Coconut and Lime Chicken

  • 15MINS
  • 55MINS
  • Serves 4
  • 280KCAL

We’ve given the delicate, fragrant flavours of Thai-style cooking a slimming-friendly twist to make this creamy chicken recipe. With fresh chilli, lime zest and zingy lemongrass, you get a lovely mellow heat, although you can add more chilli if you like your food fiery!

  • Batch Cook pinchofnom.com
  • Everyday Light pinchofnom.com
  • Freezable pinchofnom.com

NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories280
  • Carbs15g
  • Protein44g
  • Fat3.8g
  • Saturates1.9g
  • Sugars8.1g

Coconut and Lime Chicken - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!

If you fancy adding a bit of zing into your midweek menu, it couldn’t be easier to rustle up these Thai-inspired flavours. We’ve created a creamy, citrusy sauce for our mildly spiced Coconut and Lime Chicken, keeping it nice and slimming-friendly at only 280 calories per serving.

Instead of loading the pan with high-calorie coconut cream, switching to a coconut dairy-free milk alternative lightens up our dish, without compromising on flavour. Whether you serve it over rice, with mashed potatoes or chips, it’s super family-friendly and satisfying. 

It only takes 15 minutes to prep this dish, paired with 55 minutes of simmering ingredients on the hob. Perfect for batch cooking, it freezes and reheats really well – so it’s ideal for stashing in the freezer for a busy day. 

What diets is this Coconut and Lime Chicken suitable for?

This Coconut and Lime Chicken recipe is suitable for gluten free diets. 

As always, take extra care when cooking for people with allergies and be sure to use different utensils, cookware and preparation areas.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Coconut and Lime Chicken?

Lemongrass is a herb with a strong lemony flavour that is often used in Thai-style cooking. It can be used whole to flavour the dish, and then removed at the end of the cooking time. In this Coconut and Lime Chicken recipe it is left in the dish and eaten, so make sure you only use the tender bulb end of the lemongrass stalk, and chop it very finely. Please don’t use any woody or tough upper parts of the stalk.

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‘A little spice but packed full of flavour.’

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How many calories are in this Coconut and Lime Chicken?

There are 280 calories per portion in this Coconut and Lime Chicken, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category. 

To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size and serve with a healthy accompaniment!

This Coconut and Lime Chicken is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers. 

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Step 1

Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, until softened and lightly golden.

Step 1 pinchofnom.com

Step 2

Add the garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

Step 2 pinchofnom.com

Step 3

Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side to seal and lightly brown.

Step 3 pinchofnom.com

Step 4

Add the plant based coconut drink, red chilli, lime zest, lemongrass, salt and pepper and stir in. Simmer for 25 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally.

Step 4 pinchofnom.com

Step 5

Add the green beans and simmer for a further 5-8 minutes, until the beans are cooked and still a little crunchy.

Step 5 pinchofnom.com

Step 6

Mix the cornflour with the water until smooth.

Step 6 pinchofnom.com

Step 7

Remove the frying pan from the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it has completely dissolved and the sauce is creamy.

Step 7 pinchofnom.com

Step 8

Return the frying pan to the heat and stir in the dissolved cornflour. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring, until thickened slightly. Make sure that the chicken is piping hot and shows no sign of pinkness inside its thickest part.

Step 8 pinchofnom.com

Step 9

Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped coriander leaves.

Step 10

Serve garnished with lime wedges.

Coconut and Lime Chicken - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

What could I serve with this Coconut and Lime Chicken?

We love to serve this recipe with a simple side of basmati rice. A 50g serving of raw rice/ 125g cooked rice will add an additional 173 calories – for a total of 453 calories per serving. 

You could also serve alongside any of the following side dishes:

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How do you know when Coconut and Lime Chicken is cooked?

You should cook this Coconut and Lime Chicken until the chicken is piping hot and cooked all the way through, with no pinkness in the middle. This will take around 25-35 minutes.

Here in the UK, the standard advice is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and maintained that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep you and your family safe! 

How long can you keep Coconut and Lime Chicken in the fridge? 

Once you’ve served this recipe, you’ll ideally need to eat it within 4 hours.

You can store any leftovers of this Coconut and Lime Chicken in the fridge overnight and reheat them the next day. Make sure that you allow leftovers to cool before putting them in a container with a lid and chilling in the refrigerator. 

Can I freeze Coconut and Lime Chicken?

YES you can freeze this recipe! If you do, then remember to do the following:

  • Allow it to cool and then freeze as soon as it is cold enough.
  • Place in a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
  • Add a label with the recipe name and what date you froze it.

How do I reheat Coconut and Lime Chicken?

