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Skip the takeout and make this healthy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry in minutes! Tender chicken, crunchy cashews, and your favorite vegetables all tossed in a flavorful homemade sauce. It’s takeout made at home that leaves you feeling energized instead of weighed down!
Try it alongside our easy egg drop soup for a full Chinese takeout themed night!
It’s fast, it’s fresh, and your kitchen is going to smell incredible while it’s cooking. Serve it over some cauliflower rice for a light dinner, or brown rice if you need a bit more heartiness. Trust me, once you try this, it’s going straight into your weekly rotation!
The flexibility of stir-fry also makes it an ideal meal for high-protein and vegetable-dense diets. Because the dish relies on small, bite-sized pieces, it is easy to incorporate a diverse array of colorful vegetables, ensuring a variety of nutrients and fiber in every serving.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What is Cashew Chicken?
- Ingredients
- Variations And Substitutions
- How To Make Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Rachel’s Tips For The Best Results
- How To Serve
- Meal Prep, Storage, and Reheat
- Recipe FAQs
- More Stir Fry Recipes You’ll Love
- Easy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
- Meal Prep, Storage, and Reheat
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Speed: Ideal for a weeknight meal when you want a quick dinner after a long workday.
- Affordable: Ordering cashew chicken from the nearby Chinese restaurant can cost more money than if you make easy stir-frys like this one at home.
- Minimal Cleanup: Everything is stir fried in one pan, so cleaning up is a cinch!
- Customization: You have total control over salt, sugar, and oil content when you make healthy take out at home, but also you get to use any vegetables you like.
- Waste Reduction: Chicken cashew stirfry is perfect for using up miscellaneous ingredients in the pantry or refrigerator like leftover chicken or vegetables.
Looking for more chicken stir fry recipes to try? Then you’re going to love this easy sesame chicken stir fry, 15-minute chicken and broccoli stir fry, and this quick chicken satay stir fry.
What is Cashew Chicken?
Cashew chicken is a Chinese stir fry dish that combines chicken with cashew nuts, vegetables, and a sweet and savory sauce.
The flexibility of stir-fry also makes it an ideal meal for high-protein and vegetable-dense diets. Because the dish relies on small, bite-sized pieces, it is easy to incorporate a diverse array of colorful vegetables, ensuring a variety of nutrients and fiber in every serving.
Ingredients
These are the simple ingredients that make this Cashew Chicken Stir Fry recipe perfect for an easy weeknight meal idea that’s healthy and fast.
Boneless Chicken Thighs: The secret to this stir-fry is using chicken thighs. They stay so much juicier and more tender than breasts when you’re searing them at high heat.
Cashews: I always like to use raw nuts in my recipes for a healthier option. Once you add them to the pan, the cashews become perfectly toasted and crunchy, adding texture to every single bite.
Vegetables: Stir fry recipes are always full of vegetables meaning they are fiber-dense meals. In this healthy cashew chicken recipe, I chose to use red bell peppers, celery, and green onions since that’s what I had on hand. But you can use any veggies you want!
Asian Flavors: Garlic, ginger, and red chili are what really make this sauce. Using fresh ingredients increases the flavor and really makes this Asian dish taste authentic.
Coconut Aminos: Have you ever used coconut aminos? They’re a wonderful replacement for soy sauce in Asian dishes so you can remove extra salt, soy, and gluten from your meals!
Oil: I know many stir fry’s use sesame oil, but instead I use high quality avocado oil since it is the best oil to use for high heat cooking. To get a little bit of that sesame flavor, I sprinkle sesame seeds over the finished dish.
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations And Substitutions
Chicken Swap: You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts but they may turn out a little more tough than the thighs.
Nuts: You could replace the cashews with another raw crunchy nut if needed.
Vegetables: As mentioned before, this meal is very forgiving so you can use any vegetables you have on hand.
How To Make Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Heat your oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Step 1. Add your chicken pieces in a single layer and cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes until it starts to develop a golden crust. Stir, and continue to fry until cooked through about 3 more minutes.
