Crispy, flavorful, and simple coconut chicken using convenient pantry ingredients to make one memorable meal everyone will love!
Here’s a simple dinner recipe that turned out to be even tastier than I planned. Sure, I had high hopes for this mid-week meal but I never expected it to be THIS GOOD.
Here’s the deal. The chicken’s crust:
- Has extra coconut.
- Is all sorts of tropical tasting. Hello perfect warm weather recipe.
- Has Panko for added crunch and texture. Done and done.
- Is flash-fried in a little coconut oil on the stove before going into the oven.
- Is crispy and crusty and sweet and savory and flavorful.
The chicken is coated in the coconut crust in three steps. First, a coating of whole wheat (or regular) flour. The flour helps the egg to stick. Next, a dip into beaten eggs. Coating the chicken in beaten egg helps the coconut to stick. And finally? A generous dunk into coconut/Panko breadcrumbs. Here’s why Panko is preferred: Panko is made from crustless bread and is coarsely ground into airy, large flakes. Panko tends to stay crispier longer than regular breadcrumbs because they don’t absorb as much grease and liquid.
It’s important to chop up/pulse the shredded coconut before using it as a coating. Smaller pieces of coconut adhere to the chicken much easier.
About that “flash fry” step. It’s not crucial, but taste testers liked the pieces of chicken that were briefly pan-fried in coconut oil before the baking step. As an alternative, you can simply bake the chicken instead of adding the pan frying step. But that little pan fry in coconut oil adds another wonderful layer of flavor and gives the chicken the golden brown crispy crust we all love.
For the best taste and texture, I don’t recommend skipping this step.
Now, about that sauce. All you need is honey, orange marmalade/jam/preserves, dijon mustard, and red pepper flakes. If spicy isn’t your style, leave out the red pepper flakes. There is still so much lovely flavor in this sauce!
This is truly such a simple dish that uses convenient pantry ingredients and boasts huge coconut flavor. Add this recipe to your rotation of favorite chicken meals alongside other favorites like baked buffalo chicken fingers, creamy lemon thyme chicken, chicken meatballs, and slow cooker honey teriyaki chicken.
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Crispy Coconut Chicken with Spicy Honey Orange Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Crispy, flavorful, and simple coconut chicken using convenient pantry ingredients to make one memorable meal everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (680g) skinless, boneless chicken breasts or tenders
- 1 cup (80g) sweetened shredded coconut*
- 3/4 cup Panko*
- 1/2 cup (65g) whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (56g) coconut oil*
- optional for garnish: chopped cilantro or parsley
Spicy Honey Orange Sauce
- 1/2 cup orange preserves (or marmalade)
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey
- 3 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- If using chicken breasts, pound down and cut into strips. If using boneless, skinless chicken tenders (chicken tenders are the lean strips of meat found attached to the underside of chicken breasts – they can also be purchased separately), cut in half lengthwise.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Pulse the shredded coconut in a food processor or blender to break it down into smaller pieces. Alternatively, you can chop it up. Mix it with the Panko in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a second medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and pepper together. In a third bowl, whisk the eggs together.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Coat each chicken strip in flour, shaking off any excess. Then, dip in egg and let any excess drip off. Then generously roll in the coconut mixture, shaking off any excess. Add more Panko to the dish if you are running low.
- Fry 4-6 chicken strips at a time in the coconut oil—only about 2 minutes per side until the crust is golden brown. Once each is done, place strips onto prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 6-10 minutes or until chicken is completely baked through.
- Make the sauce: Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together except for the salt. Taste. Add salt as needed.
- Serve chicken warm with the dipping sauce. Add an optional garnish like a little chopped cilantro or parsley. Store any leftover chicken in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: After the chicken is coated in the coconut in step 5, place chicken on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet and place in freezer for 2-3 hours or until frozen solid. Then transfer them to a large freezer-friendly bag. Freeze for up to 3-4 months. When ready to eat, place frozen chicken on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 30 minutes or until cooked through. You can also freeze the cooked chicken strips for up to 3-4 months. Thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator then reheat to your liking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Large Skillet
- Coconut: I prefer sweetened coconut for a slightly sweet crust. You can use unsweetened coconut if you’d prefer it, though we didn’t like the unsweetened crust as much compared to sweetened coconut. I also find that the sweetened coconut browns easier and was a little crispier.
- Panko: A Japanese-style breadcrumb traditionally used as a coating for fried or baked foods. It’s available in major grocery stores near the stuffing. Panko is heavily preferred opposed to regular bread crumbs because they tend to stay crispier longer. You may buy seasoned or unseasoned and then add more/less seasonings to your breading if preferred. I use unseasoned.
