One Pot Coconut Chicken Rice
I LOOOOVE one pot dishes: you can tidy up the kitchen while it’s cooking and hardly any washing up afterwards. My kind of cooking! Not only is this One Pot Coconut Chicken Rice super easy, it’s absolutely delicious. The rice is cooked in the chicken stock and coconut milk, so it’s creamy and fluffy at the same time. Don’t let the simple ingredients deceive you: lime zest and juice, ginger, Thai green chilis, garlic, shallots, spring onions and koriander are all you need to get tons of flavour.
This One Pot Coconut Chicken Rice is everything you want in a weeknight meal—easy, fuss-free, and packed with flavour. The chicken turns beautifully tender, soaking up all the juices and flavours from the coconut milk, chicken stock, and aromatic spices. Meanwhile, the rice cooks to perfection, infused with the delicate warmth of ginger, garlic, and lime.
And let’s talk about those bold Thai-inspired flavours—zesty lime, fiery green chillies, fresh coriander, and fragrant shallots come together to create a dish that’s both comforting and vibrant. The best part? It all happens in one pot, meaning less washing up and more time to sit back and enjoy!
Important notice, recent adjustment and addition (but not shown in the video): I now added the Thai drizzle sauce at the end. In my honest opinion that was missing in the previous version of the recipe. It’s zingy, spicy, sweet and salty, perfect in combo with the rich coconut rice. This was really a game changer! (I also made this sauce in my Thai Red Curry with Crispy Fried Cod, you need to give it a try!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ One Pot Wonder – Minimal effort, maximum flavour.
✔️ Creamy, Fragrant & Comforting – The perfect balance of spice and richness.
✔️ Super Versatile – Easily adjustable to your spice preference.
Top it off with extra spring onions, crispy shallots, or a drizzle of chilli oil for even more flavour. Whether you’re cooking for a cosy night in or meal-prepping for the week, this coconut chicken rice is guaranteed to become a favourite.
Recipe inspired by @kalejunkie
A few other one pot recipes:
Pumpkin & Ricotta Gnocchi with Brown Butter Crispy
Fennel Sausage in a Tomato, Fennel & Parmesan Broth
Cheesy Pumpkin, Leek & Butter Bean Bake
Curried Yellow Split Pea Coconut Soup
Check out under the category One Pot for more inspiration.
One Pot Coconut Chicken Rice
(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- Chicken:
- 3 - 4 chicken thighs, skin on
- Zest of 1 lime
- Good mount of Pepper & Salt
-
- Rice:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 3-4 cm fresh ginger, grated (or 2 tsp ginger)
- 2-3 Thai green chilis, thinly sliced
- 2-3 lime leaves (optional)
- 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 4 Spring onions, roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 250 ml full fat coconut milk
- 1 tbs fish sauce (more to taste)
- Big handful koriander, roughly chopped
- Half a pointy cabbage, roughly chopped (optional, see notes)
- Thai drizzle sauce
- Small handful koriander, chopped
- 2 Thai red chili, finely chopped (optional: deseed if you'd like to reduce the heat)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- Juice of half a lime (more to taste)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Pat the chicken dry and season well with pepper, salt and lime zest, massage it into the meat. Preheat a large (ovenproof) skillet and add the chicken skin side down, no oil is needed. Leave it without moving it for 6-7 minutes until golden and crispy. Flip over and do the same on the other side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
For a healthier version remove some, or all of the chicken fat from the pan and add some olive or vegetable oil. You need ± 1 tbsp.
Add the shallots, ginger, garlic and chili’s and sauté until softened and fragrant, ± 2 minutes. Add the rice and spring onions and stir to coat the rice with the rest of the ingredients.
Toast the rice for 3-4 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, lime juice and fish sauce, stir and bring to a simmer. Add the sliced cabbage, lime leaves and chopped koriander, mix well.
Place the chicken back on top of the rice, skin side up.
Cover the skillet with a lid (ovenproof) or aluminium foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 15-17 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the skin is nice and crispy.
In the meantime make your drizzle sauce by mixing all the ingredients. Taste and adjust to your liking. It should be zingy, spicy, sweet and salty.
Fluff up the rice with a fork. Divide the rice and chicken over the plates and drizzle it all with your amazing sauce.
Notes
- Whenever I can I like to add extra vegetables to a dish, I still had some cabbage in the freezer, but you could mix around with this: snow peas, broccoli, courgette, sugar snaps, bimi, peppers. Whatever you have at hand and tickles your fancy!
- This recipe has been adjusted and is slightly different than in the video. The main differences: I don't use oil at the beginning to brown the chicken thighs. And the the other is the drizzle sauce. In my honest opinion that was missing in the previous dish. This was really a game changer!
