Sticky Coconut Chicken
This easy sticky coconut chicken is one of our favorite meals ever! Coconut milk marinated chicken is brushed with a sweet and spicy sticky glaze. It’s amazing!
You know a recipe is good when it stands the test of time for over a decade.
This sticky coconut chicken has been a family favorite for over ten years! My kids request it for birthday dinners, it’s a go-to meal for company (or for take-in meals), and it’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
The flavors are absolutely out of this world delicious. I can’t see us ever getting tired of this glazed chicken. Ever.
The flavor for this sticky coconut chicken is built in two ways:
- the coconut milk marinade
- the sticky sweet and just very lightly spicy glaze
For the marinade, we’re using ginger. Fresh ginger. It’s amazing in this dish. And I don’t want you to leave it out!
Lately, the availability of ginger paste has become much more common (I find it in the produce section of my grocery store or at Trader Joe’s). It’s a great alternative to fresh ginger, and I highly recommend it, especially in something like a marinade.
How to deal with fresh ginger
Fresh ginger can seem a little intimidating. It’s an incredible ingredient. But it’s also a little weird-looking and knobby and “out there” to some people.
Here’s a tip to make fresh ginger totally doable.
Buy a knob of ginger and cut it into 1-inch pieces (I don’t peel it). Put the chunks of ginger in a resealable bag and toss in the freezer.
When it’s time to use fresh ginger, take a piece of ginger from the freezer and grate it (frozen) on the small holes of a box grater or on a rasp grater/zester. Again, no need to peel!
It’s super easy to use fresh ginger this way, and it works great! I always have little nubbins of fresh ginger hanging out in the freezer for recipes that call for it.
Coconut Ginger Marinade
The coconut marinade for this sticky coconut chicken is super simple:
- canned coconut milk, light or regular
- fresh ginger
- salt and pepper
- red pepper flakes (use up to a teaspoon for a bit of heat, dial it down a bit for a more family-friendly vibe, but don’t leave it out!)
You can whisk all the ingredients together, especially if the ginger is finely grated, OR you can give everything a whirl in a blender. If I do that, I leave the ginger in larger chunks since it all gets blended up anyway.
Marinate the chicken for at least an hour or up to eight hours. Any longer, and I’ve found, especially with chicken breasts and tenders, that the texture of the meat gets a little bit soft and mushy.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a super great love for chicken thighs.
But they are amazing in this recipe, and my preference is to use them. However, chicken breasts or chicken tenders also work really well. If the chicken breasts are overly thick, I’d suggest slicing them into thinner pieces to maximize flavor.
Toward the end of cooking time, mix the glaze ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Sidenote: I almost always double or 1 1/2 the glaze so we have extra for drizzling over the chicken and rice.
Cook the glaze until it reduces by about half. It may not look super thick on the stove, but it will thicken as it cools. And you don’t want to cook it too long or you’ll end up with vinegar taffy.
And that’s a little bit sketch.
When the bubbles intensify and get super close together (like in the picture below on the right), it’s probably about time to pull it off the heat.
Grill or bake the chicken
This recipe is wonderful with grilled chicken – that’s my ultimate preference. But it also works great to cook the chicken in a hot skillet or bake in the oven.
Either way, toward the end of cooking time, brush that tasty glaze over the chicken!
Since the syrupy glaze is coming into contact with heat, it will thin out and drip off a bit, so repeat often over the last few minutes for a thicker coating of glaze, if desired.
Any leftover glaze can be drizzled over the chicken and rice (if serving with rice).
Quick Coconut Rice
I almost always use the other half of the coconut milk for a modified coconut rice recipe.
I add the leftover coconut milk to the liquid needed for the rice. It’s amazing! (More thorough details are in the recipe notes below.)
If you haven’t made this sticky coconut chicken yet, don’t wait!
So many people have fallen in love with it over the years:
Keri: My go-to grilled chicken dish. I’ve made it so many times over the years and we all still love it. We love to have it with grilled veggies!
Erica: We had this for dinner tonight and it may just be the best thing that I’ve ever eaten! Yum!
Rebecca: Thank you so much for posting! My husband said it is the best chicken he has ever had, my 3yo like any other 3yo usually picks at her plate but she licked the plate clean and asked for more, defiantly going to be a usual in our house!
I hope you love it, too! It’s seriously one of my favorite meals in the history of ever.
