A quick and easy piri piri drumsticks recipe, perfect for an easy weekday meal or for having friends over.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of contents
Piri Piri Drumsticks Recipe
It’s a very easy recipe, using our homemade piri piri sauce from a few weeks ago. And a very short article! This is what we’ll be doing:
- Marinate the drumsticks
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, along with some vegetables.
That’s it!
Is it a spicy recipe?
That depends on your piri piri sauce. In the recipe on LinsFood, I give you 2 recipes, a hot one using just fresh red chillies. And a medium/mild one with red bell peppers. You choose which one you’d like to make.
Can you Barbecue (Grill) it?
Yes, absolutely. Just marinate the drumsticks, and cook them in exactly the same way you usually would. If you need exact instructions, just drop me a line.
Ingredients
Because we’ll be using homemade piri piri sauce, if you’ve already got that made, there isn’t a whole lot of ingredients we need to think about.
Chicken Drumsticks
In today’s piri piri drumsticks recipe, I’ve gone with drumsticks, hence its name. But you can just as easily use chicken thighs, legs and chicken breasts, whatever your preference is.
The cooking time will need to be adjusted slightly depending on your choice of meat. I’ve given 45 minutes, to give us drumsticks that are thoroughly cooked, with meat that’s falling off the bone.
However, if your drumsticks are on the small or skinny side, you may want to cut that time down to 30 minutes or so.
Capsicum (Bell Peppers)
I like to add 1 or 2 bell peppers to the mix just for a bit of flavour and variety to our piri piri drumsticks. I’ve used green capsicums but you can use any colour you fancy.
They cook down and soften beautifully, taking on the piri piri flavours so well. Vegetables are always good, aren’t they? You can also use courgettes (zucchini), if you like, or carrots or even green beans.
Piri Piri Sauce
As mentioned, we’re using homemade piri piri sauce. You’ll find the recipe here, using some very basic ingredients. Can you use a shop bought piri piri sauce like those Nando bottles sold everywhere in the UK? Sure, why not. Who’s going to judge!
How to Serve Piri Piri Drumsticks?
Think about any grilled, baked or roast meats you’ve done and how you’ve served it. That’s exactly what you can do here.
So serve your piri piri drumsticks with some starch and vegetables. For example, they’ll go great with any kind of potato dish, be it mashed, fried, boiled or chips (fries).
They also go great with rice or any other grain, be it couscous or quinoa.
And as far as I’m concerned, a green salad is the perfect complement to the earthy, spicy flavours of today’s piri piri drumsticks.
Oh, and have a bowl of piri piri sauce on the side for the daredevils.
And that’s all there is to it. Shall we get our aprons on?
If you enjoy this recipe, drop me a comment and let me know. And if you are feeling like a star, don’t forget that 5-star rating! 😉 Thank you!
If you make this recipe, post it on Instagram and tag me @azlinbloor with the hashtag #linsfood.
Lin xx
Piri Piri Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken drumsticks (I get about 8-10 at this weight)
- 2 green capsicums (bell peppers) or any other colour
- 5 Tbsp piri piri sauce
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- sprigs fresh parsley, chopped optional
Instructions
- Tip the drumsticks into a large bowl and marinate the chicken with the piri piri sauce, paprika, salt and pepper for an hour or as long as you can.Overnight in the fridge will work too, be sure to cover it.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃/400℉ for 10 minutes.Core and slice the peppers into thick strips, about 1cm wide (just under half an inch).
- Tip the marinated drumsticks into a baking pan and add the pepper strips. Mix everything thoroughly, ensuring the peppers are coated well.
- Bake in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes, turning the drumsticks over halfway.
- When done, drizzle the lemon juice all over and finish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley if you fancy.
Made this for our early season grilling party over the weekend with the milder sauce and it was a huge hit!
I’m so pleased to hear that, Rusma. Thank you for letting me know.