From chilled: Place individual servings in a microwavable container with a loosely fitting lid and heat for 6-8 minutes until piping hot. You can also reheat in a large frying pan. Stir in a few tablespoons of water if needed, cover and simmer over a low heat for 20-25 minutes. Add more water if needed. Make sure the chicken is piping hot throughout before serving.

From frozen: Allow to defrost overnight and reheat from chilled. 

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Coconut and Lime Chicken

We’ve given the delicate, fragrant flavours of Thai-style cooking a slimming-friendly twist to make this creamy chicken recipe. With fresh chilli, lime zest and zingy lemongrass, you get a lovely mellow heat, although you can add more chilli if you like your food fiery!
  • Prep Time
    15 MINS
  • Cook Time
    55 MINS
  • KCals 280
  • Carbs 15G

Ingredients

  • 4 large skinless chicken breasts, approx. 170g each
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 400 ml coconut plant based drink
  • 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • zest of 2 limes, finely grated
  • 10 g lemongrass stalk, tender bulb end only, very finely chopped
  • 100 g fine green beans, trimmed and cut in half
  • 75 g low-fat cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 4 g fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
  • low-calorie cooking spray
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 lime wedges, to garnish

large frying pan

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

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Instructions

  1. Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, until softened and lightly golden.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side to seal and lightly brown.
  4. Add the plant based coconut drink, red chilli, lime zest, lemongrass, salt and pepper and stir in. Simmer for 25 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally.
  5. Add the green beans and simmer for a further 5-8 minutes, until the beans are cooked and still a little crunchy.
  6. Mix the cornflour with the water until smooth.
  7. Remove the frying pan from the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it has completely dissolved and the sauce is creamy.
  8. Return the frying pan to the heat and stir in the dissolved cornflour. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring, until thickened slightly. Make sure that the chicken is piping hot and shows no sign of pinkness inside its thickest part.
  9. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped coriander leaves.
  10. Serve garnished with lime wedges.

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Recipe notes

Tip: This Coconut and Lime Chicken is mildly spiced, if you like things a little spicier just add more red chilli to suit your own taste.

We love seeing your photos! If you’ve made Coconut and Lime Chicken, don’t forget to tag us in your pics!

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16 comments

See what others have to say

Marion AndersonMonday 2nd September 2024

Could you say what temp to reheat at after defrosting please?

Reply

    HollyMonday 9th September 2024

    Hey Marion, you can reheat this in the microwave with a loosely fitting lid and heat for 6-8 minutes until piping hot. Or reheat in a large frying pan. Stir in a few tablespoons of water if needed, cover and simmer over a low heat for 20-25 minutes. Add more water if needed. Make sure the chicken is piping hot throughout before serving. Hope that helps!

    Reply

OlwynMonday 2nd September 2024

Can I use 0% creme fraiche instead of LF cream cheese

Reply

    HollyMonday 9th September 2024

    Hey Olwyn, yes creme fraiche would work great instead of cream cheese in this recipe, hope that helps!

    Reply

SylviaTuesday 23rd January 2024

What coconut plant based drink do you use

Reply

    LisaWednesday 24th January 2024

    Hi Sylvia
    The most popular brands are Alpro and Koko, but some supermarkets also have their own brands. All are suitable for this recipe.

    Reply

JennyThursday 2nd November 2023

Where can I buy lemongrass from please?

Reply

    SharonFriday 17th November 2023

    Hi Jenny, you can buy lemongrass in most larger supermarkets. Hope this helps.

    Reply

GaleThursday 7th September 2023

Absolutely delicious!! My new favourite.

Reply

    LisaTuesday 12th September 2023

    Thank you Gale!

    Reply

Sheila LakeySunday 27th August 2023

Hi – I made the chicken with lime &coconut and the sauce didn’t turn out well. I only had full fat coconut milk – is that the reason why?

Many thanks
Sheila

Reply

    SharonWednesday 18th October 2023

    Hi Sheila, thanks for trying our Coconut and Lime Chicken. Sorry you had a problem with the sauce. If you let us know exactly what the problem was we will be pleased to offer some advice. Thanks for getting in touch and look forward to hearing from you.

    Reply

EmmaSunday 13th August 2023

Could I use a little chilli powder instead of a small chilli ?

Reply

    SharonMonday 16th October 2023

    Hi Emma, yes, you could use chilli powder if you prefer. Enjoy the recipe!

    Reply

DawnSunday 6th August 2023

Is this in any of the books?

Reply

    SharonMonday 16th October 2023

    Hi Dawn, our Coconut and Lime Chicken doesn’t feature in any of our books at present and is exclusive to our website.

    Reply

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