I have mentioned before that John’s grandpa was from the Philippines and for his family; Filipino food was a staple. I have created a paleo version of one of John’s favorite dishes before, and you can find my Paleo Pancit recipe here.
Today’s post is about Chicken Adobo. Adobo is an extremely popular Filipino dish and the other night I made a super fast version of this yummy meal using coconut aminos instead of the standard soy sauce and the end result was delicious!
We served the chicken on top of a mix of greens that I roasted with some fresh garlic, thinly sliced beets and coconut oil.
Here’s how I made the chicken:
Too Easy Chicken Adobo
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (seasoned lightly on both sides with salt and pepper. You can also use skin on and bone in but you’ll need to up the cooking time by about 10 minutes once the chicken is in the sauce.)
1/4 cup coconut oil
½ medium red onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves minced
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup coconut aminos
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Lots of black pepper
1. In a large skillet heat the coconut oil over medium to medium high heat.
2. Once the oil is nice and hot, place the chicken thighs into the oil and brown on both sides (about 3-4 minutes per side).
3. Remove the browned chicken from the pan and set aside.
4. Add to the same pan the onions and saute in the remaining oil until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds or just until fragrant.
5. Add the chicken broth, coconut aminos, and apple cider vinegar to the onions and garlic and whisk together well. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
6. Add the chicken back to the sauce, in the pan, turn the heat down to low and cover. Simmer the chicken in the sauce for five minutes, turn the chicken over, cover and cook for another five minutes. Season with plenty of black pepper and serve on its own or on a bed of greens like we did.
Roasted Mixed Greens with Beets and Garlic
This is more of an idea than an actual recipe. I used what veggies that I had leftover from my CSA box and made this dish to go with our easy chicken adobo.
2 bunches of kale
1 bunch of rainbow chard
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 small beets, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced.
Coconut oil
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Wash and dry the greens and remove the leaves from the tough stems.
4. Chop the greens into small pieces and spread them evenly on a baking sheet.
5. Evenly spread the sliced garlic on top of the greens.
5. Evenly spread the sliced beets on top of the greens.
6. Drizzle with plenty of melted coconut oil.
7. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
Roast in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the beets and garlic are tender.
As always, enjoy!!
Courtney says
June 5, 2012 at 4:32 pmCan’t wait to try this recipe. My grandfather was Pilipino and I miss his adobo. Thanks!
Adriana McConnell says
June 5, 2012 at 8:35 pmI love my CSA, I was wondering what farm you have yours through. I am always working to connect my local farmers with other working CSA to get new ideas.
Thanks, Adriana
Sarah says
June 5, 2012 at 8:37 pmWe are part of the GRUB CSA and we LOVE it!! http://www.grubchico.org
Brad says
June 5, 2012 at 9:25 pmI have been eating much more Asian food these days. Always looking for new healthy foods to try. And this fits the bill.
David Reynolds says
June 6, 2012 at 4:34 amI’m a firm believer in anything adobo.
zasm` says
June 6, 2012 at 8:01 amSo very impressed with this Paleo Adobo interpretation! So simple and so delicious. Be sure to make a little extra for leftovers, it doesn’t require much extra work!
john says
June 6, 2012 at 3:55 pmThe chicken was amazing! Thank you again for all you do!
Tiffany says
June 6, 2012 at 8:30 pmMade this meal for my family tonight and it was a hit!
Emily says
June 7, 2012 at 9:47 amThat looks like a recipe that will make picky DS fall in love with chicken! Great idea for veggies, too – thanks, Sarah! 🙂
gena says
June 7, 2012 at 10:59 amTHANK YOU for this! I’m filipino and have been working out really hard and really miss eating the “staples”. I will definitely be trying this recipe out!
Sarah says
June 7, 2012 at 1:09 pmAwesome! I hope you enjoy it!
ellen says
June 7, 2012 at 7:32 pmThis is my first time on your web site. I’ve been paleo for about 6 months and I’m loving it and the effects of it! I tried this recipe tonight, substituting chicken liver and onions for the chicken thighs. Yum-my. I’ll be back!
Sarah says
June 7, 2012 at 9:20 pmAwesome Ellen, so glad you found my site!!
Emily says
June 13, 2012 at 4:59 pmOkay, I fixed the chicken tonight and DH said several times while eating, “Mmmm!”
This does NOT happen very often, lol. And that was improvising, as I had neither chicken broth nor coconut aminos (I mixed in Trocomare with water).
I enjoyed it, too. DS is still being picky, but we’ll see.
Thanks again – gonna add it to my recipe book! 🙂
AddieMay says
June 13, 2012 at 8:18 pmi’m not sure where i went wrong with the greens. I had my oven at 375 and my sheet pan looked just like yours:/ they were way wilted and crispy…THAT didn’t slow me down though. I ate THE entire pan by myself with my chicken:) The whole family loved this dish, we did incorporate a bit of rice with the greens. We only eat rice on rare occasions, AND THIS WAS ONE!! Very delicious…
Catherine says
June 18, 2012 at 4:52 pmI made the adobo tonight…delicious! My mom is Filipino and made adobo quite a bit while I was growing up. This tastes pretty close to it!
