is made with fresh lemon juice, creamy coconut cream, and tender and juicy chicken breasts. Easy and delicious, have this pan chicken, dairy-free, low-carb dinner on the table in only about 30 minutes!
This creamy coconut milk chicken is one of my favorite dinners of all time, super easy on weekdays! It’s delicious at any time of the year, rain or shine, and it’s very easy to put together.
I first shared this Thai- and Indian-inspired recipe with you over three years ago, and it remains, even today, one of my simple recipes
.
It’s made with simple pantry ingredients like coconut milk, chicken broth, and soy sauce, plus some fresh ones like tender chicken breasts, spicy lemon juice, garlic, and ginger. The creamy coconut milk combined with the spicy freshness of lemon juice and the salinity of soy sauce is one of the most amazing flavor combinations.
Best served over steaming hot rice, it’s also delicious with zucchini noodles, steamed vegetables or cauliflower rice.
Kids love it too! Ask my 7-year-old son (and his friends) who pretty much polished what you see in these pictures before I had a chance to get any!
How to
make chicken with coconut milk
(Full ingredients and instructions are on the card of recipes below)
1. Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise to make four thinner chicken breast chops. If you prefer, hit your chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer to even out the thickness, however, I think it’s more work and significantly messier.
2. Season generously with salt, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder.
3.
Melt some coconut oil in a large pan and then seal the chicken for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Chicken should be browned and almost cooked. Remove the chicken to a clean plate leaving behind the juices and seasonings in the pan.
4. In the same pan, cook the onions over medium heat until softened. Then add the garlic, ginger and chopped chili (such as jalapeño or serrano pepper).
5. Add chicken broth, fresh lemon juice, brown sugar and soy sauce, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
6. Add the coconut cream and simmer again.
7. Add the chicken back to the
pan, cover and cook everything together until the chicken is fully cooked and heated.
What to serve with creamy chicken with coconut milk?
I recommend serving with a side of fragrant basmati rice or jasmine rice. I also love serving it with a side of roasted sweet potatoes.
To keep this recipe low in carbs, try serving cauliflower rice, zoodles, or steamed vegetables like green beans, broccoli, or cauliflower.
Notes and tips
- For best results, use unsweetened whole coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream. The use of light coconut milk is not recommended.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can thicken it by letting it simmer, for longer, over medium-low heat, or by adding a little cornstarch milk. Keep in mind, however, that the sauce for this recipe isn’t meant to be super thick (which is also why it’s so delicious served with hot rice).
- Add extra vegetables like bell pepper, zucchini, or tomatoes.
- To make gluten-free: swap soy sauce for coconut or tamari amino acids (available at most grocery stores).
- To make keto-friendly: Skip brown sugar.
- Make it even tastier and add a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce.
- Make it even spicier by adding a generous pinch of cayenne powder to the sauce.
- coconut milk chicken is also delicious with skinless chicken thighs. Simply adjust the cooking time as needed.
This
Try these other delicious chicken recipes
, Creamy chicken recipe with mushrooms Creamy Tuscan chicken recipe
Bruschetta
chicken recipe
Creamy chicken Florentine recipe
Chicken pan with bacon, caper
and olive sauce
Did you try making this creamy coconut milk chicken recipe?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts.
