Crispy, flavorful, and simple coconut chicken using convenient pantry ingredients to make one memorable meal everyone will love!
Hereโs 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.
Hereโs the deal. The chickenโs 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. Hereโs 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 donโt absorb as much grease and liquid.
Itโs 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 โflash fryโ step. Itโs 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 donโt 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 isnโt 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.
Print
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 breastsโthey can also be purchased separately), cut in half lengthwise.
- Preheat oven to 400ยฐF (204ยฐC). 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 oilโonly 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 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) 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 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) 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 youโd prefer it, though we didnโt 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. Itโs 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.
Weโre obsessed.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Excellent chicken fingers! And the dipping sauce is amazingly good! Easy to make also. Will definitely make these again
Our family gives it six stars! The sauce is very creative and was a big hit, we didnโt like it alone at first but once the chicken was dipped in, oh my! Using coconut makes it special. We will definitely make again, though my wife says to Never make it again cause she ate too much! ๐
Hi! This sounds wonderful, but my daughter has an egg allergy. Is there anything you can recommend as a substitute for the eggs?
Hi Krista, we havenโt tested these options, but you could try buttermilk, aquafaba, or even mayonnaise or yogurt instead of the eggs for coating the chicken. Let us know what you try!
Can you airfry this recipe?
Weโre sure you could, Robin, but we havenโt tested it. Let us know if you try!
I made this last night and I have to tell you that both my husband and I were thrilled with the result โ crispy, delicious chicken made in a short time accompanied by a wonderful sauce. I added this to my list of favorite recipes for 2024!
Iโve made this recipe a few times now, and itโs a big hit for my family! Iโve made it the original way, but we just got an air fryer so I wanted to try making it in there. Delicious! I cooked them at 325ยบF for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through, and they came out beautifully! Iโve also added some toasted sesame oil and soy sauce into the orange honey sauce, as well as a bit of gochujang to give it more of a kick. Overall, this is a great recipe that I will be making more of in the future!
Will using regular yellow mustard instead of dijon cause a noticeable flavor change?
Hi Kylie, we havenโt tested it but some readers reported delicious results with both regular and honey mustard. Weโd love to know what you try!
This was delicious! The chicken was moist and flavorful and was enhanced by the dipping sauce! The directions were clear and concise and very easy to follow. Definitely a keeper.
This turned out great with the omission of panko crumbs as they are very very expensive canโt afford them what could I use as a substitute. What would give them that crunch without spending alot. Thankyou