This creamy coconut milk chicken recipe is made with fresh lime juice, creamy coconut cream, and tender, juicy chicken breasts. Easy and delicious, have this one-pan, dairy-free, and low-carb chicken dinner on the table in just about 30 minutes!
This creamy coconut milk chicken is one of my all-time favorite, super easy weeknight dinners! It’s yummy any time of year, rain or shine, and so easy to whip together.
I first shared this Thai and Indian inspired recipe with you guys over three years ago – and it remains, even today, one of my go-to simple recipes.
It’s made with simple pantry ingredients like coconut milk, chicken broth, and soy sauce, plus a few fresh ones like tender chicken breasts, zesty lime juice, garlic, and ginger. The creamy coconut milk combined with the tangy freshness of lime juice and saltiness 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! Just ask my 7-year-old (and his friends) who practically polished off what you see in these photos before I had a chance to get any myself!
How to Make Coconut Milk Chicken
(Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below)
1. Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise to make four thinner chicken breast cutlets. If preferred, pound your chicken breasts using a meat tenderizer to equal thickness, however, I find that to be more work and significantly messier.
2. Season generously with salt, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
3. Melt some coconut oil in a large skillet then sear the chicken for about 3-5 minutes on each side. The chicken should be golden and nearly cooked through. Remove chicken to a clean plate leaving behind any juices and seasoning in the skillet.
4. In the same skillet, cook the onions over medium heat until softened. Then add the garlic, ginger, and minced chili pepper (such as jalapeño or serrano pepper).
5. Stir in the chicken stock, fresh lime juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
6. Stir in the coconut cream and return to a simmer.
7. Add the chicken back to the skillet, cover, and cook everything all together until the chicken is fully cooked and heated through.
What to Serve with Creamy Coconut Milk Chicken?
I recommend serving with a side of fragrant basmati rice or jasmine rice. I also love to serve it with a side of roasted sweet potatoes.
To keep this recipe low-carb, try serving with cauliflower rice, zoodles, or steamed veggies like green beans, broccoli, or cauliflower.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- For best results, use full-fat unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream. Using lite coconut milk is not recommended.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can thicken it up by allowing it to simmer, for longer, over medium-low heat, or by adding a little cornstarch slurry. Note, however, that the sauce for this recipe is not meant to be super thick (which is also why it’s so delicious served with warm rice).
- Add additional veggies like bell pepper, zucchini, or tomatoes.
- To make gluten-free: swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos or tamari (available at most grocery stores).
- To make keto-friendly: leave out the brown sugar.
- Make it even more flavorful and add a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce.
- Make it even spicier by adding a generous pinch of cayenne powder to the sauce.
- This coconut milk chicken is also delicious with skinless chicken thighs. Simply adjust the cooking time as needed.
Try these other delicious chicken recipes,
Creamy Mushroom Chicken Recipe
Creamy Chicken Florentine Recipe
Skillet Chicken 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.
Creamy Coconut Milk Chicken Recipe (One-Skillet)
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts - (cut in half lengthwise (or 4 chicken breast cutlets))
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil - or olive oil
- 1 medium onion - diced
- 5 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger - grated
- 1 serrano chili pepper - or jalapeño, diced (optional)
- 1½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice - plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar - (see notes)
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce - (use tamari or coconut aminos for gluten-free)
- 1 (15 ounce) can coconut cream - or full-fat coconut milk
- fresh cilantro - to garnish
- red pepper flakes - to garnish
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise to make four thinner chicken breast cutlets. Season both sides with salt, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and sear for approximately 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden and nearly cooked through. Remove chicken and transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, add one more tablespoon of coconut oil. Add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the onions have softened, add the garlic, ginger, and diced chili pepper (if using). Mix well and continue to cook for one minute more, stirring continuously.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in the fresh lime juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Mix well to combine.
- Allow the mixture to simmer and reduce for approximately 5 minutes, then add the coconut cream.
- Optional - to thicken your sauce, whisk together 1 tsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp water and add directly to the simmering coconut broth. Repeat, as needed, until the desired thickness is reached.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet. Cover and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and heated through.
- Serve garnished with chopped cilantro, red chili flakes, and fresh lime juice.
Jessica's Notes
- For best results, use full-fat unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream.
- The sauce is not meant to be super thick like gravy. You can thicken it up by allowing it to simmer, for longer, over medium-low heat, or by adding a little cornstarch slurry.
- Add additional veggies like bell pepper, zucchini, or tomatoes.
- Use coconut aminos or tamari rather than soy sauce to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Omit the brown sugar to make this recipe keto-friendly.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Can leftovers be frozen?
While I have not tried freezing this recipe, there is a chance that the coconut milk will split when it thaws.
We really enjoyed this recipe. I used chicken tenders and served it over cilantro lime rice and fresh mangos. I will be making this a regular meal on my meal plan!
Thanks for the great review, Jessica 🙂
So… i read the instructions, I completely forgot about the chicken stock and the brown sugar… not on purpose, but it came out amazing. I did use coconut milk not cream, and didn’t see a need for the starch.
My kids had no complaints! and no left over sauce !
Thank you!
This recipe has an awful lot of sauce for just two chicken breasts. Seems to me it would be more appropriate for at least eight. I count 29 oz of liquid here which is almost a quart and it is thin as well like you mention! Wish I had read it more critically before making it because this doesn’t make sense to me. What is one to do with all the excess sauce? I hate to be negative because it is flavorful so perhaps I just don’t understand this type of recipe.
Great question Dale. As mentioned in the post, the saucy dish is best served over steaming hot rice like curry. It’s also delicious with zucchini noodles, steamed vegetables, or cauliflower rice.
Holy heck. We adapted this for bone-in chicken thighs because they’re our favorite and we needed a way to use up a leftover half can or so of coconut milk. We did no measuring but kept everything basically the same except for less coconut. I thickened the sauce with a cornstarch slurry while I took the thighs out and stuck them under the broiler for a wee bit to crisp up. Served over raw zoodles that warmed up in the amazing sauce. My husband practically licked the bowl! We will be coming back to this recipe again, for sure!
Thanks for the kind feedback Ann 🙂
A winner in our house for master 4 , hubby said it smelled and looked amazing (unfortunately due to radiation treatment his tastebuds are still out).
I used coconut milk due to being out of coconut cream , and also used lemons instead of limes , which are ridiculously expensive here . Yummy dish that’s a keeper .
This was an easy and tasty recipe, I used coconut milk instead of coconut cream and it came out lovely. Thank you very much 😊
Thank you for the kind feedback Tammy. I will have to try that variation 🙂
This is such an easy recipe, and I love that it feels like pure comfort food. I’m always looking for stuff like this, and I’m sure it’ll be a big hit! Also, belated happy birthday 🙂
Thank you so much, Richa 🙂