What To Serve With This:
Rice (or better yet, Coconut Rice)
Grilled Pineapple or fresh pineapple/fruit
5-Minute Skillet Broccoli
One Year Ago: Mel’s Buddha Bowls {With Super Tasty Peanut Sauce}
Two Years Ago: Mandarin Spinach Bowtie Pasta Salad with Teriyaki Dressing
Three Years Ago: The Best Ground Beef or Turkey Tacos {20-Minute Meal}
Four Years Ago: {Pressure Cooker or Stovetop} Chicken Coconut Curry
Five Years Ago: Grilled Honey Mustard Rosemary Chicken
Six Years Ago: Grilled Asian Chicken with Peanut Noodles and Cucumber Sambal
Seven Years Ago: Tex-Mex Enchilada Casserole
Eight Years Ago: Brown Sugar Crackle Cookies
Sticky Coconut Chicken
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, breasts or tenders, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
Marinade:
- 1 cup canned coconut milk, light or regular
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger or ginger paste (see note)
- ½ teaspoon salt, I use coarse, kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, I use coarsely ground
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (see note)
Glaze (see note about doubling):
- ¾ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Whisk together the marinade ingredients (or blend until smooth).
- Pour the marinade over the chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour or up to eight hours (any longer and the texture of the chicken can soften and get a little mushy).
- Toward the end of marinading time, bring the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes to a boil over medium heat. Simmer vigorously until the mixture is reduced by about half and is slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat. If it doesn’t seem to be thickening, just keep an eye on the reduction level, and keep in mind that it may still look a bit thin on the stove but will thicken as it cools.
- Grill the chicken over medium heat (or bake in the oven at 375 degrees on a greased, foil-lined pan), 4-5 minutes per side. The exact time will depend on type of chicken and thickness of the pieces – chicken thighs will take longer to cook than chicken breasts.
- The last few minutes of grilling or baking, brush the chicken with the glaze (repeat if you want a thicker coating). Serve with leftover glaze and rice, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Leigh Anne with my slight adaptations
Originally published June 2008; updated April 2020 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
How about adapting it for the instant pot?
If someone tries it, I hope they report back! I haven’t tried it in the IP yet.
Wow! These were so yummy! Definitely another winner. Sometimes I’m wary of chicken recipes like this because they always seem to dry out (probably user error) but I used some tenderloins that I had and cooked these on the George Forman (I know, I’m a dork, but it’s easy), and they were perfect. I think I did close to 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and I had one kid complain but the rest ate it up. The chicken was so delicate and juicy, I wish there had been leftovers. Oh, and I made the coconut rice too. I was scared and looked up the actual recipe on your site but found one that went with Mango chicken and yum. I only had brown rice (#quarantine2020 I bought a 25 lb when it was available) and though it took forever to cook (I think it was close to an hour) it was perfect. Thanks, Mel!
Thanks for the detailed review, Allison!
SO delicious and summery and easy! Looking forward to when we can have people over again and serve this!
Thanks, Megan! It makes such a great meal for company!
Two words: MAKE THIS!
Okay, maybe more than two. This is one of those things you make and then you fixate about when you can eat the leftovers, it’s that good. And easy. The ginger tips were also helpful. We loved it with the coconut rice but it would be a fantastic summer BBQ dish with any side. I one and a halved the glaze and was glad to have it because we just kept pouring it on throughout the meal. This will positively go into my rotation. Thanks for another winner, Mel!
So, so happy you loved this recipe, Karen – thank you!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! My husband usually adds a bbq sauce to all chicken but tonight he said he didn’t need it. I did have an issue with the sauce. I boiled it for 15 min then let it cool down completely and it never thickened up. It was very runny, I’m not sure what happened. I may add a bit of cornstarch next time.
Hey Emily, try letting it simmer longer (could just be that the heat on your stove is lower than mine so extra minutes won’t hurt it)
Wow! How have I missed this if you’ve posted it before? I’ve been following you for many years. At least 10. But my family has been eating Keto for about 18 months now (best thing ever IMHO!) so I’m going to have to keto-fy this by using full fat coconut milk and monkfruit for the glaze. Fingers crossed it works! Can’t wait to try! And cauliflower rice of course, which is amazing! And I’ll airfry the chicken. Grilled used to be my favorite but airfryer has trumped it now. Can’t wait to try this! It’s a Mel recipe! What can go wrong!?
Hope it works out, Tara!! 🙂
How long would you cook it in the oven?
It really depends on the thickness of the chicken, but maybe 4-5 minutes per side?
Yes, I totally needed this! Making it this weekend. Mwah!
Hi Mel. When you use the extra marinade for the chicken and rice, is it the same marinade you soaked the chicken in or do you put some aside?
Sorry if that’s confusing – I don’t use extra marinade for the rice – I just use the extra coconut milk that’s leftover in the can. Does that make sense?
Made this last night. Pleased even the picky eaters! Definitely a keeper!
Thanks, Kimberlee!
