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My twist on a classic Filipino dish, One Skillet Filipino Coconut Adobo Chicken. Pan seared chicken braised in a soy sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, and bay leaves, a classic Filipino recipe that’s both easy and delicious. I added coconut milk for just a touch of creaminess to this sweet and tangy adobo sauce. This is best served over steamed rice with fresh avocado and a side of beans. The perfect healthy dinner, any night of the week.
It’s no secret, but I truly love a good skillet dinner. When things are as hectic as they are right now, I turn to skillet recipes just about every other night. I feel like everyone’s on the same page…easy, tasty, healthy..ish weeknight dinners. You’re with me on this, right?
100% yes. With family in town for the Burton-US-Open, and not much time to spare, this adobo chicken has been on repeat. Since I’ve been making it so often lately, I figured it needed to be shared. Because that’s just what I do.
So here’s the story. My brother’s girlfriend is Filipino. Over Christmas, she told me I needed to make a good adobo chicken…among other dishes…which will be coming shortly! Oddly, I’d never made adobo chicken before, so I immediately tried out a few recipes. Over the last couple months I’ve perfected my version of adobo chicken (and I’m working on a few other Filipino recipes too).
Even though I’ve been making this chicken for weeks now, I am still so excited about the recipe.
For those of you who might be unfamiliar, adobo is a Filipino dish that can be made with pork or chicken. I believe pork is traditional, but I’m going with chicken. What’s really most important here is the sauce…the sauce is always the most important.
Traditionally, adobo sauce is made with soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper, garlic, and bay leaves. The chicken is braised slowly in the sauce until it is tender and falling apart. It’s super simple, but also so delicious.
Me being me, I of course had to adapt the recipe a bit to make it my own. I made two simple additions that really make all the difference. I swapped out the brown sugar for honey and added in creamy coconut milk. The honey adds a nice touch of sweetness, but it’s not over powering. Plus, I love that it makes the dish lower in sugar content too. The coconut milk gives a hint of sweet coconut flavor and makes for a super rich adobo sauce. It also helps to tame the tanginess from the vinegar, while making the sauce a little creamier.
Trust me, this sauce is a game changer.
Best part? This is so easy to make. Start by pan searing the chicken (I prefer breasts over thighs, but use what you love). This will give the chicken its color and lock in those juices. Then add the adobo sauce and let the chicken slowly cook in the sauce. While that’s happening, I highly suggest making some rice, slicing up an avocado, and warming the beans.
You cannot serve adobo chicken without a side of rice. I recommend this sesame rice, which is very much my go-to. If you’d like to add a vegetable, roasted asparagus, broccoli, and sautéed peppers would all be delicious pairings.
And guys? That’s kind of it. Like I said, it’s really a very simple recipe, but do not let that fool you one bit. Everyone in my family has agreed, they could easily eat this once or twice a week and still not be sick of it. The chicken is extra tender, and the sauce is mouth wateringly good…sweet, tangy, and a touch coconutty.
Perfect!
If you make this Filipino coconut adobo chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Skillet Filipino Coconut Adobo Chicken.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 620 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (use more to your taste)
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 cup canned full fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup honey
- 6 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 4 dried bay leaves
- green onions and limes, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Season the chicken all over with black pepper. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, coconut milk, honey, and 1/4 cup of water. 2. In a large skillet with sides, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken, working in batches if needed. Sear on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side. 3. Add the garlic, cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the soy sauce mixture. Add the bay leaves. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, uncover and cook another 10-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickening slightly. If the sauce is thickening too fast, add ¼ cup of additional water. If the sauce is not thicken, simmer an additional 10 minutes. It's better to have more sauce than less sauce.4. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Serve the adobo over rice and top with green onions and squeeze of lime juice, if desired
The cooking instructions didn’t quite work for me, but dang was it delicious when I figured it out. I had tried this once before and my sauce never thickened. I tried again and it was similar. After removing the chicken and turning up the heat and lots of patience, the sauce thickened and dang was this good!
I am really glad this ended up working for you, Mireille! Is there anything I can help you with to clear up the instructions? xTieghan
This is my second time making this recipe and it is phenomenal.
My son actually suggested it to me after reading about it on NYT cooking website.
Since then I have been making many of your recipes and they all are delicious.
Do you a specific vegetables side dish to go with it?
Thank you.
