All the delicious flavours of Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken and Nando’s Spicy Rice in one pan! This homemade Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice one pan recipe is quick, easy and delicious – better still, there’s only one pan to wash up. This recipe is set to be a new family favourite!
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Two Nando’s favourites… in one pan!
As you know, I am a huge fan of homemade Nando’s recipes.
I have quite a collection now too, including:
- Homemade Nando’s Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Homemade Nando’s Chicken Butterfly
- Homemade Nando’s Macho Peas
- Homemade Nando’s Spiced Grains and Butternut Squash
- Homemade Nando’s Rainbow Slaw
Two of my all-time favourites are Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Thighs and Nando’s Spicy Rice. Well, one day I got to wondering… would it be possible to combine the two?
After all, I already have a couple of one pan, oven baked chicken and rice recipes:
Could I do the same with my favourite Nando’s recipes?
So I got in the kitchen and started experimenting… and the answer is a resounding YES!
And this homemade Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice one pan recipe is the result. Better still, it’s quick, easy and delicious – and of course, there’s only one pan to wash up!
How to make Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice One Pan
This One Pan Nando’s Chicken and Rice recipe is so easy to make!
All you need to do is coat chicken thighs in a simple Nando’s-style Peri Peri marinade. Then, place onion wedges, pepper pieces, oil and seasoning in a roasting dish. Next, place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, cover and roast for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix a chicken stock cube and boiling water in a large jug and set aside for later. After the 15 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and add the rice and chicken stock. Then return to the oven for a further 35 minutes (15 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered).
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
What to serve with Nando’s One Pan Chicken and Spicy Rice
This Nando’s One Pan Chicken and Spicy Rice is an entire meal in it’s own right… so it doesn’t need any accompaniments. However, I do like to serve it with a simple green salad on the side.
But you absolutely can serve it with additional Nando’s-inspired sides if you want to! For example, you could serve it with:
- Homemade Nando’s Coleslaw
- Homemade Nando’s Lemon and Garlic Broccoli
- Homemade Nando’s Macho Peas
- Easy Roasted Corn On The Cob
- Roasted Peri Peri Sweet Potato Cubes
Homemade Nando’s Coleslaw
What to drink with Nando’s One Pan Chicken and Spicy Rice
The robust, spicy flavours in this Nando’s Chicken and Rice recipe require a wine with a bit of oomph! I recommend a gutsy Sauvignon Blanc from somewhere like New Zealand, Chile, South Africa or Australia would also work well.
It will also go well with fruity rosés, and light to medium bodied reds such as Spanish Tempranillo or Garnacha, French Grenache or Chilean Merlot.
Love Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken?
Here are 5 more variations to try:
- Homemade Nando’s Sunset Burgers
- Homemade Nando’s Fino Pitta
- Peri Peri Chicken Wings (Nando’s Copycat)
- Peri Peri Chicken Burgers (Nando’s Copycat)
- Peri Peri Chicken Pizza (Nando’s Inspired)
Peri Peri Chicken Pizza
What to do with leftover Nando’s Chicken and Spicy Rice
This easy Nando’s Chicken and Rice dish really is at its best when it is freshly made… However, if you do end up with some left over, simply store it in a plastic lidded container in the fridge, where it will keep for 24 hours.
To reheat, place the chicken and rice in an ovenproof dish with add a big splash of water. Cover with foil and cook in an oven, pre-heated to 180C (160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F), for 15–20 minutes or until piping hot all the way through. (Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to re-crisp up the skins.)
When reheating rice, always make sure you adhere to food safety guidelines for rice.
Can you freeze Nando’s Chicken and Spicy Rice
Yes, you can freeze this Nando’s One Pan Chicken and Rice dish. Again, it won’t be quite as good as freshly made, but it will still taste delicious. Make sure you cool the rice quickly and get it into the freezer, in a plastic lidded box, within 1 hour of when you finished cooking it. It will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Again, make sure you always adhere to food safety guidelines for rice.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Homemade Nando’s Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Homemade Nando’s Chicken Butterfly
- Homemade Nando’s Chicken Wings
- Homemade Nando’s Sunset Burgers
- Homemade Nando’s Fino Pitta
- Peri Peri Chicken Pizza (Nando’s Inspired)
Nandos Sunset Burgers
![Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice [One Pan Recipe] Hero](https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nandos-Portuguese-Chicken-and-Rice-One-Pan-Recipe-Hero-300x300.jpg)
Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice [One Pan Recipe]
Ingredients
Homemade Nando’s Peri Peri Marinade
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste – see Note 1)
- 4 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- Juice of 2 limes
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- Black pepper to taste
Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice One Pan
- 8 chicken thighs bone in & skin on
- 1 onion cut into 8 wedges, then each wedge cut in half
- 3 bell peppers (I use 2 red and 1 green) cut into 2cm pieces
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste (see Note 2)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 750 ml chicken stock (from a cube is fine - I use Kallo Organic)
- 250 g long grain rice
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mix together all the Homemade Nando’s 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.
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Place the onion pieces, pepper pieces, turmeric, smoked paprika, black pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a roasting dish. Use your hands (or a large spoon) to mix everything together.
- Place the marinated chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and spoon any remaining marinade over the veggies.
- Cover the roasting tin with foil, then place in your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, crumble your stock cube into a large jug and pour in 750ml boiling water. Stir and set aside for later.
- After the 15 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and place on a heatproof surface, then remove the foil.
- Remove the chicken thighs to a plate. Add the rice into the dish and pour in the chicken stock. Mix the veggies, rice and stock to ensure everything is well combined.
- Next, place the chicken thighs back on top of the rice and push down slightly, so they are partly submerged, but the skins should be above the stock. Tip any juices from the plate into the roasting tin.
- Re-cover with the same foil, then place the roasting tin back in the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes.
- After the 15 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and remove the foil.
- Then place the uncovered roasting tin back in the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes to crisp up the chicken skins.
- After the last 20 minutes is up, remove – check the rice is cooked to your liking (see Note 3) – and serve – either on its own or with a side salad and/or with more of your favourite Nando’s sides.
Notes
- Adjust the quantity of chilli flakes to suit your personal preferences. Personally I like to use 1 teaspoon here, which comes out medium hot, but if you prefer a milder taste try ¼ to ½ a teaspoon… or leave them out altogether. And of course, if you prefer things hot – go for 2 teaspoons… or more!
- I find that the stock cube makes the rice salty enough for my tastes, so I only add black pepper at this point.
- Cooking time will depend on the specific brand of long grain rice you use. Typically in British supermarkets you will find the standard long grain white rice is ‘easy cook’. I use Tesco Easy Cook Long Grain Rice, which yields perfectly cooked fluffy rice when cooked as above. Tesco advise cooking their long grain rice for 15 minutes. If your brand’s instructions advise you to cook the rice for longer than this, you may need to cook this dish for longer and/or use more stock to achieve perfectly fluffy rice.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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