Coconut Lime Chicken Breasts – a one pan, Whole 30 approved dish made with only a handful of ingredients. Dairy Free + Paleo
Updated with Instant Pot instructions
This coconut lime chicken is for everyone out there who gets unbelievably bored eating plain old chicken day in and day out but can’t be bothered with making anything too fancy for dinner.
Oh hey, that’s me!
I’ve said it before and (to be honest I can be a broken record at times) I’ll say it again: while I’ve never been the biggest fan of chicken, Mike can’t get enough of it. He’s all about the white meat while I couldn’t care less. So naturally that means I have to constantly try to come up with new ways to dress it up and make it something really worth eating.
That being said I’m still happily noshing away on this honey mustard chicken salad – bacon, avocado, mustard….just load me up. While I could wax on about how much I love that salad, today it’s all about this coconut lime chicken – and I promise it’s just as good!
Coconut Lime Chicken
Altogether this dish is super easy to make – you only need one large skillet and about 30 minutes to make!
The prep can be broken up into two main parts:
- Prepping the chicken
- Making the coconut lime sauce
The Chicken
To prep the chicken, simply place the breasts between two pieces of plastic cling wrap and pound them down to make them even in thickness. If you own a meat mallet then go ahead and pull that out. I personally just use my rolling pin to bash the meat down and I find it works just as well.
This will help flatten the chicken so that it cooks evenly and makes for more tender chicken. Once flattened, sprinkle each side of the chicken with salt and pepper and move on to browning the breasts.
Melt a tablespoon or two of coconut oil in your skillet. When hot, add the chicken and cook on each side for about 5-7 minutes until a golden crust forms. Once you’ve done that, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate while you make the sauce.
Coconut milk Sauce
Once you’ve removed the chicken, give the pan a little wipe down with a paper towel to remove the brown/black bits. Melt a little more oil, then continue on to sauté your onion.
Cook for a few minutes to soften and then add the pepper. After a few more minutes add the chicken stock, cilantro, lime juice and chili flakes to your pan. Bring the mixture to a slight boil and then let simmer for a few minutes.
Finally, add the coconut milk and continue to let the mixture simmer. It will cook down and thicken slightly. After a little more simmering, add the chicken back to the pan and let cook through fully as it soaks up more sauce and that’s it!
Serve the over a bowl of rice or cauliflower rice (for paleo/low carb) to soak up all the extra sauce and enjoy.
Final Notes & Tips
Whole30: If you need this recipe to strict Whole 30 make sure to check the labels on your chicken stock for hidden sugars.
Notes about thickening:
A few people have had issues with the sauce thickening – this could come down to what type of coconut milk you used. Not all coconut milks are the same and some come out thicker/thinner than others. Aim to use a thicker, full fat coconut milk from a can. You can use just coconut cream as well if you have it on hand. If your sauce doesn’t thicken the way you want it to you can add the starch and water mixture to do the trick for you.
Recipe expectations:
- While the sauce should reduce down and get thicker as your simmer it, it’s not supposed to be really thick like gravy so keep that in mind as you cook.
- This chicken is admittedly not the prettiest looking dish as some of you have commented on. Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the sauce to give it a nice golden colour but keep in mind it will change the flavour. Also remember to wipe down the pan after browning the chicken to remove any leftover brown/black bits. That will go a long way in affecting the final colour.
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Coconut Lime Chicken
Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken Breasts - a one pan, Whole 30 approved dish made with only a handful of ingredients. Dairy Free + Paleo + Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 pounds
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup red onion, it came out to 1/2 onion for me, chopped
- 1 whole red or green chili, chopped optional (use something like an Anaheim chili for a mild heat but the type of chili is up to you & your preferred level of heat)
- 1 cup organic chicken stock*
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, about 1 large lime
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/2 cup full fat unsweetened coconut milk from a can or coconut cream
- pinch turmeric powder (optional for colour)
- 1 tablespoon arrow root starch for paleo/whole 30 or corn starch mixed into 1 tablespoons water optional
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic cling wrap and pound them down to make them even in thickness. This will help the chicken cook evenly and make for more tender chicken. Sprinkle each side of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 5-7 minutes or until browned. Flip over and cook another few minutes to brown the next side. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside on a plate. The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked yet because you'll be returning it to the heat shortly. Wipe down the pan with a paper towel to remove black/brown bits.
- Add a little more oil back to the pan along with the chopped onion to the same skillet and sauté for a few minutes to soften. Add the chili pepper if you're using it. Sauté another couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock, lime juice, cilantro and chili flakes. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce down to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes to let reduce down. Add the coconut milk (and the turmeric if using) and bring to simmer again for another 5 minutes. Add the starch and water at this time if you're using it. You may need to raise the heat slightly higher to bring this to a boil to activate the starch. Once the sauce thickens reduce it back down to a simmer.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Serve with rice or cauliflower rice with the sauce spooned over the top.
- Add an extra sprinkling of cilantro & chillies and enjoy!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Press the sauté button on the instant pot and wait for it to heat up. Add the coconut oil. When the oil is simmering add the red onions and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes to soften.
- Add the chicken stock, lime juice, red pepper flakes, coconut milk and turmeric. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Stir and let simmer for a minute or so. Add the chicken breasts.
- Secure the lid on the instant pot and make sure the dial on top is set to 'sealing'. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. (Press 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cook' to set the timer.) After the time is up the Instant Pot will automatically switch the keep warm. Let it keep warm for 10 minutes, allowing the pot to de-pressurize on it's own before releasing the steam valve.
- After removing the lid, carefully remove the chicken breasts from the soup and transfer to a cutting board or a plate. Cut the chicken up into small pieces.
