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White Lasagna Soup

White Lasagna Soup combines sausage, shredded chicken, broken lasagna noodles, spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a creamy broth that tastes like white lasagna in soup form. The cheeses melt directly into the stock while a small pinch of nutmeg gives the soup that classic white lasagna flavor.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, Italian-American

Keyword creamy lasagna soup, lasagna soup with ricotta, white chicken lasagna soup, white lasagna soup

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6

Calories 420kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• Dutch Oven or soup pot. Holds the broth and pasta comfortably without boiling over.
• wooden spoon Helps break apart the sausage while cooking.
• measuring cups and spoons For accurate seasoning and liquid measurements.
• Ladle Makes serving the thick, creamy soup easier.

Ingredients

• 1 lb (454 g) ground sausage
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 2 tbsps (28 g) butter
• 2 tbsps (16 g) all-purpose flour
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp (6 g) Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder
• 1 tsp (2 g) onion powder
• ½ tsp (3 g) table salt
• ½ tsp (1 g) black pepper
• ⅛ tsp (0.5 g) freshly grated or ground nutmeg
• 8 cups (64 oz / 1.9 L / 1920 g) low-sodium chicken stock or broth
• 8 lasagna noodles broken into bite-sized pieces
• 4 cups (560 g) shredded cooked chicken
• 4 cups (120 g) baby spinach
• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
• 1 cup (245 g) whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup (113 g) shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup (100 g) shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Add the ground sausage and onion to a large pot over medium heat. Cook, breaking the sausage apart with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is browned and the onion softens. Let some of the sausage develop deeper golden edges for extra flavor.
  1 lb (454 g) ground sausage, 1 medium yellow onion
• Add the butter, flour, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Stir continuously for 2 minutes, until the garlic smells fragrant and the flour is fully incorporated.
  2 tbsps (28 g) butter, 2 tbsps (16 g) all-purpose flour, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp (6 g) Italian seasoning, 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder, 1 tsp (2 g) onion powder, ½ tsp (3 g) table salt, ½ tsp (1 g) black pepper, ⅛ tsp (0.5 g) freshly grated or ground nutmeg
• Pour in the chicken stock and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the broken lasagna noodles and cook until the noodles are just tender, about 8 to 11 minutes.
  8 cups (64 oz / 1.9 L / 1920 g) low-sodium chicken stock, 8 lasagna noodles
• Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the shredded chicken, spinach, heavy cream, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the ricotta softens into the broth and the cheeses melt completely. Cook for another 2 minutes, until the spinach wilts.
  4 cups (560 g) shredded cooked chicken, 4 cups (120 g) baby spinach, 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, 1 cup (245 g) whole milk ricotta cheese, 1 cup (113 g) shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese, 1 cup (100 g) shredded Parmesan cheese
• Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot with crusty bread and extra ricotta or black pepper on top if desired.

Notes

• The soup thickens as it sits because the noodles continue absorbing broth. Add additional chicken stock when reheating leftovers if needed.
• Kale can be substituted for spinach if preferred.

 

 

If you’re making this White Lasagna Soup, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card

 

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 350g | Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 905mg | Potassium: 530mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2800IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 280mg | Iron: 2mg

Have you made this White Lasagna Soup? I’d love to hear how it turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post White Lasagna Soup appeared first on Noble Pig.

Grilled Honey Soy Lime Salmon Skewers for Summer Grilling

With Memorial Day weekend coming up, these grilled honey soy lime salmon skewers are your reminder to clean that grill grate off. Salmon on the grill is part of living here. Some would say it’s a requirement. The honey and soy sauce start picking up color on the heat, while the lime slices pick up a little char, and this dinner immediately starts to smell like summer even if the weather is still deciding whether it’s going to cooperate.

I started making these when I first moved here and lived in this very cool one-story mid-century home right on the seventh hole of a golf course. In the summer it stays light here until almost 10 o’clock, which completely scrambled my California sense of time in the beginning. I’d be outside grilling salmon skewers at what felt like early evening, but it really wasn’t.

Salmon is everywhere here in a way that starts feeling completely expected. Everyone fishes for it, grills it constantly, makes jerky out of it, talks about river conditions, owns vacuum sealers specifically because of it, and somehow, we all have more salmon in the freezer than expected. I’m okay with that.

After living here awhile, recipes like this become part of the regular summer rotation almost immediately. Especially once Memorial Day weekend arrives and everybody remembers they own a grill, or several, again.

This was also the kind of recipe I loved as a kid because threading skewers was my kitchen job. I loved standing on a kitchen chair and organizing everything onto the sticks and trying to make them all look even while the adults handled the fire part of dinner. Salmon works really well for skewers because it cooks fast, stays tender, and doesn’t punish you the second you look away for thirty seconds like we all know chicken does.

Once the weather turns, I try to make these weekly. The marinade only needs about 15 to 20 minutes before everything goes onto the grill. I like threading lime slices between the salmon instead of only using juice in the marinade because when the citrus oils touch the grill, they pick up a little bitterness and smoke as they char. It keeps the skewers brighter and lighter than heavier teriyaki-style salmon while still giving you the caramelized edges once the honey and soy sauce start cooking over the heat.

Salmon is forgiving on the grill compared to a lot of proteins. Once it starts releasing easily from the grates and the edges take on some color, you’re basically there. That’s usually when it starts feeling like summer again.

What Makes These Different

• The lime slices threaded between the salmon are probably my favorite part of these skewers. It probably sounds silly, but most salmon marinades stop at adding citrus juice alone. Grilling lime slices between the salmon changes the flavor once the heat has its way with them. The edges char, but it’s the citrus oils loosening up, and the grill smoke mixing into everything while the salmon cooks that adds a flavor you can’t really get any other way.
• I also keep the marinade lighter than heavier, because summer! The honey helps the edges caramelize, but the soy, lime, garlic, and ginger stay balanced enough that the salmon still tastes like salmon instead of candy. Since salmon already has enough richness on its own, it doesn’t need a thick sugary glaze for attention.
• The shorter marinating time is also important. Fish absorbs flavor quickly, and lime juice starts changing the texture once it sits too long. About 15 to 20 minutes gives the salmon enough flavor without the surface starting to go soft before it even reaches the grill.
• Salmon is also one of the easier proteins to grill on skewers because it cooks quickly and stays tender without needing perfect timing. Once the edges caramelize and the salmon releases naturally from the grates, you’re basically done.

Ingredients

• Salmon – Rich enough to stay tender on the grill while still holding together on skewers without drying out.
• Honey – This is what caramelizes around the edges and gives the salmon that sticky grilled finish without turning the marinade into a heavy glaze.
• Neutral oil – Keeps the salmon from sticking while helping the marinade coat the salmon evenly.
• Lime juice – Brightens the marinade and balances the richness of the salmon, but also means you don’t want to marinate the fish forever unless rubbery salmon is part of your dinner plans.
• Low-sodium soy sauce – Adds salt and depth without overpowering the salmon or turning everything into bottled teriyaki sauce.
• Garlic – Adds that savory grilled smell that immediately starts pulling people toward the deck.
• Ginger – Keeps the honey from tasting too sweet.
• Kosher salt and black pepper – Necessary.
• Lime slices – Char directly on the grill between the salmon pieces and end up being one of the best parts of the entire recipe.
• Green onions – Add freshness and crunch right at the end.
• Sesame seeds – Mostly here for texture, but they also look good against the caramelized salmon.
• Rice – Absorbs all the extra marinade and grilled citrus juices that end up running everywhere once the skewers make their way to the plate.

How to Make Grilled Honey Soy Lime Salmon Skewers

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (marinate the salmon)
  Whisk the honey, oil, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper together in a bowl, then add the salmon cubes and toss gently until coated. Let the salmon sit for about 15 to 20 minutes while the grill heats up. Fish absorbs flavor fast, and lime juice starts getting a little too ambitious if you leave it sitting around too long.
• Step Two (heat the grill)
  Preheat the grill to medium heat, around 400°F. If you’re using bamboo skewers, soak them in water first so they don’t immediately try to become part of the fire. Brush the grill grates lightly with oil before adding the salmon.
• Step Three (build the skewers)
  Thread the salmon onto the skewers, sliding thin lime slices between some of the pieces as you go. The lime softens and chars right alongside the salmon, and once the citrus oils hit the grill smoke the whole thing smells ridiculous.
• Step Four (grill the skewers)
  Place the skewers directly on the grill and brush with any remaining marinade. Close the lid and grill for about 3 to 4 minutes until the edges start caramelizing and the salmon releases easily from the grates. Flip carefully and grill another couple minutes until lightly charred on the outside and still tender in the center. Salmon goes from perfect to disappointing pretty fast, so don’t wander off.
• Step Five (serve)
  Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds if you want, then serve hot with rice, grilled vegetables, or whatever else sounds good outside around 8:30 PM. The honey, soy sauce, lime, and grill smoke together smell like you’re having a much better evening than everybody else.

Recipe Tips

• Cut the salmon into evenly sized pieces so the skewers cook at the same speed instead of giving you random overcooked cubes next to pieces that still need time.
• Oil the grill grates before adding the skewers. Salmon releases once it’s ready to flip, but it appreciates a little help upfront.
• Use thinner lime slices so they soften and char before the salmon finishes cooking.
• Leave a little space between the salmon pieces on the skewers so the heat can move around everything properly.
• If you’re using frozen salmon, thaw it completely and pat it dry first so the marinade sticks.
• These are especially good with rice because the extra grilled lime juice and marinade inevitably end up everywhere once the skewers get onto the plate.

Storage

• Store leftover salmon skewers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The flavor stays great cold straight from the fridge.
• You can reheat it gently in a skillet, air fryer, or low oven just until warmed through. I prefer it cold as leftovers.
• You can also flake leftover salmon into my Greek salmon rice bowls or spicy salmon sushi bowls, salads, or lettuce wraps the next day without it feeling like leftovers.
• I don’t usually freeze these after grilling because salmon skewers are one of those foods that are best the day they’re made.

FAQs

• Can I use frozen salmon?
  Yes, just thaw it fully and pat it dry before marinating so the salmon grills properly instead of steaming.
• Can I make these in the oven instead?
  Yes. Broil the skewers on a sheet pan until the salmon caramelizes around the edges and flakes easily in the center.
• Do I have to use lime slices on the skewers?
  Technically no, but they’re one of the best parts. The lime softens, chars, and adds smoky citrus flavor once it’s on the grill.
• What temperature should grilled salmon be?
  Salmon is usually done around 125°F to 130°F for a more tender texture, especially since it keeps cooking a little after coming off the grill.
• Can I make these on a cedar plank instead?
  You can, but the skewers cook faster and give you more caramelized edges. Cedar plank salmon stays a little softer and more gentle from the indirect heat.
• What should I serve with salmon skewers?
  One of my favorite full-spread dinners is these skewers with my radish and jicama salad, roasted potatoes with asparagus, and chilled pineapple cucumber salad. And don’t forget the rice. But honestly, anything that makes sense outside with a drink nearby works.

From My Kitchen Notes

Just a few scribbles and observations, not recipe tips.

• Salmon on the grill is one of the first signs Pacific Northwest people believe summer might happen.
• Grilling salmon outside while acting like we aren’t cold is regional behavior. It took me a while to perfect this.
• Some dinners are made entirely around not wanting to turn the oven on between May and September.
• People spend years learning how to leave things alone. Salmon rewards that kind of holding back. Relationships don’t.
• I can smell grill smoke from across the meadow and suddenly remember entire periods of my life.
• There are people who instinctively know how close to the flame they can get before something changes permanently.
• Some things look casual right up until you realize how many summers they’ve survived in silence.
• Smoke, citrus, heat, and evening air tend to be a combination that makes people more honest than they intended to be.
• Summer has a way of making people believe they still have time to figure things out, and then fall hits with its own reality.
• There are moments where somebody turns food at exactly the right second and you realize competence is dangerously attractive.
• I have never once regretted putting lime on salmon.
• The Pacific Northwest permanently changed my relationship with salmon, daylight, and acceptable dinner hours.
• I think part of why I like skewers is because they force everything into close proximity whether anybody planned on it or not.
• I’ve spent enough time around salmon to know exactly when it’s about thirty seconds away from becoming disappointing.
• I still think food tastes better when somebody carries the plate outside instead of calling everyone in.
• There’s a difference between silence and quiet.
• Something about skewers still feels optimistic to me.
• I’ve found people reveal more about themselves during casual dinners than formal ones.
• I enjoy outdoor dinners right up until the local bat population starts making tactical flybys near my head. Which is a normal part of dinners on my deck.

More Dinners Worth Eating Outside

• Grilled Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken – sticky, smoky, sweet heat.
• Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad – creamy, smoky, lime-heavy pasta salad.
• Cucumber Feta Salad – cold, crisp, salty balance.
• Smoked Corn on the Cob – brown sugar garlic butter.
• Watermelon Feta Mint Salad – cold, juicy, salty, refreshing.
• Lemonade Chicken Drumsticks – caramelized edges with bright lemon.

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Grilled Honey Soy Lime Salmon Skewers

Salmon skewers marinated in honey, soy, garlic, ginger, and lime, then grilled with fresh lime slices placed between the salmon for smoky flavor and caramelized edges.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword grilled honey soy lime salmon skewers, grilled salmon recipe, grilled salmon skewers, honey soy salmon, lime salmon skewers, summer grilling recipe

Prep Time 8 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 28 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 5 skewers

Calories 284kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• grill
• skewers (metal or bamboo). Bamboo skewers should be soaked before grilling.
• mixing bowls For whisking the marinade.
• tongs Makes flipping the skewers easier.

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 3 tbsps (63 g) honey
• 2 tbsps (30 ml) neutral oil (canola, vegetable, peanut)
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup (60 ml) low sodium soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp (15 g) ginger paste or freshly grated ginger
• ½ tsp (3 g) kosher salt
• ¼ tsp (0.5 g) coarse ground black pepper
• 1½ lbs (680 g) salmon cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes

Skewers:

• 3 limes thinly sliced into wheels
• neutral oil for brushing on grill
• chopped green onions for garnish (optional)
• sesame seeds for garnish, optional
• cooked rice for serving

Instructions

• Whisk together the honey, oil, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, kosher salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Add the salmon cubes and gently toss to coat. Let the salmon marinate for 15–20 minutes while the grill preheats. Avoid marinating much longer than 1 hour since the lime juice can start changing the texture of the salmon.
  3 tbsps (63 g) honey, 2 tbsps (30 ml) neutral oil, 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lime juice, ¼ cup (60 ml) low sodium soy sauce, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp (15 g) ginger paste, ½ tsp (3 g) kosher salt, ¼ tsp (0.5 g) coarse ground black pepper, 1½ lbs (680 g) salmon
• Preheat a grill to medium heat, about 400°F (200°C). If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before assembling so they do not burn on the grill.
• Thread the salmon onto skewers, placing thin lime slices between some of the salmon pieces. The lime softens slightly as it grills and adds extra citrus flavor while the edges pick up a little char.
  3 limes
• Brush the grill grates lightly with oil. Place the salmon skewers directly on the grill and brush with any remaining marinade. Close the lid and grill for 3–4 minutes, or until the salmon begins caramelizing around the edges and releases easily from the grates.
  neutral oil
• Flip the skewers carefully and continue grilling for another 2–3 minutes, or until the salmon is lightly charred outside and flakes easily with a fork. Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the salmon pieces and how hot the grill is running.
• Transfer the grilled honey soy lime salmon skewers to a serving platter and garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired. Serve immediately with rice, grilled vegetables, or a crisp salad.
  chopped green onions, sesame seeds, cooked rice

Notes

• If using table salt or fine sea salt instead of kosher salt, reduce the amount by half.
• If using full-sodium soy sauce, omit the additional salt.
• Salmon only needs a short marinating time, especially with lime juice in the marinade. Too much time in citrus can affect the texture of the fish.
• Oil the grill grates well before cooking to help prevent sticking.
• Leftover salmon is best served cold over salad or rice instead of reheated.

 

 

If you’re making these Grilled Honey Soy Lime Salmon Skewers, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 185g | Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 654mg | Potassium: 721mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Have you made these Grilled Honey Soy Lime Salmon Skewers? I’d love to hear how they turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Grilled Honey Soy Lime Salmon Skewers appeared first on Noble Pig.

Cocoa Rubbed Steak With Dark Stout Pan Sauce Gets A Dark Crust

Cocoa rubbed steak with dark stout pan sauce is something that has evolved in my kitchen after a lot of pub-style dinners out. Most places go the coffee-rubbed route, but I kept wanting something a little darker and more roasted with that same bitter edge you get from stout or wine tannins. After a lot of trial and error, I found that cocoa powder gives the steak a dark lacquered crust with earthy flavor while the chocolate stout cooks down with garlic, thyme, and the browned bits in the pan into a sauce that tastes layered, savory, and made for sliced steak.

This is the kind of dinner you make when you need to say something emotionally consequential to someone. Or maybe when you just want everybody at the table too distracted by the steak to ask too many questions. Your choice.

I grew up eating a lot of steak. My dad was a weekend grill guy, and steak was always made over charcoal. If he wasn’t making it at home, we were out somewhere ordering it. We were a very carnivorous family, which probably explains several things psychologically, though I’m not entirely sure which ones.

Years later, in my own explorations, I found myself drawn to dark little pub places long before the term gastropub became mainstream. The cooks were always doing a lot with meat, coffee rubs, porter reductions, and all those darker bitter flavors that somehow make beef taste even more like itself. I always liked that style of cooking. And even though I can be very much a steak purist, I still think there’s a place for a good pan sauce to break up the steak-and-butter-only mindset once in a while.

My interest in cocoa with steak isn’t completely random. It comes more from my own curiosity around flavor and bitterness. Cocoa and wine share some of the same sensory qualities, especially when it comes to bitterness, tannin perception, dryness, and even some of that roasted depth. Once cocoa comes in contact with a fatty steak, it starts acting similarly to how tannic red wine will cut through rich meat.

