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Home » Cast Iron Chicken Thighs in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Cast Iron Chicken Thighs in Creamy Tomato Sauce

February 17, 2023 by Lara March 13, 2023

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This Cast Iron Keto Chicken Thigh Recipe in Creamy Tomato Sauce will be your new favorite dinner. It’s a delicious meal and is made with simple ingredients that the entire family will love! ! It’s dairy and gluten free!

chicken in a pan surrounded and covered in a red sauce

This Cast Iron Coconut Milk Chicken with dairy free creamy tomato sauce has a perfect mix of flavor that will leave your mouth watering for more!  It’s sauce has a perfect mix of tomato and coconut for a creamy delicious topping for your chicken.  Plus, the texture of the sauce is not too thick and not too thin, it’s just perfect!

The chicken thighs alone have amazing flavor, and when you add it to this delightful coconut creamy tomato sauce, it makes even better! It is sure to be a dish that the whole family will love and enjoy eating!

Also, with this easy chicken recipe being made with simple ingredients (you can find them all at your local grocery store) makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner option if you follow a keto diet! It’s packed full of healthy fats too!

chicken in a pan surrounded and covered in a red sauce

Ingredients for Cast Iron Chicken Thighs

  • bone in skin on chicken thighs
  • avocado oil
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • cumin
  • turmeric
  • sea salt
  • black pepper

Ingredients for the homemade dairy free tomato sauce

  • fire roasted tomatoes
  • stewed tomatoes
  • coconut milk
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • garlic
ingredients for cast iron chicken thighs in creamy tomato sauce in white bowls

How to make easy keto chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet with a Creamy Tomato Sauce

Mix together the garlic, onion, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper. This will be the rub for the chicken. Use a large skillet, add oil to pan.

Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Test it by sprinkle a little salt into it.  If it sizzles its ready.

While the oil is heating, season the chicken thighs.

raw chicken on a counter with seasoning on top

Once the oil comes to temp, place the chicken skin side down.

raw chicken with seasoning on top cooking in a black pan

Next, brown the chicken by cooking it about 4-5 minutes on each side, the chicken skin should be golden brown. Who doesn’t like crispy skin!

cooked chicken on a red plate with a pan handle in the corner

When the chicken is finished, remove the chicken and set aside. Put your canned tomatoes into a blender and blend well, then set aside.

chunky red sauce in a clear cup with a black blender piece next to it
red sauce in a clear cup

Pour the coconut into the pan and stir as it thickens for about 2 min.

my sauce cooking in a pan

At this point, add in the tomatoes followed by the rest of ingredients.

red creamy sauce in a cast iron skillet

Let the sauce come to boil and then reduce the sauce to med low heat.

red creamy tomato sauce in a pan with a wooden spoon

Place chicken back into pan and simmer for 20 min, cooking the chicken until an internal temperature of the chicken thigh meat reaches 165F.

coconut milk chicken thighs in a pan surrounded and covered in a red sauce

What to serve with Cast Iron Chicken Thighs in Creamy Tomato Sauce

These creamy chicken thighs can pair with any side dish you would like!  It will especially pair well with zoodles or low carb noodles like Palmini low carb linguine or this low carb pasta from The Great Low Carb Breead Company!

You can even serve this dish with Instant Pot cauliflower rice or your favorite low carb vegetable dish. Again, you can use the delicious sauce to drizzle over your rice or veggies for a little more flavor.

Or serve it with Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower! The sauce can almost act like a gravy and you can drizzle it all over! Plus, the cauli mash will be cooking all hands off while you make this yummy skillet chicken dish.

Again, you could try drizzling just a little bit of the sauce over your favorite vegetable if you have picky eaters and are trying to get them to eat more vegetables like these Garlicky Cast Iron Green Beans.

Really any low carb recipe side dish will suffice!

Tips for cast iron keto chicken thighs

  • If you have some leftovers, place them in a glass airtight container along with some sauce to have for lunch the next day.
  • Try putting so of the sauce on your favorite low carb pasta or cauliflower rice!
  • If you don’t have coconut milk on hand you can substitute it with heavy whipping cream, it just won’t be paleo anymore.
  • If you like a little heat to your tomato sauce, add in some red pepper flakes
  • Top with fresh herbs or sliced green onions to give it a little color and extra flavor

Recipe Substitutions

  • If you don’t have avocado oil you can substitute extra virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil
  • You can substitute boneless chicken thighs for the bone in chicken thighs, just reduce the cooking time by a few minutes
  • If you don’t want a dairy free cream sauce, add in some parmesan cheese to make it extra rich
  • If you don’t have coconut cream, you can substitute it for heavy cream (this will make it no longer dairy free)

Keto Chicken Thigh Recipes

If you loved these Keto Chicken Thighs in tomato sauce, check out these other easy low carb chicken thigh recipes.

  • Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables
  • Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Thighs
  • Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
  • Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Thighs

More Keto Chicken Recipes

Just looking for more keto chicken recipes in general? You’ll love these easy keto chicken recipes.

  • Keto Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe
  • Instant Pot Chicken Curry – Thai Green Curry Recipe
  • Keto Chicken Cordon Bleu
  • Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
  • Instant Pot Frozen Shredded Chicken Breasts
  • Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breast
  • Best Blackstone Chicken Breasts
chicken in a pan surrounded and covered in a red sauce
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5 from 1 vote

Cast Iron Chicken Thighs in Creamy Tomato Sauce

This Cast Iron Chicken Thighs in Creamy Tomato Sauce will be your new favorite dinner. This easy paleo chicken thigh recipe is made with simple ingredients that the whole family will love! ! It's dairy and gluten free!
Course One Pan Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword cast iron chicken thighs, cast iron chicken thighs in creamy tomato sauce, paleo chicken thighs
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 349kcal
Author Lara

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 chicken thighs bone in, skin on
  • 4 Tbsp avocado oil
  • 1/4 garlic powder
  • 1/4 onion powder
  • 1/8 Tsp cumin
  • 1/8 Tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp pepper

Sauce:

  • 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
  • 14 oz can of stewed tomatoes
  • 7 oz coconut milk
  • 1 Tsp salt
  • 1 Tsp pepper
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic

Instructions

  • Mix together the garlic, onion, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper. This a rub for the chicken.
  • Use a large frying pan, add oil to pan. Heat over medium heat. Test it by sprinkle a little salt into it. If it sizzles its ready.
  • While the oil is heating coat the chicken in the dry rub
  • Once the oil comes to temp place the chicken in carefully. Brown chicken by cooking it about 4-5 minutes on each side-skin should be golden brown.
  • Remove chicken and set aside
  • Put your canned tomatoes into a blender and blend well set aside.
  • Pour the coconut into the pan stir as it thickens about 2 min.
  • At this point add in the tomatoes followed by the rest of ingredients. Let sauce come to boil.
  • Reduce sauce to med low heat.
  • Place chicken back into pan and simmer for 20 min. Cook until internal temp of chicken is 165F.

Notes

If you don’t have coconut milk on hand you can substitute it with heavy whipping cream 1 for 1, it just won’t be Paleo.

Nutrition

Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 795mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 437IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 3mg
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Filed Under: Chicken, Entrees, keto, One Dish Meals, Recipes

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About Me

image of a girl in a pink jacket with fury hood smiling

Hi, I’m Lara! I’m a dietitian and I love to travel the US in my fifth wheel RV with my pups Stella & Loki. I share healthy, low carb and camping recipes along with my travel and bowling stories.

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