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Coconut Chicken, Oh My!

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Asian food. From sushi to egg drop soup there are many I call my favorites. This Coconut Chicken, like many of my other Asian-inspired recipes, was born out of my desire to enjoy my favorite dishes but in a healthier way.

Coconut Chicken is my copycat version of one of my old buffet favorites. In the past, I would pile my plate high of the overly sweet chicken and lavish every bite.

Well, that is until I felt like someone was going to have to roll me out of the restaurant. Darn, you buffet food, and darn you missing willpower!

Not only did I find myself leaving overly stuffed but due to all the sugars and MSG that the restaurant used I always ended up regretting every bite that I had enjoyed. Believe me, that horrible feeling of bloat and sugar overload always reminded me of why I should not have done that to myself.

Thankfully, I have learned from those trips to the Chinese Buffet and have stuck to creating and cooking remakes of my favorites at home. This way I can still enjoy the delicious Asian-inspired dishes but with no sugar and no added MSG.

Easy Peasy Recipe!

This Coconut Chicken is rich and has a delightful sweetness to it, although it is much less sticky and a lot better for you than that old buffet option.  The recipe is also fairly simple, with only a few steps starting with the first one,  preparing the chicken.

To make the chicken I like to use boneless and skinless breast tenders but you could totally use boneless and skinless thighs if you prefer dark meat.

I typically shop for and use what I find on sale that week and this week I scored some awesome organic chicken breasts for only .79 a pound, so I stocked up the freezer. I was so excited about that amazing deal I couldn’t wait to use it in this new recipe.

The second step to this recipe is even simpler than the first, making the creamy coconut sauce to coat the chicken. At the buffet, I mentioned above the sticky sweet sauce was oh so good but it is so overwhelming so I wanted to get close to that same flavor but with a much lighter sauce.

The third and last step just involves you pouring the coconut sauce over your chicken and baking for a bit. This is an extra step that will help set the sauce on the chicken. Yum, typing this out now is making I had this on the menu plan again this week!

I think I found a great balance of that coconut flavor and sweet in this recipe but I will let you be the judge on that matter.  If you like your recipes less sweet start with half of the sweetener recommended in the recipe card. Simply taste and adjust your sauce to your liking.

Tips and Tricks For Making This Low Carb Coconut Chicken

I want to share a few tips and tricks I like to use when I make this recipe for my family. These could be tips for ingredients to use, the cooking process, or even suggestions for serving. I hope you find them helpful when you try this recipe out!

• When shopping for the chicken tenders sometimes the boneless skinless chicken breast is cheaper by the pound than buying the tenders already cut for you. So in that chase just pick up 2 lbs of whole and cut those down into bite-size pieces.
• If you don’t have the oat fiber I suggest for coating the chicken you can use your favorite low carb coating. 
• When purchasing Oat Fiber I would very faithfully recommend purchasing the Trim Healthy Mama brand because oat fiber can vary a ton in smell, texture, and flavor by brand. Over the years I’ve tried many and the THM brand is by far the mildest in flavor, smell, and you can take a look at it HERE through my affiliate link. 
• When frying foods it is important to use a healthy oil with a high smoke point. I recommend coconut oil or avocado oils. Peanut oil is also great for frying foods if there are no nut allergies you have to be mindful of them.
• This recipe has three components: fried chicken, steam broccoli, and coconut sauce. These three items can easily be cooked simultaneously if you are an experienced cook. But if you are a beginner I recommend preparing the sauce the night before or first and just reheating it when you are ready to toss the chicken in the sauce. 
• Always be cautious when working with hot grease, especially if you have children in and out of the kitchen. I like to get everything under control before I start frying anything that way I don’t have to walk away or leave the hot oils unattended. This may seem simple but I always like to work safely in the kitchen.
• When serving this recipe you can coat both the chicken and the broccoli in the sauce or choose to just toss the chicken in the sauce and then just serve it over the steamed broccoli. 
• As with any recipe you cook, take the time to taste your foods as you cook and adjust any seasoning as you go along for the ultimate flavor profile. In this case for the sauce if you want your sauce less sweet start with just a couple teaspoons of sweetener and add more as needed. 

There you have it friends, my Coconut Chicken. A healthier version of a favorite found on Asian buffets around the U.S.  Notice how I didn’t say the word, haha?

 I am pretty sure this is an “American Chinese” recipe and would be far from what they actually eat in China.  But hey, I am fine with that and I think you might be too!

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Yield: 5-6 Servings

Low Carb Coconut Chicken || Gluten Free & THM "S"

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 1 hour 1 minute

Golden brown fried chunks of chicken and freshly steamed broccoli tossed in a creamy sugar free coconut sauce. A low carb version of a take out favorite.

Print

Ingredients

Fried Chicken Tenders & Broccoli

• 1.5 to 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken tenders
• 1/3 cup of Trim Heathy Mama Oat Fiber
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• Enough Coconut or Avocado Oil to shallow fry the chicken pieces
• 1 large head of fresh Broccoli, cut into florets 

Creamy Coconut Sauce

• 1 (13.66) can of THAI Coconut Milk, unsweetened
• 1 Tablespoon of Trim Healthy Mama Super Sweet or your favorite Erythritol Sweetener.
• 1/2 teaspoon of Xanthum Gum for thickening. 

Instructions

1. Begin by cutting the chicken breast tenders into bite size pieces. The pieces don't have to be perfect size but they cook more evening when they are close to the same size.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a bowl and add in the seasonings and toss well before sitting it aside to prep the coconut sauce and oat fiber for frying.
3. In a small sauce pan over medium heat add in the coconut milk and sweetener and whisk together.
4. Bring the coconut milk to a low boil and sprinkle in the Xanthum Gum slowly whisking the entire time. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Let the sauce simmer to reduce and thicken. This usually takes me about 20 minutes in total so I use that time to cook the chicken pieces.
5. While the sauce is simmering preheat a medium skillet over medium heat with enough oil in the bottom of the pan to shallow fry the chicken once breaded.
6. As the oil heats up in the skillet place pieces of the chicken into the oat fiber and toss to get a light coating on each piece.
7. Place the coated chicken into the hot oil and cook thoroughly until the chicken pieces are golden brown on both sides and fully cooked.
8. This step is good to do in batches so avoid overcrowding your skillet with chicken as you fry it.
9. As the chicken and sauce are cooking steam broccoli until it reaches your desired tenderness and place in a large bowl.
10. Once the chicken is cooked add it to the bowl of broccoli and slowly pour over the hot thickened coconut sauce.
11. Toss the chicken and broccoli in the sauce until all is coated with the stick sweet sauce.
12. Another options would be to just toss the chicken in the sauce and sever on top of the steam broccoli.

Notes

Note: This coconut sauce is meant to be sweet. If you like your dishes less sweet I recommend starting with 1 to 2 tsp of sweetener and adjusting from there to meat your desired sweetness. Nutrition is calculated by an online source and may vary for you depending on the brands that you choose to use in your cooking.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1/6th of the Recipe
Amount Per ServingCalories 536Total Fat 24gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 140mgSodium 339mgCarbohydrates 7.8gNet Carbohydrates 4.6gFiber 2.6gSugar 6gSugar Alcohols 1gProtein 50g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

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Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!