Chicken Breasts With Ginger Passion Fruit Sauce Recipe

By
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes is a freelance writer and recipe developer with a passion for South American food. She wrote a cookbook focusing on the cuisine of Brazil.
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Updated on 05/30/22
Passion fruit against white background

pasmal / Creative RF / Getty Images

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 4 servings

The flavors of ginger and passionfruit make a sweet-savory sauce for tender chicken breasts in this unusual and tasty recipe. The chicken is a poached broth of ginger and passion fruit juice, making it juicy and full of flavor. Then the cooking liquid is reduced with brown sugar, apple cider, and more passionfruit juice, for a tangy sauce to pour over the cooked chicken.

Frozen passion fruit pulp can be found at supermarkets and Latin food markets, or you can order it online.​

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Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 pounds

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 shallot, minced

  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

  • 1 to 2 cups chicken broth

  • 1 1/2 cups passion fruit pulp, divided

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, divided

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider

  • 1 tablespoon vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Steps to Make It

  1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

  2. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and the ginger, and cook on medium heat for a few minutes, stirring, until shallot and ginger are softened and fragrant.

  3. Add the chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the passionfruit pulp, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Add the chicken breasts in a single layer. Add more chicken broth if necessary to ensure that the chicken breasts are covered with liquid.

  4. Bring the cooking liquid to a low simmer. Cover and cook the chicken breasts for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until just cooked through (slice into one of the breasts to check for doneness).

  5. Remove the chicken breasts to an ovenproof pan, cover with foil, and keep them warm in a 200 degree (F) oven while preparing the sauce.

  6. Pour off all but 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the sauté pan. Add the remaining 1 cup of passion fruit juice, the apple cider, the vinegar, the soy sauce, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch.

  7. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook until it the sauce has thickened about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  8. Pour the sauce over chicken breasts and serve. Serve with coconut rice if desired. 

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
580 Calories
13g Fat
60g Carbs
57g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 580
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 16%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 162mg 54%
Sodium 1035mg 45%
Total Carbohydrate 60g 22%
Dietary Fiber 10g 36%
Total Sugars 43g
Protein 57g
Vitamin C 31mg 157%
Calcium 79mg 6%
Iron 4mg 21%
Potassium 916mg 19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)