This mango chicken is served over coconut cauliflower rice for a quick, easy and healthy spin on take-out that is ready in 30 mins! It’s whole 30 approved and paleo friendly too!
HOOOOOLLLDDD up.
It’s 2016 GUYS! Just. Like. That. It’s a whole new YEAR.
It boggles my mind every New Year. I mean, I go to bed and – POOF – I wake up and I have to learn to write a new date. Which, I probably won’t even fully remember to do until the NEXT New Year, only to have to re-re-learn it again.
SOML.
Want the Vegan friendly version of this recipe? CLICK HERE to get it!
Did you have a super fun New Year’s Eve? As I told you over a (few) cranberry cocktails, I spent it A-L-O-N-E, with a bowl of paleo orange chicken, because I am a victim of the has-a-husband-who-works-graveyard shift disease and Mr. FFF had to go out and earn the bread. Or dough? Or whatever.
Again, SOML.
Buubuubutttt, let’s not discuss the sad-dark-cloud SOML’s anymore right? Let’s move onto happy SOMLs (and we will also stop saying SOML I pinky promise) liiiiike how my takeout-loving self has been craving this crispy-crunchy chicken, coated with thiiick and spicy-sweet sauce for the last eleventy billion meals of my LIFE.
Like I just can’t stop obsessive-person thinking about the CRUNCH. The CRUNCH that is so crunch-tastic (?) that you can HEAR it as your teeth nibble town into tender chicken and your taste buds get PUNCHED in their tiny little faces with a burst of juicy-fresh mango sweetness and little pops of spicy habanero pepper and tender, sauteed cauliflower rice. <–Or you could steam it or microwave it if it’s easier (you can see how to cook cauliflower rice all 4 ways that I love!)
This flavor combo, which I discovered in some Mango Curry Homemade BBQ Sauce, is the best combination EVER.
And, as we discovered with the slow cooker mango chicken and sweet potato bowls AND the grilled mango chicken and cauliflower rice wrap, chicken + mango = LOVE.
Give me a T (say t) Give me an E (E!)
XTURE. Because I’m lazy and don’t want to waste time pretending I’m an internet-land cheerleader when we could be can’t-stop-the-poppin’ chicken into our hungry, healthier-takeout loving faces.
P.s Takeout. Like you know the one that big order of Paleo gluten free healthy sweet and sour chicken that you only usually get on Fridays and then you feel about 600.43 pounds heavier after consuming it, and you say you’ll never do it again….until next Friday happens and you forget that you ever said that? Like that. But x56.7 better for you and eaten on a MONDAY.
Because you just whipped this chicken up in 30 MINUTES like a straight up dinner BOSS.
In other exciting news: WHOLE 30. <— This recipe is approved for you brave souls who are doing THAT and need some whole30 dinners. Which is probs a lot of you because NEW YEARS GOALS. I will have you know that, although the willpower-force is with me typically, it is not strong enough to resist being able to eat cookie dough overnight oats. So, I CAN’T DO IT. But, if you’re doing it, I WANT TO BE YOU WHEN I GROW UP.
Also. Notice the hip and trendy Star Wars-y reference. That is me trying to live a make-believe life where I actually leave my house and know what all the cool kids are watching.
Anyway.
Other exciting news, the sequel: This is the first recipe in Whole 30 dinner recipe week! I’ll be bringing you warriors 2 more recipes – one on Wednesday and on Friday. Mostly because I did look in depth at the “approved food” list and it seemed like ya’ll are going to live off chicken and eggs for 30 days. Soooooo, variety. Just. For you.
I got yo’ back.
You know what I also got? Golden brown morsels of crispy chicken, wrapped in sweetsweet saucy goodness, on the brain.
Liiiiike, yum.
Similar recipes you might like
Easy Paleo Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Paleo Easy Gluten Free Healthy Sesame Chicken
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Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2 1/2 tsps Coconut oil divided
- 1 1/2 tsp Fresh ginger minced
- 1 tsp Garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp Habanero pepper minced
- 3/4 Cup Orange Mango or Mango, Juice (100% pure juice)
- 1/2 Tbsp Coconut aminos
- 1 tsp Tapioca flour
For the chicken:
- 3 Tbsp Tapioca flour
- 8 oz Chicken breast patted dry and cut into one-inch cubes
- Salt + Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Coconut oil
For the cauliflower rice:
- 3 Cups Cauliflower cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tsp Coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp Unsweetened coconut flakes
For garnish:
- 1/2 a Large mango cut into cubes
- Roughly chopped cilantro
- Diced Green Onion
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium pot over medium heat, melt 1 1/2 tsps of the coconut oil for the sauce. Add in the ginger,garlic and habanero pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add in the remaining coconut oil, juice and coconut aminos. Raise the temperature to high heat and bring to a boil. Additionally, place the tapioca flour in a small bowl.
- Once the liquid comes to a boil, add 2 tsps of it to the bowl with the tapioca flour and whisk until smooth. While stirring constantly, pour the tapioca mixture into the sauce and boil for 2 minutes.
- After the sauce as boiled, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduces by about 1/4 and becomes shiny, about 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to let it cool and thicken while you make the chicken.
- Place the tapioca flour into a large ziploc bag and season the cubed chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken into the bag and shake around until evenly coated in the flour.
- In a medium pan, heat 1 Tbsp of the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Place half of the chicken into the pan, being careful not to crowd it, and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and repeat. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and blot off an excess oil. Repeat with the remaining chicken. If the chicken starts cooking too fast, turn the heat down a little bit.
- While the chicken cooks, place the cauliflower into a large food processor and process until broken down and "rice-like"
- heat the 2 tsps of coconut oil up in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the cauliflower and coconut flakes. Cook until lightly golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 2-4 minutes. *
- Transfer the chicken and mango cubes into the bowl with the sauce and toss until evenly coated.
