Love Nando’s Sunset Burgers? Now you can make them at home with this easy peasy fakeaway version! Not only are these Homemade Nando’s Sunset Burgers quick and simple to make, they also taste freakishly similar to the original… Perfect for when you want peri peri chicken, but can’t get to a Nando’s restaurant!
My Nando’s obsession continues…
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know I am a HUGE Nando’s fan. (I just can’t get enough of that delicious Peri Peri Chicken!)
Whilst I do enjoy very much enjoy actually GOING to Nando’s, I also enjoy trying to figure out how to recreate my Nando’s favourites at home.
I’ve already shared many Nando’s copycat recipes over the years, including my ever popular Nando’s Copycat Spicy Rice, Peri Peri Chicken Thighs and Homemade Nando’s Chicken Breasts.
Now it’s the turn of Nando’s Sunset Burgers to get the Easy Peasy Foodie treatment!
What’s in a Nando’s Sunset Burger?
A Nando’s Sunset Burger contains:
- Two boneless peri peri chicken thighs
- Melted cheddar cheese
- Smoky Red Pepper Chutney
- Lettuce
- Mayo
- A bolo do caco roll
I have tried as faithfully as possible to create a homemade version of this! And I’m super pleased with the result… it really is a very close copy.
How do you make Nando’s Sunset Burgers at home?
Nando’s Sunset Burgers are very easy to recreate at home! All you need to do is marinate boneless chicken thigh fillets in my easy homemade peri peri marinade. Then fry the marinated chicken thighs in a griddle pan, topping them with cheese when you flip them over – so the cheese gets deliciously melty! Next, lightly toast the buns and top with mayonnaise, lettuce and 2 cheesy chicken thighs. Finally finish them off by adding 1 tablespoon of smoky red pepper chutney and the top half of the bun.
(See the recipe card below for the full recipe.)
Is Nando’s Sunset burger boneless?
Yes! A Nando’s Sunset Burger contains two boneless peri peri chicken thighs… and so does my copycat version.
Boneless Chicken thigh fillets are very easy to buy at the supermarket… then all you need to do is marinate them in my easy peasy peri peri marinade and fry them on a griddle pan.
No griddle pan? No problem – simply fry them in a regular frying pan.
(Nando’s flame grill their peri peri chicken – not an option for most home cooks! But griddling achieves a very similar flavour… Though of course, if you want to go all out for authenticity then you could always cook them on the BBQ!)
What kind of bread does Nando’s use for Sunset Burgers?
If you’ve eaten a Sunset Burger at Nando’s, you may have noticed the burger bun is a little bit different to a regular burger bun… That’s because Nando’s use a special Portuguese rolls called ‘bolo do caco’ for their Sunset Burgers.
Bolo do caco is a circular flatbread and originally comes from the island of Madeira. It is shaped like a cake (‘bolo’ is Portuguese for ‘cake’) and is traditionally cooked on a flat slab called a ‘caco’ – hence the name ‘bolo do caco’.
Unfortunately it’s not easy to buy ‘bolo do caco’ in the supermarkets (or at least not here in the UK!) and so I have had to improvise and use English muffins.
English muffins are the closest thing I could find to the bolo do caco rolls that Nando’s use. They are actually very similar and work really well. But you can use regular burger buns, if you prefer!
What is the sauce in Nando’s Sunset Burgers?
If you’ve ever had a Sunset Burger at Nando’s, you’ll know that it contains the most delicious sweet, smoky and spicy relish – this is Nando’s Smoky Red Pepper Chutney.
Again, this is another thing you just can’t buy in the supermarket. But the great news is that it’s incredibly easy to make your own! Here’s my recipe for Nando’s Smoky Red Pepper Chutney.
If you haven’t got time to make your own, sub for any sweet/spicy/smoky relish of your choice – a red onion chutney works quite well as an alternative.
(Though I highly recommend making my homemade smoky red pepper chutney if you want the most authentic taste – it only takes 20 minutes to make and it’s more than worth the effort!)
Homemade Nando’s Smoky Red Pepper Chutney
What to serve with Nando’s Sunset Burgers?
Serve Homemade Nando’s Sunset Burgers 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
- Garlic bread
- Long Stemmed Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic
- Creamy mash
- Mixed leaf salad
What to drink with Nando’s Sunset Burgers?
This Nando’s Sunset Burgers 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 Thighs?
Got some leftover Peri Peri Chicken Thighs? Not a problem! They are 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 Nando’s Sunset Burgers?
I don’t recommend freezing the whole burger! But you can absolutely freeze the griddled thighs. Once cooked and cooled, put the Peri Peri chicken thighs into a lidded container or plastic freezer bag and place in the freezer, where they 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 Sunset Burgers
Ingredients
Peri Peri Marinade
- 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
Sunset Burgers
- 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 4 slices cheddar cheese cut in half to make 8 pieces (see Note 2)
- 4 English muffins (or burger buns, see Note 3)
- 4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
- 8 lettuce leaves (the frilly kind, such as butterhead, works best)
- 4 tablespoons smoky red pepper chutney (or sub with red onion chutney)
Instructions
- Mix together all of the peri peri marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
- Place the chicken thighs 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 thighs in the griddle pan for 4 minutes on the first side.
- Turn over and fry for 2 minutes on the second side, then place a half slice of cheddar on each chicken thigh and cover the pan with a lid. (This will help the cheese melt better – if you don’t have a lid, use a baking tray or similar.) Fry for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, cut the English muffins in half and lightly toast them in your toaster.
- To assemble, first take the bottom half of the toasted English muffin and spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on it. Then add 2 lettuce leaves, followed by 2 cheesy chicken thighs. Finally top with 1 tablespoon of smoky red pepper chutney and the top half of the toasted English muffin. Repeat for the remaining 3 burgers.
- 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.
- You can use mild, medium or mature cheddar here – personally, I used mature!
- English muffins are the closest thing I could find to the bolo do caco rolls that Nando’s use. They are actually very similar and work really well. But you can use regular burger buns, if you prefer!
- Suitable for freezing (chicken thighs only).
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Kentleigh says
Tried this out a few weeks back, worked out quite well.
The suggestion to use English muffins is brilliant, I would’ve used standard rolls if not for that, and the muffins turned out great.
Only trouble I had here was that I am so used to following the Nando’s wrap method of marinating (https://www.nandos.co.uk/food/recipes/bring-the-heat-home/peri-peri-chicken-thigh-wrap-chilli-jam#recipe1), that I essentially covered the chicken in marinade while refrigerating instead of simply dunking/coating them briefly before refrigerating.
The result there was that the chicken was covered too heavily, and took longer to fry than it should’ve.
(Wasn’t too bad, but will try do it properly next time and see if it’s better)
Eb Gargano says
Sorry to hear you felt the chicken was covered too heavily. I have always done it the same way as you and I have never had a problem. (You can see from the pictures how covered in marinade mine are.) Only thing I can think of is maybe your frying pan wasn’t hot enough? That could cause the chicken to take longer to fry and the chicken might feel too heavily covered as the moisture would not be driven off so much. Of course, it could just be that you and I simply have different tastes and the ‘right’ amount of marinade for me is too much for you – we are all different, after all! Either way, it’s an easy fix 😀