- With the lid off and the chicken out press the 'Sauté' button again. Bring the sauce to a boil and add your starchy water to thicken. Once it begins to thicken turn off the heat and add the chicken back to the pot along with the chopped cilantro. Taste the sauce again to season with addition salt/pepper/ lime juice if need and enjoy!
Notes
If you need this recipe to strict Whole 30 make sure to check the labels on your chicken stock for hidden sugars.
Notes about thickening:
A few people have had issues with the sauce thickening - this could come down to what type of coconut milk you used. Not all coconut milks are the same and some come out thicker/thinner than others. Aim to use a thicker, full fat coconut milk from a can. You can use just coconut cream as well if you have it on hand. If your sauce doesn't thicken the way you want it to you can add the starch and water mixture to do the trick for you.
Recipe expectations:
While the sauce should reduce down and get thicker as your simmer it, it's not supposed to be really thick like gravy so keep that in mind as you cook.
This chicken is admittedly not the prettiest looking dish as some of you have comment. Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the sauce to give it a nice golden colour but keep in mind it will change the flavour.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size:
g Calories: 317Saturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 323mgCarbohydrates: 6gSugar: 1gProtein: 34gMore Whole30 Chicken Recipes You might like:
Molly says
Do you think this will work if I double the recipe and use 6 pieces of chicken? I want sauce to put over rice too and I need to feed more than 4. Just wondering how much sauce it really makes.
Sarah says
Doubling it should do the trick! Depending on how long you get the sauce to reduce down, you end up with 1-1/2 cups if that helps to picture it
Laurenn says
What kind of chili?
Sarah says
Here’s a link of the exact type of chili pepper I bought – they’re just listed as ‘red chilies’. I think they’re basically just red jalapeños. Hope this helps! http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/sainsburys-red-chillies-60g
Kayte says
I never usually come back to a blog to comment on a recipe – in fact, this might be the first time, but I made this recipe tonight and it is absolutely DELICIOUS. I can’t wait to make it for friends and family. I was sipping the coconut sauce like soup! My husband loved it too. We’re traveling in Thailand now and happened to have all of the ingredients for this dish at our place in our tiny little kitchen, which was another bonus. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Sarah says
I feel very honored! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment – they make my day!
Shay says
I haven’t made this yet, I’m planning to try it tomorrow but I wanted to thank you for having such detailed instructions. I didn’t grow up cooking so it’s nice to have an explanation like flattening the chicken. Based on the reviews, I’m sure I’ll love it.
Sarah says
Thank you so much for saying that! I try to always remember (although I’m sometimes bad at it) to spell out instructions clearly. I’ve found myself stuck in the middle of far too many recipes before when I’m not sure what it is exactly that I’m supposed to do. I hope you love this as much as we did!
Alicia says
Excellent… Seriously awesome. I realized that the package of chicken breasts I had on hand was pretty small, so I diced them up after browning and added fresh green beans that I had pre-boiled to the skillet along with the chicken for the last part of the cooking time. I couldn’t find coconut cream at Whole Foods, but I had read on another site to buy a can of full-fat coconut milk and refrigerate for a few hours prior to cooking. The cream rises to the top and that’s what I used…. No need for me to add the arrowroot/water mixture. Sauce was a perfect consistency! Thank you so much for sharing such a great recipe. Me and my family thank you!
Sarah says
Yay! So happy that you guys liked it!
Constance says
I haven’t tried this yet but it looks delicious! I’m hesitant to use the full fat version of the coconut milk, Is there a low fat alternative without effecting the flavor and consistency?
Sarah says
I used full fat here for the consistency, but if you want to use a light milk substitute that shouldn’t be a problem. You’ll probably just want to thicken the sauce. Someone else left a comment a while back saying that they used almond milk instead and thickened the sauce with arrowroot starch and water and it still came out delicious. Hope that helps!
Irsofat says
I found this recipe and gave it a go. It was fantastic, although mine didn’t turn out near as pretty. It still tasted great. Where could I find the calorie amount of the meal? Thank you again for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Sarah says
So glad you liked it! I just uploaded a nutrition label for this below the recipe if you want to know more than just the calories. According to the nutrition calculator I use it comes out to about 317 calories for 1 chicken breast & 1/4 of the sauce
Melissa Reed says
This recipe was AMAZING! I loved it! I do have one question though…..It says (4) chicken breasts. How much weight would that be about? Because I think I used way too much chicken…..I had two chicken breasts, about 2 1/2 lbs of chicken total? It seemed like there was way more chicken than I should have.
Sarah says
So glad you liked it! I should have clarified the weight on the recipe! The chicken breasts that we’re usually able to buy weighs about 5-6 ounces per breast which comes out to around 1 1/2 pounds of chicken for 4 pieces. I’ll make that more clear in the recipe!
Laura says
This recipe was so delicious, my husband and I fought over the leftovers! We have a local Thai restaurant that makes a coconut soup that tastes just like the sauce. Next time we are going to triple the recipe and chop up the chicken to make it into a soup!
I shared this on Facebook with my friends. Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah says
Thanks for coming back to leave a comment! That’s awesome 🙂 Love the soup idea too!
Eve-Marie says
Wow! great, great, great ! My daughter wanted me to save some for her lunch the next day ; ) Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah says
Aww thank you! So glad to hear you guys enjoyed it 🙂
Heather says
So, I see the title is coconut lime chicken, but I’m wondering if the coconut flavor is prominent? A silly question, maybe, but my husband HATES coconut, however, I’ve used the coconut milk in chicken curry before and he loved it. Just curious what you think. Thanks!
Sarah says
Personally, I don’t think the coconut flavor is that strong. If he’s ok with coconut based curries in the past I *think* he might be alright with this one because a lot of the other flavors shine through. Hope that helps!