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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.
Hey, Tieghan! I have a lot of trouble getting my recipes to end up sticky like your pictures are. They always taste good, but would be so much better if the sauce came together that way. I use the full amount of sugars, so I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Thanks for any advice!
Hey Sandra,
So sorry to hear this! Sounds like you might need to cook the sauces longer or just add some cornstarch to help them thicken up! I hope this helps! xT
Delicious!
Hey Valerie,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
Sunday dinner – sooo yummy!!! Excellent recipe! Made a side of black beans that I cooked in some of the sauce from the chicken and a squeeze of lime juice at the end. Will definitely made this dish again!
Hey Shannon,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
AMAZING. I made my rice in a rice cooker and it worked perfectly. Pretty much everything else I followed to a T except I added a little brown sugar too. Definitely adding to my rotation, as my boyfriend loved it too!! Thanks for another fab recipe!
Hi Nicole,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Have the best week:) xx
Can you sub pineapples with something else? All I have is Trader Joe’s mango chutney
Hey Mariana,
Mangos would work, I probably wouldn’t do a chutney though. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Made this for the second time tonight and have put it in our regular dinner rotation! Absolutely love the coconut rice, I add a tonne of lime zest instead of cilantro. So so tasty and easy! Love your recipes – they have reignited my love for cooking – thank you!!!
Hey Allison,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
How do i make the spicy cucumber thingy? Is it just red pepper flakes, vinegar salt and pepper?
Hey Rosie,
Sure, that would work, I just did diced cucumbers. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
A great weeknight recipe! Easy and flavorful. I used thighs and fresh pineapple. I read the comments that some thought the sauce didn’t thicken, I cooked uncovered the whole time and at the very end added some cornstarch and it thickened perfectly. Definitely enjoyed and recommend.
Hi Sarah,
Awesome!! Love hearing that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a go! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Really enjoyed this. I added cornstarch to the sauce as it was way too watery after simmering. The rice was a hit too!
Hey Jill,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
This recipe is amazing and whips up incredibly quickly! My fiancé and I love it! Spicy and sweet, I follow it to a tee and it always turns out delicious. Coconut rice is BOMB!
Hi Victoria,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
So yummy!! Had for dinner tonight! Coconut rice is one of my favorites and the chicken was so flavorful! Thank you for always giving us great recipes!!
Hey Kayla,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
So good! So so so so good. Made it a second time
Hey Christine,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
While I love most of your recipes, this didn’t hit the mark for me. I followed directions as listed and the sauce was too watery and vinegary for me.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed. xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
We love this recipe! We’ve made it twice in a week. Curious if there is a trick to making the sauce thicken like it did on your video?? Thanks!
Hey Lizzy,
Fantastic!! Love hearing that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it:) Try allowing the sauce to simmer longer to adding some cornstarch to it. Have the best day! xxT
One thought on the coconut rice – your recipe here doesn’t include any water, but the coconut rice you have on your 30 minute pineapple chicken recipe has 1/2 cup of water and that one always turns out perfectly for me. Might be a reason for some of the feedback about the rice not turning out!
Hey Emily,
This one also includes 1/2 cup of water, same recipe:) Let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This was really good. I agree that the sauce is too much, or too watery. I served this with steamed broccoli, which was a nice addition. And I didn’t have any white rice, so I substituted brown rice. That was tasty, but it needed to cook longer than the recipe. We’ll make this one again.
Hey David,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT