A spicy little fakeaway featuring homemade Nando’s-inspired rice, smoky BBQ chicken thighs and a drizzle of PERi-PERi sauce — with enough leftover rice for three more meals!
🌶️ When the Takeaway Craving Hits Before Payday
Sometimes you get a craving for a good takeaway or one of your favourite restaurant meals.
You know exactly what you fancy. You’ve practically decided what you’re ordering, and then you remember one tiny little detail.
It’s not payday yet.
Or perhaps payday has been and gone, but between the food shopping, bills and everything else life likes throwing at you, there isn’t quite enough spare money to justify treating yourself to a restaurant meal.
Does that mean abandoning the craving entirely?
Absolutely not.
Today’s little kitchen adventure is all about bringing a taste of Nando’s home without the restaurant bill!
I came across Easy Peasy Foodie’s Homemade Nando’s Spicy Rice recipe and thought it would be perfect for a homemade fakeaway.
And because rice alone wasn’t going to satisfy this particular craving, I decided to pair it with boneless chicken thighs cooked using Nando’s Smoky BBQ Bag & Bake, finished with a drizzle of Nando’s Medium PERi-PERi Sauce.
Now, the boys weren’t joining me for this particular dinner. Neither of them is particularly keen on spicy food, so this was a little solo kitchen adventure.
Which meant I could enjoy my spicy dinner in peace.
And, as it turned out, have enough rice left over for three more meals!
📖 The Original Recipe
Today’s recipe comes from Eb Gargano at Easy Peasy Foodie.
Her Homemade Nando’s Spicy Rice takes inspiration from the popular Nando’s side dish, combining rice, red pepper, onion, chicken stock, peas and a selection of spices.
And the best part?
It’s designed to be ready in just 20 minutes, using one saucepan.
At a Glance
Original recipe: Homemade Nando’s Spicy Rice
Created by: Eb Gargano
Website: Easy Peasy Foodie
Original servings: 4–6
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Method: One-pan rice
For my version, I stuck to Eb’s original ingredient measurements rather than scaling everything down just because I was cooking for myself.
After all, if I’m going to spend time making something lovely, I might as well make enough to enjoy again.
The chicken thighs, Smoky BBQ seasoning and Medium PERi-PERi Sauce were my own additions to turn the rice into a complete fakeaway dinner.
🛒 What I Used
For this recipe, I used a mixture of Asda and Iceland products.
For the Spicy Rice
| Ingredient | Product |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp olive oil | From my cupboard |
| 1 small onion | ASDA Brown Onions |
| 1 small red pepper | JUST ESSENTIALS by ASDA Mixed Peppers |
| ½ tsp chilli flakes | COOK by ASDA Crushed Chillies |
| 1 tsp turmeric | COOK by ASDA Ground Turmeric |
| 1 tsp smoked paprika | COOK by ASDA Smoked Paprika |
| 300g long-grain rice | ASDA Easy Cook Long Grain White Rice |
| 600ml chicken stock | ASDA Chicken Stock Cubes |
| Salt and pepper | To taste |
| 100g frozen peas | Iceland Garden Peas |
For My Fakeaway Chicken
- Iceland Boneless Chicken Thigh Fillets — 600g pack
- Nando’s Smoky BBQ Bag & Bake — 20g
- Nando’s Medium PERi-PERi Sauce — 250g bottle, for drizzling
A Little Shopping Cupboard Victory
One thing I particularly liked about this dinner was how much of it I already had at home.
The onions, stock cubes and peas were leftovers from making Spaghetti Cowboy Pie.
Meanwhile, the rice, spices and PERi-PERi Sauce had already been sitting in my cupboards for a while.
Sometimes, rather than creating an entirely new shopping list, you just need a recipe that gives those ingredients you’ve already paid for a purpose!
And I think this one did that rather nicely.ut.
💷 The Budget Breakdown
Ah yes, the important question.
How much did my little fakeaway actually cost?
Because the whole point of this dinner was satisfying a restaurant craving without spending restaurant money.
And one of the biggest advantages this time was that I’d already bought quite a few of the ingredients for previous meals or general cupboard supplies.
How Much Did the Spicy Rice Cost?
