Next Post
Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp with Creamy Pesto Pasta.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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 recipe every week since I discovered it (a month ago). SO DELICIOUS! ❤️ The flavors and rice… so good.
Hey Carla,
Wonderful!!🌴🍍 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, love to hear that it turned out well! xx
This recipe is so delicious. The sauce has such a balance of flavours and I love the addition of pineapple. Tieghan, another fabulous recipe.
Hi Natalie,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was delish! Have a great weekend! xT
OUTSTANDING RECIPE!!!
Made a side dish of steamed broccoli and zucchini. For those of you who have a problem with the rice, just turn on the heat on low for one more minute, you should be fine. Also I’ve made this with cauliflower rice, it was so good!!
Hi Kimberly,
Wonderful!!🍀 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it out:)
This could not have been any easier or any tastier – and the leftovers were even better the next day as it all sat together!!
Hi Ben,
Happy Monday!!🌴 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
This was super simple and super yummy. I will add for those who didn’t know this, add the rice BEFORE the pinch of salt. I added the salt beforehand and the water/coconut milk overflowed quickly. This was definitely a user error.
Hey Micaela,
Fantastic!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I’m thrilled to hear that it turned out well for you:)
This was delicious! For those of you having trouble with the thickening (or lack therof) of the sauce, I removed the chicken thighs after the total cook time, sprinkled a couple of healthy pinches of cassava flour (what I had on hand because I’m paleo, but you could also use arrowroot, cornstarch, or plain old flour) and whisked it in. Brought it to a boil, then reduced to a simmer until the sauce thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Hope that helps!
Hey Jessica,
Wonderful!!😊 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was delish! xT
What a delicious dish ! The recipe was tasty and healthy. I did cube the chicken before searing it , in order to speed up the cooking time. I roasted carrots and broccoli to add some extra vegetables and added them with the cucumbers and avocado . I always enjoy looking at your recipes and deciding which one to try ! Thanks for creating tasty and wholesome recipes.
Hey Giszelle,
Happy Valentine’s Day! 💌 I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xT
I made this tonight, for the rice part however I followed the instructions to a T I added the coconut milk and water and I let boil like in instructions, then put it on low I added the rice and kept it on low did the timing perfectly, went to add the cilantro and fluffed the rice.. it was so mushy. Pretty disappointed because I wasted ingredients I’m not sure what I did wrong 🙁 Hopefully Tieghan can maybe help me out with why possibly the rice ended up being mushy. And yes the sauce was good but it didn’t thicken either.
Hey Becky,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. So sorry to hear your rice did not turn out. Was there anything that you adjusted? What kind of rice did you use? Let me know how I can help! xx
I really want to try this recipe, but I have a pineapple allergy, can I omit it? Or is there a substitute?
Hey Darlina,
Totally, just skip the pineapple, mango would also be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hi. Was wondering if this could be done in a crockpot? Sear chicken thighs first then throw everything in crockpot on low for a couple of hours???? Thank you
Hey Tara,
Totally, I don’t see why not! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Quick and easy dinner with things you most likely already have! My sauce tasted amazing but never thickened. Didn’t bother me too much thought because the whole dish was delish!
Hey Alexandra,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
This looks amazing! Any suggestions for a veggie side that could complement it?
Thanks so much Stephanie! I like to serve with the sliced avocado and cucumber, but cauliflower would also be delicious!! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Absolutely delicious! The sauce is perfect and the coconut rice is a wonderful base. I would highly recommend making this and do not skip the toppings, the avocado goes fabulously with everything.
Hey Caitlin,
Happy Thursday! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and thanks so much for making it! xT
Made this tonight for dinner! Easy and delicious week night meal. Added a bag of broccoli for more veggies. So good!
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Wednesday! ❄️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
I made this last night and it was really good. Ive made chicken adobo before, this was very good. I would increase the pineapple to cup and half and leave in the jalapeno veins and seeds, I like mine medium spicy. I only used 1 jalapeno. That white wine vinegar came in handy to make a bernaise as well for another dish. I used boneless breast and thigh the mix was good. my first time cooking with tamari-it uses quite a bit but it works well. Do not skimp on the final fixes-avacado and cucumber the flavors compliment everything so well. That coconut rice is delicious.
Hey Meda,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
I give this recipe a 5 star rating! I had it for the first time tonight at a friends house and I’m making it this weekend for a dinner party. It’s flavorful and I love that it’s a basically a one pot meal.
Hey Andrea,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx