✨ Newdinner
Piri-Piri Chicken (Frango Piri-Piri)
Portuguese spatchcocked chicken bathed in piri-piri chili-garlic-lemon marinade, charred over flame.
⏱ 60 min🔥 620 kcalMedium
★4.9(2,640)
🇵🇹
Portuguese Chicken Recipes
11 recipes using chicken — Bacalhau, pastéis de nata, piri piri — Atlantic-influenced and deeply flavourful.
These 11 portuguese chicken recipes are ready in about 88 minutes on average, with 385–620 kcal per serving, and 18% are rated easy enough for a weeknight. Every recipe includes exact ingredient quantities, step-by-step instructions and full nutrition per serving.
11
recipes
88 min
average time
498 kcal
avg per serving
18%
easy recipes
How Portuguese cuisine cooks with chicken
Portuguese food is Atlantic and rustic — generous with garlic, fresh herbs and chilli, and famous for its love of bacalhau and grilled fish. When Portuguese cooks work with chicken, they reach for olive oil, garlic, bay, piri-piri, coriander and plenty of seafood, and the techniques that come up most across these recipes are grilling, simmering, boiling and marinating.
The world's most-cooked protein — mild, lean and endlessly adaptable to almost any spice profile or cooking method. In this collection it's most often cooked with garlic, olive oil, onion, fine sea salt, boiled potatoes and parsley. The dishes here span portuguese classics ready in as little as 32 minutes to slower, more involved cooking that rewards a relaxed afternoon.
Reader favourite: Piri-Piri Chicken (Frango Piri-Piri) is the highest-rated dish in this collection at 4.9★ from 2,640 ratings.
11 Portuguese Chicken Recipes
✨ Newdinner
Piri-Piri Chicken with Charred Lemon
Crispy-skinned, fiery Portuguese-style chicken marinated in piri-piri, garlic and citrus.
⏱ 65 min🔥 430 kcalMedium
★4.8(1,840)
✨ Newdinner
Algarve Sesame Lime Stew
Algarve Sesame Lime Stew turns portuguese pantry flavors into a complete stew with chicken legs, olive oil, garlic, paprika and vinho verde, and a fresh parsley finish.
⏱ 62 min🔥 422 kcalHard
★4.7(7,502)
✨ Newsalad
Azores Green Herb Salad
Azores Green Herb Salad turns portuguese pantry flavors into a complete salad with grilled chicken, olive oil, garlic, paprika and vinho verde, and a fresh parsley finish.
⏱ 46 min🔥 464 kcalMedium
★4.3(7,564)
✨ Newlunch
Portuguese Market Lemon Herb Rice Bowl
Portuguese Market Lemon Herb Rice Bowl brings portuguese flavor to a practical rice bowl built with chicken thighs, olive oil, garlic, paprika and vinho verde, and a fresh parsley finish.
⏱ 32 min🔥 385 kcalMedium
★4.5(7,160)
✨ Newsalad
Portuguese Mountain Green Herb Salad
Portuguese Mountain Green Herb Salad brings portuguese flavor to a practical salad built with grilled chicken, olive oil, garlic, paprika and vinho verde, and a fresh parsley finish.
⏱ 48 min🔥 469 kcalMedium
★4.3(7,276)
✨ Newdinner
Frango Piri Piri (Portuguese Spicy Grilled Chicken)
Chicken marinated in a fiery piri piri chile sauce, grilled or roasted until charred and juicy, a Portuguese classic with African roots.
⏱ 285 min🔥 480 kcalEasy
★4.6(37)
✨ Newdinner
Cozido a Portuguesa (Portuguese Boiled Meat and Vegetable Stew)
A hearty boiled dinner of various meats, sausages and vegetables simmered together, one of Portugal's most substantial traditional feasts.
⏱ 180 min🔥 620 kcalHard
★4.5(26)
✨ Newdinner
Portuguese Empada de Frango (Chicken Herb Pot Pie)
A flaky Portuguese chicken pot pie filled with herbed shredded chicken and vegetables.
⏱ 58 min🔥 537 kcalHard
★4.2(50)
✨ Newdinner
Portuguese Frango Piri-Piri (Sweet and Spicy Roast Chicken)
Portugal's famous piri-piri roast chicken, marinated in chili and garlic with a touch of honey sweetness.
⏱ 57 min🔥 489 kcalEasy
★4.3(55)
✨ Newdinner
Portuguese Saffron Chicken and Rice Casserole
A baked chicken and rice casserole scented with saffron and slow-cooked onions.
⏱ 75 min🔥 560 kcalMedium
★4.5(40)
Choosing & preparing chicken
How to choose
Look for plump, pinkish flesh with no grey patches and a clean smell. Thighs stay juicier than breasts and forgive overcooking; bone-in, skin-on pieces deliver the most flavour.
Prep & storage
Pat dry before searing for proper browning, and bring it to room temperature for 15 minutes so it cooks evenly. Marinades with acid or yoghurt tenderise lean breast meat.
When is it done?
Cook to an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F — the juices should run clear and there should be no pink at the bone.
Nutrition
A lean, high-protein choice: a skinless breast delivers roughly 31 g of protein per 100 g with very little saturated fat.
Classic flavour partners: garlic, lemon, thyme, ginger, paprika, yoghurt
Portuguese Chicken Recipes — FAQ
How long do Portuguese chicken recipes take to make?
Most of these 11 Portuguese chicken recipes are ready in around 88 minutes from start to finish. The quickest, Portuguese Market Lemon Herb Rice Bowl, takes about 32 minutes, while the slower-cooked dishes run up to 285 minutes.
How many calories are in Portuguese chicken dishes?
Across this collection they range from about 385 to 620 kcal per serving, averaging 498 kcal — Portuguese Market Lemon Herb Rice Bowl is the lightest option at 385 kcal.
What is the easiest Portuguese chicken recipe for beginners?
Frango Piri Piri (Portuguese Spicy Grilled Chicken) is a great place to start — it's rated easy and comes together in about 285 minutes. 18% of the recipes here are beginner-friendly.
What goes well with chicken in Portuguese cooking?
In these recipes, chicken is most often paired with garlic, olive oil, onion, fine sea salt, boiled potatoes and parsley. Portuguese kitchens also lean on olive oil, garlic, bay, piri-piri, coriander and plenty of seafood.
How do I know when chicken is properly cooked?
Cook to an internal temperature of 74°C / 165°F — the juices should run clear and there should be no pink at the bone.
More Portuguese Recipes by Ingredient
Chicken Recipes from Other Cuisines
Free Kitchen Tools
Calculators and converters that pair with this page — no signup needed.