Using online supermarket prices and the original recipe quantities, here’s my estimated breakdown.
| Ingredient | Estimated Cost Used |
|---|---|
| Olive oil — 1 tbsp | £0.17 |
| Brown onion — 1 small | £0.10 |
| Red pepper — 1 from a 3-pack | £0.60 |
| Crushed chillies — ½ tsp | £0.04 |
| Turmeric — 1 tsp | £0.07 |
| Smoked paprika — 1 tsp | £0.05 |
| ASDA Easy Cook Rice — 300g | £0.38 |
| Chicken stock — 600ml | £0.14 |
| Iceland Garden Peas — 100g | £0.21 |
| Total Estimated Rice Cost | £1.76 |
Not bad at all!
The small spice quantities are estimated, and I’ve used a standard Asda olive oil price for costing because I didn’t record the exact oil brand.
The Cost Per Serving
Total estimated rice cost: £1.76
Original recipe servings: 4–6
Actual generous portions: 5
Cost per original serving: Approximately £0.29–£0.44
Cost per actual generous serving: approximately £0.35
And considering I ended up eating two portions, my rice for dinner worked out at approximately 70p!
The remaining three portions went into the freezer, ready for future dinners.
That’s five generous helpings of spicy rice from one cooking session, costing less than £2 in ingredients.
Now that’s the sort of meal preparation I can get behind.
What About the Full Shopping Basket?
If I were buying everything needed for the rice from scratch, the estimated full-pack basket would be approximately £15.72, including a reference-priced bottle of olive oil.
Of course, that doesn’t mean £15.72 went into the saucepan.
There would still be plenty of rice, spices, oil, peas, onions and peppers left over to use in other meals.
For my complete fakeaway, the additional products were:
| Product | Listed Pack Price |
|---|---|
| Iceland Boneless Chicken Thigh Fillets — 600g | £4.00 |
| Nando’s Smoky BBQ Bag & Bake — 20g | £1.00 |
| Nando’s Medium PERi-PERi Sauce — 250g | £2.00 |
The full-pack shopping basket for the rice ingredients and chicken accompaniments would therefore be approximately £22.72 if starting with absolutely nothing.
My actual checkout spend for this meal was considerably different, though, because I already had so much of it at home.
I’ve kept the chicken and sauce separate from the rice’s 35p portion cost, as I didn’t record the exact chicken weight or sauce quantity used on my dinner plate.
My Budget Verdict
For approximately 35p per generous rice portion, I’m very happy with this result.
Especially when I now have three more portions sitting in the freezer, waiting for a future dinner.
And that’s another thing I love about making fakeaways at home. You’re not necessarily paying for one meal and one meal only.
Sometimes, you’re paying for several future meals without even realising it.
Budget note: Figures are estimates based on online prices checked in October 2026, not my original receipts. Small ingredient quantities, stock cube usage and olive oil have been estimated. Electricity and appliance running costs aren’t included.
⏰ The Real-Life Timings
Now, the original recipe promises spicy rice in 20 minutes.
Which sounds wonderful.
Here’s how my evening actually went.
5:30pm — Started preparation.
5:38pm — Finished preparing the ingredients.
5:40pm — Started cooking.
6:20pm — Finished cooking and had dinner ready.
My Actual Timings
Preparation: 8 minutes
Recorded cooking window: 40 minutes
Total elapsed time: 50 minutes
The preparation was genuinely straightforward.
All I needed to do was chop the onion, chop the red pepper and make up the chicken stock.
No complicated preparation or particularly fiddly stages.
The rice itself needed longer than the original recipe suggested, which I’ll get into shortly.
The chicken was a different story entirely, taking over an hour to cook properly. I didn’t record its separate starting time, so the timings above represent my recorded preparation and final cooking window rather than its full individual cooking time.
And speaking of kitchen equipment…
🧙♀️ The Witches Pot Makes an Appearance
There’s one little detail about this particular cooking adventure that deserves a mention.
The original recipe requires a saucepan with a lid.
Simple enough, right?
Except apparently, somewhere along the way, I’ve ended up with a collection of saucepans that no longer have their lids.
The only suitable option was my enormous cooking pot.
Affectionately known as the Witches Pot.
So there I was, making a relatively straightforward batch of spicy rice in a pot that looks more suited to brewing enough potion for an entire village.
