A healthy take on Cashew Chicken! Tender garlicky chicken stir-fried with red bell peppers and roasted cashews tossed with a flavorful, savory homemade stir-fry sauce. Video.
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This cashew chicken is brimming with saucy deep flavor, created without any bottled sauces that often contain oils and sweeteners we don’t want to eat, or serve our families.
The sauce ingredients list may be lengthy but it comes together quickly and most items will probably already be in your pantry.
Cashew Chicken | 60-sec video
Table of Contents
Ingredients In Cashew Chicken
Ingredient Notes
- Shiitakes are used here to create some depth of flavor. Diced small these disappear into the stir fry but give nice umami.
- Sherry Vinegar– offers an important balance, rice vinegar can also be used.
- Molasses– gives a nice color and rich flavor.
- 5 Spice– just a hint creates complexity.
- Low Sodium Tamari– you can of course substitute with soy sauce or bragg liquid aminos. Be sure to adjust to taste as some are saltier than others.
- Roasted Cashews– roasting the nuts brings out so much flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Cashew Chicken
STEP ONE- Prepare the Chicken: Add the chopped chicken to a bowl or a bag. Add in the cornstarch and salt. Stir or shake around until fully coated. Set aside while you prep the ingredients.
STEP TWO- Cook the chicken in batches, frying over medium-high heat, with a high-heat oil, for about 1 minute on each side until just light brown. (It will continue to cook in the sauce don’t worry about cooking all the way through.) Set aside on a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the oil.
STEP THREE- Make the stir-fry sauce: In a blender place tamari (or soy sauce) maple syrup, sesame oil, sherry vinegar, molasses, ginger, garlic, chicken broth, cornstarch, 5 spice, white pepper and pepper flakes. Blend until completely smooth.
STEP FOUR- In a pan or wok with oil add onions, garlic, ginger and diced shiitakes sauté about 3 minutes on medium heat.
STEP FIVE- Add bell pepper, the sauce, the chicken, cashews and 1/2 of the green onions. Let the sauce bubble for about 2 minutes. (If you want the sauce to thicken more, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1-2 teaspoons water and add, bringing it to bubble again.)
The cashews will soften in the stir fry. Add them on top after cooking if you prefer the crunch. Or half cooked and half as garnish.
To Serve- Add the remaining green onions and serve over rice if desired. Also makes a delicious filling for lettuce cups!
Recipe FAQS
It depends on the ingredients used. This recipe is healthfully made with clean pantry ingredients, avoiding sauces that contain artificial ingredients and sugary syrups.
You can use arrowroot or tapioca starch.
Arrowroot– Clear, glossy and tasteless. Add at the end of cooking time, prolonged heat will break down resulting in a thin sauce.
Tapioca Starch– Clear and tasteless. It is recommended to use twice as much as tapioca as cornstarch.
Yes. You can skip the cornstarch slurry and add the chicken in with the onions and sauté.
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We have been enjoying the leftovers of this Cashew Chicken just as much as freshly made! Let us know what you think.
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Cashew Chicken
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups
- Category: main
- Method: stir-fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A healthy take on Cashew Chicken, tender garlicky chicken stir-fried with red bell peppers and roasted cashews tossed with a flavorful savory homemade stir-fry sauce.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 pound chicken thighs or breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir-fry Sauce
- 3 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce (or gluten-free Braggs Liquid Aminos)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey) adjust to taste
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or Chinese cooing wine or rice vinegar)
- 2 teaspoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, sliced
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
- a pinch or two of pepper flakes for spice or a squirt of sriracha
Stirfry
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shiitake mushrooms, chopped fine
- 2 green onions
- 1 bell pepper, chopped in 1-inch pieces
- 3/4 cup cashews, roasted
Instructions
- Prepare the Chicken: Add the chopped chicken to a bowl or a bag. Add in the cornstarch and salt. Stir or shake around until fully coated. Set aside while you prep the ingredients.
- Make the sauce: In a blender place tamari (or soy sauce) maple syrup, sesame oil, sherry vinegar, molasses, ginger, garlic, chicken broth, cornstarch, Chinese 5 spice, white pepper and pepper flakes. Blend until completely smooth.
- Cook the chicken in batches, frying over medium-high heat, with high heat oil, about 1 minute each side until just light brown. (It will continue to cook in the sauce don’t worry about cooking all the way through.) Set aside on plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the oil.
- Stir-Fry: In a pan or wok with oil add onions, garlic, ginger and diced shiitakes sauté about 3 minutes on medium heat. Add bell pepper, the sauce, the chicken, cashews and 1/2 of the green onions. Let the sauce bubble for about 2 minutes. (If you want the sauce to thicken more, mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1-2 teaspoons water and add, bringing it to bubble again.)
- Add the rest of the green onions and serve over rice if desired! Also makes a delicious filling for lettuce cups!
Notes
Toast raw cashews in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes- don’t walk away!
The cashews will soften in the stir fry. Add them on top after cooking if you prefer the crunch. Or half cooked and half as garnish.
If you prefer you can skip the cornstarch slurry and add the chicken in with the onions and sauté.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 316
- Sugar: 13.3 g
- Sodium: 440.6 mg
- Fat: 5.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 56.5 g
- Fiber: 3.5 g
- Protein: 14.9 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg
Didn’t feel like making dinner. Daughter and I picked this recipe. We had to sub the veggies for green beans and zucchini. Delicious! Adding to rotation.
Great to hear Teresa, glad you improvised!