Just made this for dinner tonight. It was sooo good & the first thing my husband said is, “this is a keeper!” Even my stepson who doesn’t like coconut loved this. Thanks, Mel!
Love that feedback, Robyn – thank you!
I am on a strict diet and saw your post and realized I can eat all of this! Amazingly delicious! The whole family…even my 4yo barely breathed as he shoveled it into his mouth. Thank you again for a 5 star recipe. You really do make us all look like rockstars in our homes. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you!
I’ve never cooked with coconut milk (not really a coconut fan). Does the chicken (or rice) have a coconut flavor to it? Love the tip on the ginger! Thank you.
No, there’s not a strong coconut flavor – but that’s coming from me who IS a coconut fan. You might leave it out of the rice…but the chicken definitely doesn’t carry a strong coconut taste. The coconut milk helps with the tenderness of the chicken.
Mel, when you say you use the leftover coconut milk for cooking the rice, what exactly do you mean? Do you use just part of the can for the marinade in the first place and reserve the rest for the rice, or do you use the marinade that the chicken was in? Just wondering because the ingredient list for the marinade calls for a full can, and I am planning on making this on the weekend so I am curious what you meant. Thanks!
Hi Kristina, the marinade calls for 1 cup of canned coconut milk which means there will be some leftover in the can. The leftover coconut milk is what I use for the coconut rice. Does that make sense?
Yes, that makes sense. Thank you!
If I don’t have red pepper flakes, would a little cayenne pepper work well? If so, do you know how much I should use? My kids won’t want it spicy.
Yes, I think so! I’d just do a pinch (less than 1/8 teaspoon)
We made this last week after you posted it on your daily dinner post. We LOVED it! I cooked the vinegar for half an hour or so and couldn’t get it to thicken, so your tip about it thickening afterwards is spot on. Thanks for all the great recipes!!
Thanks, Hilary!
Seriously you don’t have to peel your frozen ginger! That’s so awesome! The recipe is a favorite and nowI like it even more!
I know! Such a life changing tip.
Love your ginger-in-the-freezer tip! SO EASY and nothing beats the flavor of fresh ginger.
I totally agree! It’s so yummy.
This is one of our all time favorite summer meals on your site. It has stood the test of time within our family. We have made it countless times over the years. I’m so glad that you have brought it back up to the surface for others to enjoy.
I’m so happy it’s a solid family favorite, Becca!
I would like to make this keto friendly
Monk fruit sweetener ok for the glaze?
You could definitely try!
We loved this. I made it with 3 chicken breasts and reduced the red pepper flakes to a few dashes in each element because we have a toddler. My toddler ate this up so well. I served this with stir fry veggies and your coconut rice, but I made two cups of rice and just added water to make up for not having all the coconut milk for doubling. Also, our grill is covered in snow so my husband used a cast iron and his broiling technique for the chicken. I’m pregnant and don’t like chicken much when I’m pregnant, but this is the best chicken dish I’ve made in a while.
1st time to make this dish
My go-to grilled chicken dish. I’ve made it so many times over the years and we all still love it. We love to have it with grilled veggies!
Hi I’m so excited to try this recipe! I’m working on prepping some freezer meals today and wondering if you’ve ever tried freezing the chicken in the marinade before? Thanks so much!
I haven’t, but I bet it would work pretty well!
These chicken thighs are going to be on repeat for the summer. They are so good. My husband kept stealing pieces before everyone else even had a chance to get any. Next time I want to double the glaze just so I have extra for the yummy coconut rice.
One of my husband’s favorite meals. We have a Traeger grill and use it for this recipe. Wow! Thank you!
So easy, so much flavor. Recommend for anyone.
This is the best! We love this recipe and make it often….I’m actually making it for our whole family coming over this weekend. Wondering if you can use the coconut milk, water, rice mixture for the coconut rice in the instant pot? I have a larger crowd and usually just use my old rice cooker but it’s going to be too small. Any ideas for making the coconut rice in the instant pot instead??
I’ve made coconut rice a few times in the Instant Pot…and it tends to scorch on the bottom because of the coconut milk, but it tastes delicious (despite that). Using white rice, I cook it for 4 minutes on high pressure.
I am making this now, but I noticed someone commenting about replacing the “BROWN ” sugar with honey? The recipe doesn’t say brown sugar, so I’m hoping it wasn’t a mistake!
Made this tonight. I used offset grilling using Chicken Breast. Cut down a tad on the pepper flakes. But my wife and I loved it and will make again!
I/m making this for dinner tonight. How do you think the glaze would work out with honey instead of brown sugar? Or is there another ingredient you would recommend in place of the brown sugar?
