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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
This was very easy to whip together a super tasty! My husband and I loved it. I added water chestnuts which added a nice little crunch. I’ll add this meal to our regular rotation!
Hi Lauren,
Love it!!🍪🍦 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review!! xx
hands down one of the best meals I’ve ever had. This was better than take out and so easy to make. So delicious!!
Hey Rebecca,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! xT
I’m particularly picky when it comes to Asian food since I’m Chinese and I have to say this impressed me! Authentic Asian food takes forever to cook and this did it justice. The perfect flavors! I omitted picked ginger as I didn’t have it on hand and it was still so so good! Thank you 🙂
Hey Kristy,
Love it!!🍪🍦 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review!! xx
Loved this! Made it with chix breasts cut up. The consistency of ground chicken is not my favorite. Turned out great and was even better for leftovers. Doubled the sauce recipe and used about 2.5-3lb of chicken breasts.
Hey Lisa,
Love it!!🍪🍦 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review!! xx
This was so delicious and my family loved it! I used 2 chicken breasts that I cut up in bite size pieces, so it was similar to the ground chicken. I tossed the chicken with cornstarch, pepper and paprika and then add that to the hot oil. Everything else was as written. I didn’t have pickled ginger, but need this next time.
I’ll make this again.
Hi Colette,
Love it!!🍪🍦 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review!! xx
Made this using chicken tenderloins versus ground chicken. Pretty fast to throw together. Omitted pickled ginger cause I didn’t have. So good! Kind of want to try it with pickled ginger now
Hey Miranda,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) xT
Another winner! Two rave reviews from my husband and teenage son. I love that it was so quick and easy to make. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe! Actual comments:
“Oh wowwww, this is good”
“This is incredible”
“The presentation looks like [insert famous restaurant name] and it is just as good”
“I could eat this every night”
Hey Dee,
Wow!! Thank you so much for sharing this feedback and trying the dish, I love that it was such a winner! xT
I did this as a lettuce wrap instead of a rice bowl. I cut the broccoli smaller. It was wonderful and the flavors were spot on.
Omg what a great idea. Now I have to try the lettuce wrap with the leftovers.
Hey Joy,
Such a great idea to make this as a lettuce wrap!! Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! xT
It’s more like 200 minutes, and I cook fast, but it’s still real good. I would halve the hoisin and eliminate the maple syrup: 0verwhelmingly sweet for my taste. Used cut-up chicken thighs. Still a great recipe. the pickled ginger is a great addition: I would shred it up to distribute the flavor.
Hey Davey,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Love to hear that it was a winner, sorry it took longer than expected:) xx
Definitey another two thumbs up and a “thanks, Tieghy” as I always say after making one of your recipes, lol. This was really good – lots of flavor and different textures. I’m normally not even much of a fan of ginger, and I loved this with the chopped fresh ginger and the pickled ginger, which I’ve never had before. I used ground turkey instead of ground chicken. I would’ve given this recipe 5 stars, but the reason I gave 4 was because the meat didn’t brown/crisp at all. I noticed someone else in the comments said the same thing. I followed the recipe exactly as written, so I have no idea why my meat didn’t crisp.
Also, there is a minor error in the recipe. The black pepper is mentioned in the SAUCE ingredients. But the instructions (step 2) say for the cashew chicken – “combine the oil, chicken, cornstarch, paprika and black pepper”. Good thing I read the recipe ahead of time and realized the black pepper was for the chicken, not the sauce.
Hey Melanie,
Lol thanks so much for your kind message and making this recipe! What kind of pan are you using when cooking? I find I get the best crisp from my Staub cast iron skillet:) The black pepper is for the sauce which is made in step 2 of the recipe:) I hope this helps! xx
Delicious and easy!
Thanks so much Emily!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it:) xT
What a treat! I pickled my own ginger but otherwise followed the recipe and served the dish with brown rice.
Hi Anjali,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious but the chicken never got crispy.
So… comments in the first ten minutes,,,three “yums” two, “so delicious”, several ” hmm,hmm,hmms, a insult directed at the local Chinese resteraut and ending with the request to have this dish once a week. Success!!!
Hey there,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) You just need to increase the heat for the chicken to get crispy:) xT
Made this with some good ground pork- delightfully wonderful- quick, yummy and another winner -hardest part was peeling the garlic and chopping the garlic which took no time 🤗 adding this to another fast and simple yet a real tasty dinner from HBH- Thank You!!!
Hi Jennifer,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) xT
This recipe is absolutely amazing! My family loves and is so easy to prepare! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much Michelle! So glad to hear that your family enjoyed this dish! Happy Sunday! xT
This was SO GOOD and such a quick and easy dish to make. My husband turned to me and said “save this one”.
Hi Sam,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) xT