Instant Pot Coconut Lime Chicken
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Creamy Instant Pot coconut lime chicken will knock your socks off! The zesty flavor of lime and creamy texture of coconut milk combine to create a delicious sauce, perfect for chicken. Throw everything in the Instant Pot and let it cook! Then dinner is ready to go.
Instant Pot Coconut Lime Chicken Recipe
Creamy coconut lime chicken is a fun and healthy recipe that you can make in the Instant Pot. This is the perfect easy weeknight dinner if you want something that’s flavorful, but takes minimal effort to throw together. The whole family will love this delicious meal!
Pair it with coconut cauliflower rice for a low carb dinner that is high in protein. With creamy coconut milk and zesty lime juice, the flavor of coconut lime chicken is irresistible. We love making it as a light, yet protein packed meal in the summertime.
My Instant Pot has come in handy more times than I can count. I’ve got loads of healthy Instant Pot recipes and I turn to them often. This is a new one in our rotation and we just can’t get enough of it! The tangy and savory flavor combo makes it a “must-make” recipe.
Switch things up from the “same old, same old” and make this lime coconut chicken recipe! Then serve it however you want. Kick back and relax, because I’ve got dinner figured out this evening. Just pop it into the Instant Pot and let it do take care of the hard work.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
This dish is Whole30 approved, Paleo, keto, dairy free and gluten free. What’s not to love:
- This is one of my favorite dishes to make when I need easy clean-up. The only thing that really gets dirty is the Instant Pot!
- Real food shouldn’t have to be difficult to make. If you’re tired of long recipes with loads of ingredients, then you’ll appreciate how easy this dish is to make.
- The entire family is gonna gobble this up! It’s family friendly and makes plenty of servings so that you can easily serve everyone.
Ingredients
You can find everything that you need for this recipe at your local grocery store. That’s my goal on a busy day — attainable dinner recipes that have ingredients I can easily find:
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- minced garlic
- fresh ginger, minced
- lime zest
- lime juice
- coconut milk
- salt
- black pepper
- sweet potato
- cilantro, garnish
- lime wedges, garnish
Substitutions and Variations
You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of chicken breast if you prefer. If you choose to use bone-in chicken thighs, just know that the cook time will likely be a bit different.
Don’t have fresh ginger on hand? No worries! You can replace that with a teaspoon of ground ginger instead.
Feel free to add extra spices to season this up how you like. Red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder would all be great in this dish.
How to Make Instant Pot Coconut Lime Chicken
Follow these simple instructions to make this quick and easy dinner:
Add the chicken breasts, minced garlic, minced ginger, lime zest and half lime juice to the Instant Pot bowl. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then pour coconut milk around the chicken.
Place the lid onto the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
Once pressure cook is completed, do a quick release to release the pressure immediately.
Add diced sweet potatoes to the Instant Pot bowl and cover for 5-7 minutes. The steam from the chicken will cook the sweet potatoes just enough to be fork tender.
Remove the chicken and shred with forks, a stand mixer or by hand. Then add the shredded chicken back to coconut mixture and toss to coat. Add remaining lime juice.
Serve over broccoli rice, cauliflower rice or Jasmine rice with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
How to Store Leftover Chicken
Transfer leftover to an airtight container and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can also freeze leftovers in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
For best results, reheat in the oven or toaster oven, or on the stove top. You can add a splash of coconut milk and/or lime juice to help reconstitute the right sauce consistency.
What to Serve with Coconut Lime Chicken
We love to serve this coconut lime chicken with cauliflower rice, regular rice, or broccoli rice. But you can serve it so many different ways! Add it to a tortilla for a delicious wrap, or serve over a salad for a lighter meal.
It also pairs wonderfully with Instant Pot mashed cauliflower and air fryer brussels sprouts. We love to serve other extra veggies with it too, like air fryer asparagus or air fryer frozen green beans. Homemade naan bread also pairs beautifully with this dish.
Tips for Success
With a few simple tips, this recipe is sure to go off without a hitch:
- I highly recommend using full fat coconut milk for the most creamy results. Use the canned stuff, not something that you get in the refrigerated section. The canned milk contains coconut cream which makes the texture and flavor extra good!
- Always use fresh lime juice! The flavor is better and you can ensure that the quality is good too.
- Make sure that your chicken breasts are an even thickness so that they all finish cooking at the same time. You can pound them with a meat mallet or slice them in half with a sharp knife.
FAQ
If you end up with tough and rubbery chicken, you likely overcooked it. Make sure that you follow the cooking instructions and only cook on high pressure for the correct amount of time.
For this recipe, you should do a quick release. This means that once the timer goes off, you should manually flip the switch or valve on your Instant Pot to release the pressure instead of waiting for the pressure to release on its own.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Broth
- Instant Pot Pork Butt
- Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
Instant Pot Coconut Lime Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons lime juice divided, from 1 lime
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 sweet potato peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes
- ¼ cup cilantro for garnish
- 4 lime wedges
Instructions
- Add chicken breasts, garlic, ginger, zest and 1 tablespoon lime juice to Instant Pot bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then pour coconut milk around the chicken.
- Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- One pressure cook is completed, release pressure immediately.
- Add sweet potatoes to the Instant Pot bowl and cover for 5-7 minutes. The steam from the chicken will cook the sweet potatoes just enough to be fork tender.
- Remove chicken from bowl and shred with fork, mixer or by hand.
- Add shredded chicken back to coconut mixture and toss to coat. Add remaining lime juice.
- Serve over broccoli rice, cauliflower rice or Jasmine rice with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
