If you love Thai flavours, you’ll love this lime coconut chicken. Pan seared chicken breasts in a rich coconut lime sauce that’s light enough and easy enough to make on even the busiest weeknight.
- Tender and juicy – no dry chicken here, thank you very much. It’s so easy to make beautifully tender chicken.
- All made in one pan – everyone loves LESS washing up
- It’s quick – less than 30 minutes and this can be on the table
- Simple ingredients – you can get everything you need from your local store
- Family and friends – this works as a family weeknight dinner and is just as great when entertaining friends.
- Dairy free & gluten free
Try this ever popular Thai panang curry with prawns too.
This recipe was first published here on 19th January 2019 and has been updated with new information and images.
FEATURED COMMENT
Oh-my-god. When I tell u this is delicious. Look in the dictionary under the word delicious & u will find this recipe there. I made this (super easy, very healthy) it easily became one of my favorite dishes, I’m making it for friends, lovers, family & I’m passing it on to as many as I can.
Sherri Todd
Never Miss a Recipe!
Get the latest recipes straight to your inbox!
Table of contents
It’s no secret I love chicken – it’s just so seriously versatile (and yum). One day you’re eating honey lemon pepper wings, the next it’s this Japanese fried chicken or a chicken schnitzel burger and now you can have this lime coconut chicken.
Ingredients you’ll need
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Chicken: I use skinless boneless chicken breast, however, feel free to use skinless boneless chicken thighs (removing excess fat). I have made this with bone-in skin-on thighs too – not as easy to eat but taking the time to get that crunchy skin is a game-changer.
- Onion: I use red onion. Shallots are a wonderful alternative but brown onion works just as well.
- Chilli: This recipe has chilli in two forms but feel free to adjust to taste. There’s fresh chilli and a little dried chili flakes (red pepper flakes).
- Ginger and garlic: This duo adds great flavour and tang.
- Coconut milk: You’ll get best results using full fat coconut milk from a can. Give the can a good shake before you use it. You could use coconut cream but it will end in a much thicker sauce (so you may need to water it down) and low fat coconut milk works but just doesn’t give as much flavour.
- Vegetable stock: Broth or stock add some flavour and richness to the coconut sauce. I use vegetable stock but you can use chicken stock instead. I prefer to use a low salt stock which makes it easier to adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Fish sauce: A classic in Thai recipes, fish sauce adds a hit of salt and umami.
- Lime juice: Please use fresh lime juice (not the bottled variety) for the best flavour.
- Cornflour: Cornflour (aka cornstarch) thickens the sauce so it coats the chicken beautifully.
- Bok choy: I use bok choy as it cooks quickly and is so good in Asian style recipes like this. You can swap it for a number of veggies like snow peas, spinach, other Asian greens. Broccoli works too but make sure to slice it thinly or par boil it for 2 minutes before adding to the coconut sauce.
With classic Thai ingredients like fish sauce, lime, chilli, coconut and garlic, lime coconut chicken is great served over rice (or even cauliflower rice) with some lime wedges and herbs (like coriander / cilantro or thai basil) over the top.
Try adding some Thai green curry paste too for extra flavour and a little spice.
Love Thai food? Check out my Essential Thai Ingredients.
How to make it
How easy is lime coconut chicken? Seriously easy. Weeknight dinner, less than 30 minutes kind of easy.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Cook the chicken: Season the chicken on both sides, then cook it in a pan until golden on each side (5-8 minutes each side, depending on the thickness). Set the chicken aside on a warm plate covered with aluminium foil.
- Cook the aromatics: Saute the onion until starting to soften then add the ginger, garlic, chilli flakes and fresh chilli. You want to cook this only for a minute until it’s fragrant and lovely.
- Make the sauce: To the same pan, add the coconut milk, stock and fish sauce. Combine the lime juice and cornflour, then add that as well and give it a good stir. Bring it to a simmer and let it thicken a little.
- Combine it all: Add the bok choy and chicken – make sure to add any of the chicken juices from the plate too, it’s all flavour. Let it cook for a couple of minutes to start softening the bok choy. You want it tender but still with a crunch.