- Divide the chicken and cauliflower between two plates and garnish with cilantro, green onion and sesame seeds.
- DEVOUR
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 9 POINTS+: 16. OLD POINTS: 14
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS! 
Want more easy Paleo dinners?
Orange Beef Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles
Vegan Coconut Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles
Paleo Casserole with Turkey, Peppers, Zucchini and Tomato
Paleo Chicken Takeout from around the web:
Chinese Almond Chicken – Wicked Spatula
Paleo Cashew Chicken – A Saucy Kitchen
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Suzanna Santostefano says
Doubled the recipe and our family of 5 devoured the whole thing in one night, so good.
Question:
What do you think about baking it instead of sautee? I’m super lazy and would love to just throw it in the oven and be done! Have you tried it?
Taylor Kiser says
HMM! I have NOT tried it and I really don’t think it would get as crispy! BUT, if you do try it, please let me know!
Lyndsey says
I have a question. In the ingredient list for the sauce, it’ says 2 1/2 tsp coconut oil (divided) then in the recipe steps it says to put in 1 1/2 tsp of coconut oil, but I couldn’t see where we added the rest of the coconut oil for the sauce. I’m usually a pretty good cook, but this recipe frustrated me because the sauce reduced down way too much and turned into a crumbly mess when I mixed it with the chicken. I will try it again and hopefully have better luck. The cauliflower rice was really good. I added some pineapple tidbits to the cauliflower rice along with onion and garlic powders and some coconut aminos, and it was DELICIOUS!!
Taylor Kiser says
That’s really strange that happened to you as I have had MANY readers make this with no sauce issues! I am so sorry that it didn’t work for you! It sounds like you maybe just cooked the sauce too long- try not cooking it so long next time! 🙂 I did also update the recipe for the oil – so sorry about that! Hope it works out for you!
Chris says
This was amazing!! Thank you for the recipe.
Taylor Kiser says
I am SO glad to hear this!! You’re so welcome!
Caitlyn says
This was yummy! Thanks ?. I will be using this cauliflower rice in other recipes from now on.
Taylor Kiser says
Yay!! So glad you liked – we just had it for dinner too!
Ashley says
I am on day 10 of my first whole30 and OMG this recipe was delicious!!! The sauce tastes like such a cheat and had just the right amount of kick! Also, the coconut cauliflower rice?!?! Yum!!! The only part I struggled with was the chicken.
The flavor was there for sure but the tapioca flour stuck to the pan instead of the chicken which just left the chicken bites naked. Any tips to get it to stick? I’ve never cooked with tapioca flour or coconut oil before. We still gobbled it all down because it was delightful but I would love to try it again to get that crunch!
Thanks for such a great recipe!
Taylor Kiser says
Hi Ashley! I am so glad you liked it for the most part!
It sounds like you might either need a new pan OR more oil – I have really great pans so that helps the chicken not stick without a TON of oil!
Does that help? If the pan is kinda old and not super great in the non stick department, the chicken will definitely stick without enough oil!
Ashley says
Thank you! I didn’t even think about the pan to be honest! It is pretty ancient. I appreciate the tip. I brought leftovers to work today and everyone loved it!
Taylor Kiser says
Yay! I am so glad! if it’s ancient, that sounds like the culprit!!
Zach says
Do you really toss the cooked chicken with the leftover sauce that you marinated the UN cooked chicken in prior? Or are am I unclear, and there are two separate sauces?
Seems like a cross contamination issue. Sounds delicious regardless and I will try this.
Taylor Kiser says
Hi Zach! I am not sure what you’re referring to as there is no marinating of the chicken? You toss it in tapioca starch,and cook it and then add it to the sauce. Hope that helps!
Zachary Nuccio says
Thanks that answers it. I was getting mixed up between #3 and #5. But I now realize they are two separate tapioca mixtures.
Taylor Kiser says
Glad it is cleared up!
Christiana says
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it three times now and every time it gets better. And friends and family RAVE over it.
Now that that’s out of the way, my only critique is the claim of 30 minutes total to make it. Nope. And I would call myself an expert amateur cook lol! Thirty minutes to prep, 20 minutes to cook. And that was my third time making it.
That being said, it was worth the time!!! So give this one a try.
Taylor says
Thanks for the input Christiana 🙂
Lexa says
Love this recipe! I am on day 12 of whole30 and so happy to have found this. First time I made it, I actually made the whole thing twice because I didn’t realize how good it would be! So obviously this time I doubled it from the start. The only problem I ran into was getting the sauce to thicken this time around. Do you think the cooking time (for the simmer) doubles for it to thicken properly? Overall it tasted really good, just not as good as last time. Any pointers would be appreciated!
Lexa says
Never mind! I just realized my math was wrong on the mango juice. Haha problem solved! Thanks for the good recipe!
Taylor Kiser says
Glad to hear you got it figured out and love it! Thanks for sharing!!!
Kristin says
I am obsessing over your kitchen ware! Do you know where you got your pans and processor?
Taylor Kiser says
I don’t remember – I got them ages ago! Sorry!! Probably Amazon since I get everything there lol
Shanna says
I’m having a small group over for dinner and would like to make this. Any tips / changes for making a large batch for say 8 people? Have you ever made the sauce in advance and warmed it while the chicken is cooking? Just trying to save time after work.
Taylor Kiser says
I have only ever made this recipe as written, so I can’t tell you for sure – I’m sorry! Personally, this isn’t the kind of recipe I would serve for a group as I do think it would be best to cook it all at once when ready to serve. Sorry! But, let me know what you try!