Piri-Piri Chicken with Spicy Rice. This dish is a perfect blend of smoky, spicy, and tangy elements, featuring succulent grilled chicken thighs coated in a homemade piri-piri sauce and paired with an aromatic rice dish.
Whether you’re hosting a backyard barbecue or a cozy family dinner, this recipe is sure to impress with its rich, robust taste and presentation.
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Ingredients
- Chicken thighs
- Piri-piri seasoning
- Piri-piri sauce, recipe below
Rice
- Bell peppers
- Jalapeños
- Olive oil
- Onions
- Garlic
- Piri-piri seasoning
- Cayenne pepper
- Multigrain rice
- Chicken stock
Piri-Piri Sauce
- Piri piri peppers (jarred) – or long red chilies
- Garlic
- Smoked paprika
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cilantro
- Basil leaves
- Parsley leaves
- Lemon
- Olive oil
Garnish, optional
- Lemon wedges
- Chopped fresh cilantro, basil, parsley
See recipe card for quantites.
Instructions
Preheat the grill on high.
Season the chicken with 1 ½ tablespoons of piri-piri seasoning, set aside.
Grill the Peppers
Add the bell peppers and jalapeños to the grill and cook until nicely charred on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Once charred, remove to a bowl and cover with a plate or plastic wrap.
While the peppers cook, make the piri-piri sauce (just remember to keep turning the peppers).
When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the loose skin, stems, seeds, and drain excess water, then thinly slice. Set aside.
Reduced the heat on the grill to medium (400°F to 425°F).
Make the Piri-Piri Sauce
Add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor or blender and blitz until well combined.
Grill the Chicken
Brush 3 tablespoons of the Piri-Piri sauce over the chicken. Then place the chicken to the top rack (or indirect heat zone of your grill) and close the lid.
While the chicken is cooking, start the rice.
Cook the Rice
The rice can be prepared on the grill or on a stovetop. If using the grill, let the chicken cook undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes before starting the rice and keep the lid closed when not stirring or adding ingredients
Heat a 5 or 6-Qt pan over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ½ tablespoon piri-piri seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add peppers and jalapeños to the pan and stir to combine.
Add the rice to the pan, then the stock and stir to combine. Cover and cook with the lid on as per the directions on the rice or until the rice is fully cooked through.
Remove the rice from the heat source and let it stand covered for 5 to 10 minutes.
Finish Grilling the Chicken
When the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 175°F (about 35-40 minutes depending how often the lid is opened) place the chicken, skin side down on the lower rack for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly charred.
Remove from the grill and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish and Serve
To serve, drizzle with piri-piri sauce and garnish with chopped cilantro, basil, parsley, and a wedge of lemon.
Delicious served alongside grilled corn and with the extra piri-piri sauce.
Watch how this recipe was made here.
Equipment
This recipe was made using the Hestan Culinary Thomas Keller 6QT Rondeau, and the quarter sheet pan for prep. The chicken was also grilled on my Hestan grill. Proud Hestan Culinary and Hestan Ambassador. Opinions in this post are my own.
Leave a Comment
If you get the chance to try this Piri-Piri Chicken with Spicy Rice recipe please drop back and leave us a comment and rating here. We would love to know what you think! Thanks Elaine & James
📖 Recipe
Piri-Piri Chicken with Spicy Rice
Ingredients
- 12 chicken thighs trimmed of excess skin/fat and patted dry
- 1 ½ tablespoons of piri-piri seasoning
- 3 tablespoons piri-piri sauce recipe below
Rice
- 4 bell peppers multicoloured
- 1-2 jalapeños
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ tablespoon piri-piri seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups multigrain rice or long grain rice
- 4 cups chicken stock if cooking on the grill, add hot stock
Piri-Piri Sauce
- 16 to 20 piri piri peppers jarred – or 3 long red chilies
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup cilantro leaves & tender stems
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- ¼ cup parsley leaves
- Juice from 1 lemon
- ¾ cup olive oil
Garnish, optional
- lemon wedges
- Chopped fresh cilantro basil, parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the grill on high.
- Season the chicken with 1 ½ tablespoons of piri-piri seasoning, set aside.
Grill the Peppers
- Add the bell peppers and jalapeños to the grill and cook until nicely charred on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Once charred, remove to a bowl and cover with a plate or plastic wrap.
- While the peppers cook, make the piri-piri sauce (just remember to keep turning the peppers).
- When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the loose skin, stems, seeds, and drain excess water, then thinly slice. Set aside.
- Reduced the heat on the grill to medium (400°F to 425°F).
Make the Piri-Piri Sauce
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor or blender and blitz until well combined.
Grill the Chicken
- Brush 3 tablespoons of the Piri-Piri sauce over the chicken. Then place the chicken to the top rack (or indirect heat zone of your grill) and close the lid.
- While the chicken is cooking, start the rice.
Cook the Rice
- The rice can be prepared on the grill or on a stovetop. If using the grill, let the chicken cook undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes before starting the rice and keep the lid closed when not stirring or adding ingredients
- Heat a 5 or 6-Qt pan over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ½ tablespoon piri-piri seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add peppers and jalapeños to the pan and stir to combine.
- Add the rice to the pan, then the stock and stir to combine. Cover and cook with the lid on as per the directions on the rice or until the rice is fully cooked through.
- Remove the rice from the heat source and let it stand covered for 5 to 10 minutes.
Finish Grilling the Chicken
- When the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 175°F (about 35-40 minutes depending how often the lid is opened) place the chicken, skin side down on the lower rack for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly charred.
- Remove from the grill and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish and Serve
- To serve, drizzle with piri-piri sauce and garnish with chopped cilantro, basil, parsley, and a wedge of lemon.
- Delicious served alongside grilled corn, a green salad and with the extra piri-piri sauce.
Rate this Recipe
- Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!
These are flavor bombs! The family loved this dish!
Hello Dina & Bruce,
We are so happy to hear that your family loved this Piri-Piri dish! Thank you, we really appriciate you stopping by to let us know!
Have an amazing day 🙂
Elaine & James