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This colorful 20 Minute Garlic Butter Cashew Chicken is inspired by everyone’s favorite restaurant-style cashew chicken. Only this is made healthier, quicker, and with a few tweaks that make it unique and even more delicious. The chicken (or use ground pork) and cashews are cooked in a golden buttery sweet-spicy sauce until caramelized around the edges. Then served simply with steamed rice and plenty of green onions. The addition of butter along with double the ginger (fresh ginger and pickled sushi ginger) are the secrets. It’s saucy, salty, tangy-sweet, and has just the right amount of spice. This dish is sure to become a family staple!
There are some recipe concepts that I have written down in my notes for less than a few minutes before I’m writing the ingredients down and testing the recipe. And then there are recipes like this cashew chicken, where I’ve jotted down the idea, but then let it sit. I’ve stared at this title, cashew chicken, for weeks now. Then just this week I finally decided to make this dish.
I needed the quick recipe for dinner. I’ve been testing seafood dishes all day and I wanted to try one last dish before calling it a day. This was the perfect quick dish and for whatever reason, I was excited to make it.
Ingredients
Hoisin sauce
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Real maple syrup
- Apple cider vinegar
- Sriracha
- Black pepper and chili flakes
- Sesame oil
Cashew Chicken
- Ground chicken
- Arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- Paprika
- Broccoli
- Salted butter
- Garlic
- Chopped fresh ginger
- Cashews
- Pickled ginger
- Green onions
Oddly, I had a lot of confidence the dish would come together just as quickly as I needed it to. And that it would still turn out both pretty and delicious at the same time.
And you know what? I was right. Not only is this the easiest to prepare, but I love the colors, and even more importantly, the taste! Inspired by our favorite takeout style cashew chicken, but made very easily at home with ground chicken and zero frying!
So it’s healthy too! We love that.
The details
With a 20 minute start to finish cook time, this is fast, simple, and easy. You’ll start with the sauce. It’s hoisin sauce, tamari (soy sauce), maple syrup, vinegar, and sriracha.
Now the chicken. To keep the recipe quick cooking and avoid frying pieces of chicken, I love to use ground chicken. I toss the chicken with cornstarch, paprika, and black pepper. The cornstarch helps the chicken get crispy and gives it a slight “breading”.
Pan-cook the chicken, then toss in butter, garlic, and ginger. Add the cashews and let the butter caramelize and brown around the chicken pieces. This is key.
Next, pour in the sauce and add some pickled ginger. Let the sauce bubble up and then reduce down to coat the chicken. I toss in broccoli for some greenery and literally, that’s it. The dish is done.
You’ll need rice for serving, and I like to top this off with some extra sauce. I also love adding some green onions and sesame seeds.
Flavor is one thing this recipe is definitely full of, yet it’s still really simple. Sweet, spicy, tangy, and salty – all the right flavors and they all hit so well together.
Plus, I really appreciate all the fresh colors – the best kind of recipe! Great for spring and summer!
Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls
Chili Crisp Chicken Mango Cucumber Rice Bowl
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Thai Basil Beef and Lemongrass Rice Bowls
Lastly, if you make this 20 Minute Garlic Butter Cashew Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
20 Minute Garlic Butter Cashew Chicken
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 761 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- black pepper and chili flakes
Cashew Chicken
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil (or olive oil)
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 cups broccoli
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 1 cup cashews
- 1/3 cup pickled ginger
- 4 green onions, chopped
Instructions
- 1. To make the sauce. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar. 2. In a large skillet, combine the oil, chicken, cornstarch, paprika, and black pepper. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, garlic, ginger, and cashews. Cook 2 minutes, until the butter browns and the chicken gets crispy.3. Pour over 2/3 of the sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly. Then, add the broccoli and pickled ginger. Cook another 2-5 minutes. Remove from the heat.4. Serve the chicken, broccoli, and remaining sauce over bowls of rice. Top with sesame seeds and green onion. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on May 3, 2023
Made it tonite! Fabulous
Hey Sandy,
Happy Sunday!!😃🍊 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was delish! xx
This looks really delish. My little guy loves your dishes but has a cashew allergy. Any other nuts we can use that aren’t peanuts? TY.
Thanks so much Kirsten! How about walnuts? Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Love this! Modified a bit for ingredients on hand and used chicken breast – but easy and delicious! In lire of going out for our anniversary (32 years) I wanted to cook and this did not disappoint. Paired with a nice white wine it was the perfect meal!
Hi Sandi,
Perfect!! Love to hear that this dish was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xT
Winner! Quick & so delicious.
Everyone had 2nds…even a 3yr old💜
Thank you for making cooking so fun!
Hi Susan,
Happy Friday!!🍍🥥 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
So delicious and easy! Going in the greatest hits binder! Couple of questions, I used small pieces of chicken and they didn’t get crispy. Should I be using super high heat when I add the butter to get it crispy? Next time I’ll try ground chicken like in the recipe. Also, do you ever substitute Braggs Aminos instead of soy/tamari? Just curious if you use 1 to 1. So appreciate an easy but yummy dinner the whole family appreciated. Thank you!
Hey Cynthia,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe! Try using the ground chicken next time:) I’ve never used Braggs Aminos, but you could certainly give it a try! I hope this helps! xT
YUM. It was SO good. I added more sriracha and skipped the pickled ginger. It’s like a hug in a bowl, and it was so deeply satisfying after a long day of work. Thanks for the hug, Tieghan! 😅
Love to hear this Emily!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Happy Friday! xT
Really enjoyed it! Thank you for an easy to follow recipe
Hey Amy,
Happy Friday!!🍍🥥 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
So, so good. And way easier than some other recipes I’ve tried with similar flavors. 10/10 will make again.
Thanks so much Kayla!! Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you! Happy Friday! xT
So good!!!!! And very quick. Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Susan,
Happy Friday!!🍍🥥 Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Can’t wait to try! My dad is not a fan of chicken and I get tired of ground beef. Maybe I will be able to make this recipe and he won’t be able to tell a difference..HA!
Lol I hope this turns out well for you! Let me know if you give it a try:) xT
Very easy to make and tasted great!
Thanks so much for making this dish, May!! I am so glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great Thursday! xx
Hi Tieghan,
Can the pickled ginger be omitted or swapped for anything else?
Hi there,
You can skip the pickled ginger:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
This was super yummy! I used chicken breasts instead of ground chicken. It took a little longer but it was so worth it! I’ll definitely make this again.
Hi Benita,
Amazing!! So glad to hear this dish was enjoyed and worked well with the chicken breasts:) Thanks for making it! xT
New family favorite!
This was a quick and healthy weeknight meal that both of my kiddos loved! I substituted thin sliced chicken breast and added both the broccoli and some diced asparagus. I was out of sriracha so I added szechuan sauce instead.
Thank you for another delicious recipe, Tieghan!
Hi Lauren,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try!🥑🥝 xT
Looks delicious! I don’t love ground chicken if I substitute small cut up pieces of chicken breasts how much longer would I need to cook it? Can’t wait to try
Can you use ground turkey? Any adjustments you’d recommend then?
Hi Linda,
Ground turkey would be great as well, you can keep the recipe as written:) I hope you love this dish! xT
Hey Michele,
I would just add a few minutes or so, not much longer:) Let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope you love it! xT