I feel like coffee rubs usually take smoky bitterness forward. But cocoa bitterness comes across way softer, earthier, and more rounded instead, especially once it mixes with fat and browns in a hot skillet. Then everything starts tasting fuller once the pan sauce comes together. I think cocoa syncs more naturally with red meat than espresso ever will.

So this version became mine over the years. Cocoa-rubbed steak with a dark stout pan sauce that feels slightly unreasonable spooned over roasted potatoes. I make this year-round because some dinners stop being seasonal and this one has become another meal that is part of my operating system.

The thing I like most about this recipe is that the cocoa never tastes like chocolate once it sears onto the steak. It works more like a dark roasted bitterness in the crust, especially with the stout reduction and all the browned bits left in the skillet. The stout cooks down into something concentrated and savory, the cocoa keeps the crust dark without turning sweet, and the flavor ends up somewhere between a really good pub steak and something you’d order at a place with low lighting and a bartender who knows too much about your life.

What Makes This Different

• The cocoa rub is what changes this from a regular cast iron steak into something darker and a little more complicated. The cocoa doesn’t taste sweet or chocolatey once it sears into the crust. It works more like a roasted bitterness against the fat of the New York strip, especially once the browned bits in the skillet start mixing into the stout reduction.
• The brown sugar in the rub helps the crust caramelize faster and gives the steak that dark lacquered exterior without needing a long cook time. Cocoa does darken quickly in a hot skillet, so there’s a difference between a properly dark crust and taking it too far. You want the heat high enough to create color fast while still keeping the center medium rare.
• As the stout reduces with the garlic, thyme, beef broth, and pan drippings, it loses a lot of the edge and becomes more savory. Stouts do vary. Some are bitter or more roasted, which is why I usually taste the sauce near the end before deciding whether it needs another pinch of salt.
• I also specifically like using a New York strip instead of a ribeye. The strip steak has enough fat to handle the dark crust and reduced sauce, but it still slices neatly and stays together once you cut into it. Since the steak gets sliced before serving, that is important.
• Using a cast iron skillet means you’ll have enough direct heat to develop the crust quickly, while also making all the browned bits that become the base of the sauce afterward. That’s where the sauce picks up most of its flavor.

Ingredients

• New York strip steak – Has enough fat to stay flavorful while still keeping the firmer texture that works especially well with the dark cocoa crust and reduced stout sauce.
• Kosher salt – Seasons the steak and helps the crust develop in the skillet.
• Black pepper – Gives the crust a little bite without competing with the cocoa and stout.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – Works more like a roasted spice than chocolate once it sears onto the steak. It deepens the crust and adds bitterness that balances the richness of the meat and sauce.
• Brown sugar – Helps the crust caramelize quickly and gives the exterior a dark lacquered look without making the steak taste sweet.
• Garlic powder – Brings savory depth directly into the rub so the flavor stays in the crust instead of only living in the sauce.
• Chili powder – Adds warmth and earthiness that works especially well with the cocoa and stout reduction.
• Cayenne pepper – Gives the rub a little heat.
• Avocado oil – Handles the high skillet heat well without smoking too quickly while the crust develops.
• Butter – Softens the bitterness in the sauce slightly.
• Fresh garlic – Adds savory depth as the stout reduces in the skillet.
• Chocolate stout beer – Reduces down into a darker roasted pan sauce that works especially well with the cocoa crust.
• Beef broth – Keeps the stout reduction balanced and savory instead of overly bitter.
• Red wine vinegar – Cuts through the richness of the sauce.
• Fresh thyme – Adds a woodsy flavor that fits naturally with the roasted flavors in the sauce.
• Cornstarch – Thickens the sauce just enough so it coats the steak.
• Cold water – Helps dissolve the cornstarch smoothly before it gets added into the hot sauce.

How To Make Cocoa Rubbed Steak With Dark Stout Pan Sauce

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (season the steak)
  Pat the steak very dry before you start. The cocoa rub sticks better to a dry surface and gives you the kind of crust this recipe is made around once it goes into the cast iron skillet.. Mix the cocoa powder, brown sugar, chili spices, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together, then press the rub all over the steak. Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes so the seasoning has time to stick and the steak loses some of its chill.
• Step Two (make the crust)
  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until fully hot before adding the oil. Once the steak goes in, leave it alone long enough for the crust to form. The cocoa and brown sugar darken quickly, so the outside should look very brown and almost blackened in a few spots without smelling burnt. Flip and cook the second side until the steak reaches about 125°F (52°C) for medium rare, then transfer it to a cutting board to rest under foil.
• Step Three (make the stout pan sauce)
  Lower the heat and melt the butter right into the browned bits left in the skillet. Add the garlic and stir constantly for about 30 seconds since it cooks fast in the hot pan. Pour in the stout, beef broth, vinegar, and thyme, then scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom. Let the sauce simmer until darker, slightly reduced, and more savory.
• Step Four (finish and serve)
  Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook just until the sauce lightly thickens. Slice the steak thinly against the grain and spoon the warm sauce over the top right before serving. The sliced steak catches more of the sauce this way, which matters with a darker reduced sauce like this.

Recipe Tips

• Pat the steak really dry before adding the cocoa rub. Moisture is the fastest way to sabotage a good crust.
• Don’t freak out when the crust darkens fast. The cocoa and brown sugar both develop fast in cast iron, so the steak will look almost blackened in spots without smelling burnt.
• Let the skillet get fully hot before the steak goes in. A not-hot-enough skillet gives you gray steak energy and this recipe absolutely does not want that.
• Use an instant-read thermometer if you tend to second-guess steak doneness. The crust gets dark enough that visual cues become slightly less trustworthy.
• Different stouts vary quite a bit, so the final salt balance sometimes needs adjusting.
• The sauce needs vinegar at the end or the darker flavors can start feeling like too much. Don’t skip it.
• Reduce the sauce long enough before adding the cornstarch slurry. That’s where the sauce picks up most of its flavor.
• Slice the steak against the grain. Especially with strip steak, that’s what keeps the slices tender instead of chewy.
• This is one of those dinners where crust matters more than perfection. A properly browned skillet steak with a good pan sauce will always beat a timid one.
• If the sauce gets thicker than you want, loosen it with a splash of beef broth before serving.

Storage

• Store leftover steak and sauce separately in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• The sauce thickens quite a bit once chilled because of the reduction and cornstarch, so I usually loosen it with a splash of broth or water when reheating.
• Reheat the steak gently in a skillet over low heat or in short bursts in the microwave. High heat tends to make strip steak chewy pretty quickly.
• The cocoa crust stays surprisingly good the next day, especially sliced thin and reheated with a little sauce spooned over the top. It’s great in a sandwich too.
• If you know you’re making this ahead of time, slightly undercook the steak the first time around so it doesn’t overcook during reheating.

FAQs

• Does the cocoa make the steak taste like chocolate?
  No. Once it sears in the skillet, the cocoa tastes much darker and more roasted than sweet. It acts more like roasted bitterness than dessert chocolate once it sears onto the steak.
• Why use cocoa powder in a steak rub?
  The cocoa balances the richness of the steak and sauce. It gives the exterior a more roasted flavor that works especially well with stout reductions and cast iron searing.
• What kind of stout works best?
  I prefer a darker chocolate stout or porter-style beer with roasted flavor instead of anything overly sweet. The beer becomes more concentrated as it reduces, so balance matters.
• Can I use ribeye instead of strip steak?
  You can, but ribeye has more internal fat and can feel heavier with the stout sauce. I like New York strip because it keeps a firmer texture once sliced.
• How do I know the crust isn’t burnt?
  The crust should look very dark but smell roasted and savory, not bitter. Cocoa darkens faster than a standard steak rub, so smell matters just as much as color.
• Can I grill this instead of cooking it in a skillet?
  You can, but the pan sauce depends on the browned bits left in the skillet after searing. Cast iron gives you both the crust and the base for the stout reduction.
• Why add brown sugar to the rub if this isn’t supposed to taste sweet?
  The brown sugar helps the crust caramelize and balances the bitterness from the cocoa and stout without making the steak sugary.
• What should I serve with this?
  My salt and vinegar smashed potatoes, mashed potatoes, crusty Dutch oven bread, or anything capable of absorbing excessive amounts of stout sauce without judgment.

From My Kitchen Notes

A few observations about appetite and human behavior.

• Some dinners are casual. Others feel like everybody at the table already knows something important is about to happen.
• There’s a specific kind of confidence that comes from knowing how dark you can let a crust get before it crosses the line into ruined.
• Good pan sauces usually start with browned bits everybody else would’ve rinsed down the sink. You’re not going to do that.
• Certain restaurants permanently alter your understanding of lighting, steak, and eye contact.
• Some conversations improve dramatically once somebody places the bread basket on the table.
• Bitterness is useful in small amounts. In stout, cocoa powder, red wine, and occasionally people.
• There are meals specifically designed for lingering at the table longer than necessary. This is one of them.
• A good cast iron skillet remembers everything you’ve ever done to it. That feels metaphorical somehow.
• The best pub food always tastes emotionally complicated. And I like that.
• Some people only know how to say important things indirectly across a table.
• There’s a point in reducing a pan sauce where patience suddenly turns into reward.
• A properly rested steak and a well-timed confession have more in common than people realize.
• Certain flavor combinations only work because bitterness keeps the richness from getting out of control.
• Some forms of attraction feel less like fireworks and more like recognition under low lighting.
• A lot of adulthood is realizing appetite and honesty are closely related.
• Dark sauces, low lighting, and red wine have probably created entire generations of people if I’m being honest.

More Low Light Dinners

• Gochujang Steak Bites – sticky, spicy skillet steak.
• Oven-Braised Short Ribs – slow-cooked and deeply savory.
• Slow-Braised Beef Ragù with Pappardelle – heavy pot energy in pasta form.
• Baked Rigatoni – bubbling cheese and red sauce.
• Cottage Pie with Gruyère Mashed Potatoes – crisp edges and rich beef.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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Cocoa Rubbed Steak with Dark Stout Pan Sauce

This cocoa rubbed steak with dark stout pan sauce starts with a savory cocoa spice rub that forms a dark crust in a hot cast iron skillet. The stout cooks down with garlic, thyme, beef broth, and the browned bits left in the pan into a sauce with roasted, earthy flavor that pairs perfectly with sliced steak.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword cast iron steak, cocoa crusted steak, cocoa rubbed steak, dark stout pan sauce, New York strip steak recipe, skillet steak recipe, steak with pan sauce, stout steak sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes minutes

Resting 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 48 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 610kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• cast iron skillet 12" (30 cm) Helps make the dark crust properly.
• Meat Thermometer Keeps the steak from overcooking.
• tongs For flipping the steak without piercing it.
• whisk For blending the slurry smoothly.

Ingredients

Steak:

• 1 (12-16 oz / 340-455 g) New York strip steak or ribeye (1 to 1½ inches (2.5 to 4 cm) thick)
• 1 tsp (5 g) kosher salt
• ½ tsp (1 g) coarse ground black pepper
• 2 tsps (5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsps (8 g) light brown sugar
• 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder
• 1 tsp (2 g) chili powder
• ¼ tsp (0.5 g) cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsps (30 ml) avocado oil or peanut oil

Dark Stout Pan Sauce:

• 2 tbsps (28 g) butter
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup (240 ml) chocolate stout beer
• ½ cup (120 ml) beef broth
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 tsp (3 g) cornstarch
• 1 tsp (5 ml) cold water

Instructions

• Pat the New York strip steak very dry with paper towels, especially around the edges. In a small bowl, stir together the kosher salt, black pepper, cocoa powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, chili powder, and cayenne pepper until evenly combined. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the steak, pressing it firmly into the surface so it adheres well. Let the steak rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking so the seasoning has time to adhere and the chill comes off the meat.
  1 (12-16 oz / 340-455 g) New York strip steak, 1 tsp (5 g) kosher salt, ½ tsp (1 g) coarse ground black pepper, 2 tsps (5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsps (8 g) light brown sugar, 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder, 1 tsp (2 g) chili powder, ¼ tsp (0.5 g) cayenne pepper
• Place a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and let it get fully hot before adding the oil. Add the avocado oil, then carefully place the steak into the skillet. Cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes on the first side until a very dark crust forms. The cocoa and brown sugar darken quickly, so the steak should look deeply browned without smelling burnt.
  2 tbsps (30 ml) avocado oil
• Flip the steak and continue cooking for another 3 to 5 minutes for medium rare, adjusting slightly depending on thickness. Use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the steak and pull it from the skillet a couple of degrees before it hits 125°F (52°C). Transfer the steak to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil while the sauce cooks. The temperature should continue rising about 5 to 10 degrees as it rests.
• Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the butter directly to the browned bits and residual oil left in the pan. Once melted, stir in the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it softens without burning.
  2 tbsps (28 g) butter, 2 cloves garlic
• Pour in the chocolate stout and scrape the bottom of the skillet well to loosen all the browned bits. Stir in the beef broth, red wine vinegar, and thyme sprigs. Let the sauce simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced and darker in color with a more roasted, concentrated flavor. Different stouts vary in bitterness, so taste the sauce once reduced and add a small pinch of salt if needed.
  1 cup (240 ml) chocolate stout beer, ½ cup (120 ml) beef broth, 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar, 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl until smooth. Slowly stir the slurry into the simmering sauce and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly thickened and shiny enough to coat a spoon.
  1 tsp (3 g) cornstarch, 1 tsp (5 ml) cold water
• Slice the steak thinly against the grain and spoon the warm stout pan sauce over the top before serving.

Notes

• The crust should look very dark once seared. Cocoa powder and brown sugar naturally deepen in color quickly in a hot skillet, which gives the steak its roasted flavor and signature appearance without tasting burnt.
• Chocolate stout gives the sauce a darker roasted flavor, but a regular stout can still be used if needed.
• Store leftover steak and sauce separately when possible so the crust keeps more of its texture.

 

 

If you’re making this Cocoa Rubbed Steak, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card.

 

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 390g | Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 980mg | Potassium: 720mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 420IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 4mg

Have you made this Cocoa Rubbed Steak? I’d love to hear how they turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Cocoa Rubbed Steak with Dark Stout Pan Sauce appeared first on Noble Pig.

Dense Bean Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing That Still Tastes Fresh on Day Three

I know a lot of dense bean salads start out with big promises, then they spend the night in the refrigerator absorbing all the dressing until everything tastes dull and oddly wet at the same time. I wanted mine to stay fresh longer, so I drained the beans really well, kept all the veggies chopped small, and made a lemon-Dijon vinaigrette that coats everything and doesn’t pool at the bottom of the bowl. By the second day, it tastes even better because the beans pick up the dressing while the cucumbers, peppers, herbs, and feta keep everything from turning into refrigerator mush.

I just got home from a trip that as usual, the eating was deliciously excessive. It starts with the ordering of many, many desserts, because RESEARCH. Cocktails before and after dinner, more desserts, then discussions of getting additional desserts get thrown around. I still didn’t get the Japanese cheesecake I wanted to try or the best ice cream there, which supposedly comes from a dry cleaning establishment. Next time.

And honestly, somewhere around the airport ride home, all I could think about was this bean salad. Because after excess, something filling, that doesn’t involve brown butter or a cream sauce, sounded good.

I often throw this together after traveling because it feels good to eat without feeling like I’m auditioning to become a wellness influencer. Because never.

I like keeping a bowl of it in the refrigerator and scooping it next to something simple like pork tenderloin, grilled chicken, or whatever protein I happen to have around. I know lots of people eat dense bean salad as their entire meal, which honestly, I respect, but I prefer it as part of dinner. It satisfies me enough that I don’t miss the vacation food and doesn’t feel like a “getting back on track” meal.

It’s the kind of salad that gets better every time you open the refrigerator. Because everything is chopped small, every portion gets a little of everything instead of random bites of beans followed by random cucumber chunks. It’s enough for lunch without feeling like you immediately need something else an hour later.

It’s refrigerator food for those of us who care intensely about texture.

What Makes This Different

• I use three different beans instead of making the entire salad around chickpeas alone. The black beans make it feel heartier, the cannellini beans soften the texture so it doesn’t turn into a bowl of identical bites, and the chickpeas are the heart of it. The trio keeps the salad from tasting repetitive.
• I also like to chop everything small. I want every scoop to have cucumber, tomato, feta, herbs, beans, and dressing all together instead of one bite that’s all cucumber followed by another that’s just beans.
• Draining the beans really well makes a difference. If the beans are still sitting in extra water, the lemon Dijon dressing gets diluted almost immediately once everything chills. Letting them drain while you prep the vegetables keeps everything tasting the way it’s supposed to after chilling.
• And the lemon-Dijon dressing tastes fresher than a lot of bottled dressings poured over bean salads. The lemon juice, Dijon, garlic, and vinegar coat everything without making the salad feel weighed down.
• I put the feta in near the end. If you stir it in at the beginning, it disappears into the dressing instead of staying throughout the salad in salty, creamy bites, which is part of the payoff.
• This salad is great for cold leftovers. By the second day, the beans absorb the dressing while the vegetables still have some crunch left.

Ingredients

• Chickpeas – They hold together after chilling and absorb the lemon-Dijon dressing without turning mushy by the second day.
• Black beans – Make the salad feel more satisfying than dense bean salads made entirely around chickpeas.
• Cannellini beans – Softer and creamier than the other beans.
• Cucumber – Keeps the salad crisp after chilling.
• Cherry tomatoes – Break up all the beans with some acidity and juiciness throughout the salad.
• Shredded carrots – Keep the salad from becoming entirely bean-on-bean texture.
• Red onion – Finely chopping it helps the flavor spread evenly instead of randomly punching you in the face halfway through lunch.
• Red bell pepper – Survives refrigeration better than a lot of softer vegetables do.
• Fresh parsley – Bean salads can start tasting dull without fresh herbs mixed in.
• Feta cheese – Salty, creamy little bites throughout the salad that balance all the lemon and vinegar.
• Olive oil – Helps the dressing coat the beans.
• Fresh lemon juice – One of the reasons this salad still tastes good after a few days in the refrigerator.
• Red wine vinegar – Helps the dressing still taste good after a few days in the refrigerator.
• Dijon mustard – Helps emulsify the dressing so it clings to the beans and chopped vegetables instead of separating in the refrigerator.
• Honey – Enough to soften the edges of the lemon juice, vinegar, and Dijon without making the dressing taste sweet.
• Garlic – Keeps the dressing from tasting too lemony.
• Dried oregano – Helps everything taste like it belongs in the same bowl.
• Salt and black pepper – You need it.
• Red pepper flakes – Optional, but good if you want some heat.

