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This amazing slow cooker cashew chicken is way better than takeout! The chicken is breaded to perfection, the sauce is full of flavor and the cashews hidden throughout are the best part!
Make this a restaurant-worthy meal with these sides. My tried and true favorites will make it yummy, Wontons, Egg Rolls, and of course, Rice.
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken Recipe
My love for cashews runs deep. One time I bought a big thing of cashews from Costco and ate the entire thing by myself. Cashews are amazing. And when added to this amazing Chinese slow cooker meal. Mind blown. If you haven’t ever tried coating and browning the chicken before adding it to the slow cooker. It is a must, it makes a HUGE difference in taste and texture. It will take your Cashew Chicken to the next level. Instead of the sauce being thin, it thickens it up while it cooks and soaks the delicious marinade into the breading. As soon as it was done, I couldn’t believe that something that delicious was just made in the crockpot.
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken has to be seriously one of the best slow cooker meals that I have ever had! The cashews add so much amazingness to this meal and it was uh-mazing! Like I couldn’t stop eating it amazing. This is one meal that you aren’t going to want to pass up! I know that your family is going to love it as much as we did!
Ingredients For Cashew Chicken
Super simple ingredients that come together to make a divine dish.
- Chicken breasts boneless skinless: About 4 pieces, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Cornstarch: Coats the chicken to create the crust when pan-cooked.
- Black pepper: Flavor booster.
- Canola oil: This is a great choice to cook the chicken in.
- Soy sauce low sodium: You can use regular if you want to.
- Rice wine vinegar: Mild flavor that still has the tang.
- Ketchup: Sweet and savory, perfect for the sauce.
- Sweet chili sauce: Adds a touch of heat.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and caramelization.
- Garlic cloves: Mince your garlic
- Grated fresh ginger: Packs a punch of flavor and heat you will love.
- Red pepper flakes: More heat.
- Cashews: The nut of choice.
How to Make Cashew Chicken in the Slow Cooker
The slow cooker makes this so easy and so delicious. The extra step of browning the chicken is divine.
- Prep the Chicken:Combine cornstarch and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with cornstarch mixture.
- Brown: Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker.
- Sauce: Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sweet chili sauce sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and cashews in small bowl; pour over chicken. (I like my cashews to be softer so I add them during the cooking process, if you want more of a crunch, add them right before serving)
- Slow Cook: Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
- Enjoy: Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.
Other Ways to Cook Cashew Chicken
No Slow Cooker, No Problem: This can easily be made in a large skillet on the stovetop. After you saute the chicken add the sauce to your large skillet, let it simmer for 20-30 minutes covered. If you need to thicken the sauce more, make a cornstarch slurry of 1Tablespoon cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons cold water, mix and then stir into the sauce and bring to a gentle boil. Serve as desired.
Instant Pot: Sauté the chicken in the instant pot, once cooked remove and add the sauce. If you are getting a burn notice add half a cup of chicken broth. Pour on the sauce and manually cook for 20 minutes.
Tips and Variations for The Best Cashew Chicken
The fact that you can make this luscious of a meal in the slow cooker is insane. It seriously tastes like take out, only better!
- Chicken: You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs. If you do not like chicken, pork or beef are also good choices. Shrimp is not recommended as it does not do well in the slow cooker.
- Breading and Frying: It takes an extra step and a few extra minutes, but it is totally worth it. Please try to work this step into your plans. You can thank me later!
- Vegetables: Add some vegetables to round out the dish. Broccoli, zucchini, bok choy, snap peas, celery, mushrooms, edamame, and green pepper all make great choices. Add to the crockpot the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- Cashews: I do not recommend using salted cashews as they will cause the dish to be too salty. If that is all you have, you can rinse them off and sauté them dry before adding them to the crockpot.
- Serve: We love this dish on rice, but you can use brown rice, cauliflower rice, zoodles, ramen noodles, or quinoa.
Storing Your Cashew Chicken
This dish tastes even better the second day.
- Fridge: Keep in tightly sealed in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Place the cooled cashew chicken in a freezer-safe bag or container that is air-tight and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use thaw in the fridge overnight. Heat in the crockpot for 1-2 hours or on the stovetop till warm and bubbly.
- Make-Ahead Freezer Meal: Make a double batch of this insanely delicious meal and freeze one batch for later use. For the freezer meal, skip dredging the chicken as it will make it a bit messy. Add everything to a freezer-safe bag except the cashews. Press all the air out of the bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, add to the crockpot, and cook as directed by the recipe. Add the cashews and enjoy!
More Asian Inspired Recipes to Try
Being able to make take-out at home and have it taste even better than the real thing is epic. It saves you money and gives you control over the ingredients, which is a huge plus. Making your meals at home from scratch is often healthier and always tastes better. It is so fun to be able to eat your favorites but know you cooked them. If you have not tried it, you must. It is way easier than you think and your family and friends will think you are amazing. Try these tried and true recipes that will have you thinking you may never go out again!
