This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

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.

overhead close up photo of Filipino Coconut Adobo Chicken

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).

Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Dressing | halfbakedharvest.com #tacos #salad #avocado #healthyrecipes #mexican #easyrecipes

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.

overhead photo of Filipino Coconut Adobo Chicken

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!

overhead close up photo of Filipino Coconut Adobo Chicken

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.

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 6 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.

SavePrintEmail

Ingredients

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
View Recipe Comments

Filipino Coconut Adobo Chicken on plate with rice

This post was originally published on March 6, 2019
4.36 from 352 votes (274 ratings without comment)

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe was so easy and super flavorful! I think this will become one of our “go-to” chicken dishes. We also enjoyed the tip about making it with the sesame rice, definitely a good choice!

    Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Made the coconut adobo chicken last night to rave reviews. I have had traditional adobo, but can honestly say that this was way better. Doubled the recipe as I was cooking for six people. Great dish……it will definitely be one of my go to recipes. Might even make it fir my Filipino friend who thinks his is the best ?

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Katie! I am so glad you loved this recipe and it turned out amazing for you! xTieghan

      Reply

  4. Thanks for the great recipe! Made it this week. How did you get the nice red colour? Mine was a bit more of a brown-grey look. Also I had a hard time thickening the braise so I had to add some cornstarch. Any recommendations?

    Thank you! Love the site!

    CS

    Reply

    1. Hi Chloe! Just simmer down the sauce an additional 10 minutes or so until it’s thickened to your licking. You can also omit the water in the beginning as well to help thicken the sauce. For the color, I’m not sure why mine was darker, but try using a touch more soy sauce if you’d like something a little dark. Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  5. 4 stars
    This was tasty. My mom says it’s not like any adobo she’s ever had, but I figure there are many adobo recipes as there are families in the Philippines. My husband thought with the coconut milk it was reminiscent of Thai.
    We liked it–including the kids–including my 8 yo who is the pickiest of all. I didn’t put on pepper (see picky 8 yo) but followed other than that. My boneless thighs were thin and I knew they would cook quickly, so I never put the lid on on the pot, but the sauce was still really runny. I even pulled out the chicken when it was done and turned up the heat to get some water off, but at the end I still used a cornstarch slurry to thicken it just a bit. Served it over rice with a side of broccoli. It came together SUPER easily. I have four kids, one of which is just 5 months, so I put the sauce in my big measuring cup (including the bay leaves) earlier in the day and just dumped it on top of the chicken when it was time without having to think.
    My kids take a hot lunch in a thermos to school (not because I love them that much but because the 8 yo wasn’t eating and coming home an absolute wreck) and this went with them to school the next day. Serving my 8 yo a dinner recipe he’s willing to eat as a leftover the next day is a rare feat, but he really liked this so into the thermos it went.

    Reply

    1. Hi Ardienne! I am so glad you all enjoyed this recipe, especially your 8 year old! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  6. I made this last night and it was delicious!!! My sauce separated, however, into oil and sort of globby soy goodness. It doesn’t look like yours did this from your pictures – any ideas why that might have happened?

    Reply

    1. HI Alelia! What brand coconut milk did you use? That’s the only thing that I can think might be the difference. Also, how long did you cook? Hope I can help! Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  7. 4 stars
    I made this and it was delicious! So rich and flavorful! The only issue I had was that the sauce did not thicken. Any suggestions?

    I made a couple of additions (dried red chile pepper, turmeric, toasted sesame oil) and used apple cider vinegar instead of white, but don’t think that these would interfere with the thickening.

    Reply

    1. HI! How much coconut milk did you use? I would recommend just reducing the amount of water you add at the beginning, then add water at the end, as needed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner last night. My husband is Filipino, born in Manila and moved to the states when he was 5. I have not had much luck recreating many Filipino dishes, when I saw this I knew I had to try it. He loved it and gave it 5 stars! Your recipes have become go to’s in my home and this is another to add to the rotation! Thank you so much!

    Reply

  11. 4 stars
    This was so delicious both my husband and 6yo son devoured it. However I had to remove a lot of the sauce at the end in order to get the chicken to caramelize as it never boiled down. Once the chicken was nice and cooked I reduced the rest of the sauce separately. I really want to make it again but maybe next time I will omit the water and only add it as needed?

    Reply

    1. Hi! Yes, I would recommend just adding water as needed. For some reason some are finding the water is not needed in their dish. Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  13. 5 stars
    This was really good, Tieghan! I served it over cauliflower rice, and my whole family loved it. I wanted to leave a comment though to everyone who had trouble getting the sauce thick and dark. I had to keep the liquid to a low-medium boil the entire time (heat control on medium instead of low like the recipe), and it took almost the whole 30 minutes for the sauce to finally start to thicken up. But once it does, watch out, because it thickens and darkens quick!

    Reply

  14. 3 stars
    Pretty good. It comes out very salty even with low sodium soy sauce. It thickened and darkened some but only because I cracked the lid while simmering and (after removing the chicken) kept it at a rolling boil for almost 15 minutes.

    Reply

  15. YOU shave changed the way my son and I eat!!! I can’t wait to receive your recipe every day and that is ususally dinner!!! I LOVE your recipes…you are AMAZING. JUST T the sesame rice alone is a game changer but add the Korean dishes, the Filipino one skillet dish etc etc. I just can’t say enough. I am CRAZY IN LOVE with the way you are teaching my to cook!!! The tastiest food I have ever cooked in my life!!! How can I thank you enough???

    Reply

    1. This was definitely enough! I am so happy you have been loving my recipes, Maureen! Thank you so much! xTieghan

      Reply