Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice
A coconut lime curry marinade lends intense flavor for this grilled lime coconut chicken. Serve over rice for the perfect meal!
You know a recipe is a keeper when it has been a tried-and-true favorite for over a decade. This chicken is just that! It is one of the most delicious recipes on my website. Scroll down to see why!

Ultra-Flavorful Chicken Marinade
The marinade for this chicken packs a serious punch of flavor. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
- coconut milk
- fresh lime juice and lime zest
- curry powder
- ground cumin and coriander
- soy sauce
- pinch of cayenne pepper
The key is to reserve half of the marinade for later. It is going to make the most delicious, drizzling sauce you’ve ever tasted. 😍
The other half of the marinade goes over the chicken. Let it hang out in the fridge for at least two hours or up to 12 hours.
Of course I don’t need to say this out loud, but: the longer the chicken marinates, the better the flavor will be.
Grill the chicken on an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan. If you don’t have a grill, you can cook in a skillet or under the broiler in the oven.
The Most Wonderful Combo
While the chicken cooks, get the coconut rice going on the stovetop, and warm the reserved sauce.
Despite the various components, this meal comes together really quickly. It is basically a super elevated take on chicken and rice. Once that chicken marinades, it is easy and fast!
The combination of the juicy grilled chicken, creamy coconut rice, and intensely flavorful sauce is out of this world. To get the full effect of a rockstar-level meal, you have to experience every element! It is so, so, so good.
A Few Additional Notes
This is one of my favorite meals to serve to company. It has such a high WOW factor with very low effort.
Because the recipe relies heavily on the curry powder to flavor the marinade and sauce, be sure to use a curry powder that you like the flavor of. Almost all brands of curry powder vary in flavor and heat.
My all-time favorite curry powder is the sweet curry powder from Penzey’s spices. But there are many other delicious brands out there!
For a delicious serving idea, lots of people have made this recipe into rice bowls. Coconut rice + grilled chicken + sauce + roasted vegetables. Incredible. 😍
So Many 5-Star Reviews
Here are just a few of them! Scroll through the comments to see lots of other reviews and comments.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This has been a staple in our house since 2016/2017. It’s a super delicious and forgiving recipe. I think the coconut rice might be my husband’s favorite thing in the world (I also think it’s ridiculously good), make sure not to skip out on it! -Tish
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We have made this a dozen times or more and keep coming back to it. Always a crowd favorite! -Jenna
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This recipe is INCREDIBLE! I have made it for years and it’s truly amazing! Easy to make and so full of flavor. I only make recipes that I feel I would want to order at a restaurant and this is definitely one of them!! -Lauren
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is such a delicious recipe! The family goes crazy over this. It’s definitely better if it’s grilled, but some days I make it in the pan and it’s still great. And you MUST make coconut rice with this. If you don’t, you don’t get the whole effect. -Nicole
What to Serve With This
- Coconut rice (see the recipe below) or garlic rice
- Fresh fruit (pineapple would be delicious with this meal)
- Perfect Corn on the Cob or roasted vegetables
Grilled Lime Coconut Chicken with Coconut Rice
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade/Sauce:
- 1 cup canned coconut milk, light or regular
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Zest and juice of 2 limes
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
Coconut Rice:
- 1 ½ cups long grain white or jasmine rice
- 1 ½ cups canned coconut milk
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Garnish:
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Fresh limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
- For the marinade, in a large liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the oil, lime zest, lime juice, cumin, coriander, soy sauce, salt, sugar, curry powder, coconut milk, and cayenne pepper.
- Pour half the marinade into a bowl or container. Cover and refrigerate for later.
- Place the chicken in a large ziploc bag or shallow dish, and pour the remaining marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag or cover the dish, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
- For the rice, bring the rice, coconut milk, water and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 16 minutes until the liquid is mostly evaporated (don't lift the lid!). Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff lightly before serving.