Still, it had a lid.
And that’s what mattered.
🫑 Starting with the Vegetables and Spices
First came the chopping.
One onion and one red pepper, diced and ready to go.
Once the vegetables were in the pot, it was time for the spices.
Smoked paprika, turmeric and chilli flakes.
Nothing particularly complicated, but together they quickly started giving the vegetables a lovely warm colour.
The preparation and cooking instructions were lovely and straightforward to follow, which is always appreciated when trying a recipe for the first time.
And I was already looking forward to seeing how the finished rice would turn out.
🍚 Bringing the Spicy Rice Together
Next came the rice and chicken stock.
I used 300g of Asda Easy Cook Long Grain White Rice and the original 600ml stock measurement.
At this stage, the contents of the Witches Pot had developed a rather impressive orange colour.
Now, this is where I needed to make my first proper adjustment.
The original recipe says to cook the rice for approximately seven minutes before adding the peas.
However, after those seven minutes, the liquid had already been absorbed and the rice was still hard.
Not quite what we’re aiming for!
So I added more water to allow the rice to continue cooking.
I also added the peas at this stage, giving them plenty of time to cook through alongside everything else.
After looking back at the original recipe, I discovered that Eb specifically mentions adjusting the cooking time depending on the rice you’re using.
My Asda Easy Cook Rice recommends approximately 15 minutes on the hob, so it makes sense that it needed a little longer than the rice used in the original recipe.
Thankfully, adding the extra water worked.
And eventually, we had spicy rice!
🍗 Meanwhile, the Smoky BBQ Chicken…
While the rice was doing its thing, I also had the chicken to contend with.
I used Iceland Boneless Chicken Thigh Fillets with Nando’s Smoky BBQ Bag & Bake.
The idea was simple enough: season the chicken, cook it, then serve alongside the rice with a drizzle of Medium PERi-PERi Sauce.
Unfortunately, the chicken wasn’t quite as cooperative as I’d hoped.
After 40 minutes, it still wasn’t cooking as quickly as I needed it to, so I even resorted to completely cutting off the top section of the cooking bag, hoping that exposing the chicken would help it finish cooking.
Even with my oven turned right up to 240°C towards the end.
At this point, I swear my oven knows when I’m trying to make something nice and deliberately decides to test my patience.
For clarity, this is simply what happened during my attempt, not a cooking method I’d recommend following. Nando’s Bag & Bake has specific temperature and cooking-bag instructions that should be followed, and chicken needs to be thoroughly cooked before serving.
Thankfully, once the chicken was finally ready, it looked rather promising.
Although by this point, the rice had been considerably less troublesome than the chicken.
Who would’ve thought the supposedly straightforward Bag & Bake would end up being the most dramatic part of the entire fakeaway?
And with everything FINALLY cooked, it was time to assemble my dinner.
🍽️ Bringing My Homemade Nando’s Together
Now for the part I’d been looking forward to all evening.
I spooned a generous helping of spicy rice into my bowl, added the cooked chicken thighs and finished everything with Nando’s Medium PERi-PERi Sauce.
And I have to say, it looked pretty good!
Golden rice, little pops of green from the peas, red pepper throughout and smoky BBQ chicken alongside it.
Exactly the sort of dinner I’d been craving.
Of course, looking good and tasting good are two different things.
Time to find out whether this homemade fakeaway was actually worth it!
🌶️ The First Taste
Well.
That rice certainly knows how to bring the heat!
Despite the relatively small quantity of spices used, it really packed a spicy punch.
And I mean that in a good way.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The combination of smoked paprika, turmeric and chilli flakes worked beautifully, giving the rice plenty of flavour alongside the onion, pepper and peas.
And the colour!
That gorgeous golden-orange colour alone made the finished dish look rather inviting.
Was It Too Spicy?
For me? No.
It definitely had a kick, though, and I can understand why the boys wouldn’t have been particularly interested in joining me for dinner.
This was very much one for someone who enjoys a little heat with their food.
What About the Chicken?
The Smoky BBQ chicken made a lovely accompaniment to the rice, and the Medium PERi-PERi Sauce helped complete the restaurant-inspired meal.
