My little girl (who does not like anything spicy) gave this dish glowing reviews and said it was "perfect!" That probably means you could add more heat. HaHa!! It also means it's super kid friendly. This is usually NOT the case with jerk chicken. Typically your mouth is on fire and you are sweating and looking for a glass of milk. You can use that as a barometer for how much heat you may want to add depending on whom you are cooking for - children vs. adults. **I do fully realize this is not "authentic" jerk chicken as it is supposed to be "challengingly spicy" and typically relies on scotch bonnet or habanero chiles. My entire goal was to make this friendly for my family. Feel free to substitute these chiles in your recipe as you wish.
#mealprep #glutenfree #dairyfree #easy #familyfriendly
Options for #paleo #whole30
Ingredients (4 servings)
Jerk Chicken (mild)
- 4 chicken breasts
- boneless, skinless, trimmed of fat
- 6 green onions
- green tops and tender part of whites, roughly chopped
- 1 jalapeno, stemmed and rough chopped
- seeded for milder marinade
- keep the seeds for spicier marinade
- 1 Tbsp ginger paste (or equivalent amount of minced ginger)
- 1 Tbsp garlic paste (or equivalent amount of minced garlic)
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- use coconut aminos for #glutenfree #paleo #whole30
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- use date paste for #paleo #whole30
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Mango Avocado Salsa
- 1 large mango, peeled and diced
- about 1 1/2 cups jarred mango
- 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- 1 large avocado, peeled and diced
- Juice of 1 large lime
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- Optional - add a bit of diced jalapeno if you'd like heat
Coconut Rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/4 cups canned coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
- use cauliflower rice for #paleo #whole30
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Step-by-Step:
Let's get this marinade started. Yes, it looks like an insanely long list of stuff, but all you are doing is dumping it into the food processor. I think maybe the Caribbean people were in a battle with the people from India and the people from the Arab speaking countries when they came up with this recipe. You basically get to pull out all those little-used spices you have in the cabinet and have a party with them!
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| 6 green onions |
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| 1 jalapeno (seeded or not. Your choice) |
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| 1 Tbsp ginger paste |
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| 1 Tbsp garlic paste |
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| 2 Tbsp EVOO |
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| 1 Tbsp brown sugar (or date paste) |
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| 2 tsp dried thyme |
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| 1 tsp ground allspice |
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| 1 tsp black pepper |
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| 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon |
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| 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg |
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| 1/2 tsp onion powder |
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| 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar |
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| 1/4 tsp cumin |
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| 1/4 cup fresh lime juice |
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| 1/4 tsp ground cloves |
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| 1/4 -1/2 tsp red pepper flakes |
Now just pop your meat into the marinade. Allow it to marinade for 3 - 8 hours. The longer you allow this, the more flavorful the chicken. I had my daughter pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness before putting them in the bag to allow for even cooking. This also helps tenderize the meat. (You can use chicken thighs if you wish, just allow for extra cooking time.) I like to use these ziptop bags for marinating my meat because I can push all the air out, allowing the marinade to come in contact with all of the meat. It's also easier to squish a bag into a tight spot in the refrigerator.
The Coconut Rice
I'm not going to lie, y'all. I just threw all the ingredients into the rice pot, gave them a stir and hit the COOK button. This will cook for about the standard 20 minutes for regular jasmine rice.
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| 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice (Use cauliflower rice for #paleo and #whole30) |
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| 1 1/4 cups canned coconut milk |
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| 1 1/2 cups water |
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| healthy pinch of kosher salt |
For the black beans.
I didn't use a recipe. Sorry. I just drained and rinsed my canned black beans and put them in the pot. Added some chicken broth, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh cilantro. I cooked them only until a little soft. I did not want them to get mushy!
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| Black beans, chicken broth, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cilantro |
Chop everything and mix it up. No special tricks. I would probably advise you to add the lime juice after the avocado to prevent oxidation (browning), but other than that, have at it. You can easily adjust the flavors to make it spicier if you want more heat, etc. Also, my choices of avocados were pretty slim and mine was a bit over ripe, but sometimes "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit."
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| 1 large mango (~ 1 1/2 cups chopped) |
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| 1/3 cup |
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| 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro |
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| Juice of one large lime |
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| 1 Tbsp EVOO |
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| 1 large avocado, peeled, cut into chunks |
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| 1/3 cup red bell pepper |
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| Season to taste with kosher salt |
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| Season to taste with black pepper |
Cook the chicken.
