Thai Peanut Pomegranate Chicken

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 healthy mid-winter meals that's hearty and nourishing and feels sort of festive. The whole family will love it, and the leftovers taste great the next day!

Pomegranate chicken ingredients

This delicious pomegranate molasses chicken is made mostly 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.
• Honey – to sweeten up the sauce.
• 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.
• Jasmine rice – this fluffy Thai rice is the perfect grain to soak up the sauce.
• 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.
• pomegranate seeds, chopped peanuts, and cilantro – optional, for garnish.

How to make this pomegranate chicken recipe

This chicken with pomegranate sauce is a quick and easy meal to make. It's super satisfying with lots of sauce, and the leftovers taste great the next day. Here's how to make it in a few easy steps:

1. Make the sauce by combining the peanut butter, pomegranate molasses, soy sauce, curry paste, honey, ginger, and garlic in a bowl.
2. Place the chicken thighs into a baking dish, cover with half the sauce, and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Then, bake the chicken for about 40 minutes, adding the rest of the sauce halfway through.
4. Make the coconut rice while the chicken is cooking. When the rice is done, let it sit for a few minutes and then stir in the pomegranate seeds.
5. Serve the chicken alongside the rice, and top with more pomegranate seeds, chopped peanuts, and cilantro. Enjoy!

Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.

FAQS

What to serve with pomegranate chicken

Serve this recipe for pomegranate chicken with any kind of grain or grain substitute to soak up the delicious sauce. In the recipe, we make it with coconut jasmine rice, but you can make it with a different type of rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice as a low-carb alternative.

Making pomegranate chicken for a crowd? Serve it family-style with a few other Thai dishes like our carrot noodle pad thai or Thai turkey lettuce wraps for a healthy and satisfying meal everyone will love!