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Cashew Chicken

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This cashew chicken with tender stir-fried chicken and roasted cashews in garlic sauce tastes just like take-out.

Bowl of cashew chicken over rice.

This cashew chicken, or stir-fried chicken with roasted cashews in garlic sauce, tastes just like take-out from your favorite Chinese restaurant. It’s easy to make at home. You don’t need a wok — just a large nonstick skillet — and, aside from the chicken, the only chopping involves garlic and scallions. The rest of the ingredients come out of bottles and jars. As with all stir-fries, the dish cooks quickly, so be sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking. Also, be sure not to cut the chicken pieces too small, or they will cook too quickly and overcook.

Looking for more Chinese take-out favorites to try at home? Try sweet and sour shrimp with broccoli, kung pao chicken, orange chicken, and beef and broccoli.

What You’ll Need To Make Cashew Chicken

cashew chicken ingredientsBe sure to use a high-quality hoisin sauce like Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee; it makes a big difference.

How To Make Cashew Chicken

To begin, place the cashews on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Cashews on a lined baking sheet.

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.

Whisk in a bowl of sauce mixture.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

Chicken in a skillet.

Stir-fry until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Cooked chicken in a skillet.

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.

Chicken in a skillet with seasonings.

Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute.

Sauce mixture and chicken in a skillet.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens, cashews and sesame oil.

Scallion greens and cashews in a skillet with chicken.

Serve with rice.

Bowl of cashew chicken over rice.

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Cashew Chicken

This cashew chicken with tender stir-fried chicken and roasted cashews in garlic sauce tastes just like take-out.

Servings: 4
Total Time: 30 Minutes

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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. 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.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: in a small bowl, whisk together the water, cornstarch, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce. Set aside.
  4. Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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

  • Fabulous! Just the right amount of sweet and spicy. Thanks for your great site and recipes:)

  • I have made this dish many times and each time tastes better than the last. I use chicken tenders and throw in a few extra cashews, delicious!

  • Will definately be adding this dinner rotation. So easy and quick! We loved it!

  • This is my first time at your site – my wife came across this recipe on Metrocurean and I made it for dinner tonight (Jan 2013 – nearly 2 years after the recipe’s debut!).

    The dish was spectacular and came together very easily. I followed it to the letter. Thank you so much.

    I really must applaud the fact that not only did you create a stir-fry without the use of ginger (which is not missed here), but you also didn’t call for dry sherry, which for some reason a lot of stir fry recipes ask for. I don’t know why this is, considering a decent bottle of dry sherry costs $20 in the MD area, and recipes only call for a Tablespoon at most. I’m appreciative of the fact that you found a way around this. The flavor was wonderful.

    Many thanks! Looking forward to trying your other recipes.

    • — MD Pastry Chef wannabe
    • Reply
  • came out a lot better than I thought. Usually when you make your own Chinese food( or when I do) it is never close to what you get at a restaurant. This came out very good.

  • Made this tonight. It was delicious & light. I will definitely repeat but will double the entire recipe.

  • looking for further recipes – these look wonderful.

  • Made this tonight…. delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I had to use Dynasty Hoisen Sauce because I can’t have gluten. Thanks!

  • Made tonight for the first time. Delicious and kid approved!

  • Great base recipe. I thought the sauce needed more punch so I ended up adding a bit more soy sauce to taste.

  • Great recipe! My 2 and 4 year old love it! It goes great with basmati or jasmine rice and crip tender steamed brocolli.

  • Tastes just like takeout, only better!

    • — Sarabjit Cheema
    • Reply
  • We love Asian food… never thought it could be so quick & easy to make at home! Thumbs up!!

  • I always prided myself on my own stir fry recipe but this trumps mine. The recipe items are always available in my pantry.

  • Made this for the first time today. Very easy and good. For some reason mine came out a little sweet. Wondering what caused that so I can avoid it next time. The only hoisin sauce I found was Dynasty brand so I’m guessing that may be it?

    • Hi Jenny, Hoisin sauce is a little sweet to begin with but there is a big difference between the different brands. I definitely prefer Kikkoman or Lee Kum Kee.

  • Oh ya – this is good. So full of complex and tangy flavors. I even made a mistake when adding the ingredients to the chicken – I added them all at once (oops – too busy multi-tasking) – And even then my whole family loved it!!! Thank you. (I served your “Big Italian Salad on the side, too – EXCELLENT).

  • This chicken dish was absolutely delicious! The technique for cooking the chicken was easy and the chicken came out perfect– the best. Will definitely use the technique and make this recipe again. Thank you!

    • — Karen Tanenbaum
    • Reply
  • Seriously, every recipe I’ve made from your blog has been delicious, and this was no exception. A perfect blend of flavors!

