Craving for Nando’s spicy rice? Try our homemade version of Nandos spicy rice recipe. Its fast, easy takes 30 minutes, and just ONE PAN. Plus tastes as delicious as the rice from Nando’s restaurant. Make this fakeaway recipe with our step-by-step instructions below.
The Homemade Nando’s spicy rice recipe ready in 30 minutes
We love Nando’s restaurant food and its on our favorite restaurant list. When I really cannot make it to the restaurant, I make Nando’s rice at home and you will be surprised that this spicy Nandos rice recipe requires minimal ingredients and still so flavorsome. This fakeaway favourite is as easy as making plain yellow rice or white rice with just 2 extra steps.
This mildly spiced Portuguese rice is so versatile, that it is so good to enjoy on its own in a rice bowl or even tuck into your wrap or burritos. Like it spicer, drizzle some peri peri sauce on the rice before serving. My to-go sauce is Mild Peri-Peri, but my husband prefers Hot Peri Peri.
We ensure there is plenty of leftovers to pack some for lunch boxes the next day!
Why make this Vegan Spicy Nando’s rice recipe?
- Fast, Easy, and Budget-Friendly. Get the taste of a restaurant, right at the comfort of your home.
- Dietary requirements – Vegan and Gluten-Free too
- Perfect fakeaway recipe!
- It is a delicious one-pot recipe, that requires minimal ingredients to create a fantastic restaurant standard dish.
- Completely customizable – Add any vegetables of your choice like carrots and sweet corn too. You also add a vegan protein like tofu or vegan chicken!
- Perfect make-ahead recipe for parties and works great for school lunch boxes too.
- Portuguese flavors.
Ingredients you will need
- Long Grain Rice – Any rice variety will work, but my preference is Extra Long Basmati rice. I love Tilda brand rice that perfect for making Veg Biryani or Yellow rice too.
- Peppers – Red bell Peppers or/ and Green Peppers works well in the recipe. Dice them into slightly larger than the onions, else they can get mushy.
- Green Peas – Frozen Peas works perfect in this recipe.
- Spice Powders – I like to add Ground Cumin ( make it at home with Cumin seeds with my recipe ), Turmeric, Chilli Powder or Cayenne pepper, and Smoked Paprika.
- Salt to taste. Keep in mind, stock cube has a bit of salt, so add accordingly.
- Stock Cube – Vegetable Stock cube lends an aromatic flavor to the fried rice. If you are not a Vegan/Vegetarian – you can also use Chicken Stock cube.
- Water – I prefer to use Boiling water from the kettle, as this will reduce the cooking time.
- Olive Oil or any other Neutral flavor oil will work.
How to make Nandos Spicy rice copycat at home?
Prep: To make this Homemade Nando’s fried rice, the very first step is to rinse the long grain rice well and soak it in water for about 15 minutes. In the meanwhile dice the onions, peppers, garlic and gather the spices. These is all the preparation steps needed in this rice recipe. Having Fluffy, separated rice is the key thing in this spicy Portuguese fried rice recipe, so I would highly recommend – do not skip the rinsing and soaking step. Also, I love using Extra long grain Basmati rice.
Aromatics and spices: Next, heat the oil in a pan with a tight-fitting light. Add the chopped onions, garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Cook until fragrant and soft. Now add red pepper, spice powders, salt, and saute briefly.
Add the rice and remaining ingredients: Drain the rice after 15 minutes and add the rice to the pan and saute for a minute until lightly toasty. Add the green peas, water, vegetable stock cube, and allow the rice to boil over medium heat, say 6-7 minutes. At this stage, you will find the water has nearly evaporated and is at the level of the rice.
Cover and Cook: Now carefully place the lid, simmer for 6-7 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn off the flame and allow the rice to stand for another 5 minutes. Fluff and serve the nandos spicy rice immediately.
For extra spicy fried rice, drizzle Nandos hot peri peri sauce or Sriracha before serving. ( optional )
Serving Suggestions
Nando’s style spicy rice is delicious with all your Nando’s favorites like Macho Peas, Peri Chips, Vegetable Burger, Coleslaw and Peri Peri Chicken. It can be tucked with our homemade Falafel, Salad, and Peri-Peri Sauce inside the wrap. These are delicious as a component of rice bowl too.
Storing leftover rice
To store leftovers of Nando’s spicy rice, place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. When reheating, you can warm it on the stove top or in the microwave until heated through. Alternatively put the rice in an oven proof dish covered with a foil. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes.