How to Make Dense Bean Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (drain the beans and chop everything small)
  Drain and rinse all three beans really well, then let them sit in a colander while you prep everything else because extra bean water is how good dressing gets diluted once everything chills. Dice the cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, and red onion fairly small instead of leaving everything in giant chunky pieces. Every scoop should have beans, vegetables, herbs, feta, and dressing instead of somebody getting half a cucumber in one bite.
• Step Two (make the lemon Dijon dressing)
  Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until the dressing looks creamy and fully combined. This dressing should taste a little punchier than you think it needs to because after a night in the refrigerator colds bean salads can fall into bland territory.
• Step Three (toss everything together)
  Add the beans, chopped vegetables, shredded carrots, and parsley to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over everything and toss really well so the beans can start soaking up all the lemony dressing while the vegetables still have some crunch left. Add the feta near the end and toss gently because stirring feta into a bean salad is how it vanishes into the dressing five minutes later.
• Step Four (chill before serving)
  Refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes before serving, although I honestly think it tastes better after a few hours once the beans absorb more of the dressing. Before serving, toss everything again and taste for salt or another squeeze of lemon juice because salads like this always mellow slightly overnight and sometimes need a little wake-up call before lunch.

Recipe Tips

• Let the beans drain longer than you think they need to. A few extra minutes in the colander while you chop everything else makes a noticeable difference once the salad chills overnight.
• Try to keep the vegetables roughly the same size when chopping. Dense bean salads are better when every scoop gets a little of everything instead of giant tomato chunks and tiny onion bits.
• Taste the dressing before it goes into the salad. Beans absorb seasoning as they sit, so the dressing should taste more lemony and salty than you think it needs to at first.
• If the salad tastes dull after refrigeration, another squeeze of lemon juice usually fixes it immediately. Cold temperatures tend to mute acidity.
• Add the feta near the end and fold it in gently. Otherwise it starts crumbling into the dressing and you lose the salty, creamy bites throughout the salad.
• This gets better after a few hours in the refrigerator once the beans absorb some of the dressing, but the vegetables still have some crunch left.
• If you want something more substantial for dinner, this is really good beside grilled chicken, salmon, pork tenderloin, or even tucked into a wrap with extra feta.
• Dense bean salad should look dressed, not soupy. If the bottom of the bowl starts looking soupy, the beans probably needed more draining time.
• A big bowl works better than trying to toss this in something too small. Bean salads need room or the entire toss becomes unnecessarily stressful.

Storage and Make-Ahead

• This is exactly the kind of salad that earns permanent refrigerator status for a few days. The beans absorb more of the lemon-Dijon dressing as it chills, so the flavor improves overnight.
• Store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. By day two, everything tastes more blended together while the cucumbers, peppers, herbs, and feta still keep some texture in the salad.
• Give the salad another toss before serving since the beans absorb part of the dressing while the rest collects toward the bottom. I also usually taste for lemon juice or salt again after refrigeration.
• If you’re making it especially far ahead, you can wait to add the feta until closer to serving so it stays in bigger pieces throughout the salad.
• We’re not freezing this.

FAQs

• Can I make dense bean salad ahead of time?
  Yes, and it tastes better after a few hours in the refrigerator.
• Why does bean salad sometimes get watery in the fridge?
  Usually the beans were still holding extra water when the salad got tossed together. Letting them drain and even going as far as blotting them with a paper towel before adding the dressing helps keep the vinaigrette from thinning out overnight.
• Is dense bean salad served cold?
  Yes. This is definitely a refrigerator salad. I like it best cold straight from the fridge once the dressing has had time to mingle with the beans.
• Can I use different beans?
  Yes. Kidney beans, great northern beans, or even lentils are good too. I prefer the combination of chickpeas, black beans, and cannellini beans because the different textures keep the salad from feeling like the same bite over and over.
• How long does dense bean salad last in the refrigerator?
  About 4 days is usually the sweet spot. The flavor improves after the first day, but the vegetables still taste good during that window.
• Can I use homemade beans instead of canned?
  Yes. Just make sure they’re fully cooled and drained well before adding them to the salad so the dressing still tastes the way it’s supposed to.
• Why does the salad need more lemon or salt after chilling?
  Cold temperatures dull flavor slightly, especially acidity. A quick squeeze of lemon juice or another pinch of salt helps avoid that before serving.
• Is this enough for lunch on its own?
  For most people, yes. Between the three kinds of beans, vegetables, feta, and dressing, it’s one of those lunches that sticks with you for a while. Personally I like to have it alongside another protein.
• Can I add extra vegetables?
  Definitely. Chopped celery, green onions, roasted corn, or even chopped pepperoncini all go really well here as long as everything stays fairly small and scoopable.
• What makes this different from regular bean salad?
  The smaller chopped texture, lemon-Dijon dressing, and three-bean combination make it taste better after a few days in the refrigerator instead of turning into one of those overly marinated bean salads that gets dull in the refrigerator.

From My Kitchen Notes

Observations.

• There’s a point after vacation where your body stops wanting restaurant butter and asks to see a bean again. I’m there.
• Even I think dense bean salad sounds like something a nutrition podcast host would meal prep in twelve matching containers, but this one does taste good.
• Some foods are exciting for one night. Other foods earn permanent refrigerator residency.
• I like meals that still taste like someone wanted to eat them.
• The best refrigerator lunches are the ones you keep “taking another scoop” of while standing there with the door open.
• Certain people permanently alter your relationship with restaurants, cocktails, lighting, butter sauces, and cities you can no longer experience normally.
• I feel like every adult develops one hyper-specific refrigerator food they become attached to for reasons that are difficult to explain publicly.
• Some forms of stability look like having lunch figured out for the next three days.
• Bean salads improve overnight the same way some thoughts do. They make sense once they’ve had a little time alone.
• Tiny chopped vegetables make me feel strangely organized.
• I think a lot of adulthood is just rotating between vacation meals and salad-based recovery systems.
• Some cravings are about hunger. Others are about wanting your life to feel manageable again.
• There’s something psychologically reassuring about opening the refrigerator and finding a bowl of something already made.
• Every good bean salad needs enough acidity to survive refrigeration without giving up.
• Some people bring home souvenirs from trips. I come home wanting lemon juice and legumes.
• The older I get, the more I respect foods that improve in the refrigerator without needing anything else from me.
• There are two kinds of people in this world: people who lightly dress bean salad and people who understand the importance of proper coating distribution.
• Some attachments become part of your internal geography whether you intended that or not.
• A lot of complicated people are weirdly fixated on texture.
• Certain cities follow you home through cravings.
• Some things get better after sitting overnight. Others become clear in your head.
• There’s a difference between being full and feeling satisfied. Bean salads know this.
• Every woman reaches a point where she realizes a good refrigerator lunch improves her quality of life disproportionately.
• Some people disappear into the background after enough time passes. Others flavor your thoughts for years like Dijon mustard.

More Refrigerator-Friendly Lunches

• Avocado and Three Bean Salad – creamy avocado with tangy bean salad flavors.
• Creamy Cauliflower Salad – cold, creamy, crunchy, and refrigerator friendly.
• Avocado Kale Salad with “Cheesy” Flavor – hearty kale salad with savory flavor.
• Chilled Pineapple Cucumber Salad – cold, juicy, sweet, and cucumber crisp.
• Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad – creamy, savory, and straight-from-the-fridge good.

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Dense Bean Salad with Lemon with Lemon Dijon Dressing

Dense bean salad with lemon Dijon dressing is packed with three kinds of beans, chopped vegetables, feta, and a lemony vinaigrette that coats everything without turning watery in the fridge. This is the kind of lunch you scoop straight from the container for the next few days and never get tired of eating.

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword chopped bean salad, dense bean salad, dense bean salad recipe, high protein dense bean salad, high protein salad, lemon Dijon bean salad, make ahead salad, meal prep bean salad, Mediterranean bean salad

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Chilling 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 310kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• mixing bowls (large). Enough room to toss everything evenly.
• Colander Helps the beans drain well so the dressing stays flavorful.
• whisk For emulsifying dressing.

Ingredients

Salad:

• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz / 435 g) black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) cannellini beans drained and rinsed
• 1 cup (~150 g) diced cucumber
• 1 cup (~180 g) quartered cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup (~75 g) finely chopped red onion
• 1 (~150 g) red bell pepper diced
• 1 cup (~110 g) shredded carrots
• ½ cup (~15 g) chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup (40 g) crumbled feta cheese

Lemon Dijon Dressing:

• ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
• 3 tbsps (45 mL0 fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp (5 ml) honey
• 1 clove garlic finely grated
• ½ tsp (2 g) dried oregano leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

• Drain and rinse the chickpeas, black beans, and cannellini beans very well. Let them sit in a colander while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients so excess water drains off and the dressing does not get watered down later.
  1 can (15 oz / 425 g) chickpeas, 1 can (15 oz / 435 g) black beans, 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) cannellini beans
• Dice the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and red bell pepper into small, even pieces. Add them to a large mixing bowl along with the shredded carrots, chopped parsley, and drained beans.
  1 cup (~150 g) diced cucumber, 1 cup (~180 g) quartered cherry tomatoes, ½ cup (~75 g) finely chopped red onion, 1 (~150 g) red bell pepper, 1 cup (~110 g) shredded carrots, ½ cup (~15 g) chopped fresh parsley
• Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, grated garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until the dressing looks creamy and combined.
  ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, 3 tbsps (45 mL0 fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar, 1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon mustard, 1 tsp (5 ml) honey, 1 clove garlic, ½ tsp (2 g) dried oregano leaves, salt and pepper, pinch red pepper flakes
• Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well so everything gets evenly coated.
• Add the feta cheese and toss gently so it stays throughout the salad instead of disappearing into the dressing.
  ¼ cup (40 g) crumbled feta cheese
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. The flavor gets better as it chills and gives the beans time to absorb the dressing.
• Taste again before serving and add another squeeze of lemon juice or pinch of salt if needed after refrigeration.

Notes

• Letting the beans drain while prepping the vegetables helps keep the vinaigrette from thinning out later.
• Chopping the vegetables into small pieces gives the salad a more balanced texture and helps every scoop get a little of everything.
• The salad tastes even better after a few hours in the refrigerator.
• If making ahead for several days, fresh parsley can be stirred in again before serving for a fresher finish.
• Feel free to serve this over a bed of mixed greens if you like.

If you’re making this Dense Bean Salad, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card.

 

 

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 240g | Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 470mg | Potassium: 620mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4100IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 3mg

Have you made this Dense Bean Salad? I’d love to hear how it turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Dense Bean Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing appeared first on Noble Pig.

Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders That Stay Crispy Outside

Most baked chicken tenders start losing their crunch almost immediately, especially once they cool for a few minutes or hit the plate with a dipping sauce nearby. I wanted the coating on these cornflake crusted chicken tenders to stay crisp all the way around, not just on the top. The crushed cornflakes create the jagged edges, and baking them on a wire rack keeps the heat moving underneath so the coating stays crisp instead of softening against the baking sheet.

My ego death with motherhood started with chicken tenders.

From the minute I got pregnant, I was already planning ahead thinking, well obviously I need to really get my chicken tenders recipe down because that’s what kids love to eat. I was mentally preparing for motherhood through poultry. Before my first kid even had teeth, I was in the kitchen trying to perfect a homemade version. I tried different breading, but ended up liking crushed cornflakes best. I took it seriously, experimenting with different seasoning blends like I was preparing for my own toddler judging panel.

And honestly, where I ended up was a good place. Like these are genuinely good chicken tenders. They are super crunchy, heavily seasoned, with homemade honey mustard on the side, texture, real chicken, and the kind adults genuinely inhale.

My children hated them immediately.

And they weren’t nice about it. This was not a “maybe next time.” This was full rejection. They would push them around the high chair. Meanwhile I’m standing there thinking, these are objectively better in every possible way than the frozen dinosaur nuggets you are attached to.

It didn’t matter.

Apparently, kids do not want thoughtfully homemade chicken tenders with jagged crunchy cornflake coating and balanced seasoning. They want compressed beige chicken paste shaped like prehistoric reptiles. I was so disappointed.

And somehow the more effort I put into homemade food, the more suspicious they became. Homemade honey mustard…yeah, no. Visible seasoning? Disturbing. Crunch…it was too much complexity. They acted like I was trying to serve them a plate of artisanal hardship.

I really thought maybe the second kid would appreciate them eventually. No way. He was worse somehow. He was fully committed to dinosaur nuggets on a level that was almost spiritual. Honestly if I bought dinosaur nuggets today, he would eat them without hesitation.

One of the strangest parts of momming is realizing your children do not care about your culinary ambitions whatsoever. You can hand-bread chicken tenders while trying to become the kind of mom who makes beautiful homemade meals and your littles will still emotionally connect harder with a frozen nugget shaped like a brontosaurus.

Children are not tiny gourmands. They’re messy little people with deeply irrational loyalty systems, and motherhood is mostly learning that love and effort do not automatically control the outcome. Sometimes you spend all afternoon making gorgeous homemade chicken tenders while your child quietly eats a single green bean and half a cracker they found in the car seat.

So now when I think about chicken tenders, this is still the way I want them. Not the soft breadcrumb-coated kind that go limp the second they touch the plate. I want the thick cornflake coating with the rough jagged edges across the outside and the crisp bottom that stays crunchy underneath too. The honey mustard is just as important because the cold creamy sauce against the hot crunchy coating is basically the payoff. These are the kind of chicken tenders you hear when you bite into them, which feels deeply satisfying after raising kids who rejected them in favor of frozen dinosaur-shaped poultry for most of my adult life.

What Makes These Chicken Tenders Different

• The coating on these cornflake crusted chicken tenders has texture to it. This is not the fine breadcrumb coating that softens five minutes after baking, but thick cornflake edges that stay crisp all the way around the chicken. Leaving some larger cornflake pieces in the coating gives the outside the jagged bits that make homemade chicken tenders worth eating in the first place.
• Using a wire rack really makes a difference. Baking the chicken on a rack instead of directly on the pan keeps the heat circulating underneath so the bottoms stay crisp instead of steaming against the baking sheet. I think crispy bottoms are a very overlooked chicken tender issue.
• I season the chicken before it’s breaded, so the flavor is underneath the coating instead of only sitting on the outside. Between the paprika, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, and the cornflake coating, these taste much closer to diner-style chicken tenders instead of soft baked chicken trying to be crispy.
• And the honey mustard plays a big part. The cold creamy sauce against the hot crunchy coating is what makes these chicken tenders so good. The Dijon, honey, and little bit of acid cut through all the crunch and turn this into the kind of comfort food you keep eating straight off the pan while insisting you’re “just trying one.”

Ingredients

• Chicken tenders – The smaller size cooks quickly and stays juicy underneath the crunchy cornflake coating.
• Eggs – Help the flour and cornflakes stick tightly to the chicken instead of coming off halfway through baking.
• Milk – Loosens the eggs slightly so the coating sticks more evenly around the chicken.
• Paprika – Adds color and a subtle savory flavor to the coating without making the chicken spicy.
• Italian seasoning – Adds the familiar comfort-food flavor that makes homemade chicken tenders taste more complete.
• Kosher salt – Seasons the chicken underneath the coating so the flavor doesn’t stop at the crust.
• Black pepper – Keeps the coating from tasting dull beside the sweetness of the honey mustard.
• Garlic powder – The savory flavor most people expect from really good chicken tenders.
• Onion powder – Adds another layer of flavor that makes the coating taste fuller and more balanced.
• All-purpose flour – Gives the egg mixture something to grab onto so the cornflake coating sticks around the chicken.
• Cornflakes – The entire personality of the recipe. The crushed flakes create all those rough edges that stay crisp after baking.
• Cooking spray – Helps the coating brown evenly while keeping the cornflakes crunchy instead of dry.
• Fresh parsley – Adds a little fresh color over all the golden cornflake coating.
• Mayonnaise – Forms the creamy base of the honey mustard dipping sauce.
• Dijon mustard – Sharp enough to balance the sweetness of the honey and cut through all the richness.
• Honey – Softens the Dijon and gives the sauce that classic sweet-salty chicken tender flavor.
• White wine vinegar – Brightens the sauce so it doesn’t turn heavy beside the crispy coating.
• Paprika – Gives the honey mustard a little warmth.

How To Make Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (make the crunchy coating)
  Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and place a wire rack on top because crispy bottoms are important and we’re not steaming the underside of chicken tenders against a hot pan. Whisk together the eggs and milk in one bowl. In another bowl or zip-top bag, toss the chicken tenders with the paprika, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder until everything looks evenly coated. Place the flour into one shallow dish and the crushed cornflakes into another, leaving some larger jagged cornflake pieces because those are the golden shards that make these so good.
• Step Two (coat the chicken properly)
  Dip each chicken tender into the flour first, then into the egg mixture, and finally into the crushed cornflakes. Press the coating onto the chicken so the cornflakes fully stick instead of sliding off halfway through baking. Arrange the coated tenders on the wire rack with a little space between each one, then spray both sides lightly with cooking spray so the coating browns evenly and stays crisp all the way around.
• Step Three (bake until golden)
  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the coating looks golden and crunchy and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Larger chicken tenders may need a few extra minutes depending on their size. Sprinkle lightly with additional salt while they’re still hot because hot fried food absorbs salt differently and this is important information.
• Step Four (make the honey mustard)
  While the chicken bakes, whisk together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, honey, white wine vinegar, and paprika until smooth. Start with the smaller amount of Dijon and add more if you want the sauce a little more mustard-forward. Serve the chicken tenders hot with the cold honey mustard on the side and try not to take it personally if someone at your table still asks whether you bought dinosaur nuggets instead.

