This copycat Nando’s style Peri Peri Chicken livers are spicy, delicious, quick to make, and easy on the pocket! You can serve them as an appetizer or a main, and WOW everyone in just 20 minutes.
These simple, delicious Peri-Peri Chicken Livers are Portuguese in origin. They are super popular amongst South Africans, and I thaaaaaaank Nando’s, on behalf of the rest of the world, for introducing this absolutely finger-licking deliciousness to us.
They are saucy, spicy, tangy, and I loveeee love loveee that I can just make this up for lazy dinners when I don’t wanna be in the kitchen for more than 20 minutes.
Also, FYI, my favorite pastime is to find Restaurant foods that I love and then make them at home with nutritious alternatives. It’s cheaper and healthier and gives me my power back, you know? Like my P.F. Chang’s Dynamite prawns or the cult favorite Saudi Champagne are on top of that remake list.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
You only need a handful of things to make this recipe. But the food police in me won’t give you many substitutions since we are aiming for the real “Nando’s taste”. (Soooorryyyyyy)
- Chicken livers – Wash them and cut them into smaller pieces. Fresh chicken livers always taste better.
- Spices – Coriander powder, paprika, black pepper, and salt.
- Peri Peri Sauce – No substitutions here, amigos. Im sure other brands have peri peri sauce on the market, but I went ahead and used the Nando’s one. So now the trick is to use the one that has the right spice level you like. I went with the Medium, because there are other spices too in the recipe. And I’d say it turned out on the spicier side. So if you’d like it to be less spicy, I’d suggest going for the garlic Peri Peri sauce.
- Garlic and Onion – Any onion would do, no issues. Garlic and onion are going to be finely chopped. This is probably the only cutting needed in this recipe.
- Cream – This recipe calls for cooking cream because its light and thin. But you can substitute with regular thick cream and simply add water to dilute (more later)
- Tomato paste – You have wiggle room here. You can use ketchup if you are out of paste.
- Oil and Butter – The Nando’s chicken livers are creamy, buttery, and spicy. Safe to say this recipe uses both oil and butter. But I’d let it pass if you are out of butter. Use oil only instead.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Instructions
I’ve put together all the steps in a simple pictorial for you to see how easy this is to make.
This is a simple recipe with only 10 minutes of cook time.
Step 1: Add oil and butter to a large skillet or pan. Toss in chopped onion and fry at medium heat until they turn translucent.
Step 2: Add minced garlic to onions and saute for a minute.
Step 3: Add chicken liver, spices, tomato paste, and lemon juice to the pan and saute them.
Step 4: Cook the liver till all the liquid evaporates and you can see oil separating on the sides.
Step 6: Add peri peri sauce and cream. Mix well and cook for 1 minute.
Step 5: Garnish with chopped parsley and some extra butter.
Expert Tips
- Give the chicken liver an acid treatment for about 5 minutes before cooking. You can use lemon or vinegar to do so. This removes any residual smell or odor from the liver.
- Fresh Liver always tastes better than frozen. That is true for all organ meat, really. Other than taste, even nutritionally, it is always better to go for fresh liver and cook it the same day.
- Kitchen scissors are better for cutting the slippery livers.
Serving and Pairing
Traditionally, these creamy Peri Peri chicken Livers are served with baked bread, and more authentically, the Portuguese rolls. Serve it with any bread or loaf of your liking, with butter and lemon on the side.
If you are serving this as an appetizer, then a nice apple chicken stir fry and fried rice as the main course would pair really well with it. You could also do a mild soup like the chicken corn soup, or grilled chicken and salad as the main. I’ve also served it as individual canapes for parties, and they turn out amazingggggg.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes absolutely! You will need to increase your cooking time by 15 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water after the spices, and cover the liver with a lid. Let it simmer at low heat for 15 minutes, then add the peri-peri sauce and cream.
Chicken livers and all organ meats taste the best when served fresh, but yes, you can keep them in the fridge overnight. Consume it within 2 days.
I’d recommend reheating the livers in a pan or a skillet. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Allow it to heat up and then add your livers. Cover the lid for 2 minutes, and it’ll be done.
More Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!
Peri Peri Chicken Liver
Ingredients
- 450 gm Chicken Liver cut into smaller pieces
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Butter Added in 2 increments
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice Added in 2 increments
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 table spoon Tomato paste
- 1/3 cup Peri Peri Sauce (medium) or to taste
- 3/4 cup Cooking Cream
Instructions
- Add half of the lemon juice to the wash chicken liver asnd set aside.
- In a large skillet or pan, add oil and half of the butter. Add onions and sautee them until they turn translucent.
- Now add garlic and chicken livers to the pan.
- Add all the spices, leftover lemon juice, tomato paste and remaining butter.
- Stir fry the livers for 3 to 4 minutes or until all the moisture evaporates and you can see oil seperating on the sides.
- Add peri peri sauce. Cook for a minute.
- Add cream and cook for another minute.
- Garnish with parsley and serve hot with Portugese rolls or any buns of your choice.
Video
Notes
- Treat chicken liver with vinegar or lemon juice for 5 minutes before cooking to remove any smell.
- If you don’t have cooking cream, use any normal fresh or thick cream and add water to it. (for 100 ml of thick cream, add enough water to make it into 3/4 cup of cream)
Ferdinand says
please note. the recipe is a bit misleading when it comes to the salt. i putin 1 and a ½ teaspoon salt. I think it called for 1 x ½ teespoon salt, not 1 and a ½.
Wajiha says
Hey there, did your livers turn out too salty? The recipe does call for a little extra salt because of the cream, but ofcourse different salts have different intensities. Which is why there is always a caption of “to taste”.