
A weeknight dinner special- Roasted Sheet Pan Peri Peri Chicken and Potatoes. This is a full meal in one, with juicy marinated chicken, perfectly roasted potatoes, and topped with caramelized leek and garlic confit.
It’s rainy and cold outside and the perfect way to combat the winter blues(in my house!), is with a hearty delicious sit down meal for the family. Granted, this chicken IS a bit spicy for the kids, but wow do all the flavors really come together and it is just the perfect combination!
What is Peri Peri Chicken
Again with the dish names that make hub give me the quiz eyes- not that he cares what anything is called when it tastes this good– but I will clear it up for you. Peri Peri is actually a special type of pepper! It is also know as the African Birds Eye Chili and is a little red pepper with lots of heat, and also health benefits.
You can use any type of spicy red pepper in our marinade. We blend it with lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, and spices to create our own homemade Peri Peri Chicken.
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Is Peri Peri Chicken Spicy?
So, yes! If you can get the real Peri Peri peppers the heat will be pretty intense but you can control the level based on the peppers you use. Where I live, the peppers are milder in the winter and hotter in the summer, and I always remember that when cooking with them.
Two small red peppers was the perfect amount of heat for my family, but we do like our food spicy!
Keep in mind that the spicier the pepper you use the hotter your chicken will be!
Peri Peri Chicken Marinade and Sauce
This peri peri chicken is marinated in our homemade sauce, and the vinegar and lemon juice does wonders tenderizing the chicken! It gets a really lovely caramelized color grilling in the oven but stays super soft and juicy on the inside.
How to Make Sheet Pan Peri Peri Chicken
I love how easy this chicken dish is to prepare, and that dinner is ready in an hour with minimal dishes!
For the full hearty meal we have a few things going on, and the trick is to make everything in order so it all finishes at the same time.
Marinade:
First we’ll blend up the Peri Peri marinade- simply add all the ingredients to a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, and blend until pureed.
Pour the marinade over the chicken in a container or a ziplock baggie and let it marinate while we start on the potatoes and caramelized leeks.
To Make Ahead: You can easily whip up the marinade beforehand and let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight, or even meal prep and add a few chicken breasts with some of the marinade to baggies in the freezer.
Roasted Potatoes
While the chicken is marinating we’ll prep our potatoes and get those started in the oven. They take quite a bit longer than the chicken so give them a good 25 minutes to roast before adding anything else.
I use both regular medium sized potatoes and sweet potatoes, cut in half lengthwise. These get a toss in olive oil, salt, and thyme, and then arranged cut side down on a baking sheet to get nice and toasty.
Caramelized Leek and Garlic Confit
The chicken is marinating, potatoes are roasting, and the last thing to do is prepare the cherry on top- a caramelized leek and garlic confit.
This is basically a topping of slow cooked leeks and garlic that we arrange on top of the chicken before serving. Technically(say if you don’t have any leeks) you can serve the dish without it, but I really recommend going all in!
The buttery flavor of the leeks is what takes this from a regular dinner to WOW WHAT IS THIS THING I AM EATING.
Grill the chicken
Lastly, we’ll add the chicken to a separate sheet pan, turn the oven to the grill setting, and cook it for about 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes drizzle a Tablespoon of honey over the chicken breasts for that golden color, and when the chicken is finished, the potatoes and leeks will be too! Serve up and enjoy!
When you make this recipe, be sure to share your photos with us! I love to see what you are cooking up! Add a photo on Pinterest, and say hello on Insta….as always happy cooking.
Love, Estee

Sheet Pan Peri Peri Chicken
Ingredients
Peri Peri Chicken Sauce
- 4 chicken breast
- 2 fresh red birds eye chilies
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in quarters
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tsp sweet red paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 TBSP lemon juice(juice from half a lemon)
Roast Potatoes
- 7 potatoes
- 1 large sweet potato
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
Caramelised Leeks
- 1 leek
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2/4 cup olive oil
- rind from half a lemon(peel the outer yellow off with a small knife)
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
Peri Peri Chicken Marinade
- Preheat oven to 200C.Cut chicken breasts in half and pound to equal thickness throughout. Arrange in a dish or ziplock bag.In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the "S" blade, add all peri peri ingredients, besides the chicken. Pour sauce over chicken, cover and let marinade while we prep potatoes.
Roast Potatoes
- Peel potatoes if desired. I like to leave half for those who like with skin on! Slice in half lengthwise. Scrub the sweet potato and also slice in half lengthwise. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and thyme until all potatoes are seasoned.
- Arrange facedown on a sheet pan and roast for 25 minutes.
Caramelized Leeks
- Slice leek into rings and add in an even layer to a pan. Season with oil, thyme, salt, pepper, lemon rind, and garlic cloves. Cook on a very low flame, tossing about every 15 minutes, until caramelised, about 40 minutes.
Chicken
- After the potatoes have started roasting and the leeks are cooking, add the chicken to a seperate sheet pan. The marinade will let off a lot of water so i like to cook the chicken seperately from the potatoes so the potato bottoms can get caramelized. Add the sheet pan to the shelf above the potatoes in the oven and turn the oven to the grill setting, still on 200 C. Grill for 45-60 minutes. After about 30 minutes, flip chicken and drizzle over 1 Tablespoon of honey on the chicken breasts. Continue to cook until just turning golden and inside is nice and juicy, but cooked through.Check on the potatoes once the chicken goes in and remove when they are fork tender and the bottoms are caramel colored, around when you flip the chicken.
To Serve
- Arrange chicken on a serving platter and the potatoes on the other side. Spoon over the Caraemlized leek confit . There will be extra confit- place that in a little bowl to serve as well, its delicious!
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