This delicious piri piri chicken starts with a spatchcocked chicken, that is oven roasted quickly in a hot oven. Served with an optional green chilli sauce.
Piri Piri (or sometimes Peri Peri) chicken is a Portuguese dish, named after the piri piri pepper that is popular there. Piri Piri is usually some combination of paprika, vinegar, garlic and hot red pepper, that is basted on to chicken while it roasts or grills.
Simply whip up the Piri Piri marinade in a food processor or blender and you’re good to go. Pop it on to a baking sheet and let it roast away for 35-45 minutes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Whole Chicken – spatchcocked chicken is becoming much easier to find at grocery stores now and has always been easily available at butcher shops. It’s well worth buying it already spatchcocked, but that said, it’s not that hard to do at home from a whole chicken.
Smoked Paprika – smoked paprika is recommended for the most authentic flavour. In a pinch, regular paprika will work here.
How to Spatchcock a Chicken
Place chicken on cutting board with breast side down and the drumsticks facing towards you. Using kitchen scissors and a sharp knife, cut down one side of the backbone, from one end to the other. Repeat on the other side. Remove and discard backbone. Flip chicken over and using the palm of your hand, press the chicken down to flatten slightly.
Cook’s Notes
The optional green chili sauce of cilantro, green chili pepper and mayonnaise is lovely with the chicken, so I highly recommend it. It was easy to prepare and made a lot, which was great, because the left-overs were nice as a vegetable dip later.
I added some sliced potatoes to the baking sheet to cook alongside the chicken, which makes for a nice sheet pan meal.
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Get the Recipe: Oven Piri Piri Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 (1) whole chicken, spatchcocked
Piri Piri Marinade:
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.46 g) dried red chilli flakes
- 1 Tablespoon (14.79 g) smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup (61 ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (14.79 ml) red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (54 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional Green Chilli Sauce:
- 2 (2) long green chillies, or jalapenos, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup (30 ml) fresh cilantro or fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 Tablespoon (7.39 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon (14.79 ml) lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (112 ml) mayonnaise, or plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup (57.5 ml) sour cream
Instructions
- Spatchcock the chicken (*how to below), if not already prepared. Thread two skewers through from side to side. (The skewers are used for easy turning of the chicken, but you can skip if you don't have skewers to use).
- Combine the Piri Piri marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425° F. (regular bake/not fan assisted). Rub piri piri marinade on to the top of the chicken. Place your chicken onto a baking sheet, skin side down. Place chicken in to pre-heated oven on the middle rack and roast for 15 minutes, basting once with the reserved marinade. Turn chicken over (skin side up. Cook chicken another 20-30 minutes, basting a couple of times with the reserved marinade, until cooked through to 165F internal temperature when measured in the thickest part of the chicken. Timing may vary (depending on the size of your chicken.
- While chicken is cooking, make the dressing by combining all ingredients in food processor or blender and processing until well combined.
- How to spatchcock a chicken: Place chicken on cutting board with breast side down and the drumsticks facing towards you. Using kitchen scissors and a sharp knife, cut down one side of the backbone, from one end to the other. Repeat on the other side. Remove and discard backbone. Flip chicken over and using the palm of your hand, press the chicken down to flatten slightly.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
First time making piri piri chicken. Great flavour , a keeper!
So glad to hear, Pina :) Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
I made this today and I must say this chicken is to die for! I bought 1.6kg whole chicken and butterflied it myself. The chicken was literally falling off the bone. I used yoghurt and parsley for the sauce. I don’t have sour cream on hand but it didn’t butter me much. Jalapeño green sauce really complimented the chicken and potatoes. Thank you!
So glad to hear, Annie :) Thanks so much!
Rather than the red pepper flakes, can you use actual bottled piri piri sauce.
Sure! If you have the sauce on hand, I’d definitely use it :)
The recipe doesn’t say what to do with the remaining 1/4 cup marinade that was set aside.
Can’t wait to try it!
Sorry Wendy. It should be used to baste the chicken a few times, while it roasts. Thanks for letting me know I missed that part. I’ve added it to the recipe.
I took out a chicken to defrost cause this baby is on the menu tomorrow. Yum
Enjoy, Kathy. A simply delicious meal!
This just might be the best looking chicken I’ve ever seen! I love piri-piri flavour!
Thanks so much, Julia.
Roast chicken with potatoes is such a classic, but I love this fresh spin with the Piri Piri marinade and green chili dressing!
Thanks Laura. It was a nice change from the usual. Left-over chicken made a great sandwich, as well!
Something that never used to bother me — working with raw meats — has started to become rather unappealing to me, as well. I never thought to have a chicken butterflied by a butcher! Haha silly me. Makes so much sense. Love the flavors here of chiles and lemon, I’m sure it just makes the chicken sing! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sophie. I’m seeing packaged (on the shelf) butterflied chicken more around here, especially during BBQ season. It’s a bit more expensive, but maybe worth it :)
Gorgeous dish! The potatoes look like chips! : ) I am craving a chicken dinner at 9am.
Thanks Crystal. Those potatoes were awesome, actually. Great with the dip!
I’ve heard of peri peri before. This looks amazing!
Thanks. The flavours were great, Cheri. Not a lot of heat. Just enough.