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This sheet pan coconut chicken with sweet potatoes, broccoli, and mango salsa is a delicious and flavorful weeknight dinner recipe! Paleo, Whole30, and AIP friendly
Nothing beats one pan dinners. They're usually pretty quick to make, require little effort, and make cleanup after the meal a breeze.
This sheet pan coconut chicken with mango salsa is one such meal (ok, you do need a small bowl to make the mango salsa) that will become a new weeknight favorite of yours!
It's grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free so it's Paleo, doesn't contain any added sugars so it's Whole30, and doesn't have any nuts, seeds, or nightshades so it's AIP friendly as well!
Table of contents
Ingredients you'll need:
This full meal has 3 main parts: the coconut chicken, the veggies, and the mango salsa. For exact measurements see the recipe card below.
For the chicken:
• Chicken Thighs – I like boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I find them to be much more forgiving than chicken breasts and much tastier. However, you can make this with chicken breasts if you prefer. If you do, I'd split them down the middle lengthwise so you have two thinner pieces or use chicken tenders and reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.
• Coconut Flour – This grain-free gluten-free flour is a nice coating for the chicken and helps lock in moisture and flavor. Unfamiliar with coconut flour? Learn more about coconut flour. You can use tapioca starch instead if you don't have coconut flour though.
• Coconut Milk – In a usual “breaded” dish like this coconut chicken you'd need an egg to adhere the coconut to the chicken. Using milk is an egg-free way to do this, and since this is a coconut chicken, we're using coconut milk. You can use any milk you prefer though – but if you're doing AIP then stay with coconut milk or tigernut milk for this.
• Shredded, Unsweetened Coconut – You'll definitely want the unsweetened and small stuff for this. Big coconut flakes, like the ones used to make toasted coconut chips, are too big.
For the veggies:
• Sweet Potato – this dish doesn't make crispy sweet potato fries, they're more soft and tender. However, you can move the sweet potatoes to another sheet pan and toss them frequently to make them crispier if that's what you want. (Also, toss with 1 tbsp of arrowroot powder before baking as well). This is best done in a separate oven if you have one as both the sweet potatoes and coconut chicken do best on the top shelf of the oven.
• Broccoli – This isn't a broccoli-heavy dish, it's more that it's just a small part that gives the dish flavor, color, and more nutrition.
• Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, or Olive Oil – toss the veggies in a fat to give them such good flavor!
For the Mango Salsa:
• Mango – um, duh, lol! If you don't have access to mangoes you can use diced pineapple instead. Still yummy! (Or ditch this mango salsa recipe entirely and make this pineapple salsa instead!) Unsure of how to cut a mango? Don't worry, I needed help on this too – this post is helpful.
• Red Onion – this is to give the salsa a bit of a spicy bite and color. You can use a yellow or white onion or even a shallot if you prefer, but red onions in my opinion are much better for this
• Cilantro – this is for color and flavor. But of course if you're in the camp that thinks cilantro tastes like dish soap, skip it
• Lime Juice – again, for flavor and to provide a bit of acid and tanginess. You can use fresh or bottled lime juice (don't get upset if you're a purist – I really don't notice a difference!)
How to make this sheet pan dinner:
Here's how to assemble the ingredients on the sheet pan (for exact instructions see the recipe card below):
• Coat the chicken with the coconut flour, coconut milk, and then the shredded coconut. This is best done by putting the ingredients into separate shallow bowls. Put the chicken on the sheet pan after it's coated
- Cut the sweet potato into matchsticks – Matchstick or fry shapes work best for this because they cook quickly and in the same amount of time as the chicken and broccoli. If you make the sweet potato shapes too big they'll take longer and overcook the chicken. To cut them into matchsticks, first cut them into 1/4 inch-wide planks like shown in the picture. Then cut those into 1/4-inch wide sticks. Toss with oil and sea salt and then spread on the baking sheet around the chicken
• Cut the broccoli into florets – Or use already pre-cut broccoli that's either fresh or frozen. I like fresh better for this recipe because I love the crunchy tips of the broccoli that happen during the roasting process, but frozen work as well. Toss the florets with oil and sea salt and then sprinkle on top of the sweet potatoes.