Nicoletta
Hi Nicoletta,
I am so glad you have been enjoying the recipe! I really love to serve this with a side of roasted cauliflower. xTieghan
My sister made this and told me about the recipe. I made it and my husband and son and I loved it. I told my daughter about it and she made it and loved it. A family keeper! My daughter checked out your website and is making the Crispy Lemon Feta tonight!
Thank you so much Shanna! I am so glad you all have been loving this! xTieghan
If you came here for the deep red color, let me stop you right now – it’s not happening! I followed the recipe exactly and I can see in the comments many others did as well. When you put the coconut milk in, you’re going to get a very light brown color. As it cooks and thickens it DOES get dark but it’ll still be brown.
This recipe was also perfectly fine and tasted good but definitely nothing to write home about.
Changes to cooking – as the recipe says, cook your chicken in the sauce covered for 20 minutes. Your chicken will be pretty much done but your sauce will be still watery. She suggests to cook for another 10-15 minutes but I promise even then it won’t be thick AND you’ll overcook your chicken. After the 20 minutes is up, remove your chicken from the pan altogether. I put mine in a Pyrex bowl and popped it into the oven (off). I brought the sauce to a boil and let it cook for another 10-15 with NO chicken and your sauce will finally be thick. Again perfectly fine recipe with these tweaks, but If you got excited about the idea of the coconut milk in this don’t be. You won’t really notice it in the flavor if at all. Not posting this to be negative just constructive! So many other amazing recipes on this website this one was just very misleading with the photos.
Hi Megan! I am sorry this recipe did not turn out as expected for you. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with! xTieghan
Super delicious!
For the other commenters, I was able to recreate the coloration like you said (little more soy sauce since I did add a little too much coconut milk) and reduce for the extended time, then in a dark skillet and pour some sauce over the chicken before snapping a picture.
Thank you so much Victoria! xTieghan
This is incredibly delicious! I have marinated the chicken in coconut milk, garlic, garlic and lime for few hours. I followed the recipe religiously and it turned out one of the best Asian recipe I ever cooked.
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this Nicoletta! xTieghan
It’s a good start for adobo, but it’s missing some depth. I’d use this as a base and add some more ingredients to give it that extra oomph.
Hi Jenny! I am sorry this did not turn out as expected! Is there anything I can help you with to make it better next time? xTieghan
Tiegan, I made this today and it was AMAZING! I swapped lemon juice for the vinegar and didn’t have enough honey so I also added maple syrup. At first I thought the sauce tasted weird as I mixed it, but once it started cooking, it was incredible! Thank you!
Thank you so much Annie! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you! xTieghan
Suggestion for white vinegar substitute?
Hi! 1 teaspoon lemon to 2 teaspoons white wine should be great! Then, just add to 1/3 cup! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
this recipe is interesting …. a little odd. I added some onions and peppers and mushrooms for a bit of vegetable, and served it over rice with avocado on top. I’ve not tried Filipino cuisine before so I’m not sure how it was supposed to taste, but it turned out decently, though not as good as the Chinese and Thai recipes on this site.
Thanks for all your tasty ideas here, you are keeping us fat and happy during the quarantine!
Hi Holly! I am glad this turned out well for you! I hope you love all of the other recipes you try! xTieghan
This is the best chicken recipe I have made in a long time. The whole family enjoyed. It was delicious!
Thank you so much Shara! xTieghan
In the Philippines mostly the Visayan regions add coconut milk to their adobo, basically their dishes have coconut milk.
You should try our dish kare kare. It has a peanut based sauce, I was thinking of adding coconut milk in it.
Thank you for this Eloise! xTieghan
This recipe turned out terrific! I used chicken thighs because that’s what I had on hand and they were great. This was a huge hit, even for the toddlers running around my kitchen – sweet, tangy, salty… yum! The icing on the cake was how fast this recipe comes together.
Thank you so much Annie! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
hey tieghan! do you have a cast iron skillet(and a dutch oven?!) you recommend?? I’m thinking of getting one and really want something that will last!
Hi Estee! I always use Staub for all of my cookware! It is the best! xTieghan
This was a killer recipe. Used the boneless skinless breasts with reduced fat coconut milk and added some fresh ginger with the garlic. Sauce reduced beautifully and I’m bookmarking this one now! Would be yummy with bone in thighs like the picture. Do you broil at the end to get that dark rich color?
Hey Kerry! I don’t broiler at the end, but that is a great idea and I am sure would give you a darker chicken! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan