Jerk Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa and Coconut Rice

Published March 30, 2018. Updated August 21, 2019

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Grilled Jerk ChickenĀ is marinated for hours and finished on the grill for a seriously delicious slightly charred flavor. And of course it’s just that much better when you take the extra time to makeĀ the Mango Avocado Salsa and Coconut Rice to pair with it!

The fusion of Jamaican island flavors hereĀ is most definitely set to impress. It’s a meal you’ll crave and want to make again and again!

Jerk Chicken With Mango And Avocado

Boneless Jerk Chicken with a Refreshing Salsa

What better way to get in the summer mood than to grill up a fresh tropical meal? Of course this chicken is good on its own when you don’t have time to make the salsa or rice and you can just serve it with sauteed or steamed veggies. But everything is better when there’s avocado involved, right?

Adjust the Heat Level as Desired

As far as heat goes, I have to make this recipe to be edible to my kids so I just use a jalapeƱo pepper (and I actually do leave the seeds and it’s not too spicy for them, the salsa tones down the spice of the jalapeno). But if you like really spicy foods you can goĀ with the more traditional scotch bonnet pepper or a habanero pepper for lots of heat.

Grilled Chicken With Jerk Chicken Marinade

Marinade Ingredients

This is a simple marinade that packs bold flavors. It combines:

  • fresh onions, garlic and ginger (fresh flavor)
  • herbs and sweet spices (flavor)
  • soy sauce (saltiness and depth)
  • peppers (heat)
  • brown sugar (sweetness)
  • lime (tang)

How to Make Grilled Jerk Chicken

  • For chicken breasts, pound them out to even thickness. Leave thighs as is.
  • Place chicken breasts in a gallon size resealable bag.
  • Add remaining marinade ingredients to a food processor and chop.
  • Pour marinade over chicken and refrigerate 4 – 8 hours.
  • Preheat a grill over medium-high heat. Oil grill grates.
  • Grill to 165 degrees in center, about 4 – 5 minutes per side.
  • Serve warm over Coconut Rice and topped with Mango Avocado Salsa.

Mixture of Avocado and Mango to go with jerk chicken

Tips for This Recipe

  • Make it spicer with various peppers as desired. Here’s a pepper scale to refer too.
  • Be sure to use gloves when handling the peppers as they have oils in them (called capsaicinin) that can damage and really sting your eyes if you touch them – even after you’ve washed your hands.
  • Let marinate at least 4 hours. This really allows time for those flavors to soak into the chicken.
  • Use chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe.
  • Don’t omit ingredients in the marinade for best flavor. Everything together builds layers of flavor in this dish.

grilled jerk chicken on a bed of rice

The Perfect Summer Meal

Isn’t summer just dreamy? Warm sunshine, beach days, picnics at the park, scenic hikes, and food like this! And have I said yet that I love mango season?

Because I really love when good fresh mangos are in season! And I want to eat them on everything which I why they’re even going in my dinner a lot lately. They were made for this jerk chicken!

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Jerk Chicken
5 from 15 votes

Jerk Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa and Coconut Rice

Chicken is marinated for hours and finished on the grill for a seriously delicious slightly charred flavor. And of course it's just that much better when you take the extra time to make the Mango Avocado Salsa and Coconut Rice to pair with it!
The fusion of Jamaican island flavors here is most definitely set to impress. It's a meal you'll crave and want to make again and again!
Servings: 4
Prep15 minutes
Cook10 minutes
Marinating4 hours
Ready in: 4 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

Chicken and Marinade

Mango Avocado Salsa, see notes

    Coconut Rice, see notes

      Instructions

      • If using chicken breasts pound thicker parts with the flat side of a meat mallet to even out their thickness (thighs don't need to be pounded). 
      • Place chicken breasts in a gallon size resealable bag. 
      • Add remaining marinade ingredients to a food processor and plus several times to chop (it should be somewhat coarse).
      • Pour marinade over chicken in bag and rub marinade over chicken, seal bag, transfer to refrigerator and allow to marinate at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
      • Preheat a grill over medium-high heat to about 400 degrees. 
      • Brush grill grates with oil then place chicken on grill. 
      • Grill until center of chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 4 - 5 minutes per side. 
      • Remove from grill, cover to keep warm and let rest 5 minutes. Serve warm over Coconut Rice and top with Mango Avocado Salsa.

      Notes

      • *If you like really hot spicy things a seeded scotch bonnet or habanero pepper can be used.
      • Be sure to use gloves when handling peppers.
      • Follow linkĀ HEREĀ for Coconut Rice Recipe and Avocado Mango Salsa Recipe.
      • Recipe does not include nutrition for Coconut Rice and Avocado Salsa.
      Nutrition Facts
      Jerk Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa and Coconut Rice
      Amount Per Serving
      Calories 300 Calories from Fat 99
      % Daily Value*
      Fat 11g17%
      Saturated Fat 2g13%
      Cholesterol 108mg36%
      Sodium 1283mg56%
      Potassium 763mg22%
      Carbohydrates 9g3%
      Fiber 1g4%
      Sugar 4g4%
      Protein 38g76%
      Vitamin A 345IU7%
      Vitamin C 16.6mg20%
      Calcium 40mg4%
      Iron 1.6mg9%
      * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
      Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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      46 Comments

      • Rayana Stephens

        Tastes like a fancy restaurant. Absolutely love this combo. Thanks!

      • Victoria

        This was yummy … probably could halve the marinade recipe … I had quite a bit leftover and with inflation these days ….
        Tasted like vacation, though. Nice recipe.

      • Hannah

        OMG Incredible. The whole recipe was divine! Will definitely make again — and that coconut rice will be used with other recipes, too! (Thai red curry, anyone?)

        One note– if, like me, you typically click “Jump to Recipe” right away, you might miss that black beans are not in the written recipe but are in the photo. That would have been a great addition, so highly recommend finding a Caribbean black beans recipe to pair with this for an even more complete meal!

      • Rebeca

        I tried this whole recipe today; rice, chicken and salsa and it was all amazing!!! I canā€™t tolerate heat so I was scared the jalapeƱo was going to be too hot but it really wasnā€™t. It gives it an extra something but not crazy spicy. My family loved this!! Thank you so much for sharing.

      • Claire Robinson

        The picture seems to have dark beans, but they don’t appear in the recipe??

        • Jaclyn

          Jaclyn Bell

          Those are just black beans served on the side as a suggestion. Sorry for any confusion.

      • Katharine Capra

        Delicious!! Couldn’t stop saying “Oh my god this is so good” all throughout the meal. We were blown away by all those flavors in the chicken! You can taste the spicy elements and pick out the nutmeg and cinnamon in there as well…. A true delight for the taste buds!! The coconut rice is so amazing… could be a yummy dish on its own it’s so good…. ;)

        Thank you so much for this! We will be making it again soon!

      • Dwayne Ernst

        Outstanding recipe! We live in Key West Florida and this is a perfect island dish. Made it today for lunch. Getting that perfect char on the charcoal smoker makes this chicken amazing! Cool sweet mango/ avacodo salsa and coconut rice are perfect accompaniments. Thanks for a great recipe!!

        • Susan

          WOW! My all time favirite meal now. This tuned out so perfect. I shared with 4 neighbors and a great friend and they loved it. We all fell in love. This is a huge keeper.
          THANK YOU!