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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.
Ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- Kosher salt and Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Tamari or low sodium soy sauce
- White wine vinegar
- Honey
- jalapeños
- Dried bay leaves
- Pineapple chunks
- Sliced avocado
- Cucumber
- Green onions
- Coconut milk
- Basmati rice
- Fresh cilantro and basil
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. If you’re dietary restrictions (vegetarian or vegan) restrict you or guests from this recipe, you could always stir fry vegetables and substitute that in for the chicken.
Step One
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.
Step Two
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. After you sauté these ingredients for a bit on medium heat, set to simmer and focus on the coconut rice.
Step Three
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! Also, the great thing about this dish is that you can be creative with it! If you want more veggies, add them in!! Adding sautéed garlic cloves or shallots will add to the flavor and you could even sauté some spinach into the mix. Make this dish yours! This recipe also makes for a great lunch the next day as well, simply heat up the recipe in a microwave or oven after storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This recipe will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. However, it’s always best fresh…right off the skillet!
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.
Watch the How-To Reel
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.
This post was originally published on January 19, 2022
Like everyone else, my sauce did not reduce! Maybe is the 1/2 cup of water unnecessary? Great flavors!
Hey Allison,
Thanks so much for making the recipe! You may just need to simmering it a bit longer to thicken the sauce or add some cornstarch:) xT
I really enjoyed the adobo, all the flavors were delicious, but the coconut rice was not big hit with me, its seemed to take away from the adobo.
That being said, the adobo was simple and cooks up in one pan and I will definitely be making this again.
Hey Cindy,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great day:) xxT
Any suggestions for a pineapple alternative? I’m allergic.
Hey Kim,
Mango will work well in place of the pineapple. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Such a bummer. Flavors were fine – after all, there are lots in this mix, but not for the amount of prep time. Yikes! Fifteen minutes is quoted, but for me, it took double, and I promise you, I’m no slouch. Cooking time is questionable as well – 4 minutes/side to brown, followed by garlic, and then 25-35 minutes of simmering is complete overkill (which tops the recipe’s ‘30 minute’ cook time). The breast meat was dry as a bone. Fortunately, the thigh meat held up. I didn’t read anything about the sauce reducing – shocker, mine did not. The finished product was a far cry from that glazed beauty in the the photo. As for the rice, the ‘don’t take any peeks’ concept was a complete fail. I was able to remedy at a last minute to something acceptable, but know that I followed the directions as specified, on a Wolf range less than 5 years-old. The rice was a gloppy, medium-rare mess. Fluffing with a fork wasn’t even a consideration. Considering the prep time, and gummy rice, I doubt this recipe will ever hit my table again. On a school night, even when we’re snowed in the following day, I don’t have the energy to figure it out.
Hi Laurie,
Sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for making it. xTieghan
I am so sad – HBH is always my go to, she never fails me but this recipe was a total bust. I followed the recipe to a tee but the rice was completely raw, like not even close to slightly being cooked (sorry guys, dinner’s STILL not ready) and the adobo was greasy and had the consistency of broth and I kept waiting for it to thicken up or reduce but it never did…such a disappointment.
Hi Christy,
So sorry to hear this! Thanks for giving the recipe a try! xTieghan
I will definitely be making this dish again. It was pretty straight forward and very delicious! I just saw your fb post about cauliflower adobo, which made me smile because I used chicken, cauliflower and tofu in this dish. It was a good combo. Thanks for continuing to share great recipes!
Hi Aimee,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
We enjoyed this dish tonight. I followed the recipe to the letter, but at the end I did thicken the sauce with 1 tablespoon cornstarch that I mixed with the 1/4 cup of the drained pineapple juice. (My husband likes the sauce to stick to the rice) Turned out perfect and I love the rice with it.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Hey Lisa,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner. Have the best weekend:) xT
It’s delicious! However my rice did not turn out, and the sauce didn’t reduce. The sauce was still super delicious and maybe it wasn’t supposed to reduce quite as much as I thought. The rice however, was undercooked I had to play with it and add quite a bit of water but it was yummy when I finally figured it out ! Any suggestions on the rice ? The coconut rice flavor was definitely yum!
Hey there,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try!! Sorry to hear you had issues with the rice. Was there anything you may have adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
I made this last night and it was delicious. However, my sauce was super brothy and did not reduce. I don’t know why. The picture looks like the sauce clings to the chicken. I will try again.
Hey Stephanie,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! To make the sauce thicker, you can add some cornstarch or just allow the sauce to simmer longer to reduce. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I made this last night and it was delicious. However, my sauce was super brothy and did not reduce. I don’t know why. The picture looks like the sauce clings to the chicken. I will try again.
So excited to try this! I am unfortunately allergic to pineapple, do you have a good substitution, or recommend just leaving it out?
Maybe mango chunks?
Hey Sarah,
Mango would also work well for you! I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
This is one of my top 2 recipes. It is great. Nothing beats the coconut rice. I found that the avocado didn’t add much, so don’t worry if you need to leave off, however, the cucumber is essential, which was a surprise to me. It is easy to make and reheats well. I was cooking for just 2 so I used 2 boneless chicken breasts made the full recipe of the sauce. That alone on the rice is tasty. I used 1 jalapeno, seeded but I will use another raw for sprinkling on top next time. Seriously, cannot oversell this. Too good and too easy.
Hi Sally,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
Loved this! One thing….it was a little salty, even though I used low sodium soy sauce. Any suggestions for reducing salt next time?
Hey Jill,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
I’ve had this recipe saved for months and finally made it this evening. Absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make it again for my family and friends
Hi Franny,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
Great EASY Meal with lots of flavor! My husband was hesitant when I said coconut rice but he really like it. So subtle and great texture. Loved it and the sauce to chicken ratio was good. This is a definite weekly meal when you don’t have much time
Hey Lisa,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
Love this! The rice is so creamy and chicken has terrific flavor. I will be making this one again.
Hey Seanna,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT
Made this for my family for Sunday dinner. I used chicken thighs. I definitely would recommend using thighs. The flavor of this dish is incredible. Once we began eating, the table went silent. I was worried I messed something up but everyone was just quietly shoveling it in. Everyone wanted seconds. Double this recipe for more than 4 people. Trust me. I’m still dreaming about this one! So so good!!!
Hey Amy,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it. Have the best week:) xT