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 head of garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 cup African bird’s eye chillies stems removed
- 2 red bell peppers seeds removed and roughly chopped
- 3 ripe tomatoes skins removed and roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- juice and zest of 3 lemons
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor/blender and mix until all the ingredients are finely chopped and the mixture is quite saucy.
- Transfer to a saucepan over medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent the sauce from burning.
- After 20 minutes, check the seasoning and adjust. The sauce should be well balanced with a good kick of spice and sourness from the lemon and vinegar.
- Pour into jars/bottles and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Love this recipe & make it often!
So happy to hear that!
An absolutely amazing sauce that turned out incredibly authentic! The fresh garden chilies, lemons, and bay leaves really made all the difference. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Great recipe, I used dried chillies and it still tasted awesome. You can use honey to sweeten it a bit if needed
Amazing, I grow my own serano,s so will let you know how it go. I do a lot of other sauces, but your mix sounds awesome
Lordy me, at last a wonderful recipe that has silenced my critics at last. God bless and thank you ever so much.
Excellent recipe.
Remember to reduce the amount of chilis when using dried chilis. One cup of dried chilis is just too much.
Ask me how I know. 🙂 🙂
Yes DEFINITELY only use fresh chillies 😉
I moved from ZA to north Italy in late 2020; and successfully grew African Birds Eye chilies this past summer.
I used a similar recipe to yours but I added added a piece of fresh ginger to the mix. That gave it an extra layer of flavour.
Soooo delicious.
Hi! Love this recipe, but can you give an approximate grams equivalent for 1 cup of fresh chillies? Internet search throws up some wildly different results! 🙂
I would work on around 150-200g. But honestly, you can use more than that and this recipe will still be delicious. It’s not an exact science.
Hi – looking forward to giving this a try. How much birds eye chilli power can I use instead of the chillies?
I would start with a teaspoon but you really need the texture from the chillies to make this sauce.