Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken

Pomegranate chicken features juicy chicken thighs baked in a creamy Thai-flavored peanut sauce and served with coconut jasmine rice. It’s a saucy and satisfying complete meal that’s ready in just over an hour!

If you like peanut sauce, you’re going to love this pomegranate chicken! It’s a delicious and incredibly satisfying Thai-inspired recipe featuring saucy baked chicken and sweet coconut rice studded with pomegranate seeds.

With minimal prep, it’s an easy recipe that’s perfect for weeknights. To make it, all you have to do is whisk together a quick peanut sauce and pour it over the chicken to marinate. While the chicken is baking, simmer the rice with coconut milk, then stir in some pomegranate seeds. Serve the chicken alongside the coconut rice and dig in!

It’s one of those mid-winter meals that’s hearty and feels sort of festive. The whole family will love it, and the leftovers taste great the next day!

Key ingredients you’ll need

This delicious pomegranate molasses chicken is made mainly with ingredients you’ll likely find in your kitchen. Here’s everything you need to make it:

• Peanut butter – natural peanut butter gives this dish a creamy taste and makes up the base of the flavorful sauce.
• Pomegranate molasses – pomegranate molasses has an intense sweet-tart flavor that adds a lot of dimension. If you’ve never tried it before, you’re in for a treat!
• Soy sauce – for seasoning and saltiness.
• Red Thai curry paste – when choosing a curry paste, look for authentic Thai brands because they’ll be the most flavorful. More mainstream North American curry pastes tend to be hot without much flavor.
• Garlic and ginger – these aromatics are classic Thai ingredients and add lots of flavor and a bit of kick to the sauce.
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs – we use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. While we like the ease of boneless chicken, you can also use bone-in and simply adjust the cooking time.
• Coconut milk – we always go for regular, full-fat coconut milk, but you can use light.
• Fresh pomegranate seeds (technically called pomegranate arils) – for mixing into the coconut rice.

What to serve with pomegranate chicken

Serve this pomegranate chicken with any grain or grain substitute to soak up the delicious sauce. In the recipe, we use coconut jasmine rice, but you can use a different type of rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.

For a veggie side, I love making my garlic butter snap peas. It’s a 5-minute recipe that pairs well with this chicken.

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Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Marinate Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

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Pomegranate chicken features juicy chicken thighs baked in a creamy Thai-flavored peanut sauce and served with coconut jasmine rice. It's a saucy and satisfying complete meal that's ready in just over an hour!

4

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup natural peanut butter
• ▢ ¼ cup pomegranate molasses (see notes)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free soy sauce)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon EACH: Thai red curry paste and honey
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• ▢ 1 inch piece of ginger (peeled and minced)
• ▢ 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• ▢ 1 cup jasmine rice (rinsed)
• ▢ 1 cup coconut milk
• ▢ ¾ cup water
• ▢ 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• ▢ Optional toppings: pomegranate seeds, 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.
  ½ cup natural peanut butter, ¼ cup pomegranate molasses, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon EACH: Thai red curry paste and honey, 2 cloves garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger
  
• Put the chicken thighs into a baking dish and pour half of the peanut butter sauce over the top. Mix it around so that it's coated well then set it aside on your counter to marinate for 30 minutes – or up to 8 hours in your fridge.
  2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
  
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the chicken into the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes. Spread the rest of the sauce over the top of the chicken and bake it for another 20 minutes, until it is bubbling and the sauce is dark brown.
  
• 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 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the pomegranate seeds into the rice
  1 cup jasmine rice, 1 cup coconut milk, ¾ cup water, 1 cup pomegranate seeds
  
• Serve the chicken with the coconut rice and any or all of the optional toppings.
  Optional toppings: pomegranate seeds, chopped peanuts, cilantro
  

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving = ¼ of the recipe, Calories: 832kcal (42%), Carbohydrates: 65g (22%), Protein: 58g (116%), Fat: 39g (60%), Saturated Fat: 17g (106%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 215mg (72%), Sodium: 866mg (38%), Potassium: 1074mg (31%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 19g (21%), Vitamin A: 645IU (13%), Vitamin C: 6mg (7%), Calcium: 73mg (7%), Iron: 5mg (28%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.