This Cashew Chicken Recipe is perfect for an easy, quick meal on any night of the week. Fruity, crunchy and refreshing, it’s on your table in 30 minutes.
When you’re craving restaurant takeout, you’ll be thrilled to know that you can make your own homemade cashew chicken with only a few ingredients. In less than 30 minutes, this recipe is great for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
Some of the ingredients are obvious but I’ve used a few things that you may not have in your pantry.
Cashews. I used a small snack-size bag of cashews. They’re inexpensive and you don’t need an entire tin. Unsalted cashews are best, though. I rinsed these off before using.
Sriracha Sauce. This is also called “Rooster Sauce”. If you can’t find this brand (it’s been scarce this year), you can use a different brand. Or, if you prefer, you can use another hot sauce.
Soy Sauce. The only soy sauce I’ve ever used is “Aloha” brand, but there are many different brands. For a gluten free alternative, try liquid aminos. If you need soy free, try coconut aminos.
Guava Jelly. I use guava jelly or guava paste in a lot of my cooking to make my sauces. It adds a fruity flavor instead of adding white or brown sugar. If you’re unable to find guava, you can use other jelly. I would probably try grape or orange marmalade first. You could add sugar instead, but why miss out on this addition to make a flavorful sauce?
Chicken Thighs. You can also use chicken breasts, if you prefer.
Pineapple Chunks. Be sure to reserve the juice! If you can’t find chunks, you can use pineapple rings. Just cut up the rings into chunks.
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I don’t use sesame oil, hoisin sauce or oyster sauce. I know that these are “staples” but I hate to buy ingredients that I’m going to use rarely. If you have them on hand, you can absolutely add them, but it’s not necessary.
How To Store Fresh Ginger
Ginger will go bad fairly quickly in the refrigerator. Try freezing it instead.
Wash the ginger as soon as you get it home. Allow it to dry thoroughly then add to a freezer bag. Pull it out of the freezer and mince it while frozen.
It’s so easy to do this that we don’t even keep ground ginger in the spice cabinet anymore.
What To Serve With Cashew Chicken
If you want a side or appetizer, it really easy to fry up strips of wonton wrapper. These are delicious dipped in soy sauce. You will be surprised!
If you want something even better, try this Shrimp Rangoon Recipe. Cream cheese, garlic and shrimp. You can’t go wrong with that.
Recipe
Cashew Chicken with Pineapple Easy
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For more information, be sure to check the recipe details in the attached 24Bite® post.
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Small Saucepan
Ingredients
- ½ Jalapeno, diced
- ½ large Yellow Onion, chopped
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
- 20 ounces Pineapple Chunks, canned, fruit AND juice
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Ginger, fresh, minced, or ¾ teaspoon ground
- 1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Guava Jelly, or other jelly (see notes)
- 2 pounds Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless, chopped into bitesized pieces, or other chicken (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 ounces Cashews, unsalted (or rinse away the salt)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add juice from pineapple, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sriracha, cornstarch and jelly. Over medium heat, mix together until combined thoroughly and heated through, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add salt and pepper, as desired.
- Add oil to large skillet and heat on medium about 1 minute. Add chicken and spread around so there is no overlapping. Allow to sear for about 2-3 minutes then turn. Continue cooking about 4-5 minutes longer until cooked through. Remove chicken pieces with tongs to a paper-lined plate.
- Add jalapeno, onion and red pepper to same skillet and saute on medium heat until fragrant and softened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Return chicken to large skillet and add sauce from saucepan. Toss well and heat through about 1-2 minutes.
- Gently stir in pineapple chunks and cashews.
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Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
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Brenda says
This sounds yummy! Looking forward to trying it soon!
Gwynn Galvin says
Such a delicious recipe. My family loved it!
Cathleen says
I buy so much pineapple these days because my toddler loves it. This looks like the perfect recipe for me and my toddler. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Jamie says
Wow! Another chicken dish that looks amazingly delicious! Everyone will gonna love this! The creamy sauce makes this so enticing and tempting! Plus we only need 30 minutes to have this on our table!
Amy Liu Dong says
A new and easy chicken recipe that I can make for tonight’s dinner.
So delicious!