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If you love the flavors of Asian takeout, but are looking for a healthier dinner option, this Healthy Cashew Chicken Recipe is for you! It has all of the traditional flavors of your favorite takeout, but it’s better for you.
One of the best parts about making healthy Asian meals at home is that the recipes are quick and easy to make! This is the best cashew chicken recipe to make after a long day when you need a quick meal that’s packed with veggies, protein, and is gluten-free. It’s similar to my healthy shrimp stir-fry recipe only made with cashews! Serve it with a side of rice or eat it alone for a delicious, balanced and nutritious meal.
If you like heart-healthy chicken recipes, you will love my Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Thai Almond Chicken!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Customize: Stir-fries are great because they are made with healthy ingredients and are easy to customize based on your preferences. You can add your favorite veggies, or use different veggies every time you make it. You’ll have a dinner that you know tastes delicious, but can get the variety you crave!
- Better Than Takeout: This easy cashew chicken is the perfect meal for when you want your favorite takeout dish, but still want a healthy and nutritious meal. It’s also perfect for meal prep!
- Ready in 20 Minutes: Another great thing about this cashew chicken stir-fry is that it only takes 20 minutes to make. That’s perfect for a meal at the end of a long day! You can also make my cashew chicken bake if you don’t want to stand at the stove.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are best for this recipe because they are easy to cut into bite-sized pieces before you cook them.
- Bell Peppers: Red and green bell peppers add a sweet and slightly bitter crunch to every bite of this flavorful stir-fry.
- Broccoli: Broccoli florets soak up the sauce in this cashew chicken dish, add fiber and broccoli tastes amazing in healthy Asian dishes.
- Cashews: You can’t have cashew chicken without cashews in the dish! Raw cashews cook in the sauce before you serve them, so they are still crunchy.
- Coconut Aminos and Rice Wine Vinegar: Instead of soy sauce, this recipe uses coconut aminos to achieve a similar flavor to make it gluten-free. The mild acidity and slightly sour flavor of rice wine vinegar adds a signature Asian takeout flavor to the dish or you can try my soy-free stir-fry sauce instead of adding the sauces individually! If you’re not gluten free, you can simply use a low-sodium soy sauce.
- Honey: Adds a touch of sweetness to your chicken cashew recipe with a little bit of honey.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Switch Up the Veggies: The options for vegetables that taste amazing in this cashew chicken recipe are endless! Try it with zucchini, mushrooms, snow peas, corn, edamame, bean sprouts, carrots, or bok choy.
- Make It Vegetarian: You can easily make this recipe vegetarian by swapping the chicken for extra veggies, peas and tofu. You can make it vegan by swapping out the chicken and using a maple syrup instead of honey.
- Spice It Up: If you like your Asian dishes a little spicy, add some crushed red pepper to the sauce. You can also add garlic chili sauce or gochujang.
- Starch: Tapioca, arrowroot or corn starch can be used in this healthy chicken cashew recipe.
How to Make This Healthy Cashew Chicken Recipe
It’s incredibly simple and quick to make this easy cashew chicken dinner. You only need two mixing bowls and a large skillet! Heat the large skillet over medium to medium-high heat with a bit of extra virgin olive oil until the oil starts to shimmer.
Step 1: Coat Chicken in Tapioca Starch. Chop your boneless skinless chicken breasts into 1” cubes, then add them to a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch. Stir the mixture until the chicken is coated in the starch.
Step 2: Cook the Chicken. Transfer the chicken to the heated skillet. Spread it out in an even layer along the bottom of the pan. You may need to cook the chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Let the chicken cook for 5-7 minutes, or until it is cooked through to 165°F, then transfer it to a plate.
Step 3: Cook the Veggies. Add the broccoli florets, bell peppers, garlic, and ginger to the hot skillet. Stir to combine them, then let them cook for 4-5 minutes until they turn tender.
Step 4: Make the Sauce. While the vegetables cook, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and remaining tapioca flour in a separate bowl.
