Almonds. Almond all the things. When Ryan & I first got married we were flat broke. We refer to the younger versions of ourselves as “broke as a joke” on a semi-regular basis. We may not be rolling in dough (well sometimes I roll dough) now but whenever we think things are bad that’s our reminder. Almond-crusted chicken is one of those recipes that costs a bit more than breadcrumbs & really tastes special. & looks way more fancy. True story! Check out how ridiculously easy it is to recreate below!
Toasting almonds makes pretty much everything better. This goes x1,000 when you’re talking about coating meat with them in my opinion. Using nuts also makes this “breaded” chicken gluten-free as well. & seriously so tasty. Serving this on a clean white plate (you can purchase mine here! Mine is from the Martha Stewart Collection available exclusively at Macy’s! ) really makes the color pop too!
- ½ cup almonds, toasted
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- Coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 to 5 oz each)
- Optional- lemon wedges for serving
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Pulse almonds, oil, garlic, & ½ teaspoon salt to a coarse paste in a food processor. Season chicken with salt & pepper. Rub almond paste all over chicken, dividing evenly.
- Roast chicken on a rimmed baking sheet until cooked through, about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board & slice. Serve with lemon wedge.
This recipe is from the Clean Slate Cookbook & Guide by the editors of Martha Stewart Living on page 258 to be exact. I’m really glad they let me share this with you guys (because I’d NEVER share without permission!) since this was such a big hit at my house! This recipe is for 2 chicken breasts but you could easily multiply that out for more members of a larger family. I served my almond-crusted chicken breasts atop some leftover fresh pesto, tomatoes roasted in a bit of olive oil, & some quinoa. I just like the way my chicken looks all slice with lemon slices…you don’t have to do that. Unless you want to.
What are some of your favorite gluten-free recipes? Are you an almond fan? How do you perk up chicken breasts? (ha! see what I did there?) Let me know in the comments below!
