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Peri-Peri Sauce

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Author: Imma
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Peri-Peri Sauce is a blend of spicy African bird’s eye chili mostly grown in African countries. It’s sour, a little sweet, and slightly salty, making it a complex and versatile sauce you can use on almost anything.

Peri Peri Sauce in a bowl ready to serve on your favorite entree

My version of this hot sauce includes hot chili peppers from one of the Asian vendors at my local farmers’ market. They carry a lot of fresh produce (vegetables and fruits) that are hard to get in a regular grocery store. So check out your local farmers’ market for unexpected treats. You can find this chili pepper (or a close relative) in Asian, Latin, and some Indian markets, but you could also use jalapenos.

The traditional African sauce blends chilies with fresh garlic, red chili pepper, basil, onions, and oregano. Add smoked paprika, salt, lemon, and olive oil to the mix for pure spicy goodness.

This tangy and savory hot sauce is pleasantly intense. However, if you don’t care for a lot of acidity in your pepper sauce, try my African pepper sauce. Enjoy!

Content…

What Is It?
Recipe Ingredients
How to Make It
Recipe Alternatives
Recipe Tips
Make-Ahead, Serving, and Storage Instructions
How to Use It
More Easy Sauces to Spice up Your Life
Watch How to Make It
Spooning up beautifully spicy Peri Peri Sauce in a Glass Jar

What Is Peri Peri? 

The Portuguese brought this pepper to Africa from South America, and the name pilipili (pili-pili, piri-piri, and peri-peri) simply means pepper in Swahili. We also call it African bird’s eye chili. The classic piri-piri or peri-peri sauce recipe contains red chili peppers, garlic, oil, and acid (which could be from lemon or vinegar). This sauce delivers a spicy condiment or marinade as an essential part of our food preparation.

Recipe Ingredients

What you need to make this recipe
  1. Fresh Red Chili Peppers – Any hot red peppers that add flavor or heat to the sauce work fine: Piri piri, Thai bird’s eye peppers, cayenne, serrano, scotch bonnet, habanero, etc., whatever you can find. A red bell pepper doesn’t hurt, either.
  2. Jalapeños – The green has more flavor, while the red has more heat. Mexican cuisine is the most famous for this mildly spicy pepper, but it’s also widely used in other cuisines.
  3. Seasonings – Garlic, basil, oregano, onions, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper smooth everything out for a robust and savory flavor.
  4. Olive Oil provides a slightly fruity flavor. It’s my go-to oil for dressings and sauces like this one.
  5. Acidity – Lemon juice and dark vinegar balance the spice and oil for a perfect hot sauce. Apple cider vinegar adds a touch of fruitiness if that’s what you have on hand.

How to Make Peri-Peri Sauce

Get your ingredients together and puree
  • Puree the red peppers, jalapeno pepper, chili peppers, garlic, basil, oregano, and onions in a food processor or blender. 
  • Blend. Add olive oil to facilitate blending. Then add smoked paprika, lemon juice, black pepper, and vinegar and mix well. Adjust for salt and seasonings. Refrigerate and use when ready.

Recipe Alternatives

  1. Ginger adds more zing and spice to piri-piri sauce, along with subtle sweetness and a peppery flavor.
  2. Make it mild. Use red bell peppers, fresh mild paprika, or any other sweet pepper for a heat-free version.
  3. Garlic peri peri sauce. Double or triple the garlic for an even more flavorful sauce.
  4. Lemon zest. Add the zest from your lemon for a little extra.

Recipe Tips

  1. Saute savory ingredients like onions and garlic to give the sauce a caramelized flavor.
  2. Roasting your fresh peppers adds an extra layer of flavor. Yum!
  3. If you only have dried chili peppers, soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes, drain, and puree as you would fresh.

Make-Ahead, Serving, and Storage Instructions

This recipe is an ideal make-ahead because it lasts about 2 weeks in the fridge. I’ve heard it will last for six weeks because the vinegar acts as a preservative, but my jar is always empty before two weeks are up.

To freeze it for later, pour the sauce into ice cube trays. As soon as it freezes solid, pop the cubes into a freezer ziploc bag for tablespoon portions of hot sauce. You can freeze it for up to six months.

How to Use Peri Peri Sauce

The spicy goodness of this hot sauce pairs excellently with roasts, skewers, burgers, wraps, and fried foods. Peri-Peri marinated chicken skewers and peri-peri chicken are two classics. But you can replace the hot sauce in any recipe with peri peri sauce for a delicious twist. Nashville hot chicken and African meatballs in tomato sauce are excellent dishes to add a spoonful to.

