Love the Peri Peri butterfly chicken breasts you get at Nando’s? Well, now you can make your own with this fakeaway version of a Nando’s favourite!
Fakeaway Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly
One of my favourite Nando’s recipes is the Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly – two chicken breasts, joined by crispy flame-grilled skin, infused with Nando’s Peri Peri marinade. So good!
To create a fakeaway version of this Nando’s classic, I’ve slightly adapted the recipe to make it more achievable at home… Instead of using two small chicken breasts, joined by the skin, I’ve used one larger chicken breast per person and ‘butterflied’ the chicken breasts to give them more surface area for that delicious peri peri marinade!
How to butterfly a chicken breast
If you’ve never butterflied a chicken breast before, don’t panic – it’s much easier than it sounds!
Using a sharp knife, cut the chicken breasts ALMOST in half horizontally, then open them up like a book.
Not only does this give the chicken breasts twice the surface area for that delicious marinade… it also means they cook much faster!
Homemade Peri Peri Marinade
The next step is to marinate the chicken breasts in my delicious (and super popular) homemade Peri Peri Chicken marinade.
It’s so simple to make, but totally tastes like the real deal!
All you need to do is mix together olive oil, dried chilli flakes, garlic, lime juice, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
You can adjust the heat by using more or less chilli flakes. Exact ‘hotness’ will depend on the brand of chilli flakes, but as a rough guide go for:
- 1 teaspoon = mild
- 2 teaspoons = medium
- 3 teaspoons = hot
- 4 teaspoons = extra hot
Ideally, cover and marinate the chicken for 1 hour in the fridge. But if you don’t have time, don’t worry – this recipe still tastes good, even if you don’t have any extra time to marinate!
Griddle to perfection!
The final step is to fry the marinated chicken breast in a really hot griddle pan for 4 minutes on each side – or until completely cooked all the way through.
No griddle pan? No problem – you can fry the chicken in a regular frying pan – it will still taste good! You just won’t get any of those pretty char lines.
(See below for the full recipe.)
What to serve with Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly?
Serve Homemade Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly with all your favourite Nando’s sides, such as:
- Spicy rice
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Rainbow Coleslaw
- Macho Peas
- Chips (fries)
- Corn on the cob
- Sweet potato wedges
- Roasted Peri Peri Sweet Potato Cubes
- Spiced Grains and Butternut Squash
- Long Stemmed Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic
- Garlic bread
- Creamy mash
- Mixed leaf salad
What to drink with Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly?
This Nando’s Butterfly Chicken fakeaway tastes great with a zingy South African Sauvignon Blanc or an oaky South African Chardonnay. Alternatively, it also goes well with a fruity Portuguese or South African rosé.
What to do with leftover Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly?
Got some leftover Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly? Not a problem! It’s delicious cold the next day… perfect for packed lunches and picnics! Simply put any leftovers in a lidded container and place in the fridge, where they will keep for up to 3 days.
Serve cold, or reheat at 180C (160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F) for 10 minutes (or until piping hot all the way through).
Can you freeze Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly?
Absolutely! Once cooked and cooled, put the Peri Peri Chicken Butterfly into a lidded container or plastic freezer bag and place in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 1 month.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and serve cold or reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Homemade Nando’s Chicken Butterfly
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes (or to taste – see Note 1)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed or grated)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Black pepper to taste
- 4 chicken breasts (roughly 150g / 5¼oz each)
Instructions
- Mix together all of the ingredients (except the chicken breasts!) in a large bowl to make the peri peri marinade.
- Using a sharp knife, ‘butterfly’ the chicken breasts by cutting them ALMOST in half horizontally, then opening them up like a book. (See photos above.)
- Place the chicken breasts in the bowl of marinade, turning to coat each piece of chicken with marinade.
- Cover and marinate the chicken for 1 hour in the fridge, if you have the time. Alternatively, just continue with the recipe.
- Heat up a griddle pan (or regular frying pan) over a high heat for 1 minute. Fry the marinated chicken breast in the griddle pan for 4 minutes on each side – or until completely cooked all the way through. (See Note 2.)
- Serve with all your favourite Nando’s sides!
Notes
- Adjust the heat by using more or less chilli flakes. Exact ‘hotness’ will depend on the brand of chilli flakes, but as a rough guide go for 1 teaspoon = mild, 2 teaspoons = medium, 3 teaspoons = hot, 4 teaspoons = extra hot.
- If you are at all unsure, cut through the thickest part of the biggest chicken breast – if you see any pink / raw chicken, return to the pan and cook for 1 more minute, then check again.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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