• Place the sheet pan in the oven – You'll cook this for 30 minutes at 425 F
• Make the mango salsa – Peel and dice a mango (or use canned or thawed-from-frozen chunks), peel and dice the red onion, chop the cilantro, and juice the lime. Mix it all together and set aside until the chicken is done.
• Scoop the mango salsa on top of the chicken – Once the chicken and veggies are done, scoop the salsa on top of the chicken and serve!
Make ahead and reheating:
Honestly, this one is definitely best when it's freshly cooked. However, you can make it ahead up to 5 days ahead of time.
Just store the salsa in a separate container in the fridge.
When it comes time to reheat, the microwave is best – about 2 minutes. You could reheat in an oven as well at like 350 F for 10 minutes, but it does run the risk of drying out if you aren't careful to monitor it.
More easy one pan recipes:
I love one pan recipes because they're so easy and make weeknight dinners so much less of a chore!
Mediterranean Sheet Pan Chicken (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
Thai Chicken Soup (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
Brussels and Candied Carrots Bowl (Paleo, AIP) – this has a kale salad component as well, but 90% of it is a sheet pan meal
More Helpful AIP & Paleo Resources in the Freebie Library
If you find this recipe helpful, you may really enjoy the resources in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library! There's a “dump” freezer meal plan, a list of AIP-compliant breakfast toppings, and so much more. Plus, you'll get even more ideas sent to your inbox! Get the password here.
Sheet Pan Coconut Chicken Recipe
If you make this meal, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
Sheet Pan Coconut Chicken (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
Ingredients
For the Coconut Chicken:
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 3/4 cup Coconut Milk
- 1 cup unsweetened, shredded Coconut
For the Veggies:
- 1 large Sweet Potato
- 2 cups Broccoli Florets
- 2 tbsp Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, or Olive Oil (divided)
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt (divided)
For the Mango Salsa:
- 1 Mango (peeled and diced into 1/4-inch cubes)
- 1/4 cup Cilantro (finely chopped)
- 1/4 Red Onion (diced)
- 1 Lime ((or 1 tbsp bottled Lime Juice))
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Line up 3 shallow bowls and add the coconut flour and 1/4 tsp sea salt to one and mix the two together. To the 2nd bowl add the coconut milk. And to the 3rd bowl add the shredded coconut.
- Take one chicken thigh and dredge it in the coconut flour, then in the coconut milk, and finally in the shredded coconut to coat. Place in the middle of the baking sheet. Repeat until you've coated all of the chicken thighs.
- Peel the sweet potato and then cut into matchsticks. Toss with 1 tbsp of the oil and 1/4 tsp of the sea salt. Spread the sweet potato sticks around the chicken on the baking sheet.
- Toss the broccoli with the remaining tablespoon of oil and 1/4 tsp of sea salt, then sprinkle it around the chicken and sweet potato on the baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the mango salsa by peeling and dicing the mango, dicing the onion, finely chopping the cilantro, and adding all of this to a bowl. Then add the juice of 1 lime (or 1 tbsp of bottled lime juice) and sea salt and then mix the salsa together.
- Serve the salsa over the chicken once the meal is done!
Notes
Wondering if you could use frozen mango chunks for the salsa or if they would be mushy once thawed?
You definitely can – I’ve used them plenty of times to make mango salsa. They actually tend to hold up pretty well when they’re frozen and thawed.
Making this Sheet pan coconut chicken, the Sheet pan veggies with mixed frozen berries sauce, and your Chuck beef roast beef with sweet cherries for my daughter who is visiting for 2-3 days and is eating Paleo for her scleroderma/Myositis disease. Your website is a god send. I’m eating paleo also for my health. Only into it a couple weeks !! Thank you.