Peri Peri Seasoning

Homemade peri-peri seasoning is an easy and delicious spice blend to make. It can be used in so many ways including chicken, fish, vegetables, or even stirred into tomato sauce.

I love homemade spice blends. And this peri-peri blend is one of my favorites to make, because it's hard to find peri-peri seasoning in many stores.

One of the other best things about homemade seasoning is to customize spice blends to your own taste preferences! Want a bit of sweetness? Add sugar. Want it spicier? Add more cayenne pepper. Love oregano? Add more!

What is peri-peri?

Peri-peri (also called piri-piri) spice is a complex spice that can bring spicy, savory, and sweet elements. It is characterized by the addition of peri-peri peppers (also called African bird's eye chilis). However, these can be very difficult to find in many locations, so a common swap is to use cayenne pepper in the homemade spice blend.

It can found in a spice blend, like this, or as a bottled condiment. Trader Joe's and Nando's both make jarred versions of peri-peri sauce. Check out my blog post comparing the two.

Ingredients:

For this recipe, you'll be using a lot of spices, most of which you probably already have in your pantry or spice drawer!

• Paprika
• Smoked paprika
• Cayenne pepper (or ground birds eye chili or ground pequin pepper)
• Oregano
• Garlic powder
• Ground ginger powder
• Onion powder
• Ground cardamom
• Ground coriander
• Sugar (optional)
• Salt (optional)

How to use the peri-peri seasoning:

There are so many ways to use this spice blend!

The peri-peri seasoning is delicious and adds so much flavor to meat when used as a dry rub. I love it on chicken thighs, chicken breast, salmon, cod, and even steak.

I also love using the homemade peri-peri blend when roasting vegetables, especially hearty ones like carrots, zucchini, and potatoes.

Peri-peri can give a unique kick to tomato sauce, chilis, or stews.

And one of my absolutely favorite ways to use this spice mix is a seasoning for peri-peri french fries. The slightly spicy seasoning just adds that perfect kick to ordinary fries!

How long does the seasoning keep:

Store the homemade peri-peri seasoning in an airtight container. The seasoning should last for 6 months and still retain all its flavor.

Recipe tips and customizations:

• For a spicier seasoning, simply increase the amount of the cayenne pepper.
• To add sweetness to your peri-peri spice, add a little bit of granulated sugar. I like mine sugar-free, but a bit of sweetness can add even more depth.
• I usually leave salt out of my spice blend so that I can add my preferred amount of salt directly to my food, but you can add salt to your peri-peri seasoning if you prefer.

How to make:

First, add all the spices into a mixing bowl. I did mine on a plate, just so you can visually see all the spices, but a bowl works best for mixing together!

Mix the spices together.

And keep mixing until all blended together.

Store the peri-peri spice mix in an airtight container or airtight jar. Use seasoning whenever needed!

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