Jessica says
June 26, 2012 at 7:48 amCan I subs thighs for boneless chicken breasts and cook the same way?
Sarah says
June 26, 2012 at 1:15 pmYes, but boneless chicken breasts will cook faster so be sure to not overcook them!
Kami says
July 28, 2012 at 11:54 amThank you for this recipe. My husband is Filipino and loves adobo but I didn’t know how to paleoize it;). Have you tried this with other types of meat? I love your everyday paleo book and am starting the meal plan in the back this week. I am 38 weeks pregnant with my third child and haven’t been able to eat paleo during this pregnancy until this week. Looking forward to surprising my husband with this dish next week. Thanks again and keep up the good work;)
Tea says
August 1, 2012 at 3:52 pmI’m half Filipino and I thought I would have to give up a lot of my fave foods. Thank you for coming up with this and the pancit recipe 😀 Please tell me you worked out an alt for lumpia. LOL
Sarah says
August 1, 2012 at 4:56 pmNot yet, but you never know!!!!! LOL!
Sara says
August 13, 2012 at 4:05 pmThis recipe was super easy and incredibly tasty! I made it 5 days ago and it is so good I’m thinking of making it again tonight!
Hector says
August 18, 2012 at 5:19 pmI added some garlic because I just love it and then I notice you mention garlic in the instructions but not in the ingredients list, is this and oversight? PS – everyone at my house loved the adobo chicken, it’s a keeper!
Sarah says
August 19, 2012 at 9:38 amIt’s in the ingredient list, just double checked it! : ) So glad you liked it!
Jam says
August 26, 2012 at 8:46 pmThis was too good and too easy! We loved it! It’ll definitely be in our dinner rotation now 🙂
Wendy McConnell says
August 28, 2012 at 5:14 pmI am Filipino-American and I’m always looking for new interpretations of chicken adobo. I have a handful of chicken adobo recipes that I adore. I just had to try yours. I used raw coconut vinegar instead of apple cider and this was the bomb! I typically marinate my chicken the evening before for more flavor but when you have a craving for this and want it quick, this dish does not disappoint! You should try this recipe with a can of coconut milk. I bet you would LOVE it. I have another similar adobo recipe that called for a can of coconut milk and I was skeptical. It was a very pleasant surprise and the recipe has been a keeper! Thanks for sharing this! I will be making your pancit recipe tomorrow and can’t wait!
Ron K. says
September 26, 2012 at 2:17 pmI’m Filipino and can’t wait to try this recipe!!! I so glad I found this website!
Molly says
October 13, 2012 at 8:29 pmI will just save some time & serve it over sweet butter lettuce drizzed with olive oil 🙂
stacie says
November 7, 2012 at 6:40 pmThis is one of the best recipes I have ever had! It was a huge success in my house. Thank you so much.
christy says
December 21, 2012 at 4:59 pmI’m filipino..and just started cfing and paleo. thank you for this recipe! will have to check out paleo pancit. i will share this recipe/site with others at the gym : ).
Sarah says
December 22, 2012 at 7:01 amAwesome, and thank you!
Johanna says
January 27, 2013 at 1:59 pmThank you Sarah for this paleoized version of adobo. I am also Filipino (half) and make adobo a lot. I am going to make this today, but I am planning on adding an ingredient that is essential to the adobo flavor: bay leaves. Soy sauce (in this case coconut aminos), and garlic are only 2/3rds of the flavoring ingredients. Traditional adobo includes bay leaves. I usually put 3 leaves per batch of adobo when I make it.
Angela Hyndman says
February 11, 2013 at 6:07 pmMy husband and I made this today. We added bayleafs to the adobo and mushrooms to the veggies. SARAP!
James Guigayoma says
February 25, 2013 at 8:40 pmJust made these tonight and they were delish! I especially liked how some of the greens got real crisp. Thanks!
Serena says
April 22, 2013 at 10:29 amIs there a way to our this in a slow cooker?
Christine D. says
May 5, 2013 at 5:39 amThis was a great recipe! My 15 year old made it for our family last night. She even presented it beautifully on the plate.
AJ says
June 14, 2013 at 7:59 amI need to try this. Looks really good.
Laura Jo says
July 20, 2013 at 11:27 pmI love chicken adobo and this recipe (and method) was perfect! I served mine over steamed shredded cabbage spiked with some julienned carrot (that’s what I had lurking in the fridge that needed to be used). The sauce and the cabbage was just phenomenal. Quick. Easy. Affordable. ~LJ, Anchorage, AK
Sarah says
July 22, 2013 at 6:50 amSo glad you enjoyed it!!
Katherine says
September 14, 2013 at 4:11 pmThanks for your site! Do you know about how much this serves?
Sarah says
September 15, 2013 at 8:42 amIt should serve 4-6. : )
NatPatBen says
October 8, 2013 at 2:47 pmI made this last week with chicken & it was very delicious! I’m about to make it again with fish. Not quite sure of what I should do differently (do I brown/cook the fish first?) so I’ll wing it, but I know the sauce will be good even if the fish is not!
angelica says
April 29, 2014 at 8:21 pmI am filipino and will be trying your recipe out!