- For the chicken, preheat a grill to medium-high heat. I use a pellet grill and set the temperature to 375 degrees F.
- Grill the chicken for 6-7 minutes per side (actual time will depend on the thickness of the chicken) until an instant-read thermometer inserted at the thickest part registers 165 degrees F.
- While the chicken cooks, heat the reserved marinade on the stovetop or in the microwave until warm (don't cook at too high a temperature or it can separate).
- Drizzle warm sauce over the grilled chicken, serving extra sauce on the side. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the chicken. Serve chicken and sauce over cooked rice with fresh lime wedges on the side.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (adapted from a recipe originally found on a website that is no longer in operation)
Recipe originally published June 2013; updated September 2024 with new photos, recipe notes, etc
A new favorite for sure! Dang…. So good!
Hi, Mel! I’m planning on making this for the family, but I was wondering how it would bake as opposed to grilling/frying/broiling. Is there anything I would need to change or could I just throw it in the oven?
Alexa – I think you could bake this…just watch the temp closely and don’t overcook (dry chicken – bad!). Good luck!
This was so good. I will definitely make it again. It wasn’t sweet like I thought it would be either.
Mel this was amazing! Quite recently I declared your cocnut curry shrimp my favorite dish on your blog but this dish may have changed my mind. The sauce! Oh the sauce! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t stand at the stove and eat three (maybe four, yikes) spoonfuls of sauce before pouring it over the chicken. Kindly convert this sauce into a soup for me! Haha, just kidding….sort of.
I’m thinking of switching up the lemon in the coconut curry shrimp to lime since the lime in this dish was so good. I may even try other ways to mesh these two dishes together. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Just had to tell you I made this last night and LOVED it! It was a hit with my husband and 4 little ones too. Is it bad that after I tried it I was kinda hoping my kids wouldn’t like it, so I could eat their servings? No such luck! 🙂 Love your blog, I’ve probably made about 40 of your recipes so far- I’m hooked!
I think I like this chicken even better than your Grilled Island Chicken which has been my favorite go-to chicken for a few years now! The flavors are so alive and delicious and the chicken was so tender. Loved this!
Tried this the day I saw it and it was AMAZING. We FOUGHT over the chicken breasts and I’m officially NEVER making rice another way again. Keep it up, Mel! You’re making the rest of us look like pros!
I don’t usually comment but this meal was soooooo good! My husband and I fought over the last price of chicken! Thank you! This one is a keeper!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was SO good! Wow- will definitely make it again! Thanks!
Made this tonight using pork loin chops and “drinking” coconut milk. It was amazing! Not sure how much flavor we sacrificed by not using canned coconut milk, but I wouldn’t hesitate to make it again the same way. And the sauce…so divine! Loved it over the rice!
I tried this recipe last night and I didn’t have enough chicken so I used it on salmon and put it on the grill and it was so delicious! My family could not stop saying how good it was. this recipe is a keeper and love this website. Thank you so much for all the delicious recipes. 🙂
I have a question about the coconut milk. What is the difference between canned and silk coconut milk in a container. Always have that one in fridge so was wondering if there was a difference. Thanks. Looks awesome and need to make it. 🙂
Hi Gina – they are completely different products. The coconut milk in a can is much thicker than the coconut milk made for drinking and adds more coconut flavor and richness to dishes so I don’t use them interchangeably. If it’s all you have, though, you could try using it and see how it works out – I just can’t vouch for the results!
Made this tonight. It was great but my sauce got all pasty after boiling for 10 minutes. Any suggestions?
Hi Mel, made this tonight for dinner and we thought it was awesome. Love your website and all your yummy recipes.
Just took this off the grill. I love coconut and curry. Your coconut curry shrimp is one of my favorites. Thanks for another great recipe. My husband loves that this one involves no indoor cooking (we cooked the sauce and rice on the burners on our grill), especially since its already 110 out down here in Phoenix!
Thanks again!