Recipe Tips

• Don’t crush the cornflakes too finely. You want a mix of smaller crumbs and larger cornflake pieces are what keep the coating crunchy instead of softening into breadcrumbs.
• Baking the chicken directly on a pan traps steam underneath and softens the bottoms while the tops get crispy. A wire rack keeps the heat moving all the way around the chicken so the coating stays crisp underneath.
• Pat the chicken dry before seasoning if it looks especially wet coming out of the package. Too much moisture underneath the coating can make the flour and cornflakes slide around instead of sticking.
• Press the cornflakes firmly onto the chicken instead of lightly tossing everything together and hoping it somehow works out. Good chicken tenders require slightly more commitment.
• Cooking spray helps the coating brown evenly. Dry cornflakes straight into the oven can end up pale and sad in spots without a little oil help.
• If the coating starts browning too quickly before the chicken finishes cooking, lower the oven temperature slightly for the last few minutes. Cornflakes brown faster than regular breadcrumbs because of the sugar already in the cereal.
• The honey mustard tastes best cold straight from the refrigerator with the hot crunchy chicken. That temperature contrast is part of what makes these so good.

Storage and Reheating

• These keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 days, although the coating is definitely crispiest fresh from the oven.
• For reheating, the oven, air fryer, or toaster oven works best because it brings the cornflake coating back to life instead of softening it like the microwave does. A few minutes at 375°F usually brings the coating back nicely.
• Store the honey mustard separately in the refrigerator and keep it cold until serving. The sauce thickens slightly as it chills and somehow tastes even better the next day.
• You can freeze the cooked chicken tenders too. Let them cool completely, freeze them in a single layer first, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. Reheat straight from frozen in the oven or air fryer until hot and crisp again.

FAQs

• Can I use chicken breasts instead of chicken tenders?
  Yes. Just slice the chicken breasts into strips roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Thicker pieces may need a few extra minutes in the oven.
• Can I air fry these instead?
  Definitely. Air fry at 400°F until golden and cooked through, usually around 10 to 12 minutes depending on size. Spray the coating lightly with cooking spray first so the cornflakes brown properly.
• Can I make these ahead of time?
  You can bread the chicken a few hours ahead and refrigerate it before baking, but they’re crispiest when baked fresh. The honey mustard can be made ahead and kept cold in the refrigerator.
• Can I use different cereal instead of cornflakes?
  You can, but cornflakes give the coating the rough crunchy texture that works especially well here. Other cereals soften and brown differently, so the texture won’t be quite the same.
• Why is my coating falling off?
  Usually the chicken skipped the flour step or the coating wasn’t pressed firmly enough onto the chicken before baking. The flour helps everything grip together instead of sliding apart in the oven.
• Can I fry these instead of baking them?
  Yes, but honestly the cornflake coating crisps up really well in the oven already, especially on the wire rack. Frying works too if you want an even thicker crunch.
• Why do my children still prefer dinosaur nuggets?
  This is a universal parenting experience with no known solution.

From My Kitchen Notes

A few observations from the trenches.

• Motherhood is mostly discovering your kids have completely different standards than you do.
• I really thought homemade chicken tenders were going to be loved more than dinosaur shapes. That was a humbling period of my life.
• There are few things more psychologically clarifying than spending an hour making homemade food only to watch a toddler lick ketchup off one corner and abandon the rest.
• Some children are born with adventurous palates. Others survive exclusively on beige food and certainty.
• People get attached to things long before they fully understand why.
• I used to think good parenting meant introducing my kids to interesting homemade meals. Then I had children.
• I think motherhood permanently changes your relationship with rejection because toddlers will reject things you made with genuine love while maintaining direct eye contact.
• Children have the confidence of tiny restaurant critics with no culinary education whatsoever.
• Every mom eventually reaches a point where she realizes dinner is less about nutrition and more about maintaining stability within the household.
• There’s always one frozen food your child becomes irrationally loyal to like it personally raised them.
• I used to judge parents buying dinosaur nuggets until I became exhausted enough to understand peacekeeping strategies.
• Certain loyalties form early and never really leave.
• The homemade honey mustard was where my kids decided I had gone too far.
• Sometimes love looks like homemade chicken tenders. Sometimes love looks like buying the dinosaur nuggets.
• Some cravings have very little to do with the actual thing itself.
• Sometimes the familiar thing wins even when the better version is sitting right in front of it.
• Some attachments survive purely because they arrived at the right time.
• Some preferences aren’t logical. They’re emotional fossils.

More Crispy Things Worth Eating Immediately

• Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders – crispy edges, melty centers.
• French Dip Sliders – buttery tops, roast beef.
• Crispy Rice Crab Rangoon Bites – crunchy rice and creamy filling.
• Fried Artichokes with Aioli – thick crust, creamy dip.
• Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites – chewy, buttery, salted.

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Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders

Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders baked with a thick crispy cornflake coating and homemade honey mustard dipping sauce. The jagged cornflake crust stays crisp and golden all around.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword baked chicken tenders, cornflake chicken tenders, cornflake crusted chicken tenders, crispy chicken tenders, homemade honey mustard

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6

Calories 375kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• baking sheet with rack Gives the chicken enough space to crisp instead of steaming.
• parchment paper For easy cleanup.
• mixing bowls For the egg wash and dipping sauce.
• whisk For the egg wash and honey mustard.
• measuring cups and spoons Keeps the seasoning balanced.
• Meat Thermometer confirms the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C).

Ingredients

Chicken Tenders:

• 2 large eggs
• ⅛ cup (30 ml) milk
• 1 tsp (2 g) paprika
• 1 tsp (1 g) Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp (5 g) kosher salt
• 1 tsp (2 g) finely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder
• 1 tsp (3 g) onion powder
• 1 lb (454 g) chicken tenders
• ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 cups cornflakes cereal crushed
• cooking spray
• 1 tbsp (4 g) chopped fresh parsley

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

• ¼ cup (56 g) mayonnaise
• ⅛ to ¼ cup (30 - 60 ml) Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup (85 g) honey
• ½ tsp (2 ml) white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• ⅛ tsp (0.25 g) paprika

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and place a wire rack on top. The wire rack helps the hot air circulate underneath the chicken so the cornflake coating stays crisp around the entire outside instead of softening against the pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk until fully combined.
  2 large eggs, ⅛ cup (30 ml) milk
• In another bowl or zip-top bag, combine the paprika, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Add the chicken tenders and toss until evenly coated in the seasoning mixture.
  1 tsp (2 g) paprika, 1 tsp (1 g) Italian seasoning, 1 tsp (5 g) kosher salt, 1 tsp (2 g) finely ground black pepper, 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder, 1 tsp (3 g) onion powder, 1 lb (454 g) chicken tenders
• Place the flour in a shallow dish. Add the crushed cornflakes to a separate shallow dish or baking pan. Leave some larger jagged cornflake pieces for extra crunch and texture across the coating.
  ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour, 3 cups cornflakes cereal
• Working one piece at a time, coat each chicken tender lightly in the flour, then dip into the egg mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. Press the chicken firmly into the crushed cornflakes so the crust fully covers the outside.
• Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared wire rack, leaving space between each piece. Spray both sides lightly with cooking spray to help the coating brown evenly in the oven.
  cooking spray
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the coating is golden and crisp and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Larger chicken tenders or chicken breast strips may need a few extra minutes.
• Sprinkle lightly with additional kosher salt immediately after baking, if desired.
• While the chicken bakes, prepare the honey mustard dipping sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, honey, white wine vinegar, and paprika until smooth. Start with 30 ml Dijon mustard and add more to taste depending on how sharp you like the sauce.
  ¼ cup (56 g) mayonnaise, ⅛ to ¼ cup (30 - 60 ml) Dijon mustard, ¼ cup (85 g) honey, ½ tsp (2 ml) white wine vinegar, ⅛ tsp (0.25 g) paprika
• Serve the Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders hot with the chilled honey mustard dipping sauce on the side. Sprinkle with parsley if you like.
  1 tbsp (4 g) chopped fresh parsley

Notes

• Do not crush the cornflakes too finely. Larger pieces create the rough, craggy texture that keeps the coating crisp.
• Spraying both sides with cooking spray helps the coating brown more evenly in the oven.
• Chicken breast cut into strips can be used instead of chicken tenders but may require additional cooking time.
• An air fryer can also be used. Cook at 400°F (200°C) until crisp and the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C).

 

 

If you’re making these Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card.

 

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 191g | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 791mg | Potassium: 365mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 292IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 6mg

Have you made these Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders? I’d love to hear how they turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

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The post Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders appeared first on Noble Pig.

This Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad Feels Very 1992

Sun-dried tomato chicken pasta salad usually goes one of two ways. Either it gets buried under a thick mayo dressing, or the sun-dried tomatoes feel tossed in at the last minute. I’ve always kept the dressing lighter and used the oil from the tomato jar itself along with Parmesan, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, basil, and rotisserie chicken so the sun-dried tomato flavor ends up throughout the whole salad instead of only in the tomatoes.

I’m sitting in my apartment, rocking back on two legs in a chair with a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and a fork, completely fangirling over the intense tomato flavor like I was experiencing some kind of taste revelation. The second these jars started showing up in grocery stores in the late 80s and early 90s, the entire country collectively fell in love with this tomato + oil + garlic combination in a sort of Italian-adjacent fantasy and instantly lost perspective. Including me.

And honestly, it made no sense.

It’s not like sun-dried tomatoes were some shocking new discovery to me. I’d already seen tomatoes drying outside in Southern Italy years before, laid out in the hot summer sun so people would have them all winter long. The giant gardens taking over backyards everywhere you looked with tomatoes completely running their lives. None of this should have felt groundbreaking to me and yet somehow, I jumped on the bandwagon and became fully unreasonable anyway.

I started putting them into eggs, pasta, salads, sandwiches, and probably a few things that really had no business involving tomatoes at all. I’m drizzling the oil onto toast, into dressings, over leftovers, anything nearby. I was acting like tomatoes had just been invented, along with everyone else. Honestly, the obsession eventually turned into things like my sun-dried tomato pesto pasta too.

And somewhere in the middle of my sun-dried tomato obsession, I started making a version of this pasta salad and bringing it to work for lunch. This became a thing because somebody kept stealing it out of the office refrigerator. Every time I brought it, gone. Then one morning I made the same pasta salad except I’d run out of sun-dried tomatoes, so I left them out. The container disappeared from the refrigerator like usual, except later that afternoon it mysteriously reappeared untouched, which still makes me laugh because apparently the office lunch thief also had standards. And even though I can’t prove it, I hink it’s because the sun-dried tomatoes were not there. I still think of this person as my first accidental recipe tester.

So, this pasta salad has technically been causing incidents since the early 90s.

Over the years, I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time correcting every annoying thing that usually ruins this category of food, because somewhere along the line this category of pasta salad started turning into these overloaded bowls with chewy tomatoes, thick dressing, and too many ingredients trying to get attention at the same time. I’ve made sure this one keeps the concentrated tomato flavor that made us all obsessed in the first place, while spreading it through the dressing using the oil from the jar so the salad tastes bright and fresh straight out of the fridge instead of like a dusty deli-counter regret from the 90s.

What Makes This Different

• Most sun-dried tomato pasta salads eventually fall into one of two categories: either they’re drowning in thick dressing and distractions, or they taste like somebody emptied an entire jar of tomatoes into cold pasta and hoped for the best. I have avoided both.
• The biggest difference is that the dressing uses some of the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar itself because that’s where most of the flavor is sitting anyway. A lot of recipes will stop at chopping up the tomatoes and tossing them in, but using the oil blends the concentrated tomato flavor through the entire salad instead of trapping it inside chewy tomato bites.
• I wanted the dressing lighter than a typical deli-counter pasta salad that can turn dense and dull the second it hits the refrigerator. The lemon juice and red wine vinegar keep everything lively while the Parmesan gives it enough richness. The whole thing is still thriving the next day instead of tasting like it gave up overnight under plastic wrap.
• There’s enough happening to make every bite interesting, but not so much that it turns into an antipasto salad. The rotisserie chicken, basil, roasted red peppers, red onion, and Parmesan all serve a purpose instead of competing with each other.

Ingredients

• Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes – You want the kind packed in oil, not the dry chewy ones in a bag. The oil becomes part of the dressing, which is a big part of why this pasta salad tastes the way it does.
• Rotini pasta – All those little spirals grab onto the dressing instead of letting it slide to the bottom of the bowl.
• Rotisserie chicken – This keeps it firmly in easy lunch territory without requiring you to roast chicken just to make pasta salad.
• Roasted red peppers – They soften the intensity of the sun-dried tomatoes so it doesn’t taste like somebody yelling “TUSCAN” directly into your face.
• Red onion – Thin slices only. Big chunks of raw onion in cold pasta salad take over and then that’s all anybody remembers.
• Fresh basil – This is what keeps it from tasting like it came from a refrigerated deli tub beside the macaroni salad.
• Mayonnaise – Enough to hold everything together without turning the dressing thick and gloppy.
• Parmesan cheese – Gives the dressing some depth and saltiness.
• Oil from the tomato jar – Don’t skip this part. It’s the moment. The tomatoes themselves are not doing it all.
• Lemon juice – Cold pasta needs acid or it starts tasting dull straight out of the refrigerator.
• Red wine vinegar – Balances the concentrated tomato flavor.
• Dijon mustard – Adds another layer of flavor.
• Garlic – One clove is enough.
• Italian seasoning – Adds background flavor without turning it into something that tastes like faux trattoria wallpaper.
• Black pepper – Adds some edge so it doesn’t head into creamy picnic salad territory.

How to Make Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (cook the pasta and let it cool)
  Boil the rotini in heavily salted water until just al dente. You still want a little bite left in the pasta because cold pasta firms up more once it goes into the refrigerator. Drain it, rinse under cold water, then let it hang out in the colander for a few minutes so the extra water drains off well because watery pasta will wreck your dressing later.
• Step Two (prep everything else)
  Chop the rotisserie chicken into bite-sized pieces, then chop the sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Slice the red onion thin and roughly chop the basil. I like keeping everything fairly even-sized so you get a little bit of everything in each scoop instead of one giant onion chunk taking over the whole scoop.
• Step Three (make the dressing)
  Whisk together the mayo, Parmesan, oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon, garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper until smooth. The oil from the tomato jar is doing a lot flavor-wise, so don’t skip it unless you enjoy a bland pasta salad.
• Step Four (mix it together)
  Add the cooled pasta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, red onion, and basil to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over everything and fold it together until evenly coated. You want the pasta to look dressed.
• Step Five (chill before serving)
  Cover the bowl and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cold pasta absorbs dressing as it sits, which is why pasta salad usually tastes better after some time in the refrigerator.
• Step Six (give it one last toss)
  Right before serving, stir it again. If the pasta absorbed too much dressing while chilling, add a squeeze of lemon juice or a small spoonful of sun-dried tomato oil to loosen everything back up. Cold pasta salads almost always need a little revival before they hit the table, and ignoring that is how you end up with dry pasta salad at a baby shower.

Recipe Tips

• Let the pasta drain longer than you think it needs to after rinsing. Water hiding inside the rotini will thin the dressing and end up tasting watery fast.
• Slice the red onion thin. Cold pasta salads give raw onion a lot of time to make a presence. Thick chunks get much stronger overnight.
• If you’re making this ahead, hold back a small spoonful of dressing until right before serving to freshen the texture before serving.
• Don’t overdo the sun-dried tomatoes just because you’re attached to them.
• The basil is more important than it seems. The fresh flavor is everything.
• Rotisserie chicken is what makes this easy and it’s already seasoned so it doesn’t disappear beside the concentrated tomato flavor.
• If the pasta salad tastes dull after chilling, it usually doesn’t need more salt. It needs acid. A squeeze of lemon will do it.
• Keep the dressing lighter than you think you should at first. Cold pasta thickens everything once refrigerated, and what looks slightly loose at room temperature usually thickens up once chilled.

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

• This pasta salad keeps well in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 days, although it’s at its best during the first couple of days while the basil still tastes fresh and the dressing still feels fresh on the pasta. After sitting overnight, the rotini absorbs some of the dressing, which is normal, so don’t be surprised when it looks different straight from the fridge.
• If you’re making this ahead for a party or cookout, you can also hold back a small amount of dressing and stir it in right before serving. That keeps the pasta salad from turning dry and refrigerator-weary by the time people get to it.
• We’re not freezing this. We’re not freezing mayonnaise, basil, and cold pasta and then acting like anybody involved is going to enjoy the outcome later. Some things in life are meant to be made fresh and eaten cold straight from the refrigerator.

FAQs

• Can I make sun-dried tomato chicken pasta salad ahead of time?
  Yes, and it’s better after it sits for a little while because the dressing has time to absorb into the pasta. If you’re making it a full day ahead, hold back a small spoonful of dressing to stir in before serving so the pasta salad doesn’t feel dry by serving time.
• Do I have to rinse the pasta?
  For hot pasta dishes, usually no. For cold pasta salad, yes. Rinsing stops the cooking so the pasta doesn’t turn soft later, and it cools everything down so the dressing stays balanced instead of sliding off the hot pasta.
• Can I use another pasta shape?
  Yes, but stick with shapes that grab onto dressing well. Rotini catches the dressing and tiny bits of tomato, Parmesan, and basil instead of letting everything slide around separately at the bottom of the bowl.
• Can I use grilled chicken instead of rotisserie chicken?
  Definitely. Rotisserie chicken just keeps the whole thing easy and gives you a little extra seasoning and richness without additional work. Grilled chicken works too if you already have some leftover, but make sure it’s seasoned properly.
• Can I make this without mayonnaise?
  You can, but it changes the pasta salad quite a bit. The mayo gives the dressing enough creaminess to carry the sun-dried tomato flavor without making it oily.
• Can I add more ingredients to this?
  You can, but this is one of those recipes where holding back helps. Too many add-ins and suddenly everything starts competing with each other. If I wanted to add anything it would be canned artichoke hearts that were packed in oil.

