The Best Coconut Lime Chicken Recipe

looking for a tasty and nutritious dinner? Try this easy coconut lime chicken recipe! It’s packed with protein and full of delicious flavor!

This coconut lime chicken features sautéed chicken and is served in a coconut cream sauce packed with lime, garlic, and shallots. It’s perfect served with rice and will become an easy favorite with your family! This is a fantastic, naturally dairy-free dish.

It’s no secret that chicken is one of the most budget-friendly proteins. So we eat it quite a lot, which means we need a number of recipes to avoid eating the same dish all the time.

I’m a huge fan of simple, quick recipes, as I’m sure most moms are, and while this isn’t as simple as instant pot chicken and rice, it’s also not time-consuming.

What kind of chicken to use for this recipe

You can use almost any part of the chicken for this, however, I prefer to use boneless, skinless. Chicken breasts or tenders are the easiest, and chicken thighs are the tastiest.

If you want to use a bone-in, skin-on chicken cut, such as thighs, which are always delicious, you will need to increase the cooking time. I would also cook the chicken skin-side first so crisp it up.

Ingredients for Coconut Lime Chicken

Most of these ingredients are things you’ll probably already have in your pantry or refrigerator. For those you might not, we’ll cover substations in the next section.

• Chicken – boneless, skinless is best
• Oil – I use light olive oil for a neutral flavor
• Shallots – These have such a nice, subtle onion flavor
• Garlic – deliciously pungent
• Chicken broth – for deglazing the pan
• Lime juice – more flavor
• Coconut cream – One of the main flavors, plus it makes your sauce creamy!
• Red pepper – for a little kick
• Cilantro – for added flavor and garnish
• Salt and pepper

Substitutions and Recipe changes

As with most stove-top recipes, there’s a lot you can change to fit your taste preference. At some point, yes, it stops being the same dish. But it’s not like baking, where omitting or changing something can result in a complete recipe failure.

That said, here are some simple changes and substitutions you can make with little to harm:

• Onions instead of shallots. I would figure between 2-4 tablespoons of onion per shallot.
• Lemon juice instead of lime juice. Yes, it’s cilantro LIME chicken, but if you want to make it and don’t have any limes or lime juice, you can use lemon juice, which is very similar.
• Garlic – use as much or as little as you prefer. I love garlic, but I know some kids won’t eat a dinner with too much garlic, so it’s optional.
• Red pepper. If you’re not a fan of spicy hot food, you may want to omit this. On the flip side, if you prefer to use more, go for it. Or substitute chili peppers or jalapeños.
• Cilantro. Not everyone is a fan of cilantro. Feel free to skip this or substitute parsley.
• If you’re using fresh limes for juice, consider adding lime zest from them for extra flavor.
• Add ginger for more flavor complexity

How to Make Cilantro Lime Chicken

This recipe is simple and only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat
2. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle when a drop of water hits it, add the chicken and sauté on each side until golden brown
   
3. Remove chicken from the pan, and add another tablespoon of oil
4. Sauté diced shallots for 3-4 minutes, then add garlic, and sauté another half minute
5. Finally, add pepper flakes, salt, pepper, coconut cream, lime juice, and chicken broth
   
6. Heat, stirring to scrape off the bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet
7. Heat until steaming, and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes to thicken a bit
8. Add 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves to sauce
9. Add chicken back to skillet, and heat through.
   
10. Serve with rice, pasta, or cauliflower rice

What to do with leftovers

For any leftover coconut lime chicken, let it cool to room temperature, place in an airtight container, and store in the fridge. I usually use these Rubbermaid containers, though if I were buying new containers, I would definitely go with glass.

To reheat, simply place back in a skillet and heat over medium-low heat until hot. If the sauce has thickened significantly, you may need to add additional coconut milk, regular milk, or chicken broth to thin it out a bit.

Alternatively, chicken can be placed on a plate or in a bowl and heated in the microwave.

Other chicken recipes for you

• Gluten-Free Chicken and Dumplings
• Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
• Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs
• Cilantro Lime Chicken
• Simple Baked Chicken Piccata

Print