My family loved this – the flavors were so good! I marinated the chicken about 4 hours and found that the flavor was just right without the extra sauce, so we will skip that next time (though I might marinate longer, if I can plan ahead!) The coconut rice was heavenly, and I was so glad to be able to use up the can of coconut milk. Thanks for another keeper recipe!
i just bought 4 cans of coconut milk to use in something…this is that something!!!
This was one delish dish and so easy! I usually don’t make recipes with lots of coriander and curry, but man, the spices blended wonderfully well in this recipe. Luckily I had the sweet curry from Penzey’s on hand and it was not overpowering at all. I will be making this one again for sure.
I made this a couple nights ago and loved it. I didn’t plan ahead (shocker) so it didn’t get but 10 minutes to marinate. This worked out fine because my kids like plainish chicken and my husband and i had the sauce for extra flavor on the plate. 🙂 I made the rice in the rice cooker and it came out perfectly–not sure I’m ever going to want to use plain water again. (Can you imagine how lovely rice pudding would be with this added coconut flavor? That’s next on our dessert menu!) I doubled the chicken so I had enough to make chicken salad sandwiches last night and it was lovely. Thanks, Mel, for giving us the tried and true. Pinterest, sminterest…you are my one-and-only recipe site!
Made this last night. All 5 kids and husband raved about how good it was. We really enjoyed the extra sauce mixed w/the rice after all the chicken was inhaled! Thanks!
Made this for my in-laws over the weekend and everyone loved it! Thanks for another keeper Mel!
Can you cook the rice in a rice cooker?
I made this recipe last night, and it was delicious. First time my husband had tasted curry and he really liked it.
I made this tonight for my family and my 11 year old daughter got up from the table twice to give me hugs and kisses, saying I am the best cook ever. My husband loved it especially when I added more cayenne to his and mine to give it more heat. My 4 year old loved the chicken only and my 6 and 14 year old liked the rice only. I will have to get my kids used to eating curry because most of us loved it. Oh and it was so easy to make!
First off I will definitely be making this again! And second, coconut water and coconut milk are not the same thing. LOL! I learned this today. I just wasn’t thinking. I used coconut water for this recipe. It was lovely and the chicken very moist. My family loved it. I only used 1 teaspoon curry as this is a new spice for us. The rice was not very coconutty. I am sure coconut milk will be even better. I figured out my mistake before we grilled. I didn’t bother cooking the marinade for a sauce. I also grilled pineapple and it was a wonderful addition. Thanks Mel.
I wanted to try this out but my husband said it wasn’t ‘barbeque-ish’ enough to have while having a barbeque. So we bought tortillas and made some salsa. It was like some sort of strange-amazing fusion that worked really well! I put the rice in mine with the chicken/cheese/salsa. It was crazy good, I highly recommend trying it this way but in the end its really good chicken that would work any way!!!
I do have a question, could I use chicken drum sticks in stead of chicken breasts?
Jenn – sure, that’s worth a try!
I’d love to know more about your love/hate relationship with pinterest! Have you had bad luck? What should we be careful of?
Hi Ava – I think I’ve just had bad luck with a few recipes. I love Pinterest overall but I’m wary of recipes that say things like “BEST recipe ever” or “Pinner said you have to try this!”. I always follow the link first before I pin.
I made this dish tonight. I marinated it for about 4 hours. The flavors are beautiful! I didn’t grill the meat but cooked it in the frying pan and itt browned off beautifully. I did pound the chicken breasts lightly and slice them in half as you mentioned and the chicken was super tender. The only change that I would make next time is about 1/3 of the salt all the way around. My husband’s comment….Oh my God! Thanks for sharing!
Coconut rice sounds dreamy. Love the whole recipe.
This meal is perfection! I am making this Monday night and I will be dreaming about it until then. It’s my daughter’s 18th birthday and her main request was Lemon Blueberry Muffins from Mel’s. Best muffins EVER!!