From My Kitchen Notes

Notes from somewhere between memory and dinner.

• There’s a point where obsession stops being about the ingredient itself and starts becoming about the version of yourself that existed while you were eating it.
• I think we all underestimate how much food becomes attached to entire periods of life without realizing it at the time. One bite and I’m suddenly back in an apartment with bad blinds, a secondhand chair, and three dollars worth of confidence.
• There’s something strangely intimate about eating the same thing over and over when nobody else is around to witness it.
• I don’t think the 90s were better. I think we were all less reachable.
• I feel like the foods we become irrationally attached to are usually the ones we ate while trying to build a life.
• Sun-dried tomatoes still taste like independence to me. Tiny apartment, with the city outside the window, while trying to become a person.
• There’s a point in adulthood where you think once your life finally comes together, you’ll stop eating things straight out of jars in your kitchen. That has not been my experience.
• Memory is interesting. It preserves emotional texture better than facts. I couldn’t tell you what chair I was sitting in, but I can still feel the oil on my fingers.
• I don’t think people miss old food trends as much as they miss who they were while those foods were happening.
• I wasn’t in my house elegantly sampling imported Mediterranean ingredients. I was sitting in my apartment spiraling over sun-dried tomatoes like the rest of America. It was a specific human obsession.
• I think a lot of adulthood is realizing nobody was ever coming to stop you from living however you wanted, including badly.
• Nineties sun-dried tomato obsession made us all feel like we had just got off a plane from Tuscany and that makes me laugh now.
• I used to think becoming an adult meant eventually feeling certain. Now I think it mostly means becoming familiar with uncertainty.
• The 90s weren’t perfect but there was less comparison, surveillance, optimization, constant exposure to other people’s success and awareness of what everyone else was doing every second. You could become obsessed with sun-dried tomatoes, decorate your apartment badly, date the wrong person, wander around bookstores, disappear for a weekend, have weird little phases. All existing inside your life instead of inside a giant public mirror.
• Now we are all constantly absorbing luxury lifestyles, beauty standards, success, productivity culture, relationship content, self-improvement language, wealth signaling, exotic travel, bodies, houses all day long. And it’s a lot. And we don’t know how to stop.
• In the 90s (70s and 80s too) we had more tolerance for boredom, uncertainty, gradualness and not knowing what was next. Now everything feels accelerated, measured, compared, monetized and visible in a way that makes everyone else’s life feel like it’s moving faster than yours. Even when that’s not true.
• Sometimes I think memory feels so emotionally alive to me because there used to be more psychological privacy. I don’t think people realize how much of their personality is accumulated atmosphere.
• Some people become part of your life the same way certain ingredients become part of a recipe. At some point you stop noticing when they got there because now the whole thing tastes wrong without them.
• Some things don’t disappear during silence. They steep.

More Pasta Salads, Less Potluck Panic

• Italian Pasta Salad – pesto, prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula.
• Antipasto Pasta Salad – deli board energy.
• Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad – creamy, cold, picnic-style.
• Caprese Pasta Salad – basil, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes.

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Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad

This Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad combines rotini, rotisserie chicken, basil, Parmesan, roasted red peppers, and red onion in a lighter pasta salad dressing with lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. It’s an easy make-ahead pasta salad for lunches, potlucks, cookouts, and warm-weather dinners.

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken pasta salad, cold chicken pasta salad, pasta salad with chicken, summer pasta salad, sun-dried tomato chicken pasta salad

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Chilling 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Calories 520kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• large pot For boiling the pasta.
• Colander Helps drain and cool the pasta completely.
• mixing bowls (large and medium). Tossing the pasta salas and whisking the dressing.
• Chef's knife For chopping the chicken and vegetables.
• whisk Helps fully combine the dressing ingredients.

Ingredients

Pasta Salad:

• 1 lb (454 g) rotini pasta
• 2 cups (280 g) chopped rotisserie chicken
• ½ cup (85 g) drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil ½
• ¼ cup (40 g) drained and chopped roasted red peppers
• ½ cup (80 g) thinly sliced red onion
• ½ cup (12 g) chopped fresh basil

Dressing:

• ¾ cup (168 g) mayonnaise
• ¼ cup (22 g) grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsps (45 ml / 40 g) oil from the sun-dried tomato jar
• 2 tbsps (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp (5 g) Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic grated
• ½ tsp (3 g) kosher salt
• 1 tsp (1 g) Italian seasoning
• ¼ tsp (0.5 g) finely ground black pepper

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the rotini and cook until just al dente according to the package directions. Drain well, then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and cool the pasta completely. Let the pasta sit in the colander for several minutes so excess water can drain off before mixing the salad. Excess moisture will thin the dressing.
  1 lb (454 g) rotini pasta
• While the pasta cools, chop the rotisserie chicken into bite-sized pieces. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers, thinly slice the red onion, and roughly chop the basil.
  2 cups (280 g) chopped rotisserie chicken, ½ cup (85 g) drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, ¼ cup (40 g) drained and chopped roasted red peppers, ½ cup (80 g) thinly sliced red onion, ½ cup (12 g) chopped fresh basil
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, grated Parmesan, oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, grated garlic, kosher salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper until smooth and fully combined. Using the oil from the jar gives the dressing a more concentrated tomato flavor throughout the salad instead of only in the tomato pieces themselves.
  ¾ cup (168 g) mayonnaise, ¼ cup (22 g) grated Parmesan cheese, 3 tbsps (45 ml / 40 g) oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, 2 tbsps (30 ml) fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar, 1 tsp (5 g) Dijon mustard, 1 clove garlic, ½ tsp (3 g) kosher salt, 1 tsp (1 g) Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp (0.5 g) finely ground black pepper
• Add the cooled pasta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, red onion, and basil to a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and fold everything together until the pasta is evenly coated and the ingredients are well distributed.
• Cover and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 30 minutes before serving. Chilling gives the pasta time to absorb some of the dressing and helps the flavors come together.
• Stir the pasta salad again before serving. If the pasta has absorbed too much dressing after chilling, add a small spoonful of water or a squeeze of lemon juice to loosen the texture and refresh the dressing.

Notes

• Drain the roasted red peppers very well before chopping so excess moisture does not water down the dressing.
• The oil from the sun-dried tomato jar adds more flavor than plain olive oil and ties the dressing to the rest of the salad.
• Rotisserie chicken keeps the recipe quick while adding savory flavor without extra cooking.
• Short pasta shapes with ridges like rotini, fusilli, or penne hold the dressing especially well.
• This pasta salad tastes best within the first 2 days while the basil and dressing are at their freshest.

 

 

If you’re making this Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card.

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 290g | Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 640mg | Potassium: 420mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 620IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 2mg

Have you made this Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad? I’d love to hear how it turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta Salad appeared first on Noble Pig.

Pineapple Chicken and Coconut Rice (Not Your Usual Fried Rice)

My pineapple chicken and coconut rice is a recipe I’ve been making forever. I start the rice with coconut milk instead of all water so the rice already has flavor before it ever goes into the skillet. Then I finish it with chicken, garlic, onion, and a sauce that isn’t just soy sauce. The pineapple goes in toward the end so it stays juicy, and tomatoes and cucumber get added right before I’m done so they don’t cook down and disappear. Yep. Tomatoes and cucumber.

Back in the 90s there was a really popular Food Network show, Door Knock Dinners with Gordon Elliott, where he would show up at someone’s house with a camera crew and a chef, usually someone you recognized, knock on the door, and say, “We’re cooking dinner, call your friends,” and then they would go through your fridge, freezer, and pantry and put together this elaborate meal from what seemed like scraps. If you didn’t watch it back then, it probably sounds like low stakes reality TV, but at the time it felt like it could really happen to you, which is why everyone was really into it, even though it was obviously staged. It made you feel like you had to keep your house perfectly clean in case Gordon came knocking. I promise, it was stressful.

We watched it enough times that we decided to do it ourselves, except we didn’t tell each other when.

There were four or five of us, and we all liked to cook, but none of us had normal schedules, so planning anything never worked. We stopped trying to plan it. You knew it was going to be at your house next, but you had no idea when it was going to happen. It could be weeks, it could be the next day, and you were not part of that decision. If it was your house, you opened the door and let it happen.

One person cooked, and that rotated. Everyone else set the table, handed things over, opened whatever was in the fridge, and stayed out of the way enough to let it continue. If it was your turn to cook, you were ready to figure it out.

I went straight to the kitchen and started looking through everything, fridge, freezer, pantry. I found rice, chicken, a lot of veggies, so stir-fry it was. And then I saw a full box of pineapples sitting on the floor, which was kind of random.

I asked, “Where did these come from,” and she said, “My parents sent them from Hawaii,” which couldn’t have been more perfect for pineapple-loving me.

So I said, “Okay, I’m using some of these.”

I cut them in half and started hollowing them out, not only using the pineapple in the stir-fry, but making the shells into bowls. It took longer than it should have. No one cared.

I got the rice going first with coconut milk. That’s always where I start with this. Then I moved on to the chicken with garlic and onion, and by that point everyone was starving because we had a really late start.

Right before I finished, I added the pineapple, and then I threw in tomatoes and cucumber because she had so many of them sitting there, and someone said, “Wait, what are you doing,” and I said, “I think it’s going to be good.” And it was.

I remember being there until around two in the morning, eating out of pineapple halves and not paying attention to the time.

I’ve changed this recipe a lot over the years, but the tomatoes and cucumber never left, because they add a fresh contrast once they’re in.

The way I make this pineapple chicken and coconut rice now feels closer to a full dish than a typical fried rice. I start with the coconut rice so the flavor is there before it goes into the pan, which changes how the sauce spreads through it later. The chicken goes in early so it picks up everything in the pan instead of hanging out until the end, the pineapple goes in toward the end so it stays juicy, and the tomatoes and cucumber go in right at the end so you still get something fresh in each bite.

This is the way I make it now.

What Makes This Different

• Most pineapple chicken and rice is combined at the end with plain rice, sauce, and pineapple, trying to make it feel like it’s cohesive. I wanted it to come together as one dish, not something you band-aid at the end. If you want something simpler, my chicken fried rice is more that style.
• The chicken goes in early and cooks with the onion and garlic instead of being added later. It cooks with everything in the pan and tastes like part of the dish.
• I wanted the sauce to taste like something other than just soy sauce. I added fish sauce and oyster sauce, so it’s more savory and not just soy-based. It’s closer to a Thai-style fried rice than a takeout version.
• Pineapple at the end so it keeps its texture instead of breaking down. Because it will! You still get pieces of it instead of it disappearing into the rice.
• And then there are the tomatoes and the cucumber. I’ve changed plenty about this recipe over the years, but those never left. They were a completely random add that night, but they have made the cut over the years. I put them in right at the end, just enough to take the edge off, and they stay fresh. I realize it sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it does, and I’m not taking it out. You can leave them out if you want. I don’t.
• This is cooked in one pan, but it’s not thrown together. Everything goes in when it should. Nothing’s lost.

Ingredients

• Jasmine rice – This is what I use here. It stays separate and doesn’t turn sticky once the sauce goes in.
• Coconut milk – I use this to cook the rice instead of all water so the rice already has flavor before it goes into the pan.
• Water – Enough to cook the rice along with the coconut milk.
• Chicken – Thighs or chicken breasts, cut small so it mixes into the rice instead of sitting in larger pieces.
• Soy sauce – Used in both the marinade and the sauce, but not the only thing used for flavor.
• Granulated sugar – A small amount to balance everything, especially once the pineapple goes in.
• Neutral oil – Use something simple so it doesn’t compete with everything else.
• Garlic – Goes in first so the oil picks it up right away.
• White onion – Cooks down with the garlic and starts the base. Yellow onion works too.
• Bell peppers – Any color. I like them for texture and sweetness.
• Eggs – Optional, but I usually add them.
• Pineapple – Fresh or canned both work. If you’re using the pineapple as a bowl, you’ll need fresh.
• Cherry tomatoes – Added at the end so they warm slightly but keep their shape.
• English cucumber – Same idea. Goes in at the end and stays crisp. Peel can stay on.
• Oyster sauce – Adds depth and helps the sauce coat everything.
• Fish sauce – This gives you a deeper savory flavor you don’t get from soy sauce alone.
• Curry powder – Enough to take it out of standard fried rice territory.
• Black pepper – A little in the background.
• Kosher salt – Taste first. You may not need much with everything else going on.
• Green onions – Added at the end for something fresh.
• Shredded coconut – Optional, if you want more coconut flavor.
• Cashews or peanuts – I like the crunch here, especially with the softer rice.

How to Cut a Pineapple Bowl

If you want to serve this in a pineapple bowl, here’s how I do it.

Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, leaving the stem attached so it stays intact. Use a knife to trace around the inside, leaving a border all the way around so the shell doesn’t fall apart. Make two cuts along the core and remove it, then slice the remaining fruit into chunks. Use a spoon to scoop everything out and clean up the edges so you’re left with a hollow shell you can fill.

How to Make Pineapple Chicken and Rice

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (marinate the chicken and get the rice going)
  Start with the chicken. Toss it with soy sauce, sugar, and water and let it sit while you get everything else ready. At the same time, get your rice going with coconut milk and water. Once it’s done, fluff it and set it aside so it’s ready when you need it.
• Step Two (prep everything before you touch the pan)
  Cut the onion, peppers, pineapple, tomatoes, and cucumber now. Do it all. Once the pan is hot, you’re not stopping to chop anything.
• Step Three (cook the vegetables and eggs)
  Heat most of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and give it a few seconds to cook, then the onion and let it soften. Add the bell peppers and cook them just until they’re tender. Push everything to the side, add the rest of the oil, and pour the eggs into the center. Let them cook, then mix everything together and move it out of the pan into a bowl.
• Step Four (cook the chicken)
  Add the chicken to the same pan. Spread it out in the pan and let it cook until it’s done and no longer pink.
• Step Five (bring it all together)
  Add the vegetables and eggs back in, then the coconut rice. Mix it together. Pour in the sauce and mix until everything is evenly coated. Let it sit for a minute so the rice heats through, then add the pineapple and mix it in.
• Step Six (finish it)
  Add the tomatoes and cucumber right at the end and stir just enough to take the chill off without turning them soft. Turn off the heat and top it with green onions, shredded coconut, and chopped nuts if you’re using them.

Recipe Tips

• When you cook the rice, use the coconut milk right from the beginning. That’s what sets the base before it goes into the pan.
• If you make the rice ahead, don’t chill it cold and forget about it. The coconut milk firms up in the fridge, so warm it slightly before using so it comes back to life and mixes in easily.
• Cut the chicken small so it mixes into the rice instead of sitting in chunks.
• When you’re cooking the vegetables, don’t take them too far. The onion should soften and the peppers should still have a little bite, or the whole pan ends up soft by the time you’re done.
• Keep the heat up, but don’t crowd the pan. If there’s too much in there, everything steams instead of cooking the way you want.
• Add the pineapple toward the end and leave it alone so it stays juicy and doesn’t break down into the rice.
• The tomatoes and cucumber go in last. They’re not meant to cook.
• Taste before adding salt. Between the fish sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauce, there’s already a lot there.
• If you want more coconut flavor, add the shredded coconut at the end instead of earlier.

Storage and Make-Ahead

• Let it cool slightly, then transfer it to a container and refrigerate. It keeps for 3 to 5 days. Reheat it in a skillet over medium heat with a small splash of water if it looks dry, and give it a few minutes to heat through. The microwave is fine, but the skillet gives you a better result.
• You can freeze it, just know what you’re getting. Pineapple releases water when it thaws, so the texture will change. If you’re planning to freeze it, leave out the tomatoes and cucumber or pick them out first, because they don’t hold up well at all. And don’t freeze the pineapple bowls if you used them. Those are a one-time thing.
• If you want to get ahead, cook the rice earlier in the day and leave it out until you’re ready to use it, or warm it slightly if it’s been in the fridge. You can also cut everything and have it ready so you’re not doing prep while the pan is going.
• Once it’s put together, it’s best the same day. The fresh pieces are part of it, and that doesn’t hold the same way later.

FAQs

• Can I use plain rice instead of coconut rice?
  You can. Just don’t use freshly cooked, steaming rice straight from the pot. Let it cool down or use rice from earlier so it’s not clumped together. It’ll still work, but it won’t have the same depth.
• Is it going to taste like coconut?
  No. It doesn’t come off sweet or tropical. It just gives the rice more flavor than plain rice. If you want that flavor to stand out more, that’s what the shredded coconut on top is for.
• Do I really need fish sauce?
  I would use it. It doesn’t make anything taste fishy, it fills in that savory part that soy sauce alone doesn’t cover. If you leave it out, it’s still fine, but don’t expect the same depth.
• Can I use tamari or coconut aminos?
  Yes, both work fine here.
• Why are there tomatoes and cucumber in this?
  Because I like them in it and I never took them out. They go in at the end and stay fresh, which breaks up everything else in the pan. It sounds questionable until you eat it.
• When do I add the pineapple?
  Toward the end. If it goes in too early, it cooks down.
• Can I use canned pineapple?
  Yes. Just drain it well and treat it the same way.
• Do I have to use eggs?
  No. I usually add them, but if you don’t want them, leave them out and move on.
• Can I use different vegetables?
  Use what you have. Just keep the timing the same so nothing turns soft.
• Do I have to serve it in a pineapple?
  No. That’s just for fun. The food doesn’t depend on it.
• How do I know when it’s done?
  When everything is heated through. The rice might pick up a little color in spots, which is fine, and the tomatoes and cucumber should still look like themselves.

