This easy coconut chicken cooks up quickly in the oven and is sliced and served with a delicious satay-style peanut sauce. Ready to enjoy in just about 30 minutes!
This coconut chicken with peanut sauce is another flavourful weeknight wonder. The chicken marinates for just a short time before going into the oven. Half of the marinade mixture is set aside to form the base for the peanut sauce, which is a great time-saver!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Boneless chicken thighs – I almost always prefer boneless chicken thighs, as they tend to have more flavour and are less prone to being dry. That said, if you have boneless chicken breasts needing using, they are fine to use here as well. I would butterfly the chicken breasts before marinating and cooking.
Coconut milk – You can use regular or reduced fat coconut milk. I prefer full-fat myself as it makes a creamier sauce and imparts a fuller coconut flavour.
Curry powder – Opt for Mild Curry Powder (Indian-style curry powder) to enjoy the curry flavour without any heat. If you are looking for heat, you can replace some or all of the mild curry powder with a hot curry powder if you like.
Tamarind paste (optional) – If you aren’t familiar with tamarind paste, it is an often used ingredient in Thai, Indian, Latin and Caribbean food. Tamarind brings a bright acidic flavour to dishes, which I would describe as lime with a punch and a slight note of caramel flavour. It is often paired with coconut milk to temper its sour flavour. Tamarind paste is also a great meat tenderizer.
Look for tamarind paste in with the Asian foods (it’s quite easy to find these days!). It is sold in a block similar to block dates. If you think you’ll use it in other dishes, it’s a great addition to any kitchen. It will keep refrigerated for up to 6 months. If not, you can certainly omit the tamarind. If omitting, consider adding a bit of lime zest to the marinade to bring a bit more lime flavour.
Peanuts – Chopped peanuts are a great addition to this dish that I recommend, if possible.
Cilantro – Chopped fresh cilantro is a great flavour with this chicken. You could also substitute chopped flat-leaf parsley.
How to make coconut chicken with peanut sauce
This is a summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the Recipe Card below for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.
- Start by combining all the marinade ingredients in a 2-cup measuring cup and stirring together well.
- Pour HALF of the marinade over the boneless chicken thighs (reserving the other half of the marinade in the same 2-cup measuring cup).
- Toss the boneless chicken thighs in the marinade to coat well, then place onto a preheated grill pan in the oven. (You could also just place onto a foil-lined baking sheet or grill them on the BBQ.)
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the peanut sauce by adding the tamarind paste to the reserved marinade (if using).
- Add the peanut butter to the reserved marinade.
- Use an immersion blender or whisk to blend the sauce until smooth and thick.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the oven and transfer to a cutting board to rest briefly.
- Slice the chicken and serve with the peanut sauce, garnished with chopped peanuts and lots of cilantro.
What to serve with coconut chicken
I like to serve this chicken with rice. Garlic rice is nice. Simply cook the rice with broth instead of water and add some minced garlic to the pot. Cooking the rice with a bit of coconut milk or lime juice and stirring in some cilantro at the end is also a great side. You could also serve alongside an Asian salad or Asian coleslaw or try a marinated cucumber salad. Finally, this chicken would be nice enjoyed as a lettuce wrap.
Recipe tips!
- This is another one of those recipes where it could be a great idea to double up the chicken and freeze half for a later meal. You can freeze it marinated and uncooked or cooked. Package it together with the reserved marinade used for the peanut sauce, and you can quickly finish the sauce when needed.
- As noted above, if you aren’t using tamarind paste, consider adding some lime zest to the peanut sauce for an extra bit of lime flavour.
- There are a number of ways to cook the chicken. You can preheat a grill pan in the oven and place the chicken onto it. You could also place the chicken in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet. You could also use a grill pan on the stove-top over high heat. Finally, you can grill the chicken on the BBQ.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
You can store leftover chicken and peanut sauce for up to 3 days.
You can freeze the marinating chicken or the cooked chicken for up to 3 months. The peanut sauce will also freeze well.
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Get the Recipe: Coconut Chicken with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Coconut chicken marinade:
- 1/2 cup coconut milk, stirred (mini can)
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium recommended
- 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar, can substitute light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup lime juice, about 2 large or 3 small limes
- 2 Tablespoons ginger garlic paste, or 1 Tbsp ginger paste/1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons mild curry powder, (Indian-style yellow curry powder)
- 1 1/2 lb chicken thighs, about 6
To finish sauce:
- 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste, optional *see Note 1 below
To serve:
- chopped peanuts
- chopped fresh cilantro
- lime wedges, for drizzling
Instructions
- Place a grill pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 450F (non-convection/not fan-assisted). *Alternately, preheat the oven to 450F and have ready a foil-lined baking sheet to cook the chicken.
- Unfold the chicken thighs and place them into a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine all the coconut marinade ingredients in a 2-cup measuring cup and stir together well. Pour HALF of the marinade over the chicken thighs, reserving the other half in the measuring cup, Toss the chicken thighs in the marinade to coat well.
- Place the chicken thighs onto the preheated grill pan in the oven (or onto the foil-lined baking sheet). Cook the chicken thighs about 10 minutes or until cooked through and 165F internal temperature. You can switch the oven to BROIL for a minute or so to brown the chicken a bit more, if you like.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the peanut sauce by adding the peanut butter and tamarind paste (if using) to the reserved marinade. Use an immersion blender (or whisk) to blend the sauce until well combined and smoother.
- Remove the chicken from the oven to a cutting board. Let rest for a couple of minutes, and then slice the chicken. Place onto a serving plate. Drizzle the chicken with a bit of the peanut sauce, placing the rest of the sauce in a bowl for dipping. Garnish with some chopped peanuts and fresh, chopped cilantro. Add some lime wedges for drizzling.
Notes
- You could substitute boneless chicken breasts for the boneless chicken thighs. I would butterfly them before marinating and cooking. They may take a couple of minutes more oven time. Be sure to cook to 165F internal temperature.
- I like to serve this chicken with rice. Garlic rice is nice. Simply cook the rice with broth instead of water and add some minced garlic to the pot. Cooking the rice with coconut milk or lime juice and stirring in some cilantro at the end also makes great side. You could also serve alongside an Asian salad or Asian coleslaw or try a marinated cucumber salad. Finally, this chicken would be nice enjoyed as a lettuce wrap.
- This is another one of those recipes where it could be a great idea to double up the chicken and freeze half for a later meal. You can freeze it marinated and uncooked or cooked. Package it together with the reserved marinade used for the peanut sauce, and you can quickly finish the sauce when needed.
- There are a number of ways to cook the chicken. You can preheat a grill pan in the oven and place the chicken onto it. You could also place the chicken in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet. You could also use a grill pan on the stove-top over high heat. Finally, you can grill the chicken on the BBQ.
Adapted from a Gordon Ramsay recipe
More chicken recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
This sounds delicious! Just curious if I could use chicken breasts instead as I have them in the freezer already. Would I need to butterfly them or pound them? Thank you.
Hi Eileen and yes, I would butterfly the chicken breasts. I don’t think you need to pound them. Enjoy!