Done! Honestly, this dish is so quick to make but is absolutely bursting with flavour. It has all the creamy, tangy, umami vibes you need.
I use chicken cutlets for this recipe (chicken breasts sliced into two pieces). If you want to know more check out my full guide to chicken cutlets.
Tips and variations
- Chicken thickness: Where I am, chicken breasts tend to be quite large so I normally cutlet my chicken breasts which just means to slice them in half through their thickness (or perpendicular to your chopping board) so that you have 2 thinner breasts.
Whether you use this method or just use smaller chicken breasts, if the thicker end is much thicker than the thinner end, it’s a good idea to cover it with plastic wrap, then pull out the meat mallet to gently thin the thicker parts out. This not only helps the chicken cook quicker but also more evenly.
- Chicken temperature: The chicken is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 74C / 165F. Chicken will become dry if overcooked so a digital meat thermometer is a great tool to have on hand, to ensure you always get juicy chicken.
- Sauce consistency: If you like a thinner sauce, simply leave out the cornflour (cornstarch).
Serving and storage
This lime coconut chicken recipe makes enough for 4-6 serves – this depends on the size of the chicken breasts and the hunger of those eating it. I find, slicing the chicken before serving, makes it go further than the 4 serves.
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. The bok choy does tend to lose it’s vibrant green but it is still completely edible. Reheat leftovers in the microwave or in a pan on the stove until hot.
Variations
This dish can easily be made vegan / vegetarian too. Swap the chicken for firm tofu like reader, Chrystyna, did (see comments section) then swap out the fish sauce for soy sauce or tamari instead.
More chicken recipes you’ll love
- Thai Satay Chicken
- Thai green chicken curry
- Creamy Tuscan chicken
- Creamy peppercorn chicken
- Creamy lemon thyme chicken
- Baked salsa chicken
- Pistachio chicken
Did you try this recipe for coconut lime chicken?
Leaving a rating and comment below the recipe is so helpful!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to the newsletter for free recipes straight to your inbox. Also, follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
Lime Coconut Chicken
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large, sliced in half)
- ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or coconut oil)
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 long red chilli, fresh, finely chopped (seeds removed) (notes 4)
- ¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- 4 small bunches bok choy, washed and quartered into 4 long pieces each.
- Lime and coriander (cilantro) to serve
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- A good non-stock frying pan or large skillet
- I always use wooden spatulas when cooking (as opposed to the silicone type I use when baking)
Instructions
- Dry the chicken breasts using paper towel. Sprinkle the salt and pepper evenly over both sides.
- Heat half the oil in a large skillet / frypan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken pieces. Cook for around 5-8 minutes (notes 1) until golden underneath, then flip and cook on the other side or until just cooked through (internal temperature should be 74C / 165F on a meat thermometer).
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a warm plate, covered with aluminium foil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining oil to the pan.
- Add the onion and saute, stirring regularly, until softened about 2-3 minutes. As it softens, stir to pick up all the chicken flavour from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the fresh chilli, chilli flakes, ginger and garlic and cook for a minute, until fragrant.
- Pour in the coconut milk, chicken stock and fish sauce. In a small bowl combine the lime juice and cornflour and mix until smooth. Pour into the pan and stir well immediately.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and continue to simmer for around 5 minutes until it thickens.
- Add the bok choy and return the chicken pieces, including any juices from the plate. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the bok choy is just tender but still crunchy.
- Serve over rice with fresh coriander and a wedge of lime on the side.
- Please take a moment to leave a rating and comment below – it's easy and helps more than you know.
Video
Notes
- Cooking time: The time the chicken takes to cook depends on how thick your pieces are. In these photos, I’ve used two large chicken breasts and sliced them in half to make 4 thinner ones.
If the thicker end of your chicken is a lot thicker than the thinner end, it’s a good idea to even it out. Cover it with plastic wrap, then pull out the meat mallet to gently thin the thicker parts out just a little (not super thin). This not only helps the chicken cook quicker but also more evenly. - Chicken temperature: The chicken is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 74C / 165F. Chicken will become dry if overcooked so a digital meat thermometer is a great tool to have on hand, to ensure you always get juicy chicken.
