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We’re BIG fans of Nandos in my home. We love to enjoy a takeaway from Deliveroo sometimes, but the price has REALLY creeped up recently in the whole ‘cost of living crisis’ (cost of greed crisis!). Anyway, I’ve taken to making more of this food at home and I love this air fryer Nando’s chicken breast recipe.
Peri peri chicken is a real staple at Nandos, and I love it because it is full of flavour. Personally I love to make my own homemade peri peri seasoning but for this recipe I’m using the Nando’s Peri Peri rub. These come in lemon & herb, medium, hot & smokey BBQ. I love to use the medium or lemon and herb, but on this occasion I’ve used the hot for an extra hit of flavour. I buy mine from Tesco.
This recipe is really simple to follow as you just need chicken breasts, oil and Nando’s peri peri rub. The prep time is under 5 minutes and this has a similar taste to fried chicken without swimming in oil.
Making this chicken is really straight forward and ideal for batch cooking for lunches, a quick and easy dinner and it goes great with air fryer cheesy chips, air fryer frozen french fries or air fryer frozen halloumi fries. If you want a real Nando’s-esque experience then this homemade garlic bread recipe will be delicious to serve alongside as will air fryer tenderstem broccoli.
This chicken goes great in a tortilla wrap, soft white roll, or as part of a peri peri chicken pasta. It doesn’t have to be a complete meal and is ideal for storing in the fridge and using over the next couple of days.
Air fryer chicken recipes are probably one of my favourite things to cook in the air fryer as they’re quick, pretty cheap and low maintenance too. You can
My air fryer is one of my favourite ever kitchen purchases! These days I have a Ninja Foodi OL750UK and it is absolutely fantastic! If you’ve got a Ninja Foodi be sure to check out my Ninja Foodi roast potatoes or Ninja air fryer recipes.
Ingredients for air fryer Nando’s chicken:
640g chicken mini fillets
Nando’s peri peri rub (your flavour of choice)
Spray oil or olive oil
Method for making Nando’s chicken breast in the air fryer:
Prepare your mini chicken fillets by removing any fat, gristle etc.
Add either 20 pumps of spray oil or 1 teaspoon of olive oil to your chicken breasts.
Mix well.
Then pour the peri peri rub into your bowl and massage well until all of your chicken breasts are covered in full.
If you don’t want to use chicken breasts you can use chicken thigh, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks or just about any other cut of chicken. However, if you use chicken with bone in then you’re going to want to add 2-3 minutes to your cooking time.
Place the coated chicken into the air fryer basket.
Cook for 20 minutes at 200C (400F), and turn the chicken over halfway through the cooking time.
Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket to avoid it sticking and ensure it cooks evenly.
Check the temperature of your Nando’s chicken before serving, to ensure it is 74C/165F internally.
That’s it! Enjoy your juicy succulent chicken however you fancy. It is great served with a nice portion of air fryer frozen chips or air fryer potato wedges.
What to serve with nando’s air fryer chicken?
You can enjoy this dish alongside some of favourite air fryer goodies like air fryer jacket potatoes or air fryer mashed potatoes. It pairs well with any type of rice, such as Ninja Foodi white rice, Spanish cauliflower rice and a generous pile of roasted vegetables would make for a delicious addition too.
I love serving this with no yeast flatbreads or alongside coleslaw, garlic and herb dip, roasted peppers, air fryer roasted tomatoes, air fryer corn on the cob, spicy rice, hasselback potatoes, or simply air fryer chips.
What sauce works well with Nando’s chicken?
We love to use:
- Nando’s sweet chilli jam
- Tomato ketchup
- Brown sugar BBQ sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Peri-peri sauce
Want to make Nandos’ bag and bake in the air fryer?
I’ve got an entire post on making the air fryer Nando’s bag and bake. It’s so handy and is a great way to get a sauce packed chicken breast.
What types of chicken can you use for Nando’s chicken?
Using the peri peri rub and a spatchcock chicken would make an incredible combination! For maximum succulence, you could use chicken thighs, or opt for something more straightforward and already prepared for you, such as chicken strips or chicken tenders.
If you’re looking to save some money or feed a large group of people, chicken legs or wings would be a great choice as well.
Want to use something other than chicken?
If you are looking to switch up the flavour of your dish then you could use steak instead. It is a great way to make a slightly quicker recipe, and will be packed full of flavour too. Steak works great for this recipe but ensure you adjust the cooking time down, depending on the cut and thickness of the meat you’re using.
You can experiment with different vegetables too, and I find that peppers, onions, courgettes and tomatoes all work great with this Nando’s rub too.
Whatever you use for this recipe it won’t require much time or effort on your part, making it perfect for busy weeknights or even just lazy weekends.
Can you freeze this Nando’s chicken?
Yes you can! It is SO easy to do! I’d dress your chicken with the oil and dry rub and then place in a freezer bag.
Defrost thoroughly, either overnight or for up to 24 hours, and then following the cooking method I’ve already shared.
If you’re looking to get the most from your air fryer these these are some of my favourite air fryer accessories and cookbooks:
Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!
How to make Nando’s chicken in the air fryer:
Air fryer Nando’s chicken
How to cook chicken using Nando's peri peri rub in the air fryer.
Ingredients
- 640 g chicken mini fillets
- Nando’s peri peri rub your flavour of choice
- Spray oil or olive oil
Instructions
-
Prepare your mini chicken fillets by removing any fat, gristle etc.
-
Add either 20 pumps of spray oil or 1 teaspoon of olive oil to your chicken breasts.
-
Mix well.
-
Then pour the peri peri rub into your bowl and massage well until all of your chicken breasts are covered in full.
-
If you don’t want to use chicken breasts you can use chicken thigh, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks or just about any other cut of chicken. However, if you use chicken with bone in then you’re going to want to add 2-3 minutes to your cooking time.
-
Place the coated chicken into the air fryer basket.
-
Cook for 20 minutes at 200C (400F), and turn the chicken over halfway through the cooking time.
-
Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket to avoid it sticking and ensure it cooks evenly.
-
Check the temperature of your Nando’s chicken before serving, to ensure it is 74C/165F internally.
-
That’s it! Enjoy your juicy succulent chicken however you fancy.
Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.
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