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Skillet seared chicken drenched in an easy, but delicious, creamy coconut lime sauce and baked to perfection.

Coconut lime skillet chicken with fresh cut limes on the side.

Let’s talk about chicken thighs for a minute. They are low cost. Easy to prepare. Hard to ruin. And so versatile. But sadly, I forget about them far too often. And that is a true shame because midweek meals around here can be hectic and crazy, and chicken thighs are easy. So easy.

Chicken being seared.

I make these amazing Thai Peanut Skillet Chicken thighs, that are intoxicatingly delicious. And it made me want to try new sauces and the first thing that popped into my head was coconut lime! I love the combination of coconut and lime. And the song. But that is another story.

Chicken being seared in a frying pan with fresh cut limes on the side.

Anyway, I knew I wanted to try a coconut lime sauce, and that it needed something extra special. At first I tried for a sticky sauce, but with the creaminess of the coconut, I just couldn’t get it to turn out right. So then I tried a few other combinations. Eventually, after adding some ginger and increasing the amount of lime I got it right, and this sauce is a mild, not hit you over the head flavors, but it tastes amazing, and is fantastic for chicken thighs. Plus it whips up in seconds, so it is perfect for those nights when you are short on time but want something tasty.

Coconut lime skillet chicken in a nice decorative bowl.

Be sure to use coconut cream in this sauce, not coconut milk, or cut down on the chicken stock. The cream is thicker, and will help the sauce stick to the chicken a little better.

If you love Chicken, and want other easy ways to prepare it, check out this Zesty Chicken Marinade!

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Coconut Lime Skillet Chicken

By: Alyssa Rivers
Skillet seared chicken drenched in an easy, but delicious, creamy coconut lime sauce and baked to perfection.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 5 Servings

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  • In an oven proof skillet, on medium-high heat, melt the butter.
  • When the butter is hot, sear the chicken, skin side down, by cooking until brown and crispy, about 3-5 minutes.
  • Flip chicken, and cook 1-2 minutes on the other side.
  • Then remove chicken from pan, and set aside for a minute. Add the chicken stock, coconut cream, ginger paste, red pepper flakes, and lime juice to the butter drippings still in the pot. Whisk together until smooth and creamy.
  • Bring to a boil, then add chicken back into the pan, and put the whole pan in the preheated oven and cook until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, approximately 20-25 minutes.
  • If you want to crisp up the skin of the chicken a little more, turn oven to broil, and broil 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 21gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 158mgPotassium: 371mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 228IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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7 Comments

  1. I’ve made this twice. It’s so good. For a change the second time, I added ginger, curry, and cayenne for a Thai flair. It was great both ways!

    1. That is awesome! I am so glad that you love it so much to make it twice and to make it your own. Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO

  2. OMG….I made this last night, and since I commute and always get home late, I try to find quick and easy recipes. This was so good!!!!!!!! I didn’t get much of a ginger taste, but I used homemade ginger paste so it could have been me. Will definitely make again!!!

  3. I know ginger paste (i’m assuming this is the product that’s sold in a tube) is a great time saver for many cooks. However I usually have ginger root on hand all the time. So would it be a one teaspoon to one teaspoon substitution? The coconut lim sauce sounds really good. Gonna put this on my recipe to try list.

    1. I would say use 1/5 times as the paste is pretty concentrated. But you could start with the listed amount and taste, adjust if needed.