Chicken Almendrado (Rice)

Almendrado is a traditional Mexican sauce built on ground almonds and dried red chilies, and it turns plain chicken breast into something deeply flavored. The sauce starts by cooking onion in butter and oil, then simmering with slivered almonds, ground red chilies, vinegar, sugar, and cinnamon before everything gets blended smooth.

The almonds thicken the sauce naturally and add a rich, nutty body. Cinnamon brings warmth without sweetness, and the vinegar and sugar balance the chile heat into something rounded rather than sharp. Blending until smooth gives you a velvety, rust-colored sauce that clings to every piece of chicken.

Dipping the chicken breasts in the sauce before simmering coats them from the start, so the flavors penetrate during the full 45-minute braise. The chicken comes out tender and stained with the warm color of the sauce.

Kitchen Tips

• Blend the sauce on low speed for a full minute to break down the almonds completely. Any chunks left will make the sauce gritty instead of smooth.
• Simmer the sauce 10 minutes before blending to soften the almonds and let the chilies bloom. Raw blended almonds taste chalky.
• Place the chicken skin side up in a single layer. Overlapping pieces cook unevenly.
• Serve over plain white rice to soak up the sauce. The rice is the best part.

Variations

• Use bone-in chicken thighs instead of breasts for richer, more forgiving meat that stays juicy.
• Add a tablespoon of sesame seeds to the sauce before blending for a more complex mole-adjacent flavor.
• Toast the almonds in a dry skillet before simmering for a deeper, nuttier sauce.