Not sure as I haven’t subbed for the brown sugar but honey seems like it would be a good substitute.
I don’t see brown sugar in the recipe. Is it supposed to be there?
I think that commenter used brown sugar in the glaze (the ingredients just say “sugar” but you could use either brown or white).
Can I substitute fresh ginger for ground? And if so how much ground ginger should I use?
Staci – I have never subbed ground. You will have to experiment. Start with just a little amount since it can be overpowering.
I too have made this twice and no way could I get that glaze to thicken. I even burned the chicken the first time waiting for it to thicken. The second time I did glaze in advance and it again took forever, so I decided to throw in a little cornstarch
This recipe is awesome! The glaze/sauce is soooo tasty! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. It wasn’t as coconutty as I’d hoped, but the glaze made up for it. I’m telling all my friends.
We had this for dinner tonight and it may just be the best thing that I’ve ever eaten! Yum!
Hi Mel,
I loved your Honey Lime Tilapia so much, I had faith your other recipes would be good too! I made this Sticky Coconut Chicken tonight for dinner, and my husband and brother loved it. I also added the leftover coconut milk to the rice, and it was a welcomed difference in the flavor. I did want to let anyone who substitutes sugar for Splenda to not do it with this recipe! It does not thicken like it should. I made a second batch of the glaze with actual sugar, and it did what it was supposed to do. 🙂 Great recipe, and thanks for sharing! I’ll be looking to try some others off your site!
Made this tonight! It was wonderful. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!!
Bailey – I don’t know – I haven’t tried it!
Could you cook this in the crock pot?
Teresa – it’s been years since I’ve made this (looks like I need to correct that!). I’m not sure why it isn’t thickening to be honest. If I get time, I’ll try to remake it soon and test it out.
I need some advice with the glaze…. third time making it and it does not thicken for me like it should. The 1st time it finally thickened after about 40 minutes on the stove. I’m not new to the kitchen so this is frustrating the heck out of me…. help.
Thank you so much for posting! My husband said it is the best chicken he has ever had, my 3yo like any other 3yo usually picks at her plate but she licked the plate clean and asked for more, defiantly going to be a usual in our house!
I love your site! My chicken is about to hit the grill… I just wanted to add that Our Best Bites has a really good sweet and savory coconut rice that would go perfectly with this!
Oh, this looks incredible (and is seriously making me question the wisdom of giving up meat for Lent!). All the flavors sound incredible, especially with coconut rice. Yum! I will definitely be trying this one after Easter!
Mel, I apologize that I am just now getting back to say thank you for the tip and the quick response! I saw your reply on my phone in time to make this the other night and then haven’t been back on since . . . until this morning, when the craving for biscuits hit and I’m back 🙂 your story of struggling with biscuits cracked me up (mom, these are yucky again!) and also hit home, as I am struggling to recreate my great-grandma’s biscuits time and time again myself! Gonna try your drop biscuits 🙂 Thanks again for such a great recipe resource, entertaining blog & sharing your knowledge!
Hi Kelly – I’m glad you found your way here and that the sweet and sour chicken was such a hit! As for this sticky coconut chicken, you could use the broil option in your oven. I’d line a baking sheet with foil and broil the chicken about 6-7 minutes each side, placing an oven rack in the upper third of your oven (not too close to the broiler element but definitely in the top half of the oven). Watch closely so it doesn’t overcook!
Hi Mel! I am new to your wonderful, amazing, drool-inducing site (thank you Pinterest!). I made your sweet and sour chicken a few nights ago and my husband said it was the best chicken ever!! And, he ate a ton of it and then took it for lunch the next day, so pretty sure it was a hit 😉 My question on this coconut chicken is this: it is not grilling season here in Alaska . . . I was hoping you could give me some guidance on using the stovetop/oven to make this? I would soooooo appreciate your time! Thanks!!
I made this tonight for supper and it was delish! I used the remaining coconut milk for the rice and it was the perfect touch. I am a serious addict of your blog =)
I made this tonight with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and it was delicious! It paired nicely with this coconut curry cauliflower recipe I found here: http://www.grouprecipes.com/51571/roasty-toasty-coconut-curry-cauliflower.html. Thanks for sharing this!
I am making this tonight for my husband and I(kids will be passed out after trick or treating so they will eat earlier. Wanted to add the following about making rice with coconut milk. I take 2 cups of rice, put it in a microwave safe bowl. add one can of coconut milk and fill the can with water, add that to the rice and coconut milk. Stir, microwave for 8 minutes. Take it out, stir, add ore water as needed, microwave for 6 min. keep adding water, stirring and microwaving for 6 min intervals until your rice is cooked to your liking.