From My Kitchen Notes

Musings from an observational mind. Not recipe tips.

• This is how we entertained ourselves in the 90s. We made things up and figured it out as we went, and I’m convinced it’s because we didn’t have phones or computers running our lives, so we were more creative in what we planned. It was better.
• That group of friends, we all worked in television at the time, hence the crazy hours. The dinner show felt real, even to us, even though it was obviously staged. They knew he was coming. Everyone knew. We were still motivated to follow the plot and make it our own.
• Some nights don’t start with a plan. Sometimes they begin with someone already in your kitchen asking where you keep the rice.
• Timing is the only thing you can’t fake in a pan. Everything else you can adjust on the fly.
• The reason I make and show this in a skillet, not a wok is because I already know it works in a wok, but most of you are going to use a skillet, so I make sure it works there.
• Sweet at the end changes what people remember about the beginning.
• There’s a point where you either keep going or you stop and explain yourself. I don’t do both.
• Some things only make sense once you stop trying to figure them out. Who cares if no one else understands it.
• Not everything needs to be cooked through. If you add it at the end, it still counts.
• There’s a difference between being invited and showing up anyway.
• You can feel when something is about to come together, and that’s usually when someone tries to interfere.
• People think they want simple until they’re given it.
• There’s a difference between being ready and being willing.
• There’s always a moment where you decide whether to follow through or let it sit there unfinished.
• No one ever volunteers to cook, but everyone has opinions once you start.
• If it feels like a bad idea early on, it usually turns into a better story later.
• You can tell who trusts you by who stops asking questions.
• Fresh things at the end fix more than they should.
• There’s a difference between being careful and being late.
• People think they want control until they’re handed a knife and told to start.

More Rice Bowls and Skillet Meals

• Street Corn Chicken and Rice Bowls – elote-style, creamy, charred corn
• Greek Salmon Rice Bowls – warm rice, crisp vegetables, lemony yogurt
• Spicy Salmon Sushi Bowls – crispy rice, fresh vegetables, creamy heat
• Stovetop Chicken and Rice – one pan, bold flavor, no extra steps

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Print

Pineapple Chicken and Coconut Rice

Pineapple chicken and rice made with coconut rice instead of plain, then finished in the pan with chicken, pineapple, and a savory curry-forward sauce.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Asian-inspired

Keyword coconut rice fried rice, pineapple chicken and rice, pineapple fried rice, Thai pineapple fried rice

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6 to 8

Calories 520kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• Saucepan (medium) For cooking the coconut rice.
• large skillet or wok. For stir-frying.

Ingredients

Coconut Rice:

• 1½ cups (285 g) dry jasmine rice
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• ¾ cup (180 ml) full-fat coconut milk

Chicken and Rice:

• 1-1½ lbs (454-680 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• 4 tsps (20 ml) low sodium soy sauce
• ½ tsp (2 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tbsps (30 ml) water
• 3 tbsps (45 ml) neutral oil divided
• 3 tsps (9 g) minced garlic
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 2 large bell peppers (red, orange or yellow) diced
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 3 cups (~ 600 g) cooked coconut rice
• 1½ to 2 cups (250-330 g) pineapple cut into bite-sized pieces (If you want the pineapple use a fresh pineapple, but canned works too.
• 12-15 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 English cucumber thinly sliced

Sauce:

• 2 tbsps (30 ml) oyster sauce
• 4 tbsps (60 ml) fish sauce
• 4 tsps (20 ml) low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsps (25 g) granulated sugar
• 1½ tsps (3 g) curry powder
• ½ tsp (1 g) black pepper
• ¼ tsp (1 g) kosher salt optional

Garnish: (optional)

• 1 bunch green onions thinly sliced
• ¼ cup (20 g) shredded coconut (you can decide if want sweetened or unsweetened)
• ⅓ cup (40 g) roasted salted cashews or peanuts, chopped

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with soy sauce, sugar, and water. Toss to coat and let it sit for at least 15 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
  1-1½ lbs (454-680 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, 4 tsps (20 ml) low sodium soy sauce, ½ tsp (2 g) granulated sugar, 2 tbsps (30 ml) water
• Cook the jasmine rice with water and coconut milk according to package directions, replacing part of the water with coconut milk. Fluff the rice and set aside. You will need 3 cups (about 600 g) for this recipe.
  1½ cups (285 g) dry jasmine rice, 1 cup (240 ml) water, ¾ cup (180 ml) full-fat coconut milk
• Prepare all vegetables and pineapple (if you're making a pineapple bowl) before starting the stir-fry so everything is ready to go.
• Heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 15 to 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the diced onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add the bell peppers and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until just tender.
  3 tbsps (45 ml) neutral oil, 1 medium white onion, 3 tsps (9 g) minced garlic, 2 large bell peppers (red, orange or yellow)
• Push the vegetables to the edges of the pan. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of oil to the center, then pour in the beaten eggs. Cook, stirring, until fully set, then mix the eggs into the vegetables. Transfer everything to a bowl and set aside.
  2 large eggs
• Add the marinated chicken to the same pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink.
• Return the vegetable and egg mixture to the pan along with the cooked coconut rice. Stir to combine.
  3 cups (~ 600 g) cooked coconut rice
• In a small bowl, whisk together the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, curry powder, black pepper, and salt if using. Pour the sauce over the rice mixture and stir until evenly coated.
  2 tbsps (30 ml) oyster sauce, 4 tbsps (60 ml) fish sauce, 4 tsps (20 ml) low sodium soy sauce, 2 tbsps (25 g) granulated sugar, 1½ tsps (3 g) curry powder, ½ tsp (1 g) black pepper, ¼ tsp (1 g) kosher salt
• Add the pineapple and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is heated through and lightly caramelized in spots.
  1½ to 2 cups (250-330 g) pineapple
• Add the cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumber. Stir gently and cook just until they are slightly warmed but still fresh.
  12-15 cherry tomatoes, 1 English cucumber
• Remove from heat and garnish with green onions, shredded coconut, and chopped nuts if desired. Serve warm.
  1 bunch green onions, ¼ cup (20 g) shredded coconut, ⅓ cup (40 g) roasted salted cashews

Notes

• Day-old rice can be used, but coconut rice gives a different result and is recommended for this recipe.
• Add pineapple toward the end to keep it from breaking down.
• Taste before adding extra salt, as the sauces already contain sodium.
• This dish is best served warm and fresh from the pan.

If you’re making this Pineapple Chicken and Coconut Rice, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card.

 

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

 

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 350g | Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 980mg | Potassium: 620mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 2200IU | Vitamin C: 75mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 3mg

Have you made this Pineapple Chicken and Coconut Rice? I’d love to hear how it turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Pineapple Chicken and Coconut Rice appeared first on Noble Pig.

Fully Breaded, Extra Crispy Artichokes (Not a Light Fry)

I wanted fully breaded fried artichoke hearts, not a lighter fry, and I’m using canned artichoke hearts on purpose because they’re already tender, which means I could focus on getting the outside right without worrying about anything else. I dredge them in flour with a little cornstarch, then into eggs with Parmesan mixed in, then breadcrumbs, so they come out with a thick, crisp crust instead of something thin that falls apart the second it hits the oil.

When I first started in the wine business, I didn’t have a distributor, so everything went through me. I was selling out of the tasting room, loading up my car, and driving cases out to restaurants, wine shops, grocery stores, everywhere I had placements. The coast was always a full day, and I didn’t mind it because that’s where a lot of my accounts were, and honestly, I liked being in it this way.

I would go in, open bottles, and do full-scale server education presentations, have them taste everything, talk through the wines, point out what was unique, what they liked, what they didn’t, and what it paired with on their menu. I’d work with the chef, look at the dishes, and we’d try it with this, try it with that, we’d go back and forth until something clicked. That’s how you have to sell wine. If the servers know what to do with it, it gets ordered. If they don’t, it just sits there. So, I kept going back, hustling, same places, same conversations, over and over, especially as the menus changed with the seasons. There were always new dishes, new pairings, and the same process repeated.

It was the same thing at grocery stores, the nicer ones that had someone running the wine section. I’d go in, pour for them, talk through the wines, do tastings so when customers came in and asked what to buy, they had something to say besides reading the label. But the label did pretty well on its own.

Somewhere along those drives, there was this place I kept passing, a little shack that didn’t look like much, and the smell of the fry oil mixed with the ocean air hit you immediately as you got out of the car. The place looked like it should’ve been knocked down years ago, but it was always packed, and not with tourists. It was the same group of guys every time, locals, fishermen mostly, sitting there like this was the place to eat. So, eventually I stopped to try it.

I went in fully expecting to order fish and chips, and I did. But while sitting there, I kept watching what everyone was getting instead, and it wasn’t fish. It looked like baskets of fried oysters, and I finally said to one of them, “You all really like oysters this much?” “Yeah, no. We come for the fried artichoke hearts.” Oh, okay, interesting.

I found it kind of funny that all these craggy-looking fishermen were here for that. I was a little surprised, but ended up ordering my own basket.

After that, it turned into a habit. I’d finish my last stop, get back in the car, and think, alright, I’m stopping. I’d order the same thing every time, a basket of fried artichokes and whatever their mayo-based sauce was that nobody could really explain and nobody really wanted to know. It was just there, and it was good.

Eventually I stopped making those drives once I got a distributor, and that place kind of disappeared from my routine, so I had to start making my own fried artichoke hearts at home, the way I remembered them, but a little more dialed in, with a lemon garlic aioli-style sauce that has that same creamy, tangy taste.

So this is what I ended up with. I’m not trying to recreate that place, because I don’t even know what they were doing back there, but I do know I liked it. It wasn’t a lightly fried or delicate dish at all. Those artichoke hearts had a full coating that stayed on, and a real crunch on the outside, with a soft center that artichokes already have if you don’t mess with them.

I use canned artichoke hearts here because they’re consistent, already tender, and they stay together when you bread and fry them. I give them a full coating, not just a quick dredge, so you get something that’s substantial. I add the Parmesan into the egg layer so it melts into the coating instead of sitting on top, and keep the oil hot enough that the outside sets before anything has a chance to be overdone.

And then there’s the sauce. I’m not doing a classic aioli, I wanted something creamy with enough lemon and garlic to cut through everything, and pull each piece through without much thought.

My whole setup is the same idea as that greasy fish-fry stop on the coast. The only thing you’re going to wonder about is why you didn’t make more.

What Makes These Different

• These are not the kind of fried artichoke hearts you dust in flour and call done. I wanted a full coating, the kind you hear when you bite into it.
• I use canned artichoke hearts on purpose. They’re consistent and already tender. You’re not trying to cook them through. You focus on what happens on the outside, so everything stays even from batch to batch instead of guessing where you’re at.
• I layered the coating for a reason. Flour with a little cornstarch first so it fries up light instead of dense. Then eggs with Parmesan mixed in, not sprinkled after. That part is more critical than it sounds. It melts into the coating and seasons everything all the way through.
• Breadcrumbs finish it and are pressed in so they stick and don’t come off in the oil. The goal is coverage, not bare spots or thin patches.
• This is not a tempura-like batter, a Roman-style dish, or a lightly fried version. I wanted a thick crust that stays crisp, even when it sits for a minute.
• If the oil is right, they come out golden, with the contrast you want, crisp outside, soft center, there’s nothing heavy about it, but enough to make you go back for the next one before you’ve finished the first.

Ingredients

• Canned artichoke hearts – Drained and dried well. These are already tender, so the focus stays on the coating, not trying to cook them through.
• All-purpose flour + cornstarch – This is your first layer in the coating. Flour gives it shape, cornstarch keeps it from turning heavy so the crust stays crisp instead of dense.
• Garlic powder + onion powder – Mixed into the flour so the flavor starts early, not just at the end.
• Sea salt + black pepper – Seasoning in the base layer so every bite has it, not just the finish.
• Eggs – This is what everything sticks to. Without it, the coating slides off the second it goes into the oil.
• Parmesan cheese – Mixed into the eggs, not added later. It melts into the coating and adds salt and depth all the way through.
• Fresh parsley – A little color and freshness in the middle of all the fried, not a garnish afterthought.
• Breadcrumbs – Final layer that gives you that full crunch. This is what makes it a real fried appetizer instead of something light.
• Vegetable oil – Neutral and stable for frying. Keep it at 350°F so the coating crisps instead of soaking.
• Mayonnaise + sour cream – This isn’t traditional aioli, and that’s intentional on my part. It’s thicker, a little tangy, and works better with fried food.
• Fresh lemon zest + lemon juice – Zest brings the aroma, juice brings the acid. You need both.
• Garlic – Grated into a paste so it blends in, not little chunks hitting all at once.
• Olive oil – Smooths everything out.
• Dry mustard – This does more than you think.
• Sea salt + white pepper – Seasoning without dark specks in the sauce. And white pepper is worth seeking out if you don’t have it in the pantry. It’s a whole different flavor profile.
• Lemon wedges – For squeezing over the top right before eating.

How to Make Fried Artichoke Hearts with Lemon Garlic Aioli

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (make the lemon garlic aioli)
  Stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dry mustard, salt, and white pepper until smooth. This isn’t a traditional aioli. It’s thicker, tangy, and made for dipping. Cover it and put it in the fridge so it can meld and the garlic calms down.
• Step Two (prep and dry the artichokes)
  Drain the artichoke hearts, cut them in half lengthwise, and dry them really well with paper towels. If they’re damp, the coating won’t stick and the oil will let you know right away.
• Step Three (set up the breading)
  In one bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. In another bowl, mix the eggs with the Parmesan and parsley. Breadcrumbs go in a third bowl. This is how you get to a full coating instead of something thin.
• Step Four (bread the artichokes)
  Coat each piece in the flour, shake off the extra, dip it in the egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Press it in a little so it sticks, then set it on a baking sheet while you finish the rest. Take your time doing this properly.
• Step Five (heat the oil)
  Heat the oil to 350°F in a Dutch oven or heavy pot with about 2 inches of oil. Let it come all the way up to temperature before you start frying.
• Step Six (fry in batches)
  Fry the artichokes in batches for 2 to 4 minutes, until golden and crisp. Don’t crowd the pot or the temperature drops and the coating softens.
• Step Seven (drain and serve)
  Move them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Serve them warm with the lemon garlic aioli and lemon wedges. Crisp outsides with soft centers.

Recipe Tips

• Take the time to dry the artichokes really well before you start, because even a little moisture will keep the coating from sticking.
• When you get to the breadcrumb step, press them in instead of just tossing them, because that’s what keeps the coating in place and gives you that full crust instead of pieces breaking off.
• After everything is breaded, let the artichokes sit on the tray for a few minutes before frying so the coating sets and stays where you put it.
• Keep the oil right around 350°F and give it a minute to come back up between batches. If it drops too low, the coating soaks instead of crisping, and if it’s too hot, the outside gets dark too fast.
• Fry in smaller batches even if you’re tempted not to, since adding too many at once drops the temperature and affects the texture.
• Pull one from the first batch and taste it before you keep going so you can adjust the salt while you still have time.
• Plan on serving these while they’re still hot, because that’s when the outside stays crisp and the inside is at its best.

Storage and Make-Ahead

• If you end up with leftovers, let them cool completely and then store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll keep for a couple of days, but they lose that fresh-out-of-the-oil texture, so don’t expect that first-bite crunch.
• To reheat, use the oven or an air fryer at around 375°F until they’re hot and the coating crisps back up. Skip the microwave unless you’re fine with them going soft.
• If you want to get ahead, you can bread the artichokes and keep them on a tray in the fridge for a few hours before frying. Just don’t stack them, and don’t leave them overnight, or the coating starts to get soggy.
• The lemon garlic aioli can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for a day or two. It’s better after it sits a bit, since the garlic softens and everything comes together.
• You can also mix the dry coating and egg mixture earlier in the day, then set up your dredging station when you’re ready to fry so you’re not doing everything at once.
• As far as freezing, I wouldn’t.

FAQs

• Can I use fresh artichokes instead of canned?
  You can, but it’s a completely different process. Fresh artichokes need to be trimmed, cleaned, and cooked until tender before you get to the frying part, and the size and texture won’t be as consistent. Canned artichoke hearts are already tender, which means you can focus on the coating.
• Why isn’t my coating sticking?
  Most of the time it comes down to moisture. If the artichokes aren’t dry enough, the flour won’t grab, and everything slips off once it hits the oil. It can also happen if you hurry through the steps or skip pressing the breadcrumbs.
• Can I air fry these instead of deep frying?
  You can, but the texture won’t be the same. You’ll get some crisping, but not that full, even crust you get from frying. If you go that route, spray them lightly with oil and cook in a single layer so they have room to crisp.
• What oil is best for frying artichokes?
  Use a neutral oil that can handle higher heat, like vegetable oil. You want something that won’t compete with the flavor and can stay steady around 350°F. Peanut oil also works.
• Why did my artichokes turn out greasy?
  That usually means the oil temperature was too low. When the oil isn’t hot enough, the coating absorbs it instead of setting right away. Keeping the temperature even and frying in batches helps avoid that.
• Can I make these ahead of time?
  They’re best fresh, but you can bread them a few hours ahead and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to fry. You can also make the dipping sauce ahead, which gives it time to come together.

From My Kitchen Notes

Just a few observations.

