We have been creating a lot of quick and easy, Chinese-style takeout dishes to make at home lately and absolutely loving it! It’s been really nice to be able to make simple, flavor packed dinners at home. We love being able to control the ingredients and amounts we use, making some of our favorite takeout dishes slightly healthier too.
Not only is the flavor of our cashew chicken off the charts good, but this entire dish comes together in under 30 minutes, which is out favorite type of weeknight dinner to make! Our recipe makes enough to feed a family of four, but we do recommend doubling the recipe. Leftovers are even better the next day and our cashew chicken recipe reheats (and travels) incredibly well, making this a great grab and go lunch the next day!
What’s Cashew Chicken?
Cashew chicken is a Chinese-American dish consisting of stir-fried chicken and cashews that are tossed and coated in a brown garlic sauce with a gravy consistency.
What’s Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken?
Springfield Style Cashew Chicken is the deep-fried version, created by Chef David Leong in Springfield, Missouri. The bitesized pieces of chicken are deep-fried before getting tossed together with the sauce.
How to Make Our Cashew Chicken Recipe
Process
SAUCE
- Combine all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
CHICKEN
- Combine all ingredients, except chicken into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Pour mixture over chicken and stir until evenly coated. Allow chicken to sit for 10minutes.
ASSEMBLE
- Place a large skillet or wok over high heat and add oil. Add half chicken and partially cook, stirring frequently.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and return skillet to stove.
- Add remaining oil and chicken to skillet and partially cook. Stir plated chicken back to skillet and cook.
- Stir sauce into skillet and lower heat. Simmer sauce and chicken together until sauce thickens enough to coat chicken.
- Stir cashews into chicken mixture until evenly combined.
- Remove from heat and top with green onions and sesame seeds.
Tools You Will Need
- cutting board
- knife
- mixing bowls
- measuring spoons
- liquid measuring cup
- dry measuring cup
- large skillet
- wooden spoon
Make Ahead and Freezing Our Cashew Chicken Recipe
Make Ahead
Cook cashew chicken as per instructions, but leave the cashews out. Cool dish and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
When ready to serve, transfer cashew chicken to a skillet and warm over medium-low to low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. If sauce begins to dry out, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Once dish is hot stir in cashews, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.
Freezing
Cook cashew chicken as per instructions, but leave the cashews out. Cool dish and transfer to an airtight container. Place in freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, transfer container to refrigerator and thaw. Once thawed, pour cashew chicken into a skillet and warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. If sauce begins to dry out, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Once dish is hot stir in cashews, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.
Tips and Tricks for Cashew Chicken Success
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet when initially cooking the chicken. You’ll end up with excess liquid in the skillet, causing the chicken to steam instead of sear. Cooking the chicken in batches will give them the ever so slight seared and crisp exterior.
- Use unsalted (and roasted) cashews in this dish! Salted cashews will be too much and make this dish too salty. If salted cashews are all you can find, give them a quick rinse, pat dry and throw them in a skillet over low heat for a few minutes to gain their crunch back.
What to Serve with Cashew Chicken?
We love serving our cashew chicken recipe with steamed rice (brown or white!) and a side of steamed or roasted broccoli, but there are other serving options we love:
Cashew Chicken Variations
We kept our recipe pretty basic, although you’ll find other versions add chopped bell peppers and onions to this dish. Some other simple variations are below:
- Add some steamed broccoli to this dish to include some green veggies!
- Some sautéed mushrooms like shiitake or oyster would also make a really nice addition!
- Make this recipe gluten free by swapping the soy sauce out for tamari and using a gluten free hoisin sauce!
- Although the dish is called cashew chicken, you can always swap the chicken out for cubes of extra firm tofu for a vegetarian friendly version! Just place a baking sheet over a block of tofu and weight it down (cans work great!) for at least an hour. This will release excess liquid in the tofu, allowing it to cook and crisp up a bit. After the tofu has been pressed, chop into bite sized pieces, toss in a small amount of cornstarch, so cubes are just barely coated and fry in the skillet as you would the chicken.
Other Easy Chicken Recipes You Will Love
- Sesame Chicken
- Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Garlic and Ginger Braised Chicken
- Butter Chicken
Check out our Cashew Chicken Google Web Story.
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Cashew Chicken Recipe
INGREDIENTS
sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
chicken
- 1 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1/2" pieces
rest of dish
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
sauce
- Combine all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
chicken
- Combine all ingredients, except chicken into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Pour mixture over chicken and stir until evenly coated. Allow chicken to sit for 10 minutes.
assemble
- Place a large skillet or wok over high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add half chicken and partially cook, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and return skillet to stove.
- Add remaining oil and chicken to skillet and partially cook, another 4 to 5 minutes. Stir plated chicken back to skillet and cook for an additional minute.
- Stir sauce into skillet and lower heat to medium. Simmer sauce and chicken together until sauce thickens enough to coat chicken, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir cashews into chicken mixture until evenly combined.
- Remove from heat and top with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve.
NOTES
Make Ahead
Cook cashew chicken as per instructions, but leave the cashews out. Cool dish and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, transfer cashew chicken to a skillet and warm over medium-low to low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. If sauce begins to dry out, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Once dish is hot stir in cashews, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.Freezing
Cook cashew chicken as per instructions, but leave the cashews out. Cool dish and transfer to an airtight container. Place in freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, transfer container to refrigerator and thaw. Once thawed, pour cashew chicken into a skillet and warm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. If sauce begins to dry out, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Once dish is hot stir in cashews, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.Tips and Tricks for Cashew Chicken Success
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet when initially cooking the chicken. You’ll end up with excess liquid in the skillet, causing the chicken to steam instead of sear. Cooking the chicken in batches will give them the ever so slight seared and crisp exterior.
- Use unsalted (and roasted) cashews in this dish! Salted cashews will be too much and make this dish too salty. If salted cashews are all you can find, give them a quick rinse, pat dry and throw them in a skillet over low heat for a few minutes to gain their crunch back.
Cashew Chicken Variations
We kept our recipe pretty basic, although you’ll find other versions add chopped bell peppers and onions to this dish. Some other simple variations are below:- Add some steamed broccoli to this dish to include some green veggies!
- Some sautéed mushrooms like shiitake or oyster would also make a really nice addition!
- Make this recipe gluten free by swapping the soy sauce out for tamari and using a gluten free hoisin sauce!
- Although the dish is called cashew chicken, you can always swap the chicken out for cubes of extra firm tofu for a vegetarian friendly version! Just place a baking sheet over a block of tofu and weight it down (cans work great!) for at least an hour. This will release excess liquid in the tofu, allowing it to cook and crisp up a bit. After the tofu has been pressed, chop into bite sized pieces, toss in a small amount of cornstarch, so cubes are just barely coated and fry in the skillet as you would the chicken.
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Hi. Looking forward to making this dish. What do you mean by neutral oil?
Hi! This just means neutral in flavor, like vegetable, safflower, or grapeseed oil.