This saucy Cashew Chicken is ready in a hurry — 15-20 minutes and you’ll be enjoying this tasty stir fry. No actual frying is required, though — I toss leftover cooked chicken with sautéed red peppers and roasted cashews in an irresistible savory sauce!
A Quick Cashew Chicken Recipe
It doesn’t get much quicker than this recipe and you’ll feel like a total rockstar serving it. The flavors are so complex it will seem like hours were spent on this meal, but between you and me, it was whipped together in about 15-20 minutes — score!
Here are some of the shortcuts I employ to ensure ultra-quick prep:
Shortcuts
Shortcut Ideas
- Quick garlic and ginger. I use refrigerated garlic paste and refrigerated minced garlic in the sauce. See “quick tip” below.
- Dry-roasted cashews. These nuts are roasted beforehand so they’ll deliver more flavor without any extra effort on your part.
- Pre-cooked and seasoned chicken–You can purchase rotisserie chicken meat already pulled from the bones and shredded or diced. Or, make this grilled chicken and save some leftovers for this recipe (our personal favorite!).
- Ready Rice® or Microwaveable Packaged Rice. Ready rice is a type of rice that is already cooked and just needs to be heated to warm it through — so easy, quick, and convenient! This type of packaged rice is typically found among other packets of rice and grains in the grocery store and is a trade-marked product of Uncle Ben’s Rice/Mars Foods.
Quick Tip
Another quick option for garlic and ginger in this easy Cashew Chicken recipe is to use Dorot® cubes. This brand sells frozen cubes of crushed garlic and crushed ginger that you can keep handy in the freezer and pop into these (and other) recipes when needed. (Check if your local store carries them; they’re typically found with frozen veggies in the grocery store.)
What Is Cashew Chicken Made Of?
Besides the sauce (which I break down below), there are four main ingredients that make up the bulk of this recipe:
- Chicken: As mentioned above, we’re using rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken. One of the best things about this recipe is that you don’t need to re-warm the leftover chicken in a microwave; simply throw it in the skillet and let the sauce heat it through!
- Red pepper: I thinly slice miniature red peppers, but 1 large red bell pepper works great too!
- Cashews: It’s hard to beat chicken with cashew nuts! That said, if some don’t enjoy them, feel free to add the cashews to individual portions at the end.
- Sesame oil: If you can find toasted sesame oil, even better — this really delivers a great authentic flavor. Sesame oil is typically found with Asian ingredients, not near the other oils in the grocery store.
Cashew Chicken Sauce:
- Corn starch: Corn starch makes the sauce thicker and tastier.
- Rice vinegar: This sauce gets a bit of tang from rice vinegar. If you see “rice wine vinegar” on the label, it’s the same thing.
- Hoisin sauce: Hoisin sauce is thick, sweet, and flavorful, giving the dish its tasty complexity.
- Soy sauce: I use regular soy sauce for its salty flavor. The “lite” or low-sodium versions don’t have enough saltiness.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar balances out the spiciness of the sriracha sauce. If you’re worried about it being too sweet, start with a little and add more if needed.
- Sriracha sauce: Add sriracha for heat and flavor. You can use less or skip it if you don’t like spicy food, or add more if you love it.
- Garlic and ginger: These are important ingredients in many Asian dishes, including this one, adding delicious flavors.
How To Make Cashew Chicken
While this isn’t a baked recipe, it doesn’t require any frying either! Instead, I sauté everything in a skillet. This not only makes it more nutritious, but it’s also way faster than frying or baking! Here are a few recipe tips:
- Prep the sauce first. This dish comes together so fast, you’ll want the sauce ready to add in!
- Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. If using a rotisserie chicken, it may be second nature to shred it, but this recipe is best with the chunked chicken. Shredded chicken tends to get stringy when tossed with the sauce.
- Garnish. While the garnishes are optional, if you have an extra minute, they add a nice vibrancy and “finishing touch” to the dish.
How To Make Cashew Sauce For Cashew Chicken
Making the sauce is really simple – just put everything in a bowl and whisk! I begin by mixing the corn starch and rice vinegar until they’re smooth. Then, I add the rest of the sauce ingredients. It’s important to dissolve the corn starch completely first to avoid lumps and ensure the sauce thickens properly when added to the skillet.
Quick Tip
Restir the sauce just before adding it to the skillet; it separates as it sits!
More Tasty Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Stir Fry with loads of veggies and an addictive savory sauce
- Chicken Chow Mein with cabbage and carrots
- Applebee’s Chicken Salad with a simple creamy and sweet dressing
- Chicken Ramen with a diced red pepper and broccoli
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with ground chicken
Cashew Chicken
Equipment
- Large pan nonstick
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger see note 1
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil divided
- 1-1/4 cups thinly sliced red pepper see note 2
- 3 cups cubed cooked chicken see note 3
- 1/2 cup halved roasted cashew
- Toppings as desired see note 4
Instructions
- Combine cornstarch and rice vinegar in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir until smooth and set aside for now. Stir this sauce once more right before adding to pan.
- Cube chicken into 1-inch pieces and set aside. Thinly slice bell peppers.
- Heat 2/3 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large nonstick sauté pan. Once hot, add the thinly sliced pepper and sauté for 3–5 minutes until crisp-tender. Then add the cubed chicken and cashew halves, scraping in all the sauce. Cook gently for 1–2 minutes until the sauce thickens and everything is warmed through. Remove from heat and drizzle the remaining 1/3 tablespoon of sesame oil over the dish.
- Serve right off the stovetop over cooked rice and garnish with thinly sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Chelsea, this looks wonderful! Can’t wait to try it, thanks!
I can’t wait to hear what you think! Thanks Kris! 🙂