Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (2024)

How to make the BEST EVER homemade nandos fakeaway at home using your favourite kitchen gadgets.

Perfect for a Friday night fakeaway and you can use your Thermomix, Air Fryer, Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or whichever kitchen gadgets you have available to do the job easily.

This nandos fakeaway guide was originally shared with you back in 2017 and we are updating our Nandos series for you today with better gadgets and better recipes.

Table of Contents

Homemade Nandos

One of my favourite foodie quotes is from Martin Scorsese. I am a huge fan of his movies and love to watch Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci on a Friday or a Saturday night.

The quote from Martin Scorsese is “why eat out when your mum cooks Italian”.

Well, I just love cooking so much that a lot of the time I forget to eat out.

On holiday, I will cook more than I eat out and I get great enjoyment out of cooking.

This means I love a fakeaway and after recently going to Nandos with an amazing lady, I wanted to make a Nandos Fakeaway at home using my kitchen gadgets and to prove that you don’t need to eat out to enjoy great food.

If you love Nandos and the Nandos cuisine as much as me, then you will love this homemade nandos fakeaway.

Are You New To Recipe This?

We love to cook with all our favourite kitchen gadgets including air fryers, instant pots, slow cookers, soup makers and more.

What Is Nandos?

If you haven’t heard of Nandos yet, then let me explain further.

Nandos is a popular international African Portuguese restaurant chain. I have noticed it has the biggest popularity in the UK and in Australia.

In fact, we have a Nando’s less than 10 minutes drive from where we live.

Its called Nando’s because its founder is called Fernando (Nando for short in Portuguese).

As someone that has eaten out at a LOT of Portuguese barbecue chicken restaurants, I would say it was very similar, just with the option of different heat levels.

Is Nandos Peri Peri Chicken?

Yes, it is. Peri peri chicken is the most famous food that is sold at Nandos. Of course, there is more to Nandos than just peri peri chicken, but if you want to create your own Nando’s fakeaway menu, then peri peri chicken is the perfect starting point.

Is Peri Peri Chicken Healthy?

Yes, Nandos peri peri chicken is healthy.

This is because peri peri chicken is a tomato and pepper based sauce for marinating chicken in. The chicken is then cooked on a grill or on a barbecue.

So don’t think KFC chicken as there is no breading or deep frying at Nandos.

Can You Reheat Nandos Chicken?

Yes, you sure can reheat nandos chicken and the air fryer is your reheat best friend. Just like with reheating KFC chicken in the air fryer, you can reheat Nandos chicken pieces.

Or follow our guide for reheating rice and use this for your leftover Nandos spicy rice.

Homemade Nandos Recipes

Okay, now you understand Nandos more, let me dive in and share with you some homemade nandos recipes that you can cook at home.

Note, that all our homemade nando recipes can be reheated, can be frozen for another day and can be batch cooked too.

These Nandos recipes are also ideal for a Friday night fakeaway and are fantastic for saving money.

Nandos Air Fryer Recipes

Let’s start with cooking Nandos in the air fryer. My favourite Nandos food is the peri peri chicken, and this shouts out AIR FRY ME.

Here is our Nandos peri peri chicken. We cooked some Nandos chicken thighs and some chicken drumsticks in the air fryer and they were delicious. Even better, the skin on them was spectacular thanks to the air fryer. And even better no extra oil was needed.

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (4)

Then for the even cheaper alternative you can make Nandos chicken wings. These are my daughter Sofia’s favourite and she is the biggest chicken wings addict that I have ever known.

Also, for saving money you only need chicken wings + marinade ingredients so a big money saver!

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (5)

Then for my other favourite air fryer recipe for Nandos, check out our nandos beanie burgers, which is funny, because there are no beans in a beanie burger. But OMG they taste amazing and its easy to turn them from vegetarian to vegan.

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (6)

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Nandos Instant Pot Recipes

Now after the air fryer, I want a delicious side to go with my Nandos chicken. That is when I choose to make some Nandos spicy rice in the instant pot pressure cooker.

Spicy rice in the instant pot is delicious and best of all, you can cook your rice in the instant pot, whilst you cook your chicken in the air fryer.

Plus, 2 cups of brown rice makes a lot of healthy spicy rice for another meal.

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (7)

Would you like easy & amazing instant pot recipes from instant pot experts? Click here and join the Recipe This Newsletter. We will then send you the BEST instant pot beginner recipes direct to your email inbox along with other useful instant pot resources.

Nandos Thermomix Recipes

But before we cook our homemade nandos chicken we need to be thinking all about the flavoursome marinade which you can make at home.

I used the Thermomix to make my Nandos marinade with and you can do the same, or use a blender, food processor, soup maker etc for.

Then its ready to go in a jar and perfect for your peri peri chicken, and into other Nandos dishes too.

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (8)

And those are the 6 fakeaway Nandos recipes that you start with first and of course, do bookmark this list as I do plan on adding more and more to it, as I test out more and more copycat nandos recipes.

