Easy Chicken Adobo is moist, savory chicken smothered in green chilies and a tantalizingly zesty sauce made with vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and spices.
You’re going to LOVE, love this easy chicken adobo! One pan, about an hour and did I mention E-A-S-Y! You get tons of flavor, plenty of sauce and meaty, moist chicken thighs that everyone…even the kids…will scarf down.
Most chicken adobo recipes use serrano peppers, which are hot, hot , HOT! This recipe subs in canned green chilies which are way milder, but still has that vinegary sauce that make your chicken adobo so delicious!
*If you want the heat, use a seeded and sliced serrano pepper instead of the green chilies.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST EASY CHICKEN ADOBO
If you love simple chicken recipes, you’ll totally be hooked on this one…for life. It’s sooo good! Even the cooking aromas will set your mouth to watering…guaranteed!
The recipe does call for the chicken to be transferred in and out of the skillet a few times. It’s grandma’s old technique for not dirtying up more pans than you need to. I suppose you could use another pan…but why? Who needs the grief…and extra cleanup…right?
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE EASY CHICKEN ADOBO
- Chicken Thighs – use bone-in, skin-on thighs for the most flavorful chicken adobo EVER! Drumsticks, wings and breasts all taste AMAZING with this sauce recipe!
- Garlic – mince your own or make life easier and use minced garlic from a jar like I do.
- Bay Leaves – sounds strange to use a bay leaf in this recipe…right? But it’s a staple of this recipe.
- Vinegar – regular, distilled vinegar adds a lot of tang to the sauce. Tone it down by substituting rice vinegar if you like.
- Soy Sauce – I used regular soy sauce rather than low-sodium, but didn’t add any additional salt to the recipe. If you are a fan of low-sodium soy sauce, taste and add salt before serving as needed.
- Brown Sugar – add sweetness, color and maple flavor to the sauce. light or dark varieties are both fine to use.
- Canned Green Chilies – I keep a stash of these green chilies in the pantry to add tons of flavor and heat to recipes.
My favorite way to serve this chicken is over easy fried rice. Mashed potatoes or polenta are also fantastic for catching the sauce that drips off. Yum:)
REASONS TO LOVE EASY ADOBO CHICKEN
- You can use chicken thighs, drumsticks, wings or skin-on chicken breasts for this recipe. The cooking time may vary.
- Ready in about an hour with no fuss and one-pan cleanup.
- It has an AMAZING tangy sweet sauce that cooked into the meat…with enough sauce left over to dip in.
- Also, you can pick the peppers you like. Use the canned green chilies for mild heat, jalapenos for HOT spice and serrano peppers for SCORCHED EARTH kind of heat.
MORE ONE-PAN CHICKEN DINNER IDEAS TO LOVE
- Garlic Orange Chicken Stir Fry
- Lemon Garlic Chicken Piccata
- Chicken Thighs with Thyme Butter
- Creamy French Mustard Chicken
Easy Chicken Adobo
Ingredients
- 6 medium chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tsp minced garlic
- 3 medium bay leaves
- 3/4 cup distilled vinegar
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 (4-ounce )can green chilies reserving 1 tbsp for garnish
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In large skillet, heat your oil until it's hot, but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down and cook them until browned. It will take about 4 – 5 minutes. Turn them over and cook for an additional 3 – 4 minutes until the underside is browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- In the same skillet, add your garlic, bay leaves, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, green chilies and black pepper. Bring to a simmer over low heat, keep stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. It will take about 3 – 4 minutes.
- Return the chicken pieces to the skillet, placing them skin side up. Cover and cook over low heat and simmer 35 – 45 minutes, turning the chicken thighs halfway through. Your chicken is done when it pulls away from the bone and a meat thermometer reads 165°F at thickest part of the chicken. Transfer the chicken back to the plate..
- Bring the liquid in the skillet to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a spoon, until the sauce begins to thicken and will coat the back of a metal spoon. This takes about 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add the chicken, skin-side up, back to the skillet. Baste the chicken with the sauce and sprinkle with reserved green chilies and parsley. Viola, your chicken adobo is ready to eat!
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
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