Step 5: Combine All the Ingredients. Pour the sauce mixture over the vegetables and add the chicken back to the pan. Stir in the cashews and allow everything to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Step 6: Top with Sesame Seeds. Once your chicken cashew stir-fry is heated through, top the dish with sesame seeds before serving with a side of white rice, healthy fried rice, or cauliflower rice for a low carb option.
Expert Tips
- Don’t Overcrowd the Pan: If you add too much chicken to the skillet then the chicken will steam instead of brown. Steamed chicken isn’t as flavorful, and it doesn’t have the same texture and crunch as a typical chicken stir-fry.
- Use a Hot Pan: You’re pan should be hot before you add the chicken. This helps the outside brown into a golden and flavorful crust more quickly without overcooking the chicken.
- Don’t Skip the Tapioca Starch: Adding a starch to the outside of the chicken helps tenderize the meat. This makes it tender and juicy, while still achieving a crispy outside. Corn starch or arrowroot starch can be used instead.
- Toast the Cashews: You can toast your cashews in the oven at 350°F for 5-10 minutes before adding them to the sauce. This helps them stay crisper for a longer amount of time and not get too soggy.
- Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Copycat Asian takeout dishes are some of my favorite dinners! They are loaded with vegetables, crispy meat, and bursting with flavor. This healthy cashew chicken stir-fry also has an added crunch from the cashews! Make this dish for dinner, lunch, or meal prep it for the week. It’s versatile and pairs with many different sides and dishes.
- Chicken lettuce wraps are my favorite appetizer to serve with any Asian-style meal, but this Asian broccoli salad is also a great option.
- Don’t forget dessert! I love eating chocolate after a meal with Asian flavors. This chocolate avocado pudding is a light, but sweet treat for after dinner, or an almond flour chocolate chip cookie is always a yummy way to finish a meal!
Recipe FAQs
For the quickest method, reheat your cashew chicken stir-fry in the microwave in 60-second increments until it is heated through. For crispier results, add it to a hot pan and reheat it on the stove. You may want to add a little more sauce to your leftovers to keep them moist. Be sure to thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating them.
The tapioca starch in the sauce acts as a thickener. If your sauce is too thin, try adding a little more tapioca starch to thicken it up.
No, but you can make it so with just a few swaps. You’ll need to omit the honey and any use of sweeteners and substitute rice wine vinegar for apple cider vinegar to make this recipe compliant with a Whole30 diet.
More Delicious Healthy Asian Cuisine Recipes
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Healthy Cashew Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos, or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 2 ½ tablespoons tapioca flour
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat with extra virgin olive oil.
- Place chopped chicken in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour. Stir to coat the chicken, add salt and pepper then transfer it to a skillet keeping the chicken spaced out enough so they won't stick together. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to work in batches.
- Cook 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through then transfer to a plate.
- To the skillet, add broccoli florets, bell peppers, garlic and ginger. Stir to combine then let the veggies cook 4-5 minutes until tender.
- While the veggies cook, place honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of tapioca flour in a bowl and whisk together.
- Pour the sauce over the veggies then add the chicken back to the pan with the cashews. Stir to combine cooking another 2-3 minutes to heat through.
Notes
- Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the bottom of the skillet without overcrowding it. Overcrowded chicken will steam and won’t have the golden, crispy outside that adds flavor and crunch to chicken stir-fries.
- Be sure your skillet is hot before you add the chicken! This helps form the crispy crust on the outside without overcooking the meat.
- The tapioca starch on the outside of the chicken helps tenderize the meat so it stays moist and tender on the inside, but crispy on the outside. Corn starch or arrowroot powder can be used instead.
- Store leftover cashew chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Serve your cashew chicken over rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa for a balanced meal.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for the first time tonight. Needed dinner for me only tonight, so perfect to have for meal prep for lunches this week. Easy to make. Super flavorful and good bang for calories and nutrition. (inexpensive too!)
Great to hear you enjoyed it!