I’ve got a new easy one-dish dinner for you that’s allergy-friendly! It’s dairy-free and, if you use gluten-free soy sauce, it’s also gluten-free. Plus, you can make this creamy coconut lime chicken all in one pan, and it’s great leftover. What more could you ask for this busy time of year? We really hit the ground running over here after a nice winter break!
Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken and Veggies
This Thai-inspired recipe warms you up over the winter months and makes for an incredibly flavor packed one-pan meal! Serve it over brown rice to add some extra nutrition to this already whole food meal in a pan you can make on busy weeknights.
My Go-To Chicken: Farmer Focus
I want to make sure you know about our longtime partner, Farmer Focus organic chicken! They really put their focus on the farmer and even offer a “Farm ID” on every package that you can enter into their website to see photos and read stories about the farmers who actually raised the chickens! And, as always, their operation is 100% organic from start to finish (something you rarely find with other companies), so if you can’t make it to your farmers’ market for locally sourced meat, this really is the next best option. They offer all different cuts of chicken, and you can check out where to find some at a store near you. Remember to vote with your dollars and support businesses like Farmer Focus, not only because of their practices, but also because we love their chicken!
Ingredients for my Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken and veggies
- Olive Oil – Extra virgin
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs – We used Farmer Focus organic chicken
- Bell Pepper – Cored, seeded, and diced
- Salt and pepper – To taste
- Coconut milk – Helps make the sauce creamy
- Lime – Juice and zest
- Soy Sauce – Can use gluten-free
- Garlic – Minced
- Fresh ginger – Peeled and grated
- Cayenne pepper – For a little spice
- Frozen peas – No need to defrost
- Brown rice – For serving
Easy directions for this one-pot lime coconut chicken
- Chicken: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the chicken is browned on both sides and no longer pink in the middle, 6 to 10 minutes (depending on thickness). Transfer to plate and set aside.
- Sauce: Still over medium heat, whisk in the coconut milk, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook while stirring occasionally until the sauce is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Combine: Add the chicken and peppers back to the pan along with the peas and cook until everything is heated all the way through, another couple minutes. Season with salt and serve over brown rice.
Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken & Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
- 1 red bell pepper (cored, seeded, and diced)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 13.5 can coconut milk
- 1 lime (zest and juice)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger (grated)
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas (no need to defrost)
- 4 servings brown rice (cooked according to package directions (see recipe notes for an easy option!))
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the chicken is browned on both sides and no longer pink in the middle, 6 to 10 minutes (depending on thickness). Transfer to plate and set aside.
- Still over medium heat, whisk in the coconut milk, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook while stirring occasionally until the sauce is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken and peppers back to the pan along with the peas and cook until everything is heated all the way through, another couple minutes. Season with salt and serve over brown rice.
Notes
- Save time with pre-cooked organic rice!
- Use gluten-free tamari/soy sauce to make this recipe gluten-free.
- We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
I used coconut oil instead of olive oil, added a Tablespoon of honey to offset the lime a little and cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Sprinkled with pepper and NO added salt!
Delicious!
We loved this one, and will make it again. We did serve it over riced cauliflower rather than brown rice. Other than that we made it as the recipe detailed. I thought it was great.
Thanks for sharing! Riced cauliflower sounds like a great option. – Nicole
I’m in a soup mode and this looks sooo delicious! Thanks for the recipe :)
This is DELICIOUS! Go buy ingredients now!!!!
This was okay for an easy dinner, though I did end up adding 1tsp red curry paste and 1TBSP maple syrup for that Thai sweetness. The recipe is so almost curry that it seemed lacking in flavor otherwise. We also did not care for boneless chicken thighs in this application and I wish I would have used breast sliced thinly. I won’t be making it again and will just stick to a curry recipe instead but it isn’t bad as written.
Could you do this recipe in slow cooker?
We haven’t tried it in the slow cooker yet. – Nicole
Or the Instant Pot? Chicken is always tender and delicious in the IP.
This looks amazing and I’m dying to try it! One question though…do the calories include the brown rice or is that 860 calories without the rice? If it includes the rice, do you have any idea how many calories it is without the rice? Thanks for your help!
This includes the rice. – Nicole
Love the gluten free options!
Holy flurging shnit!! I served this over riced cauliflower and whole oat groats… IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOD!!!
Easy peasy idiot proof recipe.
Highly recommend!!!
This was SO GOOD. Everyone in my family loved it, plus it was super quick and easy. I threw a bunch of spinach in, too, and it was great!
Glad you liked it and that you were eager to try it out :) – Nicole
Hi Lisa,
I like the idea of this quick and creamy chicken dish. Since my blog is for folks with IBS I was happy to see that the veggies are safe ones, according to the Monash Univ. App for avoiding high FODMAPS in food. (FODMAP is an acronym for chemicals in food that cause IBS flares.) I also plan to make this for an International student dinner sponsored by my church. Many of the students are from India and they don’t eat dairy. Thanks for posting it.:)
Delish! My kids absolutely loved this and it was so easy!! I cut up the chicken into bite sized portions and used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce because we are soy free. Next time I might put some Thai curry paste in it too, yum! It’s also great with cauliflower rice. Thanks for another great recipe!
Is it 850 calories per serving (so approximately 2500 for the entire meal), or is it 850 calories total (with each serving being 850/4)? Just curious as 850 calories per serving seems like a lot of calories (though not necessarily unhealthy). While it does not work for everyone, our family focuses on whole foods but is also mindful of caloric intake, which means this may not work for us. Either way, recipe looks great!
I used cauliflower rice instead and it really cut down on the calories per serving!
Hi MST – There was actually an error in the nutrition calculation that I have corrected; sorry about that! The correct value is 544 calories per serving. Also if you use lite coconut milk, it drops to about 434. We typically avoid “lite” products because they are usually full of junk, but lite coconut milk is just regular coconut milk with water added. – Jason