This Chicken in Coconut Sauce recipe is easy to make. Pollo con Leche de Coco is a Colombian dish popular on the coast of the country. The chicken is cook in a delicious coconut sauce and served over white rice.

This Pollo en Salsa de Coco (Chicken with Coconut Sauce) is a popular Colombian dish and is a quick and tasty way to cook chicken. I made it with chicken drums, but you can use any part of the chicken you prefer. The sauce can be used for other poultry and fish dishes as well. Serve hot over white rice.

Chicken with Coconut Milk (Pollo con Leche de Coco)
Ingredients
- 8 chicken legs or thights bone in and skin on.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- 1 chicken bouillon tablet
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
- Salt and pepper
- Cilantro for garnish
- White rice for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat. Place the chicken and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown, turn over and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the second side is browned.
- Remove from the saucepan and set aside. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper to the sauce pan. Cook, stirring occasionally for 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cumin and cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the saucepan and stir in the coconut milk and chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low, cover and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Taste and add salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve warm over white rice.
Nutrition



Easy chicken recipes perfect for the whole family:


Fatima
I tried this today and I don't know where it went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly. I'm not sure if it was the brand of coconut milk i used? When i opened the one i used, it had small solid clumps (i do not know if thats normal.) Do you mind telling me what brand you use? It would be greatly appreciated!
Erica Dinho
I use different brands....Goya or Thai kitchen.
Patricia
Unsweetened or sweetned coconut milk????
Nelly
DELICIOSO!!!
Just got done eating this.... YUM! My entire family LOVED it. Even my
picky 3 yr old thought it was "yummy" I didnt put the cumin because I
personally don't like the flavor, and we didn't have bell pepers, so I
added fresh zucchini from our garden and it was soooooo gooood.
Otherwise I followed it to the "T". Thank you for this. I will
definently be making this again. My favorite part is the sauce, I can
drink it all by itself.
Mary2
I cooked this dish...wowww...my husband loved it....I made it with chicken breast and I cut into small and thin pieces plus a pinch of red pepper...delicious !!!!!!!!! Thank you Erica!
Belinda @zomppa
Glad you have a big bowl of rice to sop up that great sauce!
Karen
I am going to try this this week! What would happen if you were to throw some potatoes in the sauce?
Erica
I added potatoes before and it is delicious.
Dodi
I made this for my husband and mother a few months ago and they loved it. My husband asked me to make some more next day and he brought it to his coworkers who also loved it...
Im vegetarian so I didnt get to try it.... but, i did try the sauce mixed with the rice and oh boy oh boy!
I just loooooooove your recipes!
Latinmargarita@yahoo.com
This is sssoooooo yummy, just finished making it! Imma look like a rockstar tonite! Thanks!
Tatiana
I made this recipe this morning with boneless chicken breasts. I brought it in to work for lunch today. I can't wait to taste it. It looked delicious!! Erica, thank you from a fellow Colombian who misses the tastes and aromas of our beautiful country! Look forward to making more of your meals.
Christina q
Made this for my Mother in laws bday. So happy it was perfect! She is columbian as is my father in law. I love this site. Thank you very much for sharing.
Olga A
This was delicious! we brought it for a Christmas party potluck style this weekend, and everyone loved it 🙂
We will be making it again for sure!
naomi
I make this all the time. It's so easy and so tasty.
I mix all my left over veggie in it too, which is a good way to clean my fridge.
I really recommend it~
Anonymous
This dish is delicious. I made it last week and we loved it. I ate it the next day and it was wonderful. Great recipe. Thanks. I really love Colombia food.
Angela
I made this dish for a dinner party and It was a hit. Everyone loved it. I used boneless chicken.
Ludwig
I made this last weekend. ¡Sabroso! A toda la familia le gustó. I have been enjoying the left-over sauce over rice and anything else I can put it on.
Muchisimas gracias por compartiéndola con nosotros! Un abrazo.
Cristina
I have made two coconut dishes from this site and they both worked out great. I will definitely try others. Can't wait for my husband to come home to this yummy surprise!
Erica
Cristina- Thank you so much for your feedback!
Brian Stabinger
Wow! Just wow. I made this for my wife (de B'quilla) and she almost cried.
I bought a great cookbook in Cartagena but you just can't get the ingredients (or the form they are in) here in MN. Your recipes make everything so much friendlier!
Thanks again!
Erica
Thank you so much Brian. Glad you like the recipe!