Easy Cashew Chicken

Better than takeout, this Easy Cashew Chicken is the perfect go-to recipe for dinner. It’s easy to make and packed with veggies and flavor. Then add a touch of crunchy cashews, and you just take this right over the top – it’s so good!

What are your go-to recipes during the workweek? We rely heavily on stir fries for sure because they’re simple to make, and they’re a 1-pan kind of dinner too. You can also easily customize whatever stir fry you’re making to what you have on hand as well.

All in all, stir fry is a must have ‘back pocket’ kind of recipe. Once you make it a few times you’ll know it so well you can whip it up extra fast. You’ll also find some tips below for how to prep a few things ahead to make this even faster.

Cashew chicken is a classic standby that simply never gets old. However for the average weeknight, I kept this recipe extra simple. I’ve also added lots of extra veggies too, so you won’t even need to make a side dish, just steam some rice and you’re done!

Let’s get started by talking about the ingredients for this Easy Cashew Chicken!

• Chicken – I like to use chicken thighs here because they don’t dry out as easily as chicken breasts in a stir fry.
• Green onions – Both the white and green parts are used in this stir fry. The white ends go in early and the green goes in at the end.
• Red bell pepper – adds lots of flavor and a bright pop of color. But as I mentioned above, stir fries can be customized easily to whatever veggies you love in a stir fry. You only want to steer clear of the veggies that take too long to cook like extra hard root veggies, (winter squash, potatoes, etc.). Veggies like carrots and parsnips can be thinly sliced and stir fry well.
• Broccoli – is my main green veggie here, but asparagus, snow peas, or bok choy all work here. (Although bok choy cooks really fast, so add it in towards the end if you use it.)
• Water chesnuts – add lots of fun crunch to this stir fry and have been traditional in any cashew chicken I’ve ever ordered in a restaurant. You can usually find them in your ordinary supermarket. They’re in the oriental section of our grocery store.
• Garlic & ginger – are your aromatics in this stir fry and add so much flavor.
• Sauce ingredients – I’ve kept the sauce ingredients extra healthy here. I used a mixture of coconut aminos and fish sauce to mimic the flavors from the classic dish which usually has oyster sauce in it. I haven’t found an oyster sauce yet in the store that doesn’t have a whole pile of ingredients in there I’m not too sure about. It’s also usually not gluten free. So the fish sauce in this recipe adds the right flavor to get by without it.
• Cashews – toasted to golden perfection add lots of yummy crunch. They’re not strictly necessary if you can’t have nuts. Despite the fact this is a ‘cashew chicken’ recipe there’s still plenty of flavor if you need to omit the nuts.

Now let’s jump in and make this Easy Cashew Chicken step by step:

Step 1:

We’re going to start by prepping all the ingredients. Stir fries are best cooked over high heat and need all of your attention once you start cooking.

Time saving tip #1: You can mince your garlic and ginger ahead of time, and refrigerate it for a couple of days. Or you can freeze it for a later date. I mince up large batches, and then freeze them in small containers. From there I just pull out a container and place it in the refrigerator to thaw. A good amount to freeze for a stir fry is 2 cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon minced ginger. You can vary the ratios, but that one is very tasty!

Step 2:

Cut up all the veggies. Try to aim for evenly sized pieces if you can. This helps the veggies to cook more evenly in the pan.

Time saving tip #2: Cut up your veggies on the weekend and store in airtight containers. This way if you don’t have much time in the evenings, the main prep work is already done. You can also buy lots of different veggies already cut up these days. And if you use a veggie like snow peas, there’s no prep at all!

Steps 3 & 4:

Next it’s time to sauté the chicken before removing it from the pan.

Then stir fry the veggies until they’re crisp tender.

Step 5:

Finally we’re going to add the sauce mixture along with the water chesnuts and cashews. Stir together while cooking over high as the sauce absorbs, and serve!

Serve this over:

• Freshly steamed rice
• All by itself, just pile it into a bowl and dig in!
• Cauliflower rice
• Roasted sweet potatoes

And if you love stir fry too, here are some of our other favorites!

• Healthy Orange Chicken
• Chicken and Zucchini Stir Fry
• Sweet Chili Chicken Stir Fry
• Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry (Whole30)
• Paleo Mongolian Beef
• Whole30 Sweet and Sour Stir Fry
• Ethiopian Berbere Stir Fry

I really hope you enjoy this simple and tasty dinner that truly is better than takeout! And if you do get a chance to make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here! Also for lots more Asian inspired recipes, head over to the recipe index.

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