Cashew Chicken
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Grab a pan, gather your ingredients, and get ready to whip up homemade cashew chicken that’s every bit as tasty as your favorite take-out.
Craving the flavors of your favorite Chinese take-out? This delicious cashew chicken recipe is a breeze to make at home. You don’t need a wok, just a large nonstick skillet. And aside from the chicken, the only chopping involves fresh garlic and scallions. The rest of the ingredients are easily found in your pantry in bottles and jars. Heads up: Stir-fries cook very quickly, so it’s essential to have everything measured and ready to go before you start cooking. And when it comes to the chicken, take care not to cut the pieces too small; larger chunks ensure they cook evenly without becoming overdone.
“Quick and easy. My teenage son and his friends all raved how good it was. Thanks!”
What You’ll Need To Make Cashew Chicken
- Roasted, unsalted cashews: Provide a crunchy texture and nutty flavor to the dish.
- Water: Used for adjusting the consistency of the sauce.
- Cornstarch: Acts as a thickening agent for the sauce, giving it a glossy appearance and helping it adhere to the chicken.
- Hoisin sauce: Adds a sweet, savory, and slightly tangy flavor to the dish. Be sure to use a high-quality brand, such as Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee—it makes a big difference.
- Soy sauce: Provides saltiness and umami flavor.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins: A lean cut that’s tender when stir-fried.
- Vegetable oil: Used for stir-frying the chicken and aromatics.
- Garlic and scallions: Garlic adds aromatic flavor, while scallions contribute both flavor and color to the dish.
- Rice vinegar: Adds a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to balance out the flavors.
- Asian sesame oil: Provides a distinct nutty aroma and flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, place the cashews on a baking sheet in a single layer.
Toast in the oven until fragrant, about 5 minutes. (They will crisp up as they cool.) Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: in a small bowl, whisk together the water, cornstarch, hoisin sauce and soy sauce. Set aside.
Next, season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over high heat until very hot. Add half of the chicken to the skillet.
Stir-fry until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet; then add remaining chicken, garlic and white parts of the scallions. Stir-fry until the chicken is lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Return the first batch of chicken to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rice vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.
Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens, cashews and sesame oil.
Serve with rice.
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Cashew Chicken
Grab a pan, gather your ingredients, and get ready to whip up homemade cashew chicken that’s every bit as tasty as your favorite take-out.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup roasted, unsalted cashews
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce, best quality such as Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 8 scallions (1 bunch), white and green parts separated, each cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the cashews on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast in the oven until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Set aside; they will crisp up as they cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: in a small bowl, whisk together the water, cornstarch, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce. Set aside.
- Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over high heat until very hot. Add half of the chicken to the skillet and stir-fry until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet; then add the remaining chicken, garlic and white parts of the scallions. Stir-fry until the chicken is lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Return the first batch of chicken to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rice vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.
- Add the sauce mixture to the chicken; cook, tossing, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is nicely thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens, cashews and sesame oil. Serve immediately.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: about 1 1/4 cups each
- Calories: 464
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 45 g
- Sodium: 855 mg
- Cholesterol: 125 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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I would like to make this recipe for my family of six so would like to double it. Should I make it in two large skillets and cook a quarter of the chicken in each to begin with?
That’s probably a good idea, just so you’re not crowding the chicken. Hope everyone enjoys! 🙂
I just used one skillet but cooked the chicken in batches. It would certainly be faster in two skillets tho!
Either way, glad it worked out! 🙂
Absolutely DELICIOUS, and 100 times better than any take-out cashew chicken in New York City. Thanks for another winner!!
I made this tonight, it was Average, certainly not better than takeout. I felt the sauce definitely lacked flavour. Considering the effort it was disappointing. Won’t make again
so delicious 😋
Made this dish last night very yummy
This one turned out just “ok” for me. I ran into issues with the sauce, which looked nothing like the photo. Instead of the nice glossy sauce pictured, mine was cloudy and sticky. The meal tasted ok but it was dry because of the sauce issue. Good flavor but maybe something in my execution?
Hi Joanne, It sounds like maybe the sauce had too much cornstarch. Is there any chance you used 2 tablespoons instead of 2 teaspoons?
Hi Jen, thanks for your response —no I measured correctly. Love your site, anyway!
Made this yesterday and it turned out perfectly! I will be making this over and over. The recipe was so simple and easy to follow and there weren’t so many ingredients that I could get overwhelmed with. My only concern, as a very very novice recipe follower, is that it did not tell me the temp to roast the cashews at. That’s all, otherwise it was perfect.
Hi Lesley, They cook at 350°F. Glad you enjoyed!
I don’t usually post reviews, so I’m not familiar with the inconsistent and improper use of quotation marks and capitalization seen by so many reviewers, but I will do my best to get my point across without those tactics.
I made this tonight following the recipe exactly as written. This was much better than any take out cashew chicken I have had. It is more true to the authentic dish that you would find in Asia since they don’t generally add vegetables as fillers the way they do with Americanized Chinese food. Personally, I prefer my veg as a separate dish so that I can enjoy a variety of flavors.
My sister has been looking for an Asian style sauce to go on chicken wings, and we think this might be it. We thought the dish could use a little heat, so we’re going to try it again with a Thai chili in the sauce.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I stumbled upon it by accident, and we thought it was outstanding.
So glad you enjoyed it!
What cornstarch? I don’t see cornstarch listed in this recipe. Should there be 2 tsp listed and at what step would you add it?
Hi Sharon, Did you by chance print this recipe a while ago? I tweaked it a couple of years ago (I thought the sauce needed to be thicker so I added cornstarch.) If you view/print it again, you’ll see it. Sorry for any confusion!
This was a very tasty meal- a real keeper. Thank you
Yet another delicious recipe. My entire family loved it! There wasn’t a drop left in the pan. The amount of sauce was perfect for us. I made it exactly as noted. Served with a big green salad. If I served it with broccoli as some suggested, I’d probably make 1.5 x the sauce. Thank you again Jen!
Ooops I bought RAW unsalted cashews! Can this still work Jenn?
Sure, Gigi. I’d just roast them before incorporating them into the recipe. Check out some simple instructions here. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Another great dinner! Thank you Jenn! Your recipes consistently prove to be excellent and full proof, my children and husband enjoyed greatly too! Doubled the sauce and added red pepper, served with brown rice and roasted broccoli.
I made this Cashew Chicken tonight and it was a hit! Everyone loved it!
Everything was perfectly proportioned and went together smoothly, making it very tasty and worthy of 2nd’s! Yummy!
Thank you!