CREAMY CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN
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Paleo creamy cilantro lime chicken is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner that is also so tasty and nourishing. It’s paleo and Whole 30 approved, but I love it just because it’s so good! The chicken get nuzzled into a creamy coconut sauce with lots of fresh squeezed lime juice, which makes for the most refreshing bite. Definitely try this recipe out for a dinner for your family!
Paleo Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken Ingredients
Chicken: This recipe calls for boneless chicken breast, but you could try it out with other cuts of chicken. Boneless chicken thighs would work well too and taste very similar if you have them on hand instead. You can also use chicken breast with skin if you’d like a crispier outside.
Spices: The spices you’ll need for this recipe are salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder. I highly recommend getting smoked paprika if you don’t have it, it’s my favorite spice to use lately because it adds so much flavor to dishes. Feel free to add anything else you enjoy like onion powder or italian seasoning as well.
Avocado Oil: I use avocado on the skillet to make this chicken. Any neutral oil will work, like olive oil. I love to use avocado oil because it has a much higher smoke point than olive oil so it can be heated much higher, which is great for getting a good sear on the chicken.
Coconut Milk: Coconut milk is the key to making the creamy coconut lime sauce that the chicken goes in. You’ll want to use canned, full-fat coconut milk for best results. If you don’t have canned coconut milk, you can try it from a carton for a slightly different texture.
Lime: For the sauce, you’ll need the zest and juice of one lime. If you have bottled lime juice and no fresh limes on hand, that’s totally fine! Just use ~3 tablespoons of lime juice to make up for it.
Cilantro: I definitely recommend using fresh cilantro in this recipe rather than dried. Cilantro is such a tasty and versatile herb that pairs amazingly well with lime and coconut. This recipe combines those flavors beautifully.
Green Onions: I like to add green onions along with the cilantro for some extra flavor, but feel free to omit them if green onions aren’t your thing.
If you try out this recipe, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below if you love it. You can also snap a photo & tag @jenneatsgoood on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support this blog and make it possible for me to continue to create healthier recipes!
CREAMY CILANTRO LIME CHICKEN
4-6
servings10
minutes20
minutesGluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo
Paleo creamy cilantro lime chicken is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner that is also so tasty and nourishing. It’s paleo and Whole 30 approved, but I love it just because it’s so good! The chicken get nuzzled into a creamy coconut sauce with lots of fresh squeezed lime juice, which makes for the most refreshing bite. Definitely try this recipe out for a dinner for your family!
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Ingredients
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 lbs boneless chicken breast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1 lime, juice and zest
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
Directions
- Heat two tablespoons of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken breast from its packaging and pat all sides with a paper towel until dry.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Cover the chicken with the spice mix, completely covering each piece with spices.
- Place the chicken in the heated skillet and cook for ~5 minutes before flipping all pieces to cook on the other side. Depending on the thickness, you may need to cook the chicken for longer than ~5 minutes after flipping. Use a meat thermometer for best results.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked (an internal temperature of 165 degrees), remove it from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, pour in the can of coconut milk and bring it to a simmer.
- Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the lime juice and zest, chopped cilantro and green onions. Place the chicken back into the pan with the coconut sauce.
- Let the chicken cook in the sauce for a few minutes before serving with extra cilantro and lime on top if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Snap a photo & tag @jenneatsgoood on INSTAGRAM
If you try out this recipe, I want to know!
Leave a comment with a star rating below if you love it.
I made this tonight for the family, and we absolutely love it! I added about 1/4-1/3 almond milk to the coconut milk for a slightly creamier taste! We ate with buttery orzo pasta and topped the pasta with the coconut milk mixture. It was delightful :). Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
We tried making this before and it was a lot for 2 people, so we tried again for a quick lunch and it worked grea ! We served it with some mixed veggies, and extra sauce on top, since it was a little thin. We love Jen’s receipes and look forward to new ideas every week.
This one is perfect for a lunch!! So glad you gave it a try
Super easy and super yummy. The taste, especially as leftovers, reminds me of Thai Tom Kha soup. We made some frozen mixed veggies from Costco in another pan at the same time as the chicken, which included onion so we omitted the green onion, and it’s still delicious.
Hi I’m wondering about the nutritional info for your recipes and if they are listed in My Fitness Pal. Are they in any of your cookbooks? It’s hard to plan for a meal without this info.