Piri Piri Chicken w/ Mozzarella Toastie

Piri piri chicken with mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and a spicy ketchup…

Don’t be discouraged, I believe all toasties should be made without too much fuzz and difficulties! So, while it might sound like an exotic toastie, we have discovered the perfect recipe to make this perfect toastie in a heartbeat!

This toastie combines a creamy mozzarella with chicken marinated in piri piri. Piri piri is a spice blend from Portugal with tons of flavor and a nice little kick to it. The added sun dried tomatoes add some sweet-tart intensity to this recipe. Served with spicy ketchup!

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Piri Piri Chicken Toastie FAQs

What is Piri Piri/Peri Peri seasoning? 

Piri Piri or Peri Peri is an african pepper that originated in Mozambique and its borders with South Africa and is used in Portuguese cuisine. It is known as sauce, marinade or seasoning.

The ingredients of the sauce/seasoning/marinade vary, but the most common ingredients are:

• Chili
• Garlic
• Onion
• Pepper
• Bay leaves
• Paprika 
• Basil
• Oregano
• Kardemom
• Lemon zest

Can you use store bought seasoning or do you make your own?

For this recipe, I used a store bought seasoning and added olive oil, extra chili flakes and salt to make the marinade. That being said, you can make your own piri piri seasoning if you want to or buy any kind of brand that you like (or is available!) 

If you don’t have piri piri seasoning available, you can easily make your own mixture. It uses spices that you probably have already in your cupboard. 

• I like this recipe from Sprinkles and Sprouts!

Do you need to add chili flakes to the piri piri marinade?

Originally, piri piri is made using a special African pepper (called the African Bird’s Eye Chili). It is traditionally a spicy marinade or sauce. However, the Euroma blend I use is not very spicy, so I decided to add a little extra kick to it by throwing in some more chili flakes. 

If you have bought a pre-made blend that is already spicy in and of itself, you don’t need to add more chili-flakes. If you’re using a spice mixture that is not spicy and you like to add some more spice to it, go for that extra pinch! 🙂

Do you need to add salt to the piri piri marinade?

If the premade seasoning you are using is already using salt, you do not need to add more salt to make the marinade. 

In fact, most deli-meat chicken slices already contain quite some salt, so you want to use it sparingly!

Could you use chicken breast instead of deli meats for the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie?

For simplicity’s sake, I prefer to use deli meats over chicken breast on toasties. The slices fit better and make for a more equally toasted sandwich. However, if you don’t have deli meats available and you want to use chicken breast instead, you could do so. 

In the case of leftover chicken: try to cut the meat as thinly as possible, or grab a fork and pull it off: you’ll make your own pulled chicken piri piri toastie! 

• After pulling off the meat, let it marinade in a bowl first. 

If you still need to prepare the chicken, you can either boil it until it is thoroughly cooked or you could grill piece by piece on the grill (in case of grilling, marinate the chicken first!)

Do you have to add the sundried tomatoes to the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie?

I have a rule that every toastie needs three ingredients (except for the classic ham & cheese!). So, in my opinion, this toastie needed something to go with the chicken and the mozzarella. 

Both chicken and mozzarella taste delicious with sundried tomatoes. It was quite an easy choice to pick sundried tomatoes as the third ingredient. 

If you feel like using something else you could use raw tomatoes, too, or leave them out altogether. 

What kind of bread goes well with the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie?

We chose to use plain, white bread for this toastie. However, something a tad more artisanal would have been great, too! 

It’s quite an artisanal recipe, after all!

Some other recommendations include: 

• White sourdough
• Whole grain
• Something with nuts and/or seeds

Could you use another type of cheese for the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie? 

Mozzarella is the perfect, soft, creamy cheese that goes with this toastie, however, you could use any other kind of cheese that is mild and creamy. 

The following cheeses would also go great with this toastie: 

• Regular cheese
• Mild cheddar
• Cream cheese
• Goat cheese
• Feta cheese
• Brie cheese
• Ricotta cheese

And… If you’re up for a flavor bomb, go for blue cheese! 🙂

Is there a vegetarian version of the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie? 

Just because the meat is in the title, doesn’t mean that you can’t eat this toastie if you’re a vegetarian. 

If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, I recommend replacing the chicken with one of the following vegetables: 

• Red pepper
• Yellow pepper
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Tomatoes
• Tofu
• Tempeh

Is there a vegan version of the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie? 

My recommendation for to make the Piri Piri Chicken Toastie vegan is the following:

• Use tofu instead of chicken
• Use eggplant instead of cheese
• Make sure to use vegan bread
• Make sure to use vegan seasoning

Apply the following changes: 

1. Grill slices of eggplant before using it on the toastie
2. Cut the tofu in slices or tiny pieces. 
3. Marinate the tofu 
4. For extra flavor, marinate the eggplant, too! 🙂