Grilled chicken with Sriracha almond sauce has all the flavor of traditional pad Thai with a suped up, peanut-free sauce that tastes even better than the original!
Peanut allergy suffering friends, I have the bessssttt thing for you! Pad Thai, especially that delicious sweet and spicy peanut-y sauce, has been one of my very favorite crave-able comfort foods for as long as I can remember. It’s been a pretty consistent theme on this li’l blog because the things I love, I love really freakin’ hard and I just can’t get enough.
Well, I have to admit that I have a new love and it’s peanut-free. This Sriracha almond sauce is just like the original except, um, even better. There is so much flavor that I literally can’t get enough. I even threw some of my leftover sauce on plain ol’ steamed broccoli the next day and, the next thing I knew, I was in love with steamed broccoli too.
It all started when Blue Diamond sent me their newest Sriracha almonds. I had super high hopes, but I was sure there was no way they could be as delicious as I was dreaming of. Ummm, they were even better! As I was cooking dinner, it took all of my willpower not to eat the entire rest of the container. I kept reaching my hand in for “just a few more”, and by the time I photographed these bad boys, the container was very looking pretty darn shallow. I don’t even feel bad. They are just so good.
Making the sauce was a breeze. I started with the whole Sriracha almonds and threw them into my food processor, then I continued on with my normal pad Thai sauce recipe and did everything right there in the food processor while Steve grilled up the chicken. Almonds do take a particularly long time to break down into almond butter. When I first started making my own almond butter, I was always sure it wasn’t working. Be patient. It’s working. I promise. You don’t need to add oil and your food processor isn’t failing you. Just process, scrape, repeat, and your new favorite sauce will be ready to eat in about 10-12 minutes.
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 6-8 ounces each)
- salt and pepper
- ½ cup Blue Diamond Sriracha Almonds
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½-1 tablespoon honey (please use real honey and not the kind from a bear)*
- ½ tablespoon coconut aminos (or gluten-free soy sauce, or regular soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha*
- water, as needed
- pinch cilantro
- Fresh cilantro
- Thinly sliced green onion
- Chopped Sriracha almonds
- To make the grilled chicken, season chicken with salt and pepper. Preheat grill to 350 and cook chicken until juices run clear, about 5 minutes per side.
- To make the Sriracha almond sauce, place almonds in your food processor or high quality blender and blend. Almonds will break down into very small pieces, then eventually they will form into a ball. This may take up to 10 minutes. Make sure to turn your food processor off and scrape down the sides every few minutes.
- Once almonds are broken down into a ball, keep food processor running and stream in lime juice, honey, coconut aminos, and Sriracha.
- Once those are incorporated (it will still resemble a ball more than a sauce), very slowly (about 1 tablespoon at a time) stream in water until the sauce has reached your desired consistency. I used about ¼ cup water. If you like a thinner sauce, feel free to add more--it won't dilute the flavor.
- Once sauce has reached your desired consistency, scrape down the sides again and blend in cilantro.
- To serve, topped grilled chicken with sauce then top with fresh cilantro, green onions and extra chopped Sriracha almonds.
- Leftover sauce should be stored separately from chicken and can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week. Sauce will thicken to more of an almond butter texture when refrigerated, when serving again, you can heat it up in the microwave to thin, and also add more water if desired.
*Feel free to add more/less Sriracha depending on desired taste and heat level.
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All opinions are my own.
Ah man Ari, I don’t think I would be able to resist them either. I love the twist on Pad Thai flavors! Delish 🙂
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes recently posted…garlic lemon chicken marinade
GENIUS! never would have thought of this! great idea to use the blue diamond sriracha almonds!!
Linz @ Itz Linz recently posted…Splash Pad Fun
Ari, the sauce sounds amazing! Pinning for menu planning.
jill conyers recently posted…10 Ways to Stay Healthy on Vacation
MMM! I love Pad Thai but this sounds just as good!
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