So, we just moved and I don't have a grill here. Womp womp.... perhaps you don't either. So what? Let's just throw it in a pan. If you DO have a grill, throw those chickies on there and grill them up. Either way, you need your internal temperature to be the standard 165 F. I used a black iron skillet. They have great heat distribution, are perfect for searing, do not give off toxic fumes while you're cooking and are able to withstand high heat.
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| Grill or pan saute marinated chicken until cooked through to 165F and golden brown. |
Lay down a bed of jasmine or cauliflower rice. Brown rice would also work great. Arrange your chicken, salsa and black beans in the meal prep containers. Add some lime wedges for squeezing over the meals later when you reheat them, and a bit of cilantro if desired. I really liked the salsa warm when I reheated my meals; but you could also put the salsa in a separate container if you are certain that you want to eat it cold.
You could feel free to pre-slice the chicken into strips or even bite sized pieces if you wish. That may work great if you are sending them as a lunchbox option for one of your teens.
Another option would be to use shrimp as your protein - just to switch things up a bit.
Aren't these super cute! A bit of the Caribbean right on your office desk! I bet they aren't serving this in your workroom cafeteria!
Tell me your honey (friends, coworkers, kidlets, neighbors, workout partners) wouldn't be super excited to get these for lunch?!
I'm not sure if you know, but beans and rice together makes a complete protein, so we have a protein there that also contains tons of fiber, then the super flavorful chicken, and all that beautiful fresh fruit.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's so fun to eat different things and not "the same old thing" all the time, right? My kids love picking stuff from around the world and having new things to eat.
Mmmm.... I'm ready to make this again already.
Bonus Recipes -
Orzo Artichoke Pasta Salad - picnic perfect!
Korean BBQ Shish Kabobs - so kid friendly!
Secret Ingredient Mac and Cheese - vegetables? What?
Pickle Brined Fried Chicken - just like Chick-fil-A!
Beefy Crunch Wrap Supreme - move over TacoBell!
Brady's Brussels Sprouts Hash - perfect low carb side dish!
Written Method:
Let's get this marinade started. Yes, it looks like an insanely long list of stuff, but all you are doing is dumping it into the food processor. I think maybe the Caribbean people were in a battle with the people from India and the people from the Arab speaking countries when they came up with this recipe. You basically get to pull out all those little-used spices you have in the cabinet and have a party with them! Blend well to combine.
Now just pop your meat into the marinade. Allow it to marinade for 3 - 8 hours. The longer you allow this, the more flavorful the chicken. I had my daughter pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness before putting them in the bag to allow for even cooking. This also helps tenderize the meat. (You can use chicken thighs if you wish, just allow for extra cooking time.) I like to use these ziptop bags for marinating my meat because I can push all the air out, allowing the marinade to come in contact with all of the meat. It's also easier to squish a bag into a tight spot in the refrigerator.
The Coconut Rice
*For cauliflower rice, cook according to package directions with coconut milk and salt.
For the black beans.
I didn't use a recipe. Sorry. I just drained and rinsed my canned black beans and put them in the pot. Added some chicken broth, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh cilantro. I cooked them only until a little soft. I did not want them to get mushy!
Chop everything and mix it up. No special tricks. I would probably advise you to add the lime juice after the avocado to prevent oxidation (browning), but other than that, have at it. You can easily adjust the flavors to make it spicier if you want more heat, etc. Also, my choices of avocados were pretty slim and mine was a bit over ripe, but sometimes "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit."
Cook the chicken.
So, we just moved and I don't have a grill here. Womp womp.... perhaps you don't either. So what? Let's just throw it in a pan. If you DO have a grill, throw those chickies on there and grill them up. Either way, you need your internal temperature to be the standard 165 F. I used a black iron skillet. They have great heat distribution, are perfect for searing, do not give off toxic fumes while you're cooking and are able to withstand high heat.
Assemble your jerk bowls.
Lay down a bed of jasmine or cauliflower rice. Brown rice would also work great. Arrange your chicken, salsa and black beans in the meal prep containers. Add some lime wedges for squeezing over the meals later when you reheat them, and a bit of cilantro if desired. I really liked the salsa warm when I reheated my meals; but you could also put the salsa in a separate container if you are certain that you want to eat it cold.
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