FAQ’s
How hot is Nando’s spicy rice? Ours is mildly spiced. For extra kick, add 1/4 tsp of Kashmiri chili powder.
Is Nando’s spicy rice suitable for vegans or vegetarians? Absolutely! Our Portuguese seasoned rice is vegan, gluten-free, and suitable for vegetarians.
Can you freeze Spicy rice? Absolutely! Transfer the rice to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 1 month.
Need to reheat Nando’s rice? Defrost in the fridge overnight or thaw in the microwave. Simply warm it on the stove top or in the microwave for a quick and delicious meal. You can also reheat in the oven as mentioned above.
If you love this Spicy Nandos rice recipe, you will also love
Easy Yellow Turmeric Pilau Rice
One Pot Mushroom rice
Restaurant Style Portuguese Spicy fried rice recipe below
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Basmati Rice
- 2 Tsp Olive Oil
- 1½ Cup Water
- 1 Veg Stock cube
- 1 Medium White onion diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Small Red Pepper diced
- ¾ Cup Frozen Green Peas
- ¾ Tsp Turmeric
- ½ Tsp ground cumin
- ½ Tsp Red Chilli Powder
- ½ Tsp Smoked Paprika
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the rice until clear and soak for 15 minutes in cold water. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in the Pan and add the onion, garlic. Saute, and cook for two minutes until fragrant.
- Now add diced red pepper, turmeric, chilli powder, smoked paprika, cumin and salt. Saute briefly for 1 minute.
- Add the rinsed rice and fry for 3-4 minutes until toasty.
- Add 1 1/2 Cup Boiling Water, green peas and stock cube. Stir and allow the rice to boil in medium heat.
- When the water has evaporated to the level of rice, place a lid on the pan and reduce the heat to low.
- Cook for 6-7 minutes. Once the rice has cooked, turn the heat off. Leave the lid on for a few more minutes.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and serve Homemade Nando's spicy rice with your takeaway favorite.
Lauren says
I always love a great copycat recipe! My partner loves Nando’s and I was so happy to find this!
Sandhya's Kitchen says
So glad to know you enjoyed our homemade version of the Spicy rice.
Kechi says
This rice looks so colorful and might even be better than Nando’s cos homemade always the best! Love that it is ready in 30 minutes, too! NICE!
Danielle Wolter says
I absolutely cannot wait to make this! I have been obsessed with nando’s lately so this came at the perfect time.
Claudia Lamascolo says
that looks super delicious, I have everything to make this tonight what a wonderful flavorful recipe thanks for posting this
Lauren Vavala Harris says
This spicy rice is so much better than plain white rice. I can see pairing it with soooo many main dishes – great recipe!!
Shuggy says
Thank you for this great recipe, it was a hit for our iftar (breaking fast) yesterday. I use another recipe which is a lot longer and way more ingredients but I like
That your recipe has 4 spices and 2 veg. Really easy to make – I made 4 cups of rice to feed 16 people as a side dish. My guests want the recipe!!
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Hi Shuggy,
Really pleased to know our Nandos spicy rice was really easy to make and your guests really loved it. Also glad that this dish came handy for Iftar!
Wishing you and your family Ramadan Kareem!
Elana Meissenheimer says
I tried the recipe last night for dinner as I was looking for something to pair chicken strips.
I promose you it tasted better then Nandos spicy rice and strips i even mixed the nandos source for in the rice for extra flavour.
Sharon says
This spicy rice was a great side dish and I really liked that I had everything on hand already to make it.
Elizabeth says
Delicious flavor and wonderful aroma! This is a perfect side dish for a weeknight dinner.
Toni says
This is such an amazing recipe! It was a huge hit with my family! Thanks for the recipe!
Dana Sandonato says
This was so incredibly fragrant and delicious! We loved it and I can’t wait to make it again!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
I made this rice last night and the whole family loved it. We will definitely be making this again as the flavours are perfect.
Brenda Best says
Have this going in the pot. Took a bite before it was done. I couldn’t wait. I like to try 2 new meals each week and this is a keeper.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Thank you so much Brenda. So glad you loved the Nandos spicy rice in the very first bite. This means a lot to me.
Cat D says
This was really good, it’s a keeper!
Bev says
15/04/2024 made this for me and my son’s tea and it was absolutely delicious I paired it with Persian spiced chicken OMG absolutely loved it thank you for sharing this delicious rice recipe. Will definitely be making again
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Thats so amazing Bev! So glad you loved it. Thank you taking time in leaving your feedback on the recipe.