If you are a fan of jerk chicken then I am really excited to introduce you to this flavorful jerk chicken bowl! It combines the beautiful, tropical flavors of my favorite caribbean jerk chicken with creamy coconut rice, black beans and a fresh and tangy pineapple salsa.
Its warm, spicy, flavorful and comforting and I am so excited for you to try this delicious bowl.
Let’s get started…
Begin by making a big batch of this caribbean jerk chicken. Even if your plans are only to make yourself a bowl or two, you will definitely want to make the whole batch. It is great with so many sides, over a bowl of greens or in a tortilla with black beans and pineapples. Mmmm… delicious.
Combine 1 medium onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/3 cup of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 scotch bonnet chili, 2 teaspoons of ground all spice, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Place your chicken into a deep dish and pour the mixture over the chicken. This recipe works great with any cut of chicken, bone in or boneless and skin on or skinless.
Toss the chicken until every piece is generously coated, cover the baking dish tightly and chill until you are ready to cook. This marinade is super flavorful, so if you only have 30 minutes to let the flavors develop, this chicken will still be fantastic, but the longer it sits, the more flavorful it will become.
When you are ready to cook your chicken, transfer the marinaded chicken onto a parchment or foil lined baking sheet and roast the chicken in a 400 degree oven until the chicken is cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees and the skin is caramelized and deeply browned.
While the chicken is roasting, you’ll have plenty of time make a batch of my creamy coconut rice and some pineapple salsa.
Both of these add ons are super easy to make! For the coconut rice, simply combine 1 cup of your favorite white rice with 13.5 ounces of full fat coconut milk, 1/3 cup of water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of granulated sugar in a small saucepan and place it over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook according to the manufacturers instructions. Once the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, fluff the rice and it is ready to go!
To make the pineapple salsa, simply combine 3 cups of diced pineapple (I highly recommend fresh pineapple), 1 diced red sweet bell pepper, 1/2 cup of diced red onion, 1/3 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro, 1 lime and some tajin seasoning. Tajin is a chili lime seasoning mix that is mild, but full of zesty flavors. It can be found in the regular spice section of your grocery store or near the latin foods in the international section.
Do a quick taste test and add additional lime juice, salt or tajin, if necessary.
Once the chicken is roasted, your rice is fluffy and the salsa is ready, rinse and warm some black beans and we are ready to build our jerk chicken rice bowls…
Add a few scoops of your creamy coconut rice to the base of a shallow bowl and add a few pieces of caribbean jerk chicken. If you roasted bone in chicken, pull the meat off of the bone before adding it to the bowl and if you used boneless, chop the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Top the chicken and rice with some black beans and pineapple salsa and you are ready to take a flavor trip to the islands…
Freshly squeezed lime juice is the only thing this jerk chicken rice bowl needs, so add a few wedges, give them a squeeze and enjoy all of the beautifully bold flavors that this bowl is bursting with.
The rice is creamy, the black beans are hearty, the pineapple salsa bright and tangy and the jerk chicken has crispy skin, juicy meat and warmly spiced flavors. This bowl has everything you’d want… flavor, texture, heat, spices, saltiness and tanginess.
I hope you love this fabulous jerk chicken rice bowl!
Jerk Chicken Rice Bowl
Ingredients
Caribbean Jerk Chicken
- 3-4 pounds of chicken, bone-in or boneless, skin-on or skinless
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon of ginger paste)
- 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/3 cup of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1 scotch bonnet chili, deseeded (or 1 teaspoon of scotch bonnet chili sauce)
- 2 teaspoons of ground all spice
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
Creamy Coconut Rice
- 1 cup of white rice
- 13.5 ounces of full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup of water
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of granulated sugar (optional)
Pineapple Salsa
- 3 cups of fresh pineapple, diced
- 1 read sweet bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup of red onion, diced
- 1/3 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 lime
- 1-2 teaspoons of tajin seasoning
Additional Ingredients
- 20 ounces of black beans, rinsed
- 1 lime, wedged
Instructions
Caribbean Jerk Chicken
- Combine the jerk marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth
- Place the chicken in a shallow bowl, add the marinade and toss until all of the chicken is generously coated
- Cover the bowl and chill for 1-12 hours
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Transfer the chicken from the marinade onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Roast for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees
Creamy Coconut Rice
- Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium high heat
- Once the liquid is boiling, cover the saucepan and cook according to manufacturers instructions
- Once the rice is done cooking, keep the saucepan covered and let the rice sit off of the heat for about 10 minutes
- Fluff the rice and set aside for now
Pineapple Salsa
- Dice 3 cups of fresh pineapple, 1 red sweet bell pepper, 1/2 cup of red onion and 1/3 cup of fresh cilantro and combine in a large bowl
- Squeeze the juice from 1 lime over the bowl and add 1 teaspoon of tajin seasoning
- Toss to combine and taste to determine whether more lime juice or seasoning is needed
Assemble the jerk chicken rice bowls...
- Add a few scoops of creamy coconut rice into the base of a shallow bowl and top with jerk chicken, pineapple salsa and black beans
- Garnish with lime wedges and enjoy!