Well, I can’t imagine that these could come close to beating those INCREDIBLE Chipotle Chicken Skewers, but I can’t wait to try them! Really, can you go wrong with coconut milk, curry, and lime?
i’m just not into curry, but everything else about this appeals greatly! i love coconut so much, i’m always even tempted to order coconut shrimp, even though shrimp repulses me no end. 🙂
Mel — I so appreciate the “extra” insturction you give when you post recipes so your recipe will turn out well for us too. Without your comments concerning the curry powder in this recipe, I would have used the red curry powder I use in your Curried Cauliflower Popcorn recipe (our new favorite night time snack). Penzey’s Spices (which I had never heard of) received a $50 order from me today thanks to you. Can’t wait for the order to come in so I can try this recipe. So thankful you share such goodness with others!
I know what you mean about Pinterest, I tried a chicken dish that people raved about and it was just so-so. I guess we are just used to the best on this here blog. And I’m not just saying that. 🙂 I can’t wait to try this chicken, I’m sure it really is awesome.
I am with you on the love/hate with Pinterest recipes. Photos don’t tell the whole story. Unless something comes from a blogger I trust or a “real live” person recommends it, I am hesitant to try the recipe. This one I am definitely trying. The flavors sound wonderful and it makes weeknight chicken into something special. 🙂
Just put this in the fridge and can’t wait to taste it after grilling it tonight for dinner! I was so excited to see this recipe this morning–it saved me from having to worry about what to make for dinner!
Mel, does the chicken end up with a strong curry flavor? I am not a curry fan, weird, I know. Could I omit it, or does it end up being a mild curry flavor? like super mild 🙂
Brittany – try knocking the curry down to 1 teaspoon. I think then it would be mild enough. With 2 teaspoons it definitely has a curry flavor – it isn’t overpowering to me but I love the taste of curry.
This is a must try marinade! I have to try this! I love this flavor profile!
I’ve made this and loved it too, which confirms that we have similar flavor palettes! Thanks for reminding me about this. I’m making it tonight:)
What are the chances?! I (quite insanely I might add) decided to make my own coconut milk 2 days ago. I have been scouring the internet looking for some way to use it. After 2 hours, 1 broken knife, and a few hurt fingers and pride (from my husband shaking his head at me and people poking their head over the fence) I am not going to let this stuff go bad! Tonight it’ll be all worth it!
It’s sounds delicious! We LOVE grilled chicken at our house! I am assuming the rice would work the same if it wasn’t jasmine rice?? I have long grain rice and medium grain calrose rice. I would prefer to use what I already have. 🙂
I CANNOT wait to try this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This looks FABULOUS!
Oh gosh! I’m so glad you agreed with me. It always makes me nervous when you try recipes that I like, for fear you’ll think they’re nasty! Great minds think alike I guess! Xo
My favorite flavors all in one place 🙂
I would SO love this! How coconutty is this? I love the flavor of coconut, but I’m not sure my pickies would. I might not even mention the coconut and see if they even notice 🙂
Oh, I’ve been doing the whole “count your colors” when we eat supper and one of my daughters had strawberries, a hamburger, and sunchips. She said she had like 27 colors or something ridiculous like that. It turns out she was counting every shade of color on the strawberry. A little bit more attention to detail than I was going for 😉 I think I’ll have to explain it better!
Hi Becky – the coconut flavor is very subtle. It’s actually more of a warm, curry-type flavor with bright hints of lime. Yum, it’s so good!
Oh my gosh, Melanie. This chicken looks amazing! I have everything I need to make this for dinner tonight. My family will love this!
Yum Mel! This looks amazing. Looks like I better add coconut milk to my grocery shopping list today. Thanks again!
This looks delicious. I bet my kids would eat it too since its just coconut flavor and not grated coconut. I don’t understand how people don’t like coconut because I could live on it but there are a lot of people that do. Can’t wait to try this! Thanks Mel!
oh my gosh! I bet I would feel like Im in the Caribbean eating this meal! IT sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to try it out!