- Non-Frying Option: Instead of flash frying in coconut oil in steps 4 and 6, you can simply bake the coconut chicken for around 20 minutes (flipping halfway through) and skip those two steps. However, we much preferred the taste of the chicken after being pan fried in coconut oil for that brief amount of time. It adds another layer of coconut flavor as well as ensures a crispy golden brown crust.
- Sauce adapted from All Recipes.
We’re obsessed.
Followed the recipe, and cooked small chicken breast in a frying pan on the stove, at medium heat. Served them with plum sauce that I had on hand! Crispy and delicious!
Absolutely delicious!
I made this recipe for dinner two nights ago and my husband is already requesting it again.
One of the best coconut chicken recipes ever. the chicken tenderloins just melted in your mouth.
a keeper for sure.
So glad this recipe was a hit for you, Donna!
Can this be made in an air fryer? I’ve just gotten one and still figuring out how/when to use it.
Thank you!
Yes, definitely! We are unsure of the exact time, but keep an eye on them and remove when they are golden brown and baked through.
I’ve made this recipe several times and we love it. I don’t normally look for cooking recipes, just baking. But I appreciate your clear, concise instructions here. The ratio of coconut to panko is perfect. And the flash fry before baking, though it takes more effort, really makes the dish better. We like adding Louisiana hot sauce to the marmalade as well.
What do you recommend cooking as a side to have with the chicken?
Hi Olivia, we’ve been loving the Easy Zucchini Casserole Recipe while summer squash is in abundance, or a simple side of rice would be great, too – especially with a drizzle of the Spicy Honey Orange Sauce. Whatever you decide to pair it with, we hope you enjoy the chicken!
So freaking good! Wow I just made this tonight for dinner. It was so good. Will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe.
Chicken was so-so but the dipping sauce -divine! Will definitely be making that again.
My family liked this so much I had to use the portions I had set aside to freeze. My son isn’t a sauce guy and even he loved the sauce. I will have to triple or quadruple the recipe next time!
Easy and delicious! The sauce is my new go to for dipping…yummy!
This was sooo messy to make, but is SOOOOO worth it! My husband loves coconut and he rated this as 5 stars and texted a photo of it to his siblings, who all said it looked delicious, which it was! Just a couple of comments – the recipe didn’t say to turn the heat down after the first batch of chicken so the second one came out almost burnt, so don’t forget to do that. Also, I thought the dipping sauce overrode the coconut too much, so I will leave it out in the future. I will try this recipe with shrimp next time.
This was a little messy but so yummy!
Ok – I NEVER leave reviews but this was honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever made! My two teen boys were not only impressed, they ranked in their top dinners of all time! A keeper at the front of the line for sure!
So glad this recipe was a hit for you and your family, Mary!
Could I deep fry this?
Hi Amber, we haven’t tried it, but let us know if you do!
Could his recipe be made with skinless chicken thighs? We’re not fans of white meat in my family!
Definitely! Skinless boneless chicken thighs would work well here.
So delicious! My 8 year old and my 4 year old LOVED it. They requested this be added to our weekly rotation. I’m making it again tonight!
So good!!! We loved it. I used unsweetened coconut and orange marmalade made with Splenda to reduce the sugar. This will definitely be a recipe we will enjoy often!
I followed instructions exactly and it turned out incredible! I even took samples to 3 of my neighbors, 2 wanted the recipe, and the third just wants me to cook it for her…LOL This is a keeper!
Just made this tonight for the first time, and it was outstanding! Rivals the coconut crusted shrimp you get at Outback. The only change I made was to halve the salt. I didn’t have any coconut oil for the frying, so I mixed a teaspoon or so of coconut extract into the oil before I fried the chicken. I didn’t have the ingredients for the orange sauce either, but I did have a bottle of store bought orange sauce that we use for Chinese food cooking. I just mixed some honey into that and voila! Will definitely be making this again.
I used almond flour and Dai-Dai duck sauce instead of the marmalade and came out perfect
Going to try this in my air fryer!!
Ty.
Oh let us know how it turns out I was thinking the same thing!
How did this work in your air fryer?
This is a simple, yet delicious recipe! It will be a staple for us. Sally, you’re my go-to for sweet recipes and now for savory ones. I’ve made a number of both kinds of your recipes and they do not disappoint. Well done!
We really like this recipe — thanks for sharing it. Next time, I plan to use hot honey in the orange sauce to ramp up the spice level just a bit. I know I could add more cayenne pepper instead, but the hot honey might be a tasty variation. The sauce is wonderful as is, but you know, it’s always fun to add new twists.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! We loved it!
Absolutely fabulous. My favorite way to cook chicken. I am going to try it with shrimp as the pinko/ coconut mixture is so nice and crunchy. I too, used unsweetened coconut.