More Easy Sauces to Spice up Your Life

  1. White BBQ Sauce
  2. Enchilada Sauce
  3. Tzatziki Sauce
  4. Homemade Buffalo Sauce
  5. Chimichurri Sauce

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”XGbJ5cf5″ upload-date=”2021-08-09T13:41:59.000Z” name=”Peri Peri Sauce” description=”Peri-Peri Sauce is a blend of African bird’s eye chili that is mostly grown in African countries. It is sour, a little sweet, and slightly salty- making it a really complex and versatile sauce that you can use on almost anything.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]

This blog post was first published in June 2014 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video

Spooning up beautifully spicy Peri Peri Sauce in a Glass Jar
Print

How to Make Peri-Peri Sauce (Piri-Piri)

A blend of spicy African bird's eye chili mostly grown in African countries. It's sour, a little sweet, and slightly salty, making it a complex and versatile sauce you can use on almost anything.
Makes about 2 cups
4.89 from 26 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
African
Servings 16

Ingredients

  • ½ medium red pepper
  • 2-3 fresh jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped, seeds removed
  • 6 fresh chili pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 5-6 cloves garlic
  • 4 large basil leaves
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh oregano
  • ¼ cup (40g) onions, chopped
  • 1 cup (240ml) olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon (7g) smoked paprika
  • lemon juice to taste
  • 1½ teaspoons salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon (3g) freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup (60ml) dark vinegar (optional)

Instructions

  • Puree the red peppers, jalapeno pepper, chili peppers, garlic, basil, oregano, and onions in a food processor or blender. 
  • Add olive oil to facilitate blending. Then add smoked paprika, lemon juice, black pepper, and vinegar and mix well. Adjust for salt and seasonings. Refrigerate and use when ready.

Tips & Notes:

  • Saute savory ingredients like onions and garlic to give the sauce a caramelized flavor.
  • Roasting your fresh peppers adds an extra layer of flavor. Yum!
  • If you only have dried chili peppers, soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes, drain, and puree as you would fresh.
  • Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 2tablespoons| Calories: 141kcal (7%)| Carbohydrates: 2g (1%)| Protein: 0.4g (1%)| Fat: 15g (23%)| Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)| Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g| Monounsaturated Fat: 11g| Sodium: 220mg (10%)| Potassium: 57mg (2%)| Fiber: 1g (4%)| Sugar: 1g (1%)| Vitamin A: 599IU (12%)| Vitamin C: 6mg (7%)| Calcium: 22mg (2%)| Iron: 1mg (6%)
Author: Imma
Course: Condiment, sauce
Cuisine: African
Diet: Gluten Free
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Comments & Reviews

    • Imma says

      Good questions. Considering the size, I would replace the 6 chili peppers with ¾ teaspoon of the powdered chili peppers. Of course, adjust to your desired fire factor. I would also be tempted to add a whole bell pepper instead of just a half to keep the final amount close to the same.

      Reply

    • Imma says

      This sauce lasts a while in the fridge, thanks to the vinegar. Rumor has it that it will last up to three months, but I’ve never been able to keep it around long enough to test that theory. And yes, you can freeze it for up to six months.

      Reply

    • Imma says

      Sounds amazing, thank you so much for your valuable thoughts and your amazing experience with the recipe:) Try some other recipe I am sure you will like them too!

      Reply

    • Imma says

      The oil and vinegar in the recipe act as natural preservatives, so it should last refrigerated at least 3 weeks. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  6. Ronald Munda says

    Such a tasty spicy sauce , tastes so good if you use it as a marinade for chicken or on braai beef .I am now making a jar weekly my family loves it .
    thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  7. ryvir says

    5 stars
    This sauce is very good. Used serranos instead of the other chiles since not really in season. Will try again with home grown chiles later.

    I have made several of your recipes and all have been great. We have your gumbo (minus the seafood) probably 2-3 times a month.

    Reply

  8. Chris Leigh says

    5 stars
    Great to cook when the whole family gets together. I use 2 chickens and there is ample sace. Cooked on the webber bbq for about an hour. Served with fresh green salad, pearl couscous with fetta and sun dried tomatoes and crusty bread.

    Reply

  11. Flora Ben says

    5 stars
    LOVE LOVE LOVE! Can’t use too much pepper because of my kids but we ALL love this. Our favorite way to make chicken.

    Reply

  12. Stuart Dickson says

    I’m from Africa, made peri peri many times and used to own a peri peri chicken take away. I appreciate that everyone will have their own version but I can assure you that basil and oregano are not traditional ingredients.

    Reply

    • Ev says

      Exactly because black people don’t traditionally use those two in Africa and the Caribbean. So you are absolutely right.

      Reply

    • Liz Solan says

      This sauce is amazing. Use half the batch to marinade shrimp. Then grill the shrimp on skewers with shishito peppers. My all time favorite dinner! Use the second half to marinate cubed chicken breast. Then make a sheet pan dinner with the cubed piri piri chicken, cubed sweet potatoes, sliced red onion, sliced red pepper, and califlower baked at 350 fr about 30 minutes. Best dinners!

      Reply

  13. Lisa says

    I was recently in Mozambique. I absolutely fell in love with the food. In addition to piri piri chicken was potatoes, matapa, and the most delicious bread I have ever eaten. It was so light, not bloating. I have been searching the internet for this bread. Do you know this bread or have a recipe. I think it is called Pao or Portuguese bread. It’s hard to find a reliable recipe online with English measurements. Please help! I’ve been jonesing this bread since I’ve been home

    Reply

  14. Gayle says

    5 stars
    Top notch recipe. Love it. I did not have red pepper, so I used red and green jalapenos (no seeds) for substitution.
    It still came out great. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  15. FERNANDO SEMIAO says

    5 stars
    My family is from Portugal and Brasil. My mother gave me seeds from Peri Peri plants that she brought back from Brasil 30 years ago. I’ve been growing them yearly and use them to make sauce. All my friends beg us for bottles. I use white vinegar to preserve the peppers and blend them as I open up new jars. They last for years in the fridge this way.

    Reply