Description
This Coconut Lime Chicken recipe is a one-pan wonder featuring juicy seared chicken breasts and green beans in a rich, creamy coconut sauce brightened with fresh lime zest and juice. It’s naturally dairy-free, comes together in about 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the Chicken & Base:
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2 tablespoons refined coconut oil or olive oil (divided)
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4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (1½ to 2 lbs total)
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1¾ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
For the Vegetables & Aromatics:
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2 large shallots, sliced
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12 oz fresh green beans, trimmed
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3 garlic cloves, minced
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1½ teaspoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger
For the Sauce:
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¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
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1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut cream, shaken well
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1 heaping teaspoon lime zest (from ~2 limes)
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1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (from 1–2 limes), plus more to taste
For Serving (Optional):
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Fresh cilantro, for garnish
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Lime wedges
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Toasted coconut
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Steamed rice
Instructions
Heat up 1½ tablespoons oil in your biggest skillet on medium-high. While that’s warming up, salt both sides of your chicken with 1 teaspoon of the salt. When the oil’s shimmering but not smoking, lay your chicken in there. And here’s the thing that took me forever to learn—don’t touch them. Just leave them alone. I used to constantly poke and flip and move them around and wonder why they never got that nice brown crust. They need to sit undisturbed for 4-6 minutes until they’re golden and release easily when you try to flip them. If they’re sticking they’re not ready yet. Flip them, give the other side about 4 minutes, then take them out and tent some foil over them. Yeah they look underdone and pink in the middle—that’s on purpose. They’re finishing in the sauce later and this way they won’t dry out. Trust me on this.
Don’t you dare wash that pan. All those brown crusty bits stuck to the bottom are flavor. Add the last ½ tablespoon oil and your sliced shallots with the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Push them around for a minute or two until they get soft and translucent. Then add the green beans and garlic and toss everything together. Your kitchen should smell really good right now. After about a minute add the ginger and let it cook for like 30 seconds. You’ll smell when it’s ready, the smell kind of changes and gets more intense.
Pour the chicken broth in and use your spoon to scrape all those stuck bits off the bottom of the pan. Get in there and really scrape—that’s pure flavor you’re releasing into the sauce. It’s weirdly satisfying watching it all come up and dissolve.
Shake your coconut cream can. No really, shake it hard for like 10 seconds. It separates in the can—thick cream on top, watery stuff on bottom—and if you don’t shake it you’ll pour out either all liquid or all solid and your sauce will be wrong. I know this because I’ve done it wrong many times. Pour it in and stir until it’s all mixed with the broth. Put your chicken back in the pan so they’re kind of half-submerged with green beans around them. Bring it to a simmer then turn the heat down to medium-low. You want gentle bubbles, not crazy boiling. Let it all cook for 7-10 minutes, flipping the chicken once or twice. Stick your meat thermometer in the thickest part—you want 165°F. And keep that heat gentle because if you let it boil hard the coconut cream breaks and gets grainy and weird looking. I’ve done that too and it still tastes fine but it looks ugly.
Take the pan completely off the heat before you add the lime. This matters because if you add lime to a hot pan it can get bitter. Stir in the lime zest and juice. Now taste it—this is important. Sometimes it needs more lime, sometimes more salt. Every time I make this it’s a little different depending on my limes. Usually I end up squeezing in another half lime. Top with cilantro if you’re into that , serve with lime wedges and toasted coconut if you’re feeling fancy. Put this over rice because that sauce is too good to let any of it go to waste.
Notes
For thicker sauce: Let it simmer an extra 2–3 minutes without the lid, stirring occasionally. The sauce will reduce and coat the back of a spoon beautifully.
For thinner sauce: Add chicken broth 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Avoid dry chicken: Pound your chicken breasts to even thickness before cooking, or butterfly really thick ones. This helps them cook evenly and prevents the thin parts from overcooking while the thick parts catch up.
Make it spicier: Add sliced jalapeño or serrano chile when you cook the shallots, or stir in red pepper flakes with the ginger.
Fresh ginger hack: Keep fresh ginger in the freezer! It grates like a dream when frozen, and you don’t have to peel it first.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired