A Cashew Chicken Recipe that is so easy to make! Learn how to make chicken with cashew nuts for a quick, healthy dinner in under an hour!
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Cashews, chicken, and veggies come together fast in this healthy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry for an easy weeknight meal.
Our recipe has all of the rich, sweet, and salty flavors you crave, but is made a little bit lighter!
If you love healthier takeout dishes like we do, try our Ginger Garlic Chicken, Chicken Stir Fry, or Healthy Fried Rice.
Why We Love this Recipe:
There is a lot to love about this recipe. It’s one of our favorite dinners because:
- Lots of flavors – The combination of coconut aminos and rice vinegar is so rich and flavorful! You won’t be able to get enough.
- Super fast to make – This means dinner will be ready super quickly!
- Packed with veggies – This recipe is packed with colorful and delicious veggies!
Ingredients
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- chicken breast – you can also use chicken thighs
- salt & pepper
- cornstarch – this helps thicken the sauce!
- coconut oil
- cashews
- veggies: broccoli, red pepper, snow peas (you can add other veggies too!
- green onions
- ginger, garlic
The sauce is a mixture of:
- coconut aminos – we like these for a soy sauce alternative because they’re gluten free
- rice vinegar
- water
- honey
- sesame oil – this adds so much flavor!
- red pepper flakes
We used this wok for this recipe, but you can use a large nonstick pan as well!
Substitutions & Additions
Chicken Breasts: You can substitute with boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders.
Cornstarch: I haven’t tried substituting the cornstarch. This helps the chicken have a crispy exterior without frying it.
Coconut Oil: We like the flavor that the coconut oil gives to this recipe but you could use olive oil or avocado oil.
Cashews: We used raw cashews to develop this recipe. Frying them briefly gives them a lovely nutty flavor. Roasted cashews can also be used, just add them in with the snow peas. Roasted cashews will not need to be cooked before eating.
Vegetables: Snap peas, carrots, bok choy, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, mushrooms, or zucchini would all work well in this dish. If you need a veggie loaded dinner, try this Vegetable Chicken Soup!
Fresh Ginger: Fresh ginger really makes a difference in dishes. We recommend grabbing it from the store! If you don’t have it on hand you can use 1/4 teaspoon of dried ginger.
Coconut Aminos: Coconut aminos are salty, but not as salty as soy sauce. It contains a fraction of the sodium of traditional soy sauce, while still adding a rich, savory flavor to dishes. You can use soy sauce in place of coconut aminos. We recommend using 1 tablespoon less or opting for low sodium soy sauce.
Seasoned Rice Vinegar: Seasoned rice vinegar is a little bit sweeter than regular rice vinegar, but it can be used interchangeably.
Honey: We don’t recommend substituting the honey here but you probably could use 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is sold at most grocery stores and really adds a rich depth to recipes – we highly recommend it!
Make it spicy: For extra heat, add ½ teaspoon of sriracha to the sauce.
How To Make it Lower Carb: Use lower-carb veggies.
To Make it Lower Calorie: Cut the number of cashews in half.
To Make it Plant-Based: You can double the veggies and make this a vegetarian recipe!
How to make Cashew Chicken
- Season chicken in a bowl with salt and pepper and coat with cornstarch, discard excess cornstarch. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
- Brown: Heat a large wok or cast iron skillet over medium heat, and add 1 tbsp of coconut oil and the cashews. Stir constantly, cooking until golden brown. Remove to a small bowl.
- Cook: Increase heat to medium-high, and add 1 tbsp of coconut oil and the chicken. Cook, flipping occasionally for about 4 minutes. Remove to a small bowl.
- Sauce: Add another tbsp of coconut oil, broccoli, and bell pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes. Add the snow peas, the white part of the green onions, ginger, and garlic, and cook for 1 minute.
- Combine: Add the cashews, chicken, and sauce to the wok. Heat through until thickened. Serve over rice, garnished with the tops of the green onions. Â
Liz’s Pro Tip:
This dish comes together very fast, be sure all of your ingredients are prepped before starting.
How to serve this Cashew Chicken Recipe
This recipe is served best over cooked white, brown, or cauliflower rice (you could even try with Fried Rice). We love to top with green onions.
Healthy Cashew Chicken FAQ
Kung pao chicken is cooked with chilies and roasted peanuts while cashew chicken is served with cashew nuts.
Some people soak cashews before eating to help make them easier to digest. They get cooked in this recipe, however, so soaking is unnecessary.
How to Store:
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: We haven’t tried freezing this recipe. I don’t think it would taste as good after being frozen. The chicken/veggies might lose their crispness.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. We recommend the stove.