• Fried food changes the atmosphere. People stop acting like they’re not hungry.
• We don’t go to the beach in Oregon. We go to the coast.
• There’s always someone who says they’ll just try one. That person is never telling the truth.
• Hot oil rewards timing, not hesitation.
• Some things only work if you stop overthinking them. If you have to ask whether it’s too much, it isn’t.
• Everyone at that fish shack never asked what was in the sauce. No one wanted to know. There’s a point where you stop needing an explanation and decide you’re in.
• Wine sells faster when someone knows what to say about it. Same goes for everything else.
• I used to stand in restaurant kitchens with a bottle open and watch how quickly someone decided whether they trusted me.
• If you stand behind something long enough and let people taste it, they stop questioning it and start repeating it back.
• There’s a time when everyone says they’re there for one thing. They’re not.
• The first bite tells you what kind of night it’s going to be. After that, you’re just following it.
• Some things don’t need a plan, but they do need someone who knows when to step in and when to leave it alone.
• Heat exposes everything. Too soon, it falls apart. Too late, it’s already gone.
• You can feel when something is about to change. That’s when most people either hurry it or walk away.
• There’s a difference between watching something happen and deciding to be part of it.
• The best tables are never the loudest ones. They’re the ones where nobody’s checking the time.
• You don’t need a full plate to know if something’s good. One bite is enough.
• Familiarity is a strange thing. It can feel like safety, or it can feel like something you recognize too late.

More Crispy, Dippable Appetizers

• Crisp Fried Crab Rangoon – crispy shells, dipping sauce.
• Air Fryer Pork Belly Bites – crispy, rich, sweet chili dip.
• Easy Fried Tortilla Chips – crisp, golden, made from scratch.
• Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites – chewy, buttery, salted.
• Oven Fried Dill Pickle Chips – crisp coating, bold dill flavor.

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Crispy Fried Artichoke Hearts with Lemon Garlic Aioli

Crispy fried artichoke hearts with a full breaded crust and a soft center, served with a creamy lemon garlic aioli dipping sauce. Made with canned artichoke hearts for consistent texture and an easy, restaurant-style appetizer at home.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American, Italian-Inspired

Keyword appetizer, artichokes with aioli, breaded artichokes, canned artichoke hearts recipe, crispy fried artichokes, fried artichoke hearts, fried artichokes, lemon garlic aioli sauce, party appetizers

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6

Calories 520kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• Dutch Oven or heavy pot. Holds the heat for frying.
• thermometer for frying Helps maintain oil at 350°F (175°C).
• 3 mixing bowls For dredging and breading.
• slotted spoon or spider. Lifts artichokes safely from oil.
• baking sheet lined with paper towels. Drains excess oil.

Ingredients

Lemon Garlic Aioli Dipping Sauce:

• ½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream
• ½ cup (120 g) full-fat mayonnaise
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsps (30 ml) lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic grated into a paste
• ¼ tsp (1 g) dry mustard
• ¼ tsp (1.5 g) sea salt plus more to taste
• ¼ tsp (0.5 g) white pepper

Fried Artichokes:

• 2 can (14 oz / 396 g each) whole artichoke hearts drained
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
• 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder
• 1 tsp (3 g) onion powder
• 1 tsp (6 g) sea salt
• 1 tsp (2 g) ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs beaten
• ⅓ cup (35 g) Parmesan cheese freshly grated
• 2 tbsps (8 g) fresh parsley finely chopped
• 1 cup (100 g) plain breadcrumbs
• 3 cups (720 ml) vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dry mustard, salt, and white pepper until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  ½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream, ½ cup (120 g) full-fat mayonnaise, zest of 1 lemon, 2 tbsps (30 ml) lemon juice, 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ tsp (1 g) dry mustard, ¼ tsp (1.5 g) sea salt, ¼ tsp (0.5 g) white pepper
• Drain the artichoke hearts, cut them in half lengthwise, and pat them very dry with paper towels so the coating adheres properly and the oil does not splatter.
  2 can (14 oz / 396 g each) whole artichoke hearts
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
  1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch, 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder, 1 tsp (3 g) onion powder, 1 tsp (6 g) sea salt, 1 tsp (2 g) ground black pepper
• In a separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, Parmesan cheese, and chopped parsley.
  4 large eggs, ⅓ cup (35 g) Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsps (8 g) fresh parsley
• Place the breadcrumbs in a third bowl.
  1 cup (100 g) plain breadcrumbs
• Dredge each artichoke piece in the flour mixture, coating evenly and shaking off any excess. Dip into the egg mixture, then coat thoroughly in the breadcrumbs. Arrange the breaded artichokes on a baking sheet while finishing the remaining pieces.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot to 350°F (175°C), with the oil about 2 inches (5 cm) deep.
  3 cups (720 ml) vegetable oil
• Fry the artichokes in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pot. Cook for 2–4 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
• Transfer the fried artichokes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Serve warm with the lemon garlic aioli dipping sauce and lemon wedges, if desired.

Notes

• Use freshly grated Parmesan for the best melting and coating texture.
• Keep the oil temperature even at 350°F (175°C) to avoid greasy or uneven results.
• Fry in small batches to maintain crisp texture and even cooking.
• The aioli can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
• Reheat leftovers in a 375°F (190°C) oven or air fryer until crisp again.
• Nutrition is estimated and assumes approximately 10–15% of the frying oil is absorbed during cooking; actual amounts will vary.

 

If you’re making these Fried Artichoke Hearts, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card.

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 170g | Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 620mg | Potassium: 310mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 2mg

Have you made these Fried Artichoke Hearts? I’d love to hear how they turned out – leave a comment below and let me know.

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The post Crispy Fried Artichoke Hearts with Lemon Garlic Aioli Dipping Sauce appeared first on Noble Pig.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders, and the End of the Runway

Chicken cordon bleu wasn’t something we made at home. It came wrapped in paper from a small café my dad liked. They came as sandwiches, still warm, and we drove out to the end of the runway at the small regional airport near our house. It wasn’t close or convenient to get there. It was something we went out of our way to do. Often. Just me and him.

We’d park right at the end of it, with only a chain link fence separating us from the runway’s end. Windows all the way down, eating while planes took off and landed right above us. You could feel them before you heard them, the change in air right before they passed over.

He never just sat there.

“Start with the wings.”

He’d already be looking at a plane lining up before I even noticed it.

“That’s what carries everything. If that’s off, nothing else works.”

Then he’d glance at what I was holding.

“Same thing. What’s doing the work?”

I’d say something wrong just to have an answer.

“No. The chicken. That’s the whole thing. If that falls apart, you don’t have anything left.”

Another plane would come in. This one louder. Closer even.

“Engines.”

He’d say it like he was still inside it.

“That’s your ham and Swiss, where the flavor is. But you can’t let it be the whole thing. Too much of it and it throws everything off.”

He did this over and over. Weekly. For years. With the same sandwich. Every plane was a new explanation. All the same idea, but slightly different. Sometimes he’d quiz me like I was supposed to be keeping up, and sometimes he’d just keep talking.

I thought he was teaching me something. I didn’t know what or why I needed it.

Now I know it wasn’t really for me.

He had been a radio airman in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was stationed in the South Pacific, and he knew everything about planes. Not in a casual way you forget. It was part of him.

Sometimes, while we were sitting there, he’d switch from talking about what we could see to what we couldn’t.

“Listen.” He’d tap the dashboard lightly.

“That’s Morse code. Do you hear that? Short, long. That’s how we talked when we couldn’t.”

Of course I was fascinated, but I couldn’t hear anything. Not really.

That’s okay. You will. He’d say it like it was just a matter of time.

Other times he’d tell me about the beaches where he had been, the coral, the shells. The giant spiral ones with perfect points and swirls. Things I couldn’t even picture then but somehow still understood because I already loved looking for them.

I’ve spent years on the Oregon coast doing the same thing. Bending down, picking through sand and rocks, looking for something that feels like it shouldn’t be there.

I didn’t connect those things until it was obvious.

One time I pulled the sandwich apart, trying to see what he meant. If I could look at each part separately, maybe I’d understand it better.

He would tell me not to do that. That it’s supposed to work together. That’s the part I remember.

My version of chicken cordon bleu isn’t what we used to eat. Those were full sandwiches, more traditional, closer to what chicken cordon bleu is supposed to be. This is what I make now when I want those same flavors without all of that. It’s simpler this way.

Chicken, ham, and Swiss get layered into soft Hawaiian rolls instead of rolled and breaded. Baked all at once so it cuts neatly.

The top is what changes everything. It bakes into a crisp layer instead of staying soft, which is what most sliders never get right.

I made the top different to give that classic breaded chicken feel. The garlic butter and panko turn crisp in the oven.

All the classic chicken cordon bleu parts are still here. But I made them in a way that makes more sense now.

What Makes These Cordon Bleu Sliders Different

• I’ve skipped the usual rolling and breading (you’re welcome) and gone straight to what matters. You still get the classic chicken cordon bleu combination of ham, Swiss, and chicken, but now it’s layered and baked instead of wrapped.
• Everything ends up where it should. You’re not cutting into one piece and hoping it stays together. Each slider has all the ingredients every time.
• The chicken matters here, not just for convenience. I’ve found rotisserie chicken keeps it from drying out in the oven, and it’s already seasoned enough so there’s no need to fix it later.
• The ham and Swiss are here for flavor, but they don’t take over. This is what makes it taste like cordon bleu instead of another baked sandwich.
• The top is what changes everything. Most sliders stay soft all the way through, but I wanted the crunch of cordon bleu chicken so I took garlic butter and panko and baked it into a crisp layer that sits on top of the rolls instead of on the chicken. You get soft rolls underneath, the melt from the cheese, and that contrast on top.

Ingredients

• Hawaiian sweet rolls – Soft, slightly sweet and the reason this works as sliders.
• Dijon mustard – Part of the classic chicken cordon bleu flavor.
• Mayonnaise – Smooths out the mustard so it spreads evenly and adds body.
• Salt and black pepper – Simple, but necessary.
• Rotisserie chicken – The shortcut that makes the recipe make sense. It’s already cooked and seasoned.
• Sliced deli ham – Thin layers and one of the core cordon bleu components.
• Swiss cheese – The classic choice and great for melting.
• Unsalted butter – Melted and spread over the top so it soaks in and helps everything turn golden.
• Garlic – Mixed into the butter so it runs across the entire top.
• Panko breadcrumbs – This is what makes it different. Instead of a soft finish, you get a crisp layer that adds texture on top.
• Dried parsley – Mostly for contrast.

How to Make Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (set it up)
  Heat the oven to 350°F. Take the full sheet of Hawaiian rolls and slice them in half horizontally, keeping them connected. Set the tops aside and place the bottom half into your baking dish. Leaving them connected is the whole idea. It makes this fast and keeps everything lined up when you cut later.
• Step Two (the base layer)
  Stir together the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper until smooth. Spread it across the cut side of the rolls. This isn’t just a spread. It’s what pulls the ham and Swiss into that classic chicken cordon bleu flavor right from the start.
• Step Three (ham and Swiss)
  Layer the ham so it covers everything, then lay the Swiss right over it. This is what makes it cordon bleu. Don’t leave gaps. Keep it even so every slider is the same.
• Step Four (chicken and close)
  Scatter the shredded rotisserie chicken over the cheese, making sure it’s distributed all the way across. Put the tops back on. This is where layering beats rolling. You get the same combination without the effort.
• Step Five (the topping)
  Mix the melted butter, garlic, panko, and parsley. Spoon it over the tops and spread it out so it covers the rolls. Press it down lightly so it sticks. This is what gives you that crisp top instead of the usual soft finish.
• Step Six (bake, then finish)
  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. That gets everything hot and melted without taking the top too far. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes, until the tops turn lightly golden and the panko is set.
• Step Seven (cut and serve)
  Let it sit for a few minutes, then slice along the roll lines. Serve warm, when the cheese is still melted and the top has some crunch.

Recipe Tips

• You don’t want to soak the rolls with the spread. You’re looking for coverage, not saturation. Too much and the bottoms go soft before anything else sets.
• Keep the layers even. If one section gets overloaded, it throws everything off when you cut. This only works if every piece is the same.
• Use rotisserie chicken as-is. Don’t try to fix it. It already has what it needs and is better than anything you’d cook from scratch for this. I know, I’ve tried.
• Thinly sliced ham is key. Thick slices take over too quickly and you lose the balance that makes this feel like cordon bleu. Be the person at the deli counter who asks for it to be sliced just a little thinner than the sample they give you.
• Don’t skip the Swiss or swap it for a heavier cheese. This is one of the few times the classic choice does the job better.
• Press the topping down. Not hard, but enough so it sticks. If it’s loose, it falls off when you cut and you lose the contrast.
• Cover the pan in the beginning. This part isn’t optional. It keeps everything from drying out before the inside is ready.
• Finish it uncovered, but don’t walk away. The difference between golden and overdone happens fast.
• Let it sit before cutting. If you go in too early, everything moves and you lose what you built.
• Cut along the roll lines. They’re already portioned for you.

Storage

• Keep the sliders covered in the fridge. They last a couple of days without much change.
• If you make them ahead, leave the topping off until you’re ready to bake. It keeps the texture where it should be instead of softening before it gets to the oven.
• Reheat in the oven, not the microwave. The microwave will warm them, but you’ll lose the top. The oven brings it back.
• If they’ve already been baked, cover loosely and warm at 325°F until heated through.
• Freezing works, but it’s not the same after. If you do freeze them, wrap well and reheat in the oven so they come back as close as possible.

FAQs

• Can I make these ahead?
  Yes. Assemble everything and keep it covered in the fridge. If you want the top to stay crisp, wait to add the panko mixture until just before baking.
• Are these baked chicken cordon bleu sliders?
  They are. Everything is layered and baked instead of rolled and fried, so you still get classic chicken cordon bleu flavors without the extra work.
• Can I use something other than rotisserie chicken?
  You can, but rotisserie is what makes this easy and keeps the texture right. If you’re cooking your own, make sure it stays moist or it will dry out in the oven. Consider using chicken thighs at that point.
• Can I use a different cheese?
  You can, but it won’t be the same. Swiss is what gives this that traditional chicken cordon bleu profile.
• What kind of ham works best?
  Thinly sliced deli ham. Thick cuts take over too quickly and throw off the whole thing.
• Why are my sliders soggy?
  Usually too much spread or not enough time uncovered in the oven. You need that final bake to set the top and keep everything from softening.
• Can I skip the panko topping?
  You can, but that’s where most of the texture comes from. Without it, they’re much softer and closer to a standard baked slider.

From My Kitchen Notes

Just a few things I’ve noticed.

• My dad had his own unique way of explaining things. I’m pretty sure this came from his love of reading. He had so many books. Many of which I kept and look back on, sometimes for memories, sometimes for understanding.
• I’ve flipped through his old warplane books over the years, thinking about those end of the runway conversations.
• You can be taught something your whole childhood and not realize until much later who it was really for.
• Some people don’t explain things to help you understand them. They explain them because they need to say them out loud.
• If you hear something enough times, you start to recognize it even if you can’t explain it back.
• Not everything that’s broken looks broken from the outside. Sometimes it’s just one part not doing its job.
• You don’t always know what you’re learning while it’s happening.
• There’s a difference between taking something apart to understand it and ruining it in the process.
• I still pick things up off the ground that most people walk past without seeing.
• You don’t go looking for something specific. You just know when it’s the one.
• There’s a difference between collecting things and recognizing them.
• Not everything rare looks like it should be.
• You can’t explain why something stands out. You just stop when you see it.
• There are things that only make sense if you’ve been there for all of it.
• You don’t need every piece to understand what you’re looking at.
• Some connections aren’t direct. They keep showing up in different forms until you stop ignoring them.
• There are conversations that happen without anyone speaking.
• I used to think if I could see every piece separately, I’d understand it better. That’s not always true.
• Some things only make sense when they stay together.
• You can sit next to someone for years and only realize later what they were trying to show you.
• Not everything needs to be said directly to be understood.
• I was told if I listened long enough, I’d start to hear it. I didn’t know what “it” was supposed to be.
• There are things you carry from people without realizing it. Then one day you’re doing the exact same thing and it feels familiar in a way you can’t place.
• Some explanations aren’t meant to be understood right away.
• If something works, you don’t always need to know why. You just know when it doesn’t.
• There’s a point where you stop asking questions and start recognizing patterns.
• There are signals you miss the first hundred times. Then one day they’re obvious.
• You don’t always get the full story. You just get the version someone was willing to give you.
• Some patterns don’t mean anything until they show up in the same place twice.
• You can understand something completely and still not do anything about it.
• There are moments where the next step is obvious. That doesn’t mean it gets taken.
• You can recognize something as it’s happening and still let it pass.
• There are things you don’t question because you already know the answer.
• Some people need time. Some people use time. You don’t always get to know which one it is.

More Baked Sliders

• French Dip Sliders – roast beef, melty provolone, au jus
• Ham and Cheese Sliders – buttery tops, poppy seeds, baked
• Turkey Pesto Sliders – pesto, tomato, melted mozzarella

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders

Chicken cordon bleu sliders with ham, Swiss, and chicken layered into soft Hawaiian rolls and finished with a crisp, buttery garlic panko topping.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword baked chicken cordon bleu sliders, chicken cordon bleu sandwich, chicken cordon bleu sliders, chicken sliders hawaiian rolls, easy chicken cordon bleu sliders

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12 sliders

Calories 320kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• Baking Dish Holds the rolls so the layers stay together while baking.
• serrated knife Slices the rolls neatly without tearing.
• 2 mixing bowls For mustard spread and panko topping.
• pastry brush Spreads the butter topping evenly.
• aluminum foil To cover sliders while baking.

