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Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice. A one-skillet Filipino-inspired chicken in a tangy, sweet, and spicy adobo sauce served over creamy coconut rice. I make mine with pineapple and jalapeños for a sweet-spicy kick. The creamy coconut rice wonderfully compliments the tangy, sweet, and spicy adobo sauce. Add fresh avocado and a side of beans for the perfect healthy dinner, any night of the week.
Everyone always asks where I get recipe inspiration from. And while I get it from just about everywhere, my number one source is my family. It could be a recipe they’re wanting or a dish they had out one night. No matter where their inspiration comes from, I love to cook for them, and cook what they want to eat.
Hail’s (Red’s girlfriend) has been here since before Dew Tour in December. She’s Filipino and I’m always asking her what to make when she’s around. Adobo came up up the other week and I loved the idea of a simple skillet dinner.
I asked how her mom made it. Then we kind of went back and forth on a few changes/additions to hopefully make it even more delicious. This isn’t quite a traditional adobo, but similar and very delicious. Hail’s fully approved.
Here are the details
The amazing thing about chicken adobo is that it’s naturally a one skillet kind of dinner. Meaning, this is so simple and doesn’t require too many ingredients.
Ideally, you want to use chicken thighs for best flavor and to avoid any dry chicken. However, if your family is like mine, you can also use chicken breasts, or even a mix.
You’ll want to first sear the chicken, then add soy sauce and vinegar. The vinegar is what adds the tang to the sauce. It’s traditional to use brown sugar too, but since we wanted ours to be less sweet, I just used a small amount of honey.
Once the chicken is seared, add the sauce, then toss in the bay leaves. For some spice, we love to throw in a jalapeño. It’s heat really mellows out as the pepper cooks in the sauce, adding just the right amount of spice. Not too spicy, but just right.
At the end of cooking, stir in the pineapple chunks. This is also not traditional, but so yummy. Especially with the jalapeño, it really balances the flavors nicely.
The coconut rice
While the chicken simmers on the stove. Make the coconut rice. We love coconut rice around here. It’s creamier and with just a small amount of coconut flavor it pairs really well with Asian style dishes.
A little cilantro and pinch of salt at the end makes everything just perfect. Then serve the chicken and rice with sliced avocado and cucumber.
Everyone in my family has agreed, they could easily eat this once or twice a week. The chicken is tender, and the sauce is everyone’s favorite – spicy, sweet, and tangy.
The rice completes it all!
Looking for other skillet recipes? Here are my favorites:
Lemon Butter Dijon Chicken and Orzo
French Onion Tater Tot Casserole
Greek Meatballs and Lemon Butter Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice, 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 tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 619 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, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup tamari, or low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons honey, use to your taste
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded, if desired, and sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 dried bay leaves
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- sliced avocado, cucumber, and green onions, for serving
Coconut Cilantro Rice
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Season the chicken all over with black pepper. In a large glass measuring cup, combine the tamari/soy sauce, vinegar, honey, and 1/2 cup of water.2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, 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 jalapeños and bay leaves. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, uncover and cook another 10-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the pineapple. 4. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Serve the chicken adobo over rice. Top each plate with avocado, green onions, jalapeños, and cucumber.
Coconut Rice
- 1. Combine the coconut milk and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot. Bring to a low boil. Add the rice and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, cover, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 10 minutes on low, then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit, covered, for another 15-20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). 2. Remove the lid, add the cilantro, and pinch salt. Fluff the rice with a fork.
I’ve made this one twice already! My husband and I absolutely love it and it’s a great way to cook up a package of chicken thighs! Love the pineapple and jalapeño combo.
Hey Katie,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
Made this tonight and it was a hit with my family. They loved it!! I did add cornstarch to thicken the sauce up a bit and I used Jasmine rice and made it the way I always make my coconut rice but the chicken and sauce was so good. My first recipe to try from this site going to try another this week!!
Hi Jessica,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
Tried with portobello caps for a vegetarian twist. Excellent!
Hey there,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
This was quite tasty but some significant modifications were needed, as the cooking instructions were off.
Your average boneless skinless chicken thighs only need about 5 minutes per side to cook in a skillet on medium-high heat, far under the 35-45 minutes quoted when you add the steps together. So you’re already close to done once you finish step 2 or you’re going to be working with incredibly dry chicken.
Also, covering the pan for step 3 does you no favors in reducing the sauce since it traps the evaporating liquid. I skipped that altogether and am glad I did.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback:) xTieghan
The ingredients call for pineapple but the directions don’t say when to add them. I added at the very last minute
Hi Marcia,
The pineapple is added in step 3. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I’ve been following you on Instagram for a while. I have a lot of your recipes saved on my phone, but never made them. But tonight! I just finished this one, and it is oh so good; jalapenos, pineapple and all. Thank you, Tieghan!
Hey Betty,
Happy Sunday!! Love hearing that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it!! xxT
Finally made this recipe tonight after eyeing it for the past couple weeks and it did not disappoint! The flavors are delicious. We did chicken breasts instead of thighs and just cut down the cook time a bit. We also added a little bit of cornstarch to thicken up the sauce at the end. We omitted the jalapeños and pineapple, as we didn’t have any on hand, but definitely want to add it in for next time! I was seriously digging this recipe so much I almost want to add it to our weekly rotation!
Hey Alisha,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner. Have the best weekend:) xT
I’ve probably made 5-6 different
HBH recipes & have absolutely loved & saved them, but I just did not like this one. I don’t think it’s any reflection on Tieghan! I personally just did not enjoy the sauce & flavors that came together on the chicken! I’ve read some peoples reviews on this site & they can be so ugly about their comments! I personally did not enjoy this recipe & that’s ok! We all have our own preferences! Someone else may love it! I did enjoy the rice and loved how the coconut milk made the rice kinda of creamy tasting!
Hey Megan,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed! xTieghan
The flavors were all great as promised, but if (most likely when) I try this again, I will have to make some alterations. The chicken was a bit overdone (I used breasts, not thighs) so I will definitely reduce the cooking time. Not sure how I can thicken the sauce (maybe add some cornstarch?) I’m not really a knowledgeable chef, so I rely on the directions in the recipe. In addition, I followed the instructions for the rice accurately, but it was not cooked at all, so I had to cook that a bit longer.
However, all that being said, we did enjoy the meal.
Hey Bonnie,
So sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
Absolute delight. Cooked as instructed but swapped the white wine vinegar for seasoned rice vinegar cause thats what I had. I also threw in a 1.5 inch knob of ginger to brighten things up. Only thing is that the sauce took a bit longer to reduce than the recipe said it would but everything turned out delicious. Will make again.
Hey Spence,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xxT
Hi! Wondering if you can substitute jasmine rice for basmati?
Hey Maggie,
Yes, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xT
Delicious! Husband loved too. Looking forward to leftovers! For the RICE: highly suggest people follow the cooking instructions for their rice. Mine requires 25 mins of cooking followed by steaming so that’s what I did with the coconut and it turned out perfect, so yummy!
Hey Annie,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xxTieghan
I made this last night. The family liked it! It was pretty hot with one large jalapeno so next time I would only use half.
Hey Kerri,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT
Oh my gosh this was incredible!!! I used chicken broth instead of water and added a touch of brown sugar because I didn’t have enough honey…but wow 11/10. It thickened perfectly for me. One of the best recipes I have tried recently. So good!!!!
Hey Brennan,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT
This was a hit! So good!
Hi Susannah,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT