Jerk Chicken Bowls with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa
on May 15, 2019, Updated Aug 25, 2024
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Jerk Chicken Bowls with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa are a healthy dinner that’s also great for meal prep! Coconut brown rice is topped with warmly spiced chicken and the most flavorful pineapple and black bean salsa.
I’ve been into making bowls for dinner lately. First it was these Cauliflower Rice Fish Taco Bowls and now I’m really loving these Jerk Chicken Bowls with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa!
The nice thing about bowl style meals is they work great for meal prepping. Meal prepping isn’t something I do very often, but it sure makes life easy during the week. It takes some time to do the actual prepping, but not having to think about what to make or having to of cook dinner for several days after that is so nice!
There’s three parts to these Jerk Chicken Bowls. First is the jerk chicken, obviously. I used chicken breasts, but if you prefer chicken thighs feel free to use them instead. The jerk seasoning is a combination of fresh thyme leaves, allspice, cinnamon, garlic and cayenne. It’s warm, spicy and a little earthy in flavor.
I chose to use fresh thyme instead of dried because personally I can’t stand the taste of dried. It has an incredibly strong flavor that I think overpowers everything else.
The jerk chicken sits on top of the most delicious coconut rice. Instead of using only water or chicken broth to cook the rice in, I did part coconut milk and part water. It gives the rice a slight creamy texture and a little coconut flavor, which went nicely with the chicken and tropical flavor of the pineapple black bean salsa.
Speaking of that salsa, it’s the bomb! Fresh pineapple, black beans, cilantro, green onions and lime juice. So simple, yet so delicious and it pairs perfectly with the warm spices in the chicken and the coconut in the rice. I also want try it as a topping on this Grilled Chicken recipe. These Jerk Chicken Bowls with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa are wholesome, filling and just what you need when you’re craving a taste of the tropics!
Jerk Chicken Bowls with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup canned lite coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Jerk Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Pineapple Black Bean Salsa
- 2 cups diced fresh pineapple
- 1 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Juice of a lime
- Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the green onion and sauté for a minute. Stir in the rice, water, coconut milk, cilantro, salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to hight and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with the lid and let it cook for 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice rest with the lid on for 5 minutes.
- While the rice cooks combine the thyme leaves and spices for the chicken in a small bowl. Coat the chicken in the mixture then grill, sauté or bake until the chicken is cooked through. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting it.
- In a medium sized bowl combine all of the ingredients for the salsa. Taste for seasoning.
- To make the bowls scoop in some of the coconut rice and top with the chopped chicken, salsa and extra cilantro and lime juice if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Cant wait to make these!!!! May try
a basil mango salad instead of the pineapple salsa as we have a few in our house who arent a fan of cilantro. Wondering if anyone tried a substitute and how it worked out :) thanks!!
Amazing! Big hit with the family. Added a little cotija cheese to top of bowls. Voted a “do again” dinner by everyone.
Love the cotija cheese addition! Glad to hear the bowls were a hit!
Can’t wait to try this out for dinner. Perfect for spring!
Looking forward to making this.
Perhaps a silly question, but is this best eaten hot or cold?
Hi Gail, I like to eat them hot, but I always keep the salsa cold. Hope you like the bowls!
If you have time to prep these bowls it’s worth the effort! The chicken had so much flavor (I marinated it for a couple hours before cooking it in a pan) and you can’t go wrong with pineapple and cilantro! I’d be curious to know if other people felt like they needed to cook the rice longer. This is a meal I’d make again! Can’t wait to eat it for lunch the next few days!
Hi Abby! I’m so glad you enjoyed the bowls and thank you for leaving such a kind review!