Mango Coconut Chicken & Rice - Pouch Project
Our Pouch Project remake of the Only Organic Mango Chicken & Coconut Rice pouch — with nearly eight times the chicken, a naturally sweet coconut-mango sauce, and a texture that grows from smooth purée right through to family dinner.
Freezer friendly and endlessly versatile, ready to suit wherever your bub is at.
Welcome to another Pouch Project recipe — where we take those oh-so-popular baby food pouch flavours and remake them BETTER. We're recreating the recipes with better balance and better nutrition, and also making them cheaper per meal. What we can't exactly recreate is the convenience and shelf stability of pouches so we absolutely support using them as part of bubs diet for convenience when you need it. We just want to help give you alternatives if you're looking for them.
In this recipe we're making our version of the Only Organic – Mango Chicken & Coconut Rice pouch. The commercial version is mostly water, sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot, with just a touch of mango, rice and chicken — we thought we could do a lot better! You can read our full review of the original product here.
Only Organic Ingredient Breakdown
Water, Vegetables (Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Carrot), Mango (12%), Rice (6%), Free Range Chicken (5%), Coconut Milk (3%), Vegetable Gum (Guar Gum).
Cost $ Approx. $3.15 per 170g packet ($1.85 per 100g)
Our Pouch Project Ingredient Breakdown
Chicken Thigh (39%), Coconut Cream (29%), Frozen Mango (13%), Carrot (11%), Basmati Rice (7%).
Cost $ $12.25 Total Recipe, 1375g yield (89c per 100g)
The difference:
Chicken is the star of our version, not an afterthought — that's nearly eight times more chicken than the commercial pouch. Tested against our own nutrition panel, our version comes in at 522kJ per 100g — more than double the pouch's 233kJ — with almost four times the protein (8g vs 2.1g per 100g) and around seven times the fat (7g vs 1g per 100g), most of it the healthy kind from coconut and chicken. The natural sweetness comes from real mango rather than being bulked out with water, sweet potato and pumpkin — and it's actually lower in sugar too (2.1g vs 3.1g per 100g). At 89c per 100g versus $1.85 per 100g for the pouch, it also costs around 52% less — despite using nearly eight times the chicken.
Taste:
Rich, creamy and naturally sweet — this tastes like a mild homemade mango coconut curry rather than a thin veggie purée. The tender chicken falls apart at the touch of a fork or can be easily be completely pureed in a blender.
Quick Recipe Snapshot
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40–50 minutes
Total time: approx. 55 minutes
Makes: 1.36kg (17 x 80g servings)
Freezer friendly: Yes (up to 2 months)
Texture: Smooth purée through to shredded finger food, depending on age
Age & Texture Guidance
Suitable from around 6 months.
6–9 months: blend the chicken, sauce and rice together into a smooth purée — loosen with a splash of breastmilk, formula or extra coconut milk if needed.
9–12 months: serve as shredded chicken with the sauce spooned over rice for babies confident with finger foods, or blend into a coarser mash to mix through the rice.
12 months+: serve family-style, chicken shredded or chopped, with. side of the rice covered with sauce spooned over.
This recipe is extremely versatile and can be adapted to suit your baby's stage and abilities. Every baby is different, so go with your bub's stage. Always supervise mealtimes.
Allergens Present
None present.
Why We Love This Recipe
• Nearly eight times the chicken of the pouch it's inspired by
• More than double the energy density, with almost four times the protein
• Naturally sweet from real mango — no added sugar, and lower in sugar than the pouch
• Around half the cost per 100g, at 89c vs $1.85
• Grows with your baby, from smooth purée to family dinner
• Freezer friendly — batch it once, sorted for weeks