The cooking time was certainly frustrating, but I was pleased to finally get everything onto the plate.
The Ultimate Verdict?
I enjoyed the rice so much that I actually went back for seconds.
SECONDS.
For a recipe I’d originally planned to make, eat one portion of and freeze the rest, I think that’s quite the endorsement.
👩🍳 What I’d Change Next Time
Now, despite thoroughly enjoying this recipe, there are a couple of practical things I’d bear in mind for my next attempt.
Check My Rice’s Cooking Time
This is the biggest lesson from the rice itself.
The Asda Easy Cook Long Grain Rice needed longer than the original recipe’s suggested cooking time.
Next time, I’ll account for that from the beginning and keep some additional hot water available if needed.
I don’t think there’s any reason to start changing the spice quantities or other ingredients just yet.
Sort Out That Oven!
I think this one goes without saying.
When I’m cutting away the top of a cooking bag after 40 minutes because the chicken still isn’t cooking properly, something clearly isn’t going according to plan!
Next time, I’ll be sticking to the manufacturer’s specified cooking temperatures and bag instructions, rather than trying to compensate for my increasingly temperamental oven.
Because while I absolutely loved the finished fakeaway, spending over an hour battling with chicken wasn’t quite the relaxing restaurant-inspired evening I had in mind.
Would I Change the Spice Level?
Actually, no!
The rice had a proper spicy kick, but that’s exactly what I wanted from this particular dinner.
Sometimes you want something mild and comforting.
Other times, you want your taste buds to know they’ve been invited to dinner.
And this was definitely the latter.
❄️ Three More Dinners for the Freezer!
Now, here’s another reason I’m rather pleased with this recipe.
Despite going back for seconds, I still had enough rice left over to make three additional portions.
So, from the original batch, I managed:
Total generous portions: 5
Portions eaten: 2
Portions saved for the freezer: 3
And naturally, everything was portioned into labelled freezer bags, complete with the date and contents.
I do love having little portions of homemade food ready to pull out when I don’t fancy starting dinner completely from scratch.
Especially when they’re something I genuinely enjoy eating.
For anyone planning to freeze cooked rice, it’s important to cool it quickly, freeze it promptly and reheat it thoroughly, only once.
And now I have three future spicy-rice cravings partially taken care of.
All from one evening’s cooking.
🔁 Would I Make Homemade Nando’s Spicy Rice Again?
Oh, absolutely!
In fact, I can confidently say I’ll be making another batch once my current freezer stash runs out.
It was easy to prepare, used ingredients I mostly already had at home and produced five generous servings.
The only adjustment I needed was adding extra water and allowing more cooking time for my particular rice.
Flavour-wise?
No complaints whatsoever.
It had exactly the sort of spicy kick I was hoping for, and paired with the Smoky BBQ chicken, it made a thoroughly enjoyable homemade fakeaway.
And considering I went back for seconds, I think that says quite enough!
⭐ Final Rating & Thoughts
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
Taste: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
Ease: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ 4/5
Fakeaway Satisfaction: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
Would I Make It Again? Absolutely — as soon as my freezer stash runs out!
This homemade Nando’s-inspired spicy rice was a definite success in my kitchen.
It was packed with flavour, surprisingly spicy considering how little seasoning went into it, and incredibly straightforward to prepare.
Yes, the rice needed additional water and a little extra cooking time, and yes, the chicken took considerably longer than I’d hoped.
But neither of those things would stop me making this rice again.
Especially when one batch produced five generous portions and cost approximately 35p per serving in ingredients.
And that’s rather the point of these homemade fakeaway experiments, isn’t it?
Sometimes you fancy a favourite restaurant meal, but the budget simply isn’t there.
That doesn’t mean you can’t still have something lovely for dinner.
Sometimes all it takes is a few cupboard ingredients, a little inspiration and an enormous saucepan affectionately known as the Witches Pot.
Oh, and perhaps an oven that cooperates a little better than mine.
💬 Come & Chat
What’s your favourite takeaway or restaurant meal to recreate at home?
Are you a Nando’s fan, or is there another fakeaway you turn to when you fancy something special without spending too much?
And more importantly…
How spicy do you like your rice?
Because this one certainly wasn’t shy about bringing the heat!
Let me know in the comments! ❤️
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