Why take out when you can make this delicious Spicy Cashew Chicken? It is so simple to make and packed with veggies and great flavors! I am abscessed with stir fry dishes and this one is one of my favorites! It is made with all straight forward ingredients that will not get you lost or break your pocket!
HOW DO YOU MAKE SPICY CASHEW CHICKEN?
When I have zero motivation to cook, I always look for easy meals that can be done in less than 30 minutes. Typically this always happens on weeknights when I am super tired. Stir fry recipes are always my go to recipe. This easy cashew chicken recipe is more of a stir fry version. It is packed with simple veggies everyone loves! I like to sauté my veggies and set them aside. I also use roasted cashews that I saute right after the veggies and set them aside with the veggies.
Before hand, I usually cube some chicken tenderloins. After sautéing the veggies I add a little bit more olive oil and pan sear the chicken pieces until they are fully cooked and obtain a nice golden coat on the outside. It's very important that you brown the chicken because it will look like you are eating some boiled up chicken and I am not a fan of that.
Prepare the cashew chicken sauce and pour over the chicken to sauté together. Once the sauce has thickened up, you will return the veggies and cashews to the pan and add some pepper flakes. This is optional if you want to make the cashew chicken non spicy to accommodate your kids. Stir everything together and sauté so the veggies and cashews absorbs the sauce.
At this point is should be ready to eat!
VARIATIONS TO THE CASHEW CHICKEN
Proteins: You can use any protein you like for this recipe and follow the same steps. I recommend chicken tenders instead of chicken breast, raw shrimps instead of cooked and if you are using red meat, only cheese something tender like Beef fillet, Ribeye Steak or N.Y Strip Steak.
Stir fry veggies: These include veggies likes bell peppers, onion, asparagus, snow peas, carrots, green onions, broccoli, edamame.
Nuts: If you are not a fan of cashew, you can use peanuts instead.
Side dish: You can serve the cashew chicken with noodles, white rice or brown rice. You can also cook friend rice and serve with that.
Oils: You can use vegetable oil, tasteless coconut oil or sesame oil instead of olive oil.
THE CASHEW CHICKEN SAUCE:
The homemade sauce for the chicken cashew is made with a few ingredients that are already in your panty or fridge. The ingredients for the sauce are spices, corn starch, chicken broth, vinegar, fresh ginger, soy sauce and brown sugar. You can replace soy sauce with liquid aminos if you prefer that. To make a spice sauce, you will need to add pepper flakes to the mixture.
CASHEW CHICKEN RECIPE FOR MEAL PREP
You can definitely meal prep this delicious cashew chicken recipe if you like. If you are on a low carb diet, I recommend removing the sugar from the recipe completely. Serve with quinoa or brown.
Finally, if you are a fan of Thai or Asian cuisines, this take out inspired Spicy Cashew Chicken recipe is going something you will definitely like. So give it a try and let me know what you think about it! Leave a comment or rating on my recipe card below when you try it! If you are not on my social media channels yet, you can follow me on INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and FACEBOOK.
OTHER SIMILAR RECIPES:
Sweet and Chili Shrimp Stir Fry
Crispy Honey Sriracha Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe
Spicy Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. chicken tenders cubed
- 1 red bell pepper cubed
- 1 green bell pepper cubed
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 large zucchini sliced
- 1/2 cup roasted cashew
- 3 tbsps. olive oil divided between chicken and veggies
- Sliced scallions or green onions optional
CASHEW SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 3 tbsps. reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. vinegar
- 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- 1.5 tbsps. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. pepper flakes
Instructions
- Bring 1.5 tbsps. of olive heat to high heat in a skillet or frying pan.
- Toss in the veggies and cook until tender. Remove and set aside in a bowl.
- Throw in the cashews into the same skillet and toss to toast them a little bit. Remove and add to the veggies.
- Add another 1.5 tbsp. of olive oil and bring to high heat. Saute the chicken cubes until they are brown in color and fully cooked.
- Pour in the cashew chicken sauce mixture and cook together for 1 minute. Return the veggies and cashew to the skillet and mix together with the chicken and sauce to coat well.
- Cover and allow them to cook together for 2-3 minutes. If you are adding the scallions or green onions, you can do so now. Toss together and remove from the heat to serve.
Nutrition
Healthy and delicious! Can't wait to try this recipe Mima! Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!
Thanks Anna! Can't wait for you to try it!
What kind of vinegar? I have apple cider or red wine. Are those ok?
Hi Lisa,
It would be the regular distilled vinegar but if you only have those two in hand, go ahead and use the red wine.
So easy and delicious recipe. Just doubled the sauce as per the family's liking. Thank you!
Hi There!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a review. We really appreciate it. Glad your family liked it!
We added jalapeños and 2 tablespoons of sriracha sauce
Hi James,
That sounds delicious! I love spicy food.