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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
This simple and delicious stir fry can be made with or without nuts, and will work with many different proteins. Serve it with your favourite starch for a quick weeknight meal.
Make some steamed cauliflower, fluffy rice, or your favourite noodles to soak up the tasty sauce. If you’re looking for more stir-fry options, try a Shrimp Stir-Fry. Or, if you end up with some leftover rice, try making this Easy Fried Rice.
Reader Review
I didn’t use cashews but we tried peanuts and now we have a new family favorite for sure. I like the idea of adding mushrooms to it from the commenter below, might try it next time. Also used green peppers along with red.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe.
- Total Time: Making this stir-fry will take you approximately 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Variations: The ingredients in this recipe will work with pretty much any protein. Give the sauce a try with pork, turkey, beef, or fish. You can also try a plant-based alternative, such as tofu. Use more or less ginger and garlic, depending on personal taste. Adjust the amount of sugar. Try different vegetables, even a prepackaged blend of stir-fry vegetables. You can even use peanuts instead of cashews and stir some of your favourite peanut butter into the sauce.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a cutting board and a sharp knife, a small bowl, a whisk, a tablespoon, a wok or large pan, and whatever tools you use to cook your favourite rice or noodles.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Chicken: This recipe will be the easiest to prepare with chicken breasts, but boneless chicken thighs would also work well. You can also use a totally different protein if you prefer.
Sauce: The sauce for this stir-fry is a simple and delicious mixture that you can use over and over again. You’ll combine sesame oil, soy sauce, and chicken stock with just enough cornstarch to thicken the sauce to your liking.
Vegetables: This recipe calls for red peppers and snow peas, but the vegetable options are limitless. Try this with almost any veggies you’ve got sitting in your fridge. Broccoli, mushrooms, onions, thin slices of carrot, or zucchini would all be lovely with this sauce.
Cashews: Stick to unsalted nuts for this recipe, since there’s plenty of salt in the other ingredients. If cashews aren’t to your liking, you can try making this with peanuts or using some sesame seeds for that bit of crunch instead.
How To Make Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients EXCEPT the sugar. Add sugar to taste. Set aside.
- In a large pan or wok, heat a tablespoon of oil. Fry chicken until browned and cooked through, and garlic and ginger (if using fresh), and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add vegetables and fry until tender-crisp. Add the sauce to the pan, stir, and cook until it thickens slightly.
- Serve over a bed of noodles or rice.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Ginger and Garlic: If you’re using fresh ginger, add it when you add the garlic. They’ll smell amazing together. If you use powdered ginger, mix it into the sauce in the first step. If you happen to have a jar of garlic and ginger paste, this is the place to use some. These jars can be found in the international foods aisle at your grocery store and make for an easy way to add the flavours of fresh ginger and garlic to your food without any prep.
Spice it Up: If you’d like to add some heat to this stir fry, throw in a pinch of red pepper flakes or a splash of your favourite hot sauce. You could also try a bit of chili crunch, sweet Thai chili sauce, some fresh chilis, or whatever level of hot peppers you enjoy. Cayenne or chili powder would also work.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: Once it’s fully cooled, store the stir fry leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 4-5 days. If you’d like to avoid the noodles or rice soaking up too much moisture, store the stir fry separately from your leftover starch.
Freezer: If you’d like to freeze your leftovers, keep the stir fry separate from the rice or noodles. Store the meat, sauce, and vegetables in a freezer-safe container for up to a month, then reheat and serve over fresh rice or noodles.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
Try this Air Fryer Fried Chicken for a healthier way to get crispy chicken.
Make some Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Thighs if you’re looking for a sweet-and-tangy “takeout” fix!
Smoked Paprika Baked Chicken Thighs make a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
Try Creamy Garlic Swiss Chard Chicken for a low-carb AND deliciously creamy meal
There you go, everyone. A stir-fry recipe that gives you a base sauce you can use time and time again. Try it and let me know what you think.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil,
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch,
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger, or 1 tsp fresh grated ginger, which you will fry in Step 2
- 1 tablespoon white sugar, to taste!
Cashew Chicken Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound chicken breast, diced
- 1 large red pepper, cleaned and sliced
- 2 cups snow peas
- ½ cup roasted cashews
- 4 servings noodles of your choice, rice, etc
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients except for the sugar. IF you are using fresh ginger, then wait and fry it with the fresh garlic in step 2. Add sugar to taste, then set aside.
- Take the tablespoon of oil and heat in a large pan or wok. Fry the chicken until the chicken is well browned and cooked through. Add in the garlic and ginger, saute for another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add in your vegetables and fry until tender-crisp.
- Take the sauce mixture and add to the vegetables, stirring until the mixture thickens slightly, 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the cashews, warm slightly. Serve alone or over pasta or vermicelli noodles.
Notes
- Sesame oil is my favorite flavor in this dish, so I add two teaspoons to give it some more depth. You can use one if desired.
- The nutrition is ONLY the stir-fry and not the rice or noodles that you choose to use.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Doris says
Hello I am new here on your site. Just wanted to suggest that I use raw cashews which are toasted in oven at 300degrees for about 10 minutes. Lidl’s or Aldi’s has them so you don’t have to worry about extra salt in this recipe. Personally, I like some onions sauteed in the mix. Good eating for sure!
Quentine A. says
You mentioned the ginger and garlic in the Sauce Ingredients list – to be whisked together in a small bowl and set aside. The chicken stir-fry ingredients list does not have the ginger and garlic listed. Yet your recipe says add in the ginger and garlic while stir frying the chicken and veggies. Should there be a second set of ginger and garlic for the chicken pieces? Please clarify.
Loved your recipe – in fact, love all your recipes – they are fantastic! And a life-saver – giving me a jump-start for my family meals each day! Thank you…..
Karlynn Johnston says
Ok, I’ve tried to clarify better (thank you for pointing that out!).Fresh ginger and garlic need to be fried together in step 2 after the chicken, powdered would have to be added to the sauce beforehand. Does that make more sense?
Curtis says
In the ingredient picture, to the left of the snow peas, is not in the list?
Karlynn Johnston says
That’s the condensed chicken broth/stock, just needed water that’s all!
Cate G says
I didn’t use cashews but we tried peanuts and now we have a new family favorite for sure.I like the idea of adding mushrooms to it from the commenter below, might try it next time. Also used green peppers along with red.
Karlynn Johnston says
Fixed, thank you and I am so glad you liked it! so simple and yummy!
lsoergel says
I made this last night and it was great! Thanks! I just wanted to point out that where you say “In small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar,and sesame oil, set aside until needed.” I think you meant to say Chicken stock instead of Sesame Oil…
Soooo yummy!! Thanks again! Liz S.
asma says
Chicken stir fry perfection, thank you. We used egg noodles and it was gone in seconds. I would add mushrooms next time maybe…..
Karlynn says
1 lb of chicken breast, but sometimes I use more in my personal versions to “up” the chicken in it.