Last night we had some friends over for dinner, and with 3 kids and a few special diets to accomodate, I wanted a meal that was quick and easy, and could keep a vegan and some gluten and dairy free peeps happy.
I needed something that wouldn’t keep me in the kitchen the whole time cooking since I had invited a friend and her 2 boys over, so I chose this Brazilian Chicken which has a rich, creamy texture in a dairy-free sauce. This recipe allowed me to prep some of the ingredients ahead of time, which left me time to chit chat, and the boys time to bond. Here’s a pic of our boys; her little guy just adores my son, and since mine is an only child, he loves the attention 🙂
Since I was starting with a base of gluten and dairy-free, this Brazilian Chicken is a great choice as it’s a Paleo meal that uses some simple spices to add an exotic flair, and gets it gravy-like consistency from rich coconut milk. The process is simple, and as my friend said, it “tastes a lot more complicated than it really is”. Gotta love an impressive dish that doesn’t kill you in the kitchen!
While this is adapted from All Recipes we’ve made some adjustments along the way to make it our own and accomodate a nightshade free diet (the original recipe calls for tomatoes and jalapeño peppers). I’m sure you can do the same by adding in some of what we’ve omitted including cayenne pepper, jalapeños and parsley.
Turns out this recipe kept most of the guests happy, with the older boys devouring the chicken, though the littlest guest wasn’t having any of it.
While we tried our best, he wasn’t digging the chicken, spinach or roasted carrots but he was happy to chill with his big brother while he ate the goods. Here he is desperately searching for something yummy in the fridge after deciding he wasn’t loving my dinner.
Glad I could keep one of the guests’ bellies full of some good food!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the cumin, turmeric, and coriander.
- Place the chicken in the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and rub on all sides with the spice mixture.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Place the chicken in the skillet.
- Cook 10 to 15 minutes on each side, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in the skillet.
- Add the onion, ginger and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes.
- Mix in the broccoli and continue cooking 5 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk.
- Pour coconut milk and veggies over the chicken.
- Garnish with parsley if desired.
I hope you love this recipe – be sure to leave your comments below, and thanks for stopping by!
#Gluten-free Brazilian Chicken with #Coconut Milk Reduction (#Paleo) http://t.co/zWnkBqVS
Gluten-free Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk Reduction (Paleo): Last night we had some fr… http://t.co/Yfy9wAv9 via @MyInspiredEats
Looks fantastic. Going to make for dinner tomorrow
Hi Christina,
I hope you loved this dish!
How fattening is this with the coconut milk?
Hi Destiny,
We don’t worry much about the fat content since it’s a healthy fat, and 1 can is used for the whole dish (which feeds about 6-8 servings). But generally speaking, a can of whole fat coconut milk has about 700 cals and 60 grams of fat so you can switch to the lite version if you prefer! It should turn out pretty close, though it might not be as thick and creamy as the full fat version is. Hope you enjoy it!
Gonna have to try this! http://t.co/LFBB7We7
Cool, let us know what you think!
I making this right now for dinner tonight & shared on my wall, my house smells amazing!
Hope you loved it!
I look forward to this delicious-sounding chicken dish! We cook a LOT of chicken and I’m really liking what coconut milk brings to main dishes.
#Recipe Gluten-free Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk Reduction (Paleo) -> http://t.co/P7YZ7TLf
Slure slurp RT @TheBigBhookad: #Recipe Gluten-free Brazilian Chicken with Coconut Milk Reduction (Paleo) -> http://t.co/hM6pdX5a
I tried it but I couldn't achieve the creaminess.
very runny actually. any help ?
Hi there – we haven't had issues with this ever being runny, so I'm wondering if it might have been the brand of coconut milk you used. Which one did you use? We tend to use Organic brands and avoid any with bleaching agents. You might try a full fat coconut milk, open and pour 3/4 of the can into a dish and slowly add a little water, or skip the water all together if you don't mind the calories/fat content. Hope this helps!
i think it was because of the milk. im gonna try again and let see how that works out! thanks!
I tried it but I couldn’t achieve the creaminess. very runny actually. any help ?
Hi there – we haven’t had issues with this ever being runny, so I’m wondering if it might have been the brand of coconut milk you used. Which one did you use? We tend to use Organic brands and avoid any with bleaching agents. You might try a full fat coconut milk, open and pour 3/4 of the can into a dish and slowly add a little water, or skip the water all together if you don’t mind the calories/fat content. Hope this helps!
This is a definite winner. Thanks for this recipe! I made it tonight for dinner it was delicious. (PS I used the Whole Foods brand organic full fat coconut milk and it turned out great.)
Seriously yum…even 14 year old son loved it. Yum!
Hi Anne,
So glad you liked it!
Making this tonight!