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The Best Air Fryer Piri Piri Chicken Recipe

The Best Air Fryer Piri Piri Chicken Recipe - delicious spicy, tangy piri piri chicken that tastes just like Nandos in the air fryer!

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Marinating Time
4 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 593 kcal
Course: Main Course

Ingredients

1 cup piri piri sauce, divided:
  • 1 tbsp red chilies diced*
  • 8 cloves garlic diced*
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika*
  • ½ cup cilantro tightly packed*
  • ¼ cup basil tightly packed*
  • ½ cup olive oil or avocado oil*
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice*
  • Salt to taste*
  • *OR 1 bottle Nando's Sauce 9.2 oz (we prefer garlic medium)
For The Chicken:
  • 2 lbs chicken we prefer chicken drumsticks, chicken thighs, or chicken wings - but can use chicken breasts too
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp celtic sea salt
  • 1 tsp Fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Place all piri piri sauce ingredients in blender and pulverize until smooth and liquid.
  2. Place drumsticks in a bowl or a plastic bag and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Toss to coat.
  4. Pour 1/2 cup of homemade piri piri sauce (about 1/2 nandos sauce bottle) over chicken to marinate. Save other half of sauce for basting chicken while it cooks (do not baste chicken with sauce that has touched raw chicken.)
  5. Marinate chicken in sauce at least 1 hour, covered in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator. Marinate for 4 hours for ideal flavor, up to overnight.
  6. Preheat air fryer at 400 for 5 minutes.
  7. Place chicken in air fryer basket and cook for 10 minutes on 400. Discard sauce chicken was marinating in, do not use to baste chicken.
  8. Remove basket and flip chicken drumsticks, baste with piri piri sauce.
  9. Cook at 400 for another 10 minutes.
  10. If chicken is not 165 degrees internally, add another 5 minutes of cook-time and baste again.
  11. Time can vary based on chicken size, so check the temperature with a digital thermometer after cooking to prevent over or under cooking.
  12. When chicken has reached 160 degrees internally, remove from air fryer and let carryover cook and rest for 10 minutes.
  13. Serve with additional sauce to dip in, and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving 1g Calories 593kcal (30%) Carbohydrates 5g (2%) Protein 55g (110%) Fat 37g (57%) Saturated Fat 9g (45%) Polyunsaturated Fat 25g Cholesterol 215mg (72%) Sodium 1031mg (43%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 3g (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 593

% Daily Value*

Serving 1g
Calories 593kcal 30%
Carbohydrates 5g 2%
Protein 55g 110%
Fat 37g 57%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Polyunsaturated Fat 25g 147%
Cholesterol 215mg 72%
Sodium 1031mg 43%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 3g 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.