Other healthy dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Easy Recipe for Chicken with Cashew Nuts (Cashew Chicken)
Ingredients
Ingredients for the chicken
- 1 ½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite size cubes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- ¾ cup raw cashews *see notes for substitution
- 2 cups broccoli cut into small florets
- 1 cup red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup snow peas
- 3 green onions thinly sliced, separate whites from green
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Have all ingredients and tools prepped and ready to go.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to a medium bowl or disposable plastic bag and coat with cornstarch, discard excess cornstarch. In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients.
- Heat a large wok or cast iron skillet over medium heat, add 1 TBSP coconut oil and the cashews. Stir constantly, cooking until golden brown, about 3 minutes, being careful not to burn them. Remove to a small bowl.
- Increase heat to medium high, add 1 TBSP coconut oil and the chicken. Cook, flipping occasionally, until chicken is just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to a small bowl.
- Add in another TBSP of coconut oil, the broccoli and bell pepper. Cook until veggies are crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Add the snow peas, white part of the green onions, ginger, and garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Add the cashews, chicken, and the sauce to the hot wok with the veggies. Heat through until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve over rice, garnished with the tops of the green onions.
Notes
- This dish comes together very fast, be sure all of your ingredients are prepped before starting.
- Chicken breast or tenderloin will work for this recipe.
- Snap peas, carrots, bok choy, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, mushrooms, or zucchini would all work well in this dish.
- Coconut aminos are salty, but not as salty as soy sauce. It contains a fraction of the sodium of traditional soy sauce, while still adding a rich, savory flavor to dishes.
- We used raw cashews to develop this recipe. Frying them briefly gives them a lovely nutty flavor. Roasted cashews can also be used, just add them in with the snow peas. Roasted cashews will not need to be cooked before eating.
- For extra heat, add ½ teaspoon of sriracha to the sauce.
- Store leftover stir fry in the fridge for up to three days.
- Reheat leftovers in a skillet over medium heat, or microwave.
Nutrition Facts
Important Note: This is not an authentic cashew chicken recipe.
My goal is always to share recipes that are a bit healthier and made with affordable, accessible ingredients so everyone can enjoy them regardless of their food allergies or dietary restrictions.
Here’s a link to an Authentic Cashew Chicken Recipe.
Jennifer says
Absolutely delicious! I added additional veggies…so good! I love your recipes!
Liz Marino says
Yay! glad you liked it, Jennifer!
Robin Caldwell says
Delish! It’s a part of our regular meal planning.
Fairlight says
So flavorful! I’d planned to try making this recipe a couple nights ago but needed to toss the duties to my husband. Wanting to use what we already had in the house, we swapped in low-sodium soy sauce and avocado oil in place of the coconut aminos and coconut oil as suggested in the recipe. I loved getting all these veggies in one meal for my family and myself. Our toddler said it was spicy, so we may pull back on the ginger or red pepper flakes next time. By the time it takes to look at a takeout menu, make the order and pick it up, this lo mein is way more appealing—not to mention healthier and more fresh! We will be making this again.
Reva says
Definitely do as instructed and have everything ready! Comes together so fast but easy to follow!! Great flavor! Cashews were top notch and made the recipe perfect!
Marianne says
This recipe is delicious! My husband and I loved it and it was ready in 20 minutes!
Marianne says
This is so tasty! My husband and I loved this!!! It’s so good!!
Marianne Haladej says
This is so tasty! My husband and I loved this!!! It’s so good!!
Catherine says
Made this last night. Loved it! It’s now on the menu for over Christmas. Will use Halloumi instead of chicken for our veggie daughter.
Deanie says
Absolutely incredible! So so delicious! We will be making this probably weekly for awhile. We subbed different veggies to our families liking. The sauce is so delicious. I could go on and on about how delicious this recipe is!
Nora says
So yummy. I used soy sauce because I didn’t have coconut aminos and olive oil instead of coconut for the same reason. Served it on top of wild rice. Thank you!
Brenda says
Sooooo yummy! The only thing I subbed was soy sauce. Easy to make!
Jennifer says
This was delicious! A definite save and make again. I used low sodium soya sauce in place of the coconut aminos (couldn’t find any).
Thanks for the post.
Alyson says
I have never rated a recipe before… until now. This was SO GOOD! I followed everything to a T and it came out amazing. We will definitely be using this one again and again! Thank you!!
Ashley Roseberry says
I made this tonight and not only was it delicious, but it came together in 20 minutes! I had cut all the veggies ahead of time because I knew I would be short for time in the evening and it made it a breeze. Served it over some 90 second microwave rice and BOOM! Done!