This coconut chicken recipe turns ordinary baked chicken into a special meal. The recipe uses sweetened coconut and jerk seasoning, which gives the chicken a hot, sweet taste. This chicken goes great with pineapple fried rice (click here for the recipe).
Pan Browned and Baked
The chicken is dredged in seasoning, panko bread crumbs, cornstarch, and coconut. First, cook the chicken in a skillet to brown it on both sides. Then finish cooking it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. If you have a large skillet that is oven safe, use it to brown the chicken first, and then place the same skillet in the oven to finish the cooking process.
Make it Gluten-Free
You can make this chicken into a gluten-free dish by crushing Rice Chex cereal and substituting it for panko bread crumbs. When crushed, Rice Chex has a stiff crumb similar to the panko. Just use one cup of crushed Rice Chex for the panko crumbs. Jerk seasoning is usually gluten-free. However, always check the ingredient list on the jar to ensure the brand you are using is gluten-free. Enjoy!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 24 minutes |
| Servings |
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- (4) 6-ounce chicken breasts, skinned and boned
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup panko (see Note below for gluten-free substitution)
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Place each piece of chicken between plastic wrap and pound to 1/4-inch thickness with a meat mallet.
- Set up 3 shallow dishes. In the first dish, whisk together the cornstarch and jerk seasoning. Beat the egg whites until foamy and place them in the second dish. In the third dish, add the coconut and panko and stir together.
- Dredge each chicken breast in the cornstarch mixture. Then dip each breast into the egg whites. Finish by dredging the chicken into the coconut mixture. Press the coconut to ensure that it sticks to the chicken.
- Add the oil to a skillet and heat on medium heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook on each side for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer the browned chicken to a baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Make it Gluten-Free
Substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour to make this chicken gluten-free. I recommend a 1:1 substitution for wheat flour, such as Cup 4 Cup Gluten-Free Flour or Measure for Measure Gluten-Free flour.