Hold onto your taste buds because we’ve got something special for you! These Peri Peri Chicken Drumsticks are packed with next-level savory flavors that are absolutely out of this world. Trust us, you won’t want to miss out on this amazing East African dish.
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What is peri peri chicken?
Peri peri chicken is a delicious chicken dish named for its fiery sauce. Peri peri is a rich and spicy chili sauce that is used to marinate chicken. Traditionally, the peri peri sauce is made with African bird’s eye chili, a spicy pepper native to the Eastern African coastline.
The first peri peri recipe came about in Mozambique, a country bordering the Indian Ocean. As the dish became more popular, it spread to various regions of Africa.
Some regions use the African bird’s eye chili that grows in Mozambique, but others use local peppers of a similar spice level. We personally use jalapeño and Fresno peppers! We find that the combo of jalapeño and Fresno peppers offers the perfect amount of heat without being overly spicy.
How did peri peri chicken get its name?
The name for this flavorful chicken recipe has a pretty simple origin story! The African bird’s-eye chili historically used for the chicken marinade is called piri-piri in Portuguese, the native language of Mozambique.
How to make Peri Peri chicken
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make the peri peri sauce:
- Add the roasted red bell pepper, garlic cloves, tomato, Fresno pepper, red onion, and jalapeño pepper to a food processor.
- Squeeze lemon juice in the food processor, then pour in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and honey.
- Next, add the oregano, paprika, pepper, and cumin.
- Pulse until you have a saucy marinate
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken drumsticks
- Pour the marinade over the drumsticks.
- Bake the marinated chicken drumsticks in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Broil for an additional 5 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy!
- Serve hot!
How to store peri peri chicken
Peri peri chicken is so delicious it is doubtful that you’ll have any leftovers. But if you do, it’s super easy to store! Just pack the extra chicken in an airtight container. It will last in the fridge for 3-5 days.
If you have kids who like a little spice, we have a trick for you! We pull any leftover chicken off of the bone and store it in shreds/strips. This makes preparing lunch boxes so easy!!
Other amazing chicken recipes
We’re sort of in love with a solid chicken dinner in our home! Here are some of our favorites that are packed full of flavor.
- Our Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets are the most nostalgic treat. The best part is that they are way healthier than the fast food version!
- One of our most popular recipes is our Marry Me Chicken. It is the creamiest chicken recipe, and the flavors are out of this world!! If you like how rich our peri peri chicken is, then you will love Marry Me Chicken!
- If you couldn’t tell, we like easy recipes you can prep and bake in the oven. Our Bruschetta Baked Chicken is exactly that! The tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, and balsamic are just *chefs kiss*
- Our Instant Pot Chicken Fajita is another yummy chicken recipe that is super hands-off. It is a weeknight staple in our homes!!
Peri Peri Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 8 ounces jarred roasted red peppers
- 1/2 medium tomato
- 8 cloves peeled garlic
- 1 large fresno peppers
- 1/2 red onions
- 1 jalapeno, seeded
- 1 squeeze lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 4-5 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 12 drumsticks)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Make the peri peri sauce: Add the roasted red bell pepper, tomato, garlic cloves, fresno pepper, red onion, and jalapeño pepper to a food processor. Squeeze lemon juice then pour in apple cider vinegar, olive oil and honey. Next, add in the oregano, paprika, pepper and cumin. Pulse until you have a saucy marinate.8 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, 1/2 medium tomato, 8 cloves peeled garlic, 1 large fresno peppers, 1 squeeze lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon dried oregano, 1 Tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 red onions, 1 jalapeno, seeded, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon cumin
- in a 13×9 baking dish arrange your drumsticks. Sprinkle salt and pepper2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken, 4-5 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 12 drumsticks)
- Pour the marinade over the drumsticks. Give it a mix to make sure everything is coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 30 minutes. (The longer it marinates, the better!)
- Bake the marinated chicken drumsticks in the oven for 45 minutes. Broil for an additional 5 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy! (keep an eye on it so it does not burn!)
Equipment
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
With what do you serve this for making it a whole meal? Would love some suggestions! 🙂
It goes well with pretty much everything! Smashed potatoes, rice, sweet potato fries, Caesar salad, baked broccoli mac and cheese, and parmesan brussels sprouts are all great options. We hope you enjoy!
Xo,
Alia & Radwa
Do you take the chicken out of the marinade before baking?
No, you can bake them directly!
Xo,
Alia & Radwa
Can I make this chicken in an air fryer?
We haven’t tested it but think it would work. We would love to know how it goes if you do give it a try!
Xo,
Alia & Radwa
Can you remove the skin first? Or will the sauce make the chicken chewy?
Thanks!
Yes, you definitely can! However, the skin won’t get crispy!
Is there anyway to make it less spicy? I would like to try Peri Peri chicken, but can only handle a mild spice level.
yes, you can keep out the jalapeño!
Really enjoyed this recipe! I took some of the marinade off the chicken for baking and cooked it a bit for a sauce at the end. Leftovers will be amazing!
Yay! Glad you loved this recipe!
Do you drain the jarred red peppers or keep the juice? Thanks!
Yes, it is drained!
Wonderful, but in the directions you forgot to mention put again the half tomato!
Good catch! The recipe has been updated. xo, Alia & Radwa
So much flavor! We didn’t have any Fresno so we just did double jalapeño and added a smidge of chipotle. I do recommend pulling the chicken out and broiling on all sides to crisp up. Super flavorful and my 4 year old loved helping. She loves trying other cuisines. Total hit!
Yay! Glad it was a hit, and love the modifications! xo, Alia & Radwa
This recipe was just okay for us. You’d expect it to be more flavorful with all those good veggies but it was a bit bland. It also did not crisp up like the picture implies; we ended up peeling all the gooey skin off, chopping the chicken off the bones, and mixing it with a different sauce as to not waste food. There’s also a tomato in the photos but not in the ingredients. We added one assuming the photo was correct but who knows.
Oh no! Sorry to hear that this recipe was not a winner. The tomato is updated on the blog, sorry about that! Next time – try broiling the chicken for a couple minutes to crisp up the skin! Thanks for giving this recipe a try! xo, Alia & Radwa
Thanks so much! We will have to try again with the broiling trick. Looking forward to trying your recently posted apple cinnamon roll casserole soon too!