Slimming World Fakeaway

It would also be easy to take these homemade nandos chicken recipes and transform them into a slimming world fakeaway.

That is because Nandos is ideal for slimming world because it is very low in fat and the extra virgin olive oil used is so small.

For example, the Nandos marinade has JUST 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to make a large jar. Then imagine this one jar does enough Nandos for six recipes, then each recipe feeds four people.

That means that 1tbsp of extra virgin olive is 0.04 of 1tbsp meaning its so low there is no point adding a syn.

Making a healthy nandos fakeaway the best copycat recipes on Slimming World or Weight Watchers.

Do You Like KFC Chicken?

Also, if you want to try out more copycat chicken recipes in the air fryer, and in other gadgets do check out our KFC Fakeaway recipes too.

Air Fryer KFC Twister
Air Fryer KFC Strips
Air Fryer KFC Chicken
Air Fryer KFC Popcorn Chicken
Air Fryer Zinger Burger
KFC Spice Blend
KFC Chicken Recipes

Can’t Make Your Nandos Fakeaway Recipe Now? Then Save It For Later!

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (9)

Recipe This | The Best Homemade Nandos Fakeaway (2024)

FAQs

What fake chicken does Nandos use? ›

In the footsteps of other big fast food brands, like Greggs, KFC and Subway, Nando's has rolled out a meat alternative called The Great Imitator, which is made from pea protein and available in a burger, a pitta or a wrap, accompanied by various salad items and dressings, depending on which one you get (though vegan ...

Know More ›

What are the ingredients in Nandos baste? ›

Water, Vinegar, Onion Purée (6%), Lemon Purée (4%), Sunflower Seed Oil, Garlic Purée (2.5%), Salt, Spices and Herb (Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Parsley, African Bird's Eye Chilli), Stabilisers (Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Alginate), Antioxidants (Ascorbic Acid, Rosemary Extract), Spice Extract (Paprika), Dextrose.

What do Nandos marinate their chicken in? ›

We mix PERi-PERi with salt, garlic, lemon, onion, oil, and vinegar to make our signature sauce. Then we marinate our chicken in it for 24 hours and serve it at our restaurants across the globe.

What is Nandos seasoning made of? ›

Ingredients. Sugar, Salt, Paprika, Tomato powder, Dried onion, Black pepper, Dried chilli (4%), African Bird's Eye Chilli, Dried Garlic (2%), Acidity Regulator (Citric acid), Parsley, Rapeseed oil, Cayenne Pepper, Ground Mustard Seed, Anti-Caking Agent (Silicon dioxide), Nutmeg.

Why does Nandos chicken taste so good? ›

We marinate our chicken in PERi-PERi for 24 hours before it's basted. All our sauces, bastes and marinades are made with fresh, real ingredients and have no artificial flavours or colourants. We flame-grill because it reduces the fat content and regular basting is what keeps it so succulent.

Keep Reading ›

What is The Great Imitator nandos? ›

Our plant-based meat alternative, AKA The Great Imitator is made of pea protein and tastes just like our PERi-PERi Chicken. Have it as a burger, wrap or pitta.

Get More Info ›

How is Nandos chicken so juicy? ›

Our chickens are marinated for at least 24 hours before being cooked. Every oven in Nando's kitchens is pre-programmed to ensure chicken is cooked thoroughly and each batch is temperature checked before serving to ensure it has reached at least 75 degrees.

Read On ›

What is Nandos famous sauce? ›

If you're lover of heat, you've come to the right sauce. A blend of African Bird's Eye Chilli, herbs, spices and a kick of garlic and lemon, our Hot PERi-PERi sauce is bursting with the flavour of PERi-PERi.

Why is Nandos chicken so soft? ›

Although Nando's chicken usually arrives at the restaurant cooked by boiling the chicken, it is then finished off on the grill to heat it up, crisp up the skin, and add those attractive grill marks. Precooking the chicken in this way means it retains it moisture and it also keeps it safe from contamination.

Show Me More ›

Why marinate chicken in baking soda? ›

Baking soda acts as a meat tenderizer by changing the physical composition of meat fibers. It raises the pH levels on the surface and makes it tougher (pun intended) for the proteins in the meat to bond.

Find Out More ›

Does Nandos use garlic? ›

Ingredients. Vinegar, Water, Onion Purée (11%), Salt, Lemon Purée (5.5%), Garlic Purée (4%), Sunflower Seed Oil, Spice (Cayenne Pepper, African Bird's Eye Chilli), Green Chilli, Stabilisers (Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Alginate), Antioxidants (Ascorbic Acid, Rosemary Extract).

Read The Full Story ›

What ingredients are in Nandos sauce? ›

Ingredients. Vinegar, Water, Onion Purée (12%), Salt, Lemon Purée (4%), Sunflower Seed Oil, Spices (Cayenne Pepper, African Bird's Eye Chilli), Green Chilli, Garlic Purée, Stabilisers (Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Alginate), Antioxidants (Ascorbic Acid, Rosemary Extract).