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Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless skinless, About 4 pieces, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 1/2 cup soy sauce low sodium
- 4 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cashews
Instructions
- Combine cornstarch and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with cornstarch mixture.
- Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker.
- Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sweet chili sauce sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and cashews in small bowl; pour over chicken. (I like my cashews to be softer so I add them during the cooking process, if you want more of a crunch, add them right before serving)
- Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
- Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.
Video
Notes
-If it is too salty you can simply use low sodium soy sauce.
-If there isn’t enough sauce, you can double the sauce or make it 1 and 1/2 times. Updated on May 20, 2021 Originally Posted on July 13, 2012
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this several times, including today, using skinless bone-in chicken thighs.
I have also made it with a small boneless pork roast. Each and every time, it is simply
fabulous! I used cashews as stated the first time, but didn’t think the dish warranted the
expense, so skipped them the second time around. Still a tasty dish and we didn’t miss
the nuts at all. Today I’ll use fresh shelled, chopped peanuts. It should be just as good
as with cashews at a more budget friendly price. This is definitely one of our family’s
absolute favorites and we look forward to having it again soon. YUM!
I cooked it for 8 hours since I was working. It turned to a black hard salthy cake. Aweful,
It never happened with any other crock por recepie
Well……the recipe DOES say 3 – 4 hours….
Just made this for dinner tonight, loved the flavor but it was way, way ,way too salty. I used low sodium say sauce. Will not make this ever again.
Ours unfortunately came out way too bitter/sour…I’m guessing because of the vinegar. 🙁 Couldn’t eat it.
Does anyone know if you could substitute firm tofu for the chicken?
This looks lovely. Is it freezable
I really wanted to love this dish, but there was just something about it that didn’t agree with my taste buds. I couldn’t find low sodium soy sauce, so I got the regular kind and watered it down a bit (not a big fan of soy sauce either). Apart from that I followed the recipe, and the end result looked a lot like the pic on the site, very appealing! It was definitely more salty than I prefer, but there was another flavor that didn’t agree with me. I’m not a good enough cook to be able to pin point it, but I wonder if it was a combination of soy and rice vinegar. I have never cooked with vinegar before, and am the type of person who find vinegar flavored chips to be a cruel, cruel prank.. Not very experienced with it, in other words.
I definitely want to try this dish again to see if I’ll manage to push it in a direction my palate agrees with. I wonder though, would skipping/replacing the vinegar make the soy more dominant, or does the vinegar enhance the soy when the two are combined? Does anyone have recommendations for what I might try to replace the vinegar with?
Can you please tell me if the recipe now shows the doubled quantity of the sauce? If I cook this in the slow cooker for 2 hours, would I be best to put it on high? Thanks in advance.
Needs to include nutrition Information…
I am loving the sound of this recipe. I am looking for things that can be frozen after they are cooked. Do you think this would work to freeze it?
My husband is deathly allergic to poultry. Can pork be substituted for the chicken? If so, should preparation be different?
Definitely!
WE LOVED IT!!!! I used coconut ammino to replace the soy sauce. The only thing I would LOVE to see is the nutrition count (especially carbs!). Is there somewhere to go for that or would you consider posting that with your recipes? THANKS
I made this tonight for my husband. His biggest complaint was how spicy it was. What should I remove from the recipe to fix this problem? Just the chili sauce? Thanks!
Did you add red pepper flakes? That should have been the only thing to make it spicy?
Just enjoyed this for early supper..Added more ginger garlic and chillie.. Put the cahews in for last 4/5 mins as I like them crunchy… Delicious will try adding variation on sauce ingredients next time….but have to say pretty scrumtious
I read through a large number of comments to see if anyone else did what I did, and I didn’t see it, so I thought I’d share.
I’m a vegan (wait, before you toss up your hands and lament a vegan on a chicken recipe, it’s not what you think!) and just wanted to share that this worked really well with tofu, as well. I pressed and cubed a block of tofu, tossed it in cornstarch as recommended for the chicken, gave it a quick fry until it was crispy, and tossed it in the sauce. The only change I made was making 1.5 times the sauce rather than just one, or a full doubling of the original. I tossed in green beans, because I love green beans in a thick sweet sauce like you get from takeout. It cooked about 2 – 2.5 hours, and it was really great! I will use low-sodium tamari next time, as it was a bit too salty for me, but served over brown rice it mellowed it nicely.
Just wanted to share in case any vegetarians were thinking about adapting this! Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
What would you suggest in the way of using this as a freezer meal? Brown chicken and then freeze in sauce or just omit the breading? This looks amazing amazed I want to share with my freezer club.