Next, stir in the garlic, ginger, and chili pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Step 2. Add the bell pepper pieces, celery, and cashews to the heated skillet then stir fry for 3-4 minutes, until slightly golden brown.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the arrowroot powder, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, and honey. Whisk well until smooth.
Step 3. Return your chicken to the skillet and drizzle with the sauce you made, then toss to combine while still on heat. Your sauce will thicken once it starts to simmer.
Step 4. Remove from the heat and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Step 5: Serve over cooked brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
Enjoy!
Love, Rachel
Rachel’s Tips For The Best Results
- If you like things to be really saucy, you can double the sauce.
- Adjust the spice to your liking.
- Sweetness is a personal preference. Use the amount of honey that is right for you.
- A sharp knife makes cutting your chicken and veggies into bite-size pieces super quick and easy.
- Use a garlic and ginger grater for faster meal prep.
- A non-toxic wok heats up to a higher heat than a typical fry pan and makes this dish both faster cooking and more authentic tasting.
Looking for more healthy Asian recipe ideas? Then don’t miss this Healthy Unstuffed Beef Egg Roll Stir Fry, this Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe, or Spicy Miso Baked Cod for Dinner.
How To Serve
Serve alongside some of our Asian side dishes:
Meal Prep, Storage, and Reheat
This cashew chicken stir fry makes great meal prep. Whether meal prepping or storing leftovers, they will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
To reheat, place the cashew chicken and vegetables in a skillet and heat over medium heat until warmed through. You could also use the microwave to heat in 10-15 second bursts until the dish is heated.
Recipe FAQs
Can you put cashew nuts in a stir fry?
Absolutely! Making a cashew stir fry with chicken is a quick and easy meal that can be used for weeknight dinners or meal prepping. The cashews give the dish an added crunch and increase the protein.
What vegetables go well with cashew chicken?
Traditional cashew chicken is made with green peppers and onions but you could also use broccoli, mini corn, red peppers, celery, sugar snap peas, or any other veggie you like.
Did you try this Cashew Chicken Stir Fry recipe? If so, it would mean so much to me if you would comment and rate this recipe!
🩷Rachel
More Stir Fry Recipes You’ll Love
Easy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
Cashew Chicken:
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil , or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
- thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped, or ½ tsp red chili flakes
- 2 red bell peppers, large, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6 celery ribs, thinly sliced on an angle
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
Cashew Chicken Sauce:
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder , or cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- 2 cups cooked brown rice, or 1 cup cooked cauliflower rice, or 1/2 cup cooked quinoa to serve
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced to garnish
- sesame seeds, if desired
Instructions
- Heat your oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
- Add your chicken pieces in a single layer and cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes until it starts to develop a golden crust. Stir, and continue to fry until cooked through about 3 more minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, and chili then cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
- Add the bell pepper pieces, celery, and cashews to the heated skillet then stir fry for 3-4 minutes, until slightly golden brown.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the arrowroot powder, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, and honey. Whisk well until smooth.
- Return your chicken to the skillet and drizzle with the coconut aminos sauce, then toss to combine while still on heat. Your sauce will thicken once it starts to simmer.
- Remove from the heat and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
- Serve over cooked brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
- Enjoy!
- Rachel
Notes
- If you like things to be really saucy, you can double the sauce.
- Adjust the spice to your liking.
- Sweetness is a personal preference. Use the amount of honey that is right for you.
- A sharp knife makes cutting your chicken and veggies into bite-size pieces super quick and easy.
- Use a garlic and ginger grater for faster meal prep.
- A non-toxic wok heats up to a higher heat than a typical fry pan and makes this dish both faster cooking and more authentic tasting.
Meal Prep, Storage, and Reheat
- This cashew chicken stir fry makes great meal prep. Whether meal prepping or storing leftovers, they will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- To reheat, place the cashew chicken and vegetables in a skillet and heat over medium heat until warmed through. You could also use the microwave to heat with 10-15 second bursts until the dish is heated.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
