Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken

October 2, 2024

Healthy, hearty, creamy and bright all at the same time? Yep! Our ultra rich and creamy coconut lime chicken recipe really is all of those things!

Creamy Coconut Milk Chicken Ingredients

Chicken: We use chicken breasts and slice them into cutlets (they cook faster this way). You can also often find pre-cut chicken breast cutlets at the grocery store to save you a little time.
Coconut milk: We would only recommend using full fat coconut milk for this coconut milk chicken recipe. It’s just soooo much better than the “lite” stuff, and your dinner will still be pretty low-carb as well as totally dairy-free!
Fresh cilantro: If you hate cilantro, you could substitute parsley or leave it out. You’d still have a really creamy, delicious one-skillet chicken dinner.
Limes: You’ll need both lime zest and juice to make your coconut lime chicken zingy and delicious!
Brown sugar: Just a hint of sweetness to bring out the creamy coconut flavor.
Vegetable oil: Any neutral oil is OK here — canola, avocado, or even olive oil would work fine.
Sweet onion: We love the way sweet onions meld into the other flavors of this dish.
Fresh garlic and granulated garlic: Twice the garlic power for depth of flavor and umami!
Cornstarch: This just helps to thicken your creamy coconut sauce and make it really rich.

Brown the chicken cutlets. Season the chicken with a little salt, brown sugar and granulated garlic and brown it in the skillet. Set it aside.
Make the creamy coconut sauce. Sauté the onion and garlic, then add coconut milk, cilantro, lime zest and juice, green onions, plus a little more salt and brown sugar.
Simmer the sauce as you add the chicken back to the skillet.
Stir in a little cornstarch slurry to thicken the coconut sauce even more thick, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve!

Serve over White Rice to soak up all the creamy coconut sauce!
To keep this recipe low-carb, you could serve it over cauliflower rice (either store bought, or homemade)
Double down on the cilantro-lime factor and serve this creamy coconut chicken with Cilantro-Lime Rice.

Add more veggies to the recipe if you want to! Thinly sliced zucchini or blanched green beans could be added during that last 15-minute simmer.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days.
You can also make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs! It just may need a slightly longer cooking time.

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October 2, 2024

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1¾ pounds), cut in half horizontally to create 4 cutlets
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small sweet onion, sliced into ¼ inch-thick rounds
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (13.5-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
½ teaspoon lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, (from 2 limes)
3 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Cooked rice, for serving
Red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)

Season the chicken all over with 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar and the granulated garlic.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Once the oil is glistening, add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
Stir in the coconut milk, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, green onions, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon of brown sugar until well combined. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, return the chicken to the pan.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pour the slurry into the sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.
Serve the chicken and sauce over the rice topped with cilantro, green onions, and red pepper flakes if using.

Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken

Join the discussion below.

Avg: 5

Andra

This looks amazing!! Think it would work with boneless skinless chicken thighs?

Definitely!

Megan

So good! Rave reviews from my 8 year old and my husband.

Thanks Megan, we are so happy you all loved it!
Andra

Used boneless skinless thighs, and a little more lime juice this was sooo good and so easy! Will be making again soon. Big hit! Thank you!

Thanks Andra, so happy you love it!
Trina

Um yeah, this was delightful. Thank you!

Thanks Trina, so happy you liked it!