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.
I just made your sauce this afternoon and it is fantastic! I cannot find bird’s eye chillies here in Spain, so have substituted some red ones from Morocco. I shall use this sauce with chicken livers later this week. Many thanks!!
Delicious! Enjoy the chicken livers. 🙂
This sauce was so flavorful and perfect with chicken on the grill. Great for spicy food lovers.
Thanks so much Georgia!
I noticed in the video tinned chopped tomatoes are used, what size can is that? Also how many grams would you say a cup of Bird’s Eye Chillies is?
It’s a 400g/14oz can. Regarding the chillies, I would honestly go by taste but maybe start around 50-75g and work up from there?
Thanks so much for the response, will let you know how it goes 🙂
Please do!
If you use canned tomatoes, do you put all the juice in?
It really depends on the consistency of the canned tomatoes. Some come in a super watery juice, others are almost saucier. If it’s very watery, err on the side of caution and drain. If the peri peri sauce seems like it needs more moisture, I would add some of the tomato juice back in. 🙂
Amazing. I’ve been to Portugal loads of times and this beauty beats the best beachfront restaurants. I marinaded shell-on prawns for an hour then fried them hot and quickly. (I double the garlic as I love Peri Peri that way.)
Thank you for this foolproof recipe. It will be my staple.
R
That is so wonderful to hear Richard. Thanks for your lovely comment.
Great recipe! I changed it a bit by grilling the onion and the red peppers. This gave the sauce a bit more of a pronounced savory/sweet flavor. I also used a smoking gun to add hickory smoke to it while it was being blended together.
That sounds AWESOME!
Curious – How much ground piri piri powder would you use in lieu of the fresh ones? Alternatively, how many chilis do you suppose fit in the 1 cup?
It seems 1/2 tsp roughly equals 1 chili
Yes, that sounds about right. I would taste after each teaspoon though to make sure that you’re happy with the level of heat.
I made this sauce at home,it is very delicious. Thanks
Awesome!! Delicious
Thanks!
Wow Awesome Recipe, Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks!
Thank you for this simple but fingerlickin’ recipe. I shall make it without tomatoes as they would sweeten it. The onions will be enough. Thanks again!
Hope you enjoy it!
I”ve never tried per peri sauce but by looking at ingredients I already know that I will love this sauce! Pinning!
It is a much-loved recipe in my household. I’m sure you’ll love it too! 🙂
Alida thank you so much. i cannot wait to buy another one of your cookbooks when i am home in africa and i enjoy your recipes and blogs so muchxx
Thanks so much Karien! 🙂
Count me in Alida! This sounds delicious! And I totally LOVE the video! I’ve got to get moving on those myself!
Thanks Mary Ann. I think you’ll love creating videos, we have so much fun with it.
Thanks for the recipe. You will be glad to know that it has made it as far as Melbourne and my work colleagues LOVE IT.
I did though make 3 changes to it because I am trying to cut out sugar.
I doubled the amount of garlic ( love garlic )
Removed the sugar
Halved the salt.
Still a good recipe and it fitted the Peri-Peri hole in our lives down under (you can’t get decent peri-peri here)
Awsm recipe
Thanks!
Hi Alida! This is awesome! I asked my son Leon, restaurateur/ owner of The Countess Restaurant at 27Boxes Melville for his opinion, and he was equally impressed! He has already cooked up a batch. Thanks for sharing this fool-proof recipe.
Oh I’m so pleased!! So glad you liked it.
Good one Alida 🙂 Various hot sauces are a staple in our house too. My hubby has it on EVERYTHING too, just about, (I draw the line when I make a roast dinner though…lol…he dare not ! )
Looking forward to making your sauce, got to get those chillies 🙂
I also draw the line with certain things. Especially stews/curries where I’ve spent hours to get the depth and balance perfect. 😉
We love it hot!hot!hot! Can’t wait to whip up a batch. Thank you for the recipe.
Then you will LOVE this Marisa. It is very hot but so, so good!
I first heard about this sauce last year and definitely would love to try it! Your version sounds amazing!
Thanks Sabrina! You must give it a try. It’s a goodie!
Love the color of the sauce and it’s always so better to make it at home!
Thanks so much Kankana. Definitely, sauces and condiments are just always so much better when made fresh.