Nourishing Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken
Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken is baked in a rich and delicious peanut pomegranate sauce flavored lightly with Thai spices. Serve the chicken with some coconut rice or low-carb cauliflower rice and spoon the creamy sauce over top. It's a healthy dinner recipe everyone will love!
Halfway through clean-eating January and I'm loving all the healthy recipes I get to share with you guys. Today, I've made us a nourishing, feel-good dinner featuring winter pomegranates, creamy peanut butter and coconut and juicy chicken thighs.
I'm a sucker for anything peanut butter (apparently I have the taste buds of a 5-year-old) and love how this chicken is coated in a creamy, peanut buttery sauce. The coconut milk and pomegranate tone things down a little so it tastes more grown up than a peanut butter sauce sounds.
I've also added a few Thai flavors to the mix, cause that's how I roll. I know you guys are down for trying new flavor combos, too. Please tell me you are! ?
Peanut butter + pomegranate + coconut + Thai curry might sound a little strange, but it's totally delicious.
Is it just me or do these pictures have Christmas written all over them? I know we're all still recovering from the holidays, but it's all I can see with the red, white, and green going on here. I'm logging this away for next year when I need a meal that looks like Christmas on a plate.
Wait … please don't leave it until next year to make this peanut pomegranate chicken!
Here's how easy it is to get your peanut pomegranate chicken dinner on:
♡ Whisk together a quick peanut butter sauce and pour it over some chicken thighs.
♡ Bake the chicken in your oven.
♡ Pour some coconut milk and water over rice and simmer.
♡ EAT!
Did you see how ridiculously easy that was? Like, no excuses easy.
Enjoy your healthy January chicken dinner!
If you make this Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken make sure you snap a pic and tag #theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on your photos. I love seeing TEM recipes you create!
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Nourishing Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken
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Prep Time: 10 mins + 30 mins to marinate -
Cook Time: 35 mins
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Total Time: 45 mins
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Yield: 4 servings 1x -
Cuisine: Easy
Description
Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken is baked in a rich and delicious peanut pomegranate sauce flavored lightly with Thai spices. Serve the chicken with tasty coconut rice or low-carb cauliflower rice and spoon the creamy sauce over top. It's a healthy dinner recipe everyone will love!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free soy sauce, if needed)
- 1 tablespoon each: Thai red curry paste and honey
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 – 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- Optional toppings: pomegranate arils, shredded coconut, chopped peanuts, cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk the peanut butter, pomegranate molasses, soy sauce, Thai red curry paste, honey, ginger, and garlic with 1/4 cup hot water. Set aside half of the sauce. Place the chicken and the other half of the sauce in a resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and squish it around a little so that all the chicken is coated in the marinade. Place the chicken in your fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Transfer the chicken and all the marinade to a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, spoon the reserved peanut sauce over the chicken and bake for 10 more minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, prepare the coconut rice. Place the jasmine rice, coconut milk, and water into a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the rice to mix in the coconut then add the pomegranate arils and stir through.
- Serve the chicken with the coconut rice and any or all of the optional toppings.
Notes
Pomegranate molasses can be found in the Middle Eastern section of your grocery store. If it is not available where you shop, you can reduce pomegranate juice by boiling it until it becomes a thin syrup.
Kristen, I notice ginger in several of your Thai-themed recpies. Do you use ginger or galangal? They have two very distinct flavor profiles to me.
I typically use ginger as it’s more widely available. If you prefer galangal, feel free to substitute it!
This dish is astonishing!! I just wish pomegranate seeds were available all year round! Whenever I ask my husband what he wants for dinner, it is ALWAYS this dish!! I love the texture that the pomegranate seeds bring to the plate. That little crunch makes for an amazing party in my mouth! I usually have to make my own pomegranate molasses, which is kind of a pain, but totally worth it! And I usually have enough for a second batch later in the season. Thank you for this magnificent meal!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you like the recipe! I’m with you about pomegranates … I wish I could always eat them. I’m so happy that they’re starting to show up in the markets again!
Loving the coconut flakes there! Actually the chicken, rice and pomegranate mix reminds me of a lot of different Persian dishes, so this was an interesting twist! January is all about healthy dishes but I gotta admit I had my first fried chicken today, lol.
★★★★★
Funny you mention that … I was actually thinking of creating a Persian style chicken dish with walnuts. Then peanut butter got in the way and somehow Thai curry paste worked its way in and then I couldn’t call it Persian anymore. 🙂