Ingredients

• 1 (12-pack) Hawaiian Sweet Rolls kept intact for easy slicing.
• 2 tbsps (30 g) Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsps (45 g) mayonnaise
• 1½ tsps (3 g) table salt
• ½ tsp (1 g) black pepper
• 1 lb (454 g) thinly sliced deli ham
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 2 cups (~300g) shredded rotisserie chicken
• 4 tbsps (56 g) unsalted butter melted
• 1 tbsp (3 cloves) garlic minced
• ½ cup (30 g) panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tsps (1 g) dried parsley

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) for baking the sliders until heated through and golden on top.
• Slice the Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally, keeping the rolls connected, and place the bottom half in a baking dish.
  1 (12-pack) Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
• In a small bowl, stir together the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, salt, and black pepper until smooth. Spread evenly over the cut side of the bottom rolls.
  2 tbsps (30 g) Dijon mustard, 3 tbsps (45 g) mayonnaise, 1½ tsps (3 g) table salt, ½ tsp (1 g) black pepper
• Layer the sliced ham evenly over the rolls, then place the Swiss cheese on top to build the classic chicken cordon bleu base. Distribute the shredded rotisserie chicken evenly over the cheese for consistent layering in each slider, then place the top half of the rolls over the filling.
  1 lb (454 g) thinly sliced deli ham, 6 slices Swiss cheese, 2 cups (~300g) shredded rotisserie chicken
• In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, minced garlic, panko breadcrumbs, and dried parsley. Spoon and spread the mixture evenly over the tops of the rolls to create a crisp, buttery topping, pressing lightly so it adheres.
  4 tbsps (56 g) unsalted butter, 1 tbsp (3 cloves) garlic, ½ cup (30 g) panko breadcrumbs, 2 tsps (1 g) dried parsley
• Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 5 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and the filling is heated through.
• Remove from the oven, let rest briefly, then slice into individual sliders and serve warm while the cheese is melted and the tops are crisp.

Notes

• Rotisserie chicken works well here because it is already cooked and seasoned, keeping the filling moist while the sliders bake.
• Layering the ham, Swiss, and chicken instead of rolling keeps even distribution in every slider and keeps them together when slicing.
• Panko breadcrumbs create a lighter, crispier topping than traditional breadcrumbs and stay crunchy even after baking.
• Covering the sliders for the first part of baking allows the filling to heat through without over-browning the tops, while finishing uncovered adds color and texture.

 

 

If you’re making these Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders, check out the full post. That’s where I keep extra tips, FAQs, and details that don’t always make it into the recipe card

 

 

Nutrition info is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands you use.

 

 

©Noble Pig. All content and photos are copyright protected. Sharing the recipe link is always appreciated, but copying and pasting the full recipe anywhere else isn’t allowed.

Nutrition

Serving: 140g | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 780mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 2mg

Have you made these Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders? I’d love to hear how they turned out — leave a comment below and let me know.

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The post Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders appeared first on Noble Pig.

Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowls and the Things I Was Not Supposed to Be Doing

I’ve taken everything about Mexican street corn that works and turned it into a full dinner. Grilled chicken, charred corn, and a creamy elote-style sauce get layered over rice.

This is the same flavor path behind my Mexican street corn soup and pasta salad, but made to be served hot and assembled fresh.

The inspiration for these bowls came from a place where I was very much not where I said I was going to be. Standard behavior if you were a teenager in the 80s.

Like, “I’m staying at so-and-so’s house this weekend,” and then I’d casually end up twenty miles in Baja Mexico, past the border, and definitely past the part where it still feels like a quick decision, into Rosarito, where you’re getting stopped by the police three or four times a day and handing over $20 per person like it’s part of the routine. Because it was. There was always that non-existent stop sign we missed and the fine was always $20 per person, paid on the spot, that’s how it worked.

My parents would have absolutely lost their minds. But there was no tracking back then and freedom existed. And I was fearless.

This wasn’t like our Tijuana trips where we would dance all day and drive home like it was a field trip. This was deeper in, my friend’s parents’ beach house, dune buggies, sand dunes overlooking the sea just north of Puerto Nuevo where we would spend the entire day just flying over the sand like nothing could touch us. We’d trailer everything down from the beach house, helmets were somehow involved, which feels like a miracle in hindsight, and just disappear out there for hours.

And then we’d come back into town, dusty, starving, still running on whatever adrenaline we hadn’t burned off yet, and go straight to the food stands.

Not nice, curated, food stands. These were made of plywood, usually one light bulb hanging down, flies everywhere, and somehow some of the best food I’ve ever had.

There was a taco guy we always went to first. Tiny tacos, just meat, onion, cilantro, nothing else. We’d order 30 or 40 without even thinking about it. And then we’d buy tequila with the worm floating in the bottle, drink enough to get the worm out, hand it over, and have taco guy hide it in one of the tacos.

Taco Roulette.

Tequila-soaked, disgusting, big-ass worm in one of them and you just… waited. Whoever got the worm in their taco and ate it didn’t have to help clean up the dune buggies later.

It was so gross. We thought it was hilarious. And that was just the beginning.

Because then we’d go down the street to this other stand, and this is the one that stayed with me.

He was making what I now realize were basically chicken and rice dinner bowls, way before anyone was calling them that. Rice on the bottom, grilled chicken, corn that he’d char on a grill pan in his plywood box stand and mix with mayo, crema, lime, some seasoning he kept in a container I never figured out. Sometimes cotija, sometimes not. It depended on the day, or what he had, or what he felt like doing. There was nothing the same about it.

I watched him make those bowls over a couple of summers, many times, standing there with sand still on my legs, not thinking I was learning anything. And then I’d go home and make it in my parents’ kitchen like it was a normal meal, like I hadn’t just pulled it from a stand in Mexico they didn’t even know I’d been to. Wild.

We’d take those bowls down to the beach, after we stopped at the firecracker stand, another completely normal store in Mexico, buy bottle rockets, Roman candles and bricks of firecrackers, and shoot them off on the beach right outside the house while watching the sunset and eating on the sand, like it was just another day. Because for us it was.

None of us ever got sick from eating at those stands and we would do it again the next weekend without issue.

I’m not trying to recreate anything authentic here with these bowls. This is just the version that has stayed with me over the years. The one that made it home and has never really left. In fact, it feels more like a gathering of ingredients than a recipe.

Grilled chicken, rice, charred corn, a creamy lime sauce that sits somewhere between sour cream and what he was using with crema. Cotija if you want it, or not. It’s fine either way.

It’s simple in the same way his was. You make and eat it while everything is still warm.

Some things don’t need to be improved. You just bring them forward.

Why I Love This Recipe

• This whole bowl is made around contrast. The corn gets charred so it’s a little sweet and smoky, and it cuts through everything else instead of blending in. This is what makes it feel like elote in bowl form.
• The sauce is creamy, the lime keeps it from going too far, and it doesn’t drown the rice or the chicken unless you want it to.
• The rice catches the sauce and makes it feel like a solid meal instead of something you’re still hungry after. Sure, you could use something less carby, but it won’t be as good.
• The grilled chicken is what makes this feel like dinner, not just a side or something you pick at.
• The best part is how flexible it is. Some days you add everything, some days you don’t.

Ingredients

• Olive oil – Enough to coat the chicken and hold the taco seasoning.
• Taco seasoning – This is where I simplify what I watched him do. He had some blend in a container that I’ll never be able to recreate exactly. This gets you close.
• Chicken breasts – Sliced lengthwise so they cook faster and take on more flavor.
• Mayonnaise – This is part of what makes it “elote style.” Don’t skip it.
• Sour cream – This is where I’ve turned it into the American version. I was definitely eating this with crema in Mexico, which is a little looser and less tangy. Use crema if you want. It’s easy to find. Greek yogurt works too if that’s your thing. It depends how close you want to stay to what I was eating.
• Lime juice – Don’t hold back here. This does a lot.
• Corn (fresh ears) – Grill it, char it, let it go a little further than you think. This is where the flavor comes in, the same way it does in my Mexican street corn pasta salad.
• Cooked rice – White or brown, whatever you have. This is what keeps everything together and makes it a meal.
• Cilantro – Chop it small so it blends in instead of taking over.
• Jalapeños – For heat if you want it, or leave it out entirely.
• Red onion – Dice it small unless you want it to be the only thing you taste.
• Cotija cheese (or feta) – The guy either had it or he didn’t. Sometimes it was mixed in, sometimes it wasn’t there at all. You don’t need it for this to taste good, but if you want that more classic street corn taste, this is where it comes from.
• Avocado – Not traditional, but it works.
• Pico de Gallo / tomatoes – Fresh, bright, and optional.
• Black beans or chickpeas – If you want to stretch it or make it feel more substantial.
• Lime wedges – Always.

How to Make Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowls

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (get the chicken going)
  Olive oil and about a tablespoon of taco seasoning go into a bowl or a bag. Add the chicken and turn it until everything is coated. Into the fridge it goes. Fifteen minutes is fine. Longer is better if you have it.
• Step Two (make the sauce)
  Mayo, sour cream, the rest of the taco seasoning. Stir it together, then add lime juice and keep going until it’s smooth. Taste it. If you want it closer to what you’d get with actual elote, this is where you mix in 2–3 tablespoons (30–45 ml) finely crumbled cotija. You don’t have to. It still tastes good without it.
• Step Three (cook the chicken and corn)
  Get your grill or grill pan hot. Add the chicken and the corn at the same time. The chicken cooks in about five minutes per side until it’s done. Turn the corn as it goes so it picks up some char. That’s where the flavor is.
• Step Four (cut everything down)
  Let the chicken sit for a minute so it stays juicy, then slice it. Cut the corn off the cob once you can handle it without burning your hands.
• Step Five (put it together)
  Rice goes down first, then chicken, then corn. Add whatever else you want. Drizzle the sauce over the top and stop there. Eat it while it’s still warm.

Recipe Tips

• Slice the chicken lengthwise. It cooks faster and takes on the seasoning instead of sitting on top.
• Don’t hurry the corn. Let it go further than feels reasonable. This is where it stops tasting basic.
• Drizzle less sauce on top than you think you need. You can always add more, but you can’t undo it once it’s in there.
• Taste the sauce before you use it. Limes are never consistent, so sometimes it needs a little more salt or another squeeze of lime.
• If the sauce feels too thick, add more lime juice. It should drizzle easily.
• Use a grill pan or a hot cast iron pan if you don’t want to get the outdoor grill going. Same idea, just don’t move things around too much while they cook.
• If you’re short on time, use fire-roasted frozen corn. It gets you very close without extra work.
• Let the chicken rest before slicing it. It keeps it from drying out and you’ll notice the difference.
• Build the bowls right before eating. Once it sits, everything softens and it’s not the same.

Storage

• These are best right after they’re made. That’s when the corn still has texture, the chicken is warm, and the sauce hasn’t soaked into everything yet.
• If you have leftovers, store the components separately. The rice, chicken, and corn will be fine in the fridge for 2–3 days. The sauce can be kept in a separate container and stirred before using again.
• Once everything is combined, it starts to change. The rice absorbs the sauce, the corn softens, and it’s not the same anymore.
• If you added avocado, expect it to brown. It still tastes fine, it just doesn’t look great.
• To reheat, warm the chicken and rice separately, then add the corn and sauce at the end.
• This isn’t really a make-ahead, fully assembled meal. It’s more of a create it when you’re ready and eat it right away kind of meal.

FAQs

• Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
  Yes. They stay a little juicier and have more flavor. Cook them the same way, just give them a little more time if they’re thicker.
• Can I make this ahead of time?
  You can get everything ready ahead of time, just don’t put it together until you’re eating. Once the sauce hits the rice, it starts to change and you don’t get that same texture back.
• Do I need to use the cotija cheese?
  No. The guy who made these either had it or he didn’t, and it was still good every time. If you want that more classic street corn feel, use it. If not, skip it or use feta. It’s not make-or-break.
• Can I make this without a grill?
  Yes. Use a grill pan or cast iron pan. You just want some color on the chicken and corn. That’s where the flavor comes from.
• Can I use frozen or canned corn?
  Yes. If you can find frozen fire-roasted corn, that’s the closest shortcut. Just cook it in a hot pan so it picks up a little char.
• Can I make the sauce lighter?
  Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, or do half and half. It changes the flavor slightly, but it still works.
• What can I add to make it more filling?
  Black beans, chickpeas, or extra avocado. Or add more chicken. It’s flexible like that.
• Is this authentic elote?
  No. This is based on something I ate at a stand in Mexico, but it’s not trying to be a textbook version of anything. It’s the elote-style version that made it home with me.
• Why does this taste better with charred corn?
  Because that’s where the flavor is.

From My Kitchen Notes

Notes and observations after the fact.

• There’s one version of a story people think you lived. It’s usually the safer one.
• Some decisions don’t feel like decisions when you’re making them. That part only shows up in hindsight.
• I’ve noticed the people who wait to be sure about something are usually the ones who stay exactly where they are.
• Corn doesn’t get interesting until you let it go further than you think you should.
• You can tell who’s comfortable in motion and who needs everything to stop. I need to keep moving.
• Not everything that looks unhinged is. Sometimes it’s just freedom from a very structured life that was chosen for you.
• There are situations where nothing is technically stopping you. Those are the ones people avoid most.
• Lime has the ability to change everything, but only if you use enough of it.
• My parents never knew I was spending weekends in Mexico. I never told them because it was mine. That wasn’t an accident.
• I’ve written more about what those Mexico trips looked like in my Italian hangover cake.
• Being seen isn’t the same as being known. I’ve chosen both, just not at the same time.
• You can tell when someone wants something and when they’re willing to be seen wanting it. Those are not the same person.
• There’s a version of ourselves that only exists when no one knows where you are. It’s usually the fun you.
• My own teenage years taught me I wasn’t reckless only or controlled only, but that I could operate inside a given box and still choose instinct when it mattered.
• The same pattern of my life still exists, I create things, make decisions quickly, trust myself and don’t need full certainty. I attribute some of that to already knowing what it feels like to move without being watched.
• I’ve eaten mayonnaise from a stand with flies, a cooler for refrigeration and one light bulb and never thought twice about it. I’ve questioned other things more.
• If presented with the opportunity, I would eat at those stand again.
• A tequila-soaked worm hidden in a taco is a very specific kind of commitment. It’s not something you forget, even if you try.
• There’s a difference between something being risky and something feeling alive. People confuse those all the time.
• I don’t wait to understand something before I move toward it. I understand it because I did.
• There are moments where nothing is stopping you except the version of you that’s still thinking about it.
• I don’t think most people realize how often they choose the safer version of their life.
• I knew exactly what I was doing. I just didn’t stop doing it. Not everything that looks casual is.
• Some people would rather stay in control than find out what happens if they don’t.
• There’s a side of you that only shows up when you’re willing to be seen in it. Most people never meet that side.

More Dinner Bowls

• Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls – black beans, rice, seasoned chicken
• Greek Salmon Rice Bowls – yogurt sauce, salmon, white rice
• Salmon Poke Bowls – sushi rice, avocado, mango
• Spicy Salmon Sushi Bowl – crispy rice, edamame, spicy salmon
• Ground Turkey Stir Fry – ground turkey, bok choy

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowls (Mexican Elote-Style)

Street corn chicken rice bowls with grilled chicken, charred corn, and a creamy elote-style sauce over rice. A fast, flexible dinner that works for weeknights, meal prep, or casual gatherings.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican-Inspired

Keyword chicken and rice bowls recipe, easy chicken rice bowls, elote chicken bowls, grilled chicken rice bowls, Mexican chicken rice bowls, street corn chicken rice bowls, weeknight dinner bowls

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 640kcal

Author Cathy Pollak

Equipment

• grill pan or grill. For cooking the chicken and charring the corn.
• mixing bowls For marinating and making the sauce.
• Meat Thermometer For making sure chicken reaches 165°F.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 (1 oz / 28 g) packet taco seasoning divided
• 2 (~1 lb / 450 g) skinless, boneless chicken breasts sliced lengthwise
• ⅓ cup (80 g) mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup (80 g) sour cream or Mexican crema or Greek Yogurt
• juice of one lime (1-2 tbsps / 15-30 ml)
• 4 ears of corn
• 4 cups (~800 g) cooked white or brown rice

Optional Toppings:

• chopped cilantro
• jalapeño slices
• diced red onion
• Cotija cheese or feta
• lime wedges
• pico de gallo
• diced tomatoes
• black beans or chickpeas

Instructions

• Add the olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of the taco seasoning to a large bowl or resealable bag and whisk to combine. Add the chicken and turn to coat evenly. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight.
  2 tbsps (30 ml) olive oil, 1 (1 oz / 28 g) packet taco seasoning, 2 (~1 lb / 450 g) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• While the chicken marinates, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and remaining taco seasoning in a small bowl. Add the lime juice and mix until smooth and combined. If you’re a diehard for tradition, stir in 2–3 Tablespoons (30–45 g) finely crumbled cotija cheese into the sauce for a more classic elote-style finish, but it's not a necessasry add. Set aside.
  ⅓ cup (80 g) mayonnaise, ⅓ cup (80 g) sour cream, juice of one lime
• Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates. Place the chicken and corn on the grill. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C). Turn the corn occasionally and cook until lightly charred on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.
  4 ears of corn
• Remove the chicken and let it rest briefly, then slice into strips. Cut the kernels from the corn cobs.
• Divide the cooked rice among bowls and top with the grilled chicken and charred corn. Add any additional toppings as desired, then drizzle the elote-style sauce over the top and serve warm.
  4 cups (~800 g) cooked white or brown rice, chopped cilantro, jalapeño slices, diced red onion, Cotija cheese, lime wedges, pico de gallo, diced tomatoes, black beans

Notes

• Slice the chicken lengthwise so it cooks quickly and absorbs more of the marinade.
• Use a cast iron skillet to cook the chicken and char the corn if a grill is not available.
• Frozen or canned corn works. Pat it dry and cook in a hot pan until lightly charred.
• The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep toppings separate for best texture.

 

 

For optimal outcomes when preparing this street corn chicken rice bowl, it's recommended to refer to the recipe details within the post. The recipe post commonly includes valuable notes, expert tips and frequently asked questions, that are not presented in the recipe card, often including how to make this recipe dairy-free, gluten free or vegan and ideas for healthy ingredient substitutions or variations.

 

The provided nutrition information is merely an approximation, as variations can arise depending on the specific ingredients/brands you select.

 

 

© noblepig.com. All content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing this recipe is encouraged and appreciated, but copying and/or pasting the full recipe to social media or other platforms is strictly prohibited.

Nutrition

Serving: 450g | Calories: 640kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 780mg | Potassium: 720mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 2mg

Have you made this Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowl? I’d love to hear how it turned out — leave a comment below and let me know.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowls (Mexican Elote-Style) appeared first on Noble Pig.