This recipe combines tender bite-sized pieces of chicken breast with toasted cashew nuts in a flavorful sauce. Homemade Cashew Chicken is better than takeout. The tasty sauce is a combination of garlic, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil.
Why this recipe works so well:
- Quick and easy: Dinner doesn't get much faster than an easy stir fry recipe, and cashew chicken is one of the simplest to make. While the cashews are toasting in the oven, the chicken can be cooked. Even better, the sauce ingredients are just added straight to the pan at the end.
- Amazing texture and flavor: Chicken with cashew nuts are wonderful when paired together. The cashews add a chewy sweet crunch to the tender chicken and savory sauce. The combination of soy sauce, hoisin, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil create a tangy savory flavor that ties everything together.
Ingredients needed:
Full ingredient list with quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chicken: boneless skinless chicken breast works great but thigh meat can also be used.
- Cashews: raw unsalted cashews have the best flavor.
- Green onions: Both the whites and the greens are used.
- Garlic: Adds so much flavor.
- Sauce: A simple combination of fish sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil tie the flavors of this recipe together.
How to make Chicken with Cashew Nuts:
Detailed instructions are listed step-by-step in the recipe card below.
- Toast cashews: Place cashews on a baking sheet and toast in oven.
- Slice chicken: For best results, cut into bite sized pieces.
- Prepare green onions: Slice into one-inch sections and separate the whites from the greens.
- Cook chicken: For best results, cook chicken in two batches, adding the white parts of the green onions and the garlic to the second batch.
- Add sauce: Just pour the ingredients into the pan. No need to pre-mix.
- Finish: Combine with toasted cashews and green onion pieces. Stir to combine.
toast cashews in oven cut chicken slice green onions cook chicken add sauce add nuts and green onions
Recipe tips for best results:
- Serving suggestions: Serve this chicken with cashew nuts recipe on a bed of steamed short grain rice. Add a little more green to your plate with some steamed broccoli or sauteed peppers and onions and you'll have a complete meal.
- Toasting the cashews: Raw cashews that get toasted in the oven work really well in this recipe. Raw nuts are a bit sweet with fantastic texture and toasting them enhances their flavor and adds to their crunchy texture. Pre-roasted nuts can be used but they will not taste as good.
- Storage and reheating: Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Reheat in microwave on 50% power in one minute increments until heated through or on the stove over low heat.
Similar recipes:
If you love quick and easy Asian-inspired stir fry recipes, you may have already invested in a good quality wok. Now it's time to get cooking! Here are some of my favorites:
Cashew Chicken
Cashew Chicken combines tender bite-sized pieces of chicken with cashew pieces in a flavorful Asian sauce is better than takeout!
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Hover to scale: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews (raw and unsalted)
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast ( and/or thigh meat, cut into small bite sized pieces )
- 8 green onions (ends trimmed)
- 2 Tablespoon oil (avocado or peanut oil works best)
- 1 Tablespoon garlic (minced, about three cloves)
- 4 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the cashews on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast in the oven until fragrant, stirring or shaking pan once, about 15 minutes.
- Trim any fat from chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Slice green onions in half (white vs green) and separate. Cut into one inch pieces, but keep the whites separate from the greens.
- Heat half of the oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat. When oil is almost at its smoke point, add half of the chicken. Stir only to prevent burning and cook until golden brown. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil and once oil is hot, add remaining chicken along with the white sections of the green onion. Allow to brown while occasionally stirring. During last minute or so, add the garlic. Once this half of the chicken has browned, add first batch back to the wok and reduce heat to medium.
- Add rice vinegar, stir, and cook until evaporated. Add hoisin, soy, and fish sauces. Stir well and allow to cook until all chicken pieces are fully cooked through. This shouldn't take more than a minute.
- Turn off heat and stir in roasted cashew pieces, remaining green onions, and toasted sesame oil.
Notes
- Serving suggestions: Serve this chicken with cashew nuts recipe on a bed of steamed short grain rice. Add a little more green to your plate with some steamed broccoli or sauteed peppers and onions and you'll have a complete meal.
- Toasting the cashews: Raw cashews that get toasted in the oven work really well in this recipe. Raw nuts are a bit sweet with fantastic texture and toasting them enhances their flavor and adds to their crunchy texture. Pre-roasted nuts can be used but they will not taste as good.
- Storage and reheating: Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Reheat in microwave on 50% power in one minute increments until heated through or on the stove over low heat.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 660mg | Potassium: 428mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 5.3mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2.9mg
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Greg
We all thought this was amazing. Great detailed cooking instructions. We also didn't use avocado oil, but our normal safflower for stirfry. make sure you use toasted sesame, and use at the end...
We always like another crunchy element to our home stirfry so we added some water chestnuts. Perfect.
Jamie
I'm not sure if I can find avocado oil up here. I can't say that I have ever seen it in a grocery store. Is there a substitute that I could use?
Krissy
Hi Jamie, Any oil that can tolerate high heat without cooking would be fine. I use avocado oil just because it's good for me, pretty flavorless, cooks great, and our Costco carries it.
Diane Fenwick
There was a pop up for a place to buy farm-raised poultry, then it disappeared. I want that name and address.
Auntie Di