- Sauce consistency: If you like a thinner sauce, simply leave out the cornflour (cornstarch).
- Chilli: Adjust the chilli heat to your taste by leaving out or adding more dried chilli flakes. Also, the seeds in fresh chilli hold more heat, so scrape those out if you want a milder dish or leave some in for a super spicy meal.
This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission for my referral, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sugar Salt Magic.
32 Comments on “Lime Coconut Chicken”
Thank you for the recipe. Worked really well and my family even kids really liked it. I didn’t have cornflour, just used normal plain flour. Also didn’t have fish sauce but it was still nice. Added a tiny bit of sweet paprika powder to give a little more colour to the sauce. Will make this more often : )
I’m so happy you loved it, Susann.
Very good recipe, it was for dinner tonight.
So happy you love it, Joey 🙂
I can’t give this arating because I didn’t have all the ingredients and had to sub (spinach for bok choy), soy/vinegar for fish sauce, no chilli pepper…but it was amazing and I can’t wait to try it as written. Thank you!
Yes, I’ve used spinach before too – great swap. I’m so happy you love it 🙂
I was persuaded by Sherri’s review that was posted to Instagram, and I am very happy with that decision! I made this for dinner last night and it came together so quickly and easily that I already know it’s going to be added to the regular dinner rotation.
I didn’t have all of the listed ingredients, so I replaces the red chili with a diced jalapeno and the bok choy with green bell peppers. I also diced my chicken instead of leaving them whole. I love recipes like this where there’s plenty of room for customization – you can sub in lots of different vegetables! I think that I’ll add some mushrooms next time. 🙂
Thanks so much for trying it, Lauren. It’s one of the things I love about cooking; being able to adjust to your own tastes or to what you have on hand. Great swaps 🙂
Oh-my-god
When I tell u this is delicious
Look in the dictionary under the word delicious & u will find this recipe there.
I made this (super easy, very healthy) it easily became one of my favorite dishes, I’m making it for friends, lovers, family & I’m passing it on to as many as I can.
This makes me so happy. I’m so happy you love it, Sherri. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Just made this recipe in advance of dinner tonight, using boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts and adding the leftover of a green pepper I had in the fridge.
It’s smelling and tasting amazing! Just going to add some chopped coriander right at the end when I heat it back up, it tastes like the easiest (and cheapest!) thai green sauce I’ve ever made!
(I will add just one slight suggestion – I would definitely add some sweetness to balance all the lime (going with the whole Thai sweet/sour/hot/salty balance), just 1 scant tsp of sugar really made a difference to mine. Guess it depends on your limes though.)
So happy you love it, MissErica 🙂
So simple yet so flavoursome! I will definitely be making this again
I’m so happy you love it 🙂
Soooo delicious!! Just the right amount of kick and the flavour is spot on!
I’m so happy to hear you love it as much as I do, Wendy. Thanks so much for making my recipe 🙂
I tried this at home and we loved it!! Easy recipe to follow and full of flavour ⭐️
So happy to hear this, Suzanne. I truly appreciate you trying my recipe.
So easy but so full of flavour. I cut the chicken into chunks before simmering in the sauce and it still worked well.
Love this tweak, Hayley. So happy you love the recipe 🙂
Made this with extra firm tofu instead of chicken and it was delicious.
Great idea, Chrystyna. That sounds so good.
Halved recipe, 2 small chicken breasts, made 1 x good sized dinner and a lunch. Loved it
Excellent, so happy you liked it Judy
Followed recipe and added baby portobellos to it. Amazing!
That sounds like a great addition Denise. So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
just made this for dinner very tasty will be a family favourite
Fantastic Michaela. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I didn’t have fresh chili so I skipped it and it was still very delicious. After frying the chicken, I actually simmer it in the sauce for longer to soak up the flavor, it was so good and the flavor is amazing. The steps are simple enough that it would be very doable to prepare during a week night as well.
Thanks so much Trang. So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
An instant hit at our place!
Such a quick and easy recipe that was packed so full of flavour.
We’ll be making this again soon!
I’m so happy you love it, Audrey. Thanks so much for trying my recipe!