  • My family loves Chinese food and the Cashew Chicken recipe looks and sounds delicious. Will be making this in the near future.

  • I loved the look of this dish so very much that I went and bought all of the fabulous ingredients and spent a happy time in the kitchen putting it all together. We spent an even happier time at the dining room table eating it! It rivals PF Changs, and I have plenty of the bottled sauces to make more!! Also – I’m gluten intolerant and was able to get gluten free Soy Sauce and Hoisen sauce and the recipe was still perfect!

    • — Kathy Filatreau
    • Reply
  • This tastes just like an authentic chinese recipe! Being that I’m 2nd generation chinese, I’m not well versed in chinese cooking, but thanks to your blog and recipes, I can practice cooking chinese food! My asian family/friends ate it all up!

  • I love this recipe because it truly jazzes up boring, ol’ chicken. The cashews are crunchy and the sauce is tangy. I threw a crown of blanched broccoli in about 3 minutes before it was completely finished just to add a little more greenery to the dish.

  • This is perfect for a quick weeknight meal, especially since I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. Another winning recipe!

  • I’ve made your cashew chicken several times, my whole family loves it! I love the toasted nutty flavor once it’s all cooked! Yum! The flavors all blend wonderfully….and my picky toddler even gobbled up some! Thanks!

  • My family loves this recipe! We love Chinese and now I finally have a recipe to make at home that rivals our favorite restaurant!! Thank you Once Upon a Chef!!

  • I made this today, I added celery and water chestnuts for extra crunch. Delicious!!

  • I love your web site. I made this cashew chicken. It was great. My kids even ate it. Since my husband and I love spicy I added some chopped up jalapeno. We are trying to cut calories so we put it over shredded cabbage instead of rice. I sauteed the cabbage in the cashew chicken for a couple minutes and it was great this way too!

  • I made this tonight and it was scrumptious! I put in half breasts half thighs, and my family favored the thighs (although less healthy). I also added 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to give it a little kick. I love that it was tasty but wasn’t oily like most Chinese takeouts are. Thanks again for another winner!

  • That’s correct, Charlene. Hope you enjoy it!

  • Just to be clear, you don’t start with raw cashews? Thanks.

    • What is wrong with raw cashews

  • Hi Mary,

    I actually have tried the Whole Foods brand and did not like it in this recipe. Definitely go with one of the others…it makes a huge difference. Hope that helps!

  • This looks delicious, looking forward to trying it. I typically buy Whole Food’s 365 Organic Hoisin Sauce. Have you tried this one and if so do you think it is as good as the ones you mentioned?

  • Made this for dinner last night and my family loved it so much that they fought over the last of the sauce! I omitted the cashews due to allergies, and no one missed them at all. It was so delicious – thank you!!!

  • This is a winner! Made it tonight for the first time and it was a million times tastier than take out! Easy to make and so delicious. Thank you for giving me another great dinner idea!

  • This was delicious, very tasty with brown rice and broccoli! I didn’t have sesame oil, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. A new family favorite.

  • This was such a yummy and easy recipe to make….the whole family loved it!! Thanks for sharing…..

  • So easy to make and everyone enjoyed this as a quick dinner before heading out to a baseball game!! Thanks for sharing.

  • Made this last night, another big hit! Who needs take-out?!

    Thanks!

  • This was a great recipe! My husband and I both loved it, and it was really simple.

  • i’m throwing away my other cashew chicken recipe. this is hands down the best. so pungent and flavorful! remember all those trips to szechwan palace? 🙂

  • This looks delicious! I’ll definitely be trying it soon. You have a beautiful blog. I look forward to exploring it more.

  • This looks great! Despite the long ingredient list it seems pretty simple. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  • My husband would not be considered a fan of Chinese food but he loved this dish. I made it last night and he said it was a definite “repeat”. He has loved everything I have made from your site! Thank you!

  • Wow, I think this recipe is really delicious,…the picture look mouth watering dish yummy.

  • I like a pantry stocked with some of these Chinese sauces and oils…essentials for good Chinese food 🙂

  • I have been on an Asian kick lately..this looks wonderous!

  • AMAZING meal! My husband who is a very finicky eater has eaten all of the meals I have made from your blog. This one he ate up the quickest!!!!

  • ooo, Jen….THIS LOOKS sooo good.I keep a notebook with all my favorite sites and recipes I want to try from each. Your page is getting big! 🙂

    • — the domestic mama
    • Reply
  • Looks great…Tried your Oatmeal cookies last night and this looks like another winner…..

    • Tried it. No thank you.

  • This looks WONDERFUL!! I’m of Asian decent, but have never really tackled the “american” favorites beyond beef and broccoli stir-fry. My family will be so ecstatic, thanks so much for this wonderful recipe, will be trying it son!

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