Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
A Chinese takeout favorite made right in your crockpot and all you need is 10 min prep. It doesn’t get easier or healthier than that!
If you’ve been following Damn Delicious for awhile now, you know that I love creating Chinese takeout favorites.
It’s just so much healthier to make right at home since you know exactly what’s going into your dish.
Plus, making these dishes at home can be quicker than waiting for 45-min delivery.
But not only is this crockpot cashew chicken so much cheaper and quicker with just 5 min prep, it tastes 1000x better than takeout too!
Best of all, you don’t have to skimp on the chicken or the cashews, although I loved the cashews a bit more in this dish.
The cashews just soak up all of that amazing flavor, giving you that nice crunchiness alongside the juicy, tender chicken.
To top it off, the leftovers are just as good the very next day. I just highly recommend doubling the batch because you’ll want to skip the takeout and have this all week instead!
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 green onions, sliced
For the sauce
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- To make the sauce, whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes in a small bowl; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 2 minutes.
- Place chicken into a slow cooker. Stir in soy sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 2-3 hours. Stir in cashews and cook on low heat for an additional 15 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions, if desired.
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Made it tonight following the recipe exactly only adding red pepper and served it with rice a veggie and hoisen sauce. We loved it and decided it was a good dish for company!
Just curious…your chicken doesn’t look “fried”, it looks more like it was perhaps boiled? Is that the case? I didn’t see any browned areas on the chicken cubes so I just wanted to clarify. Also…LOVE…LOVE…LOVE your site!!!
Theresa, I cooked the chicken exactly as written in the recipe. Also, the “browned areas” are almost camouflaged by the sauce.
Awesome, and thank’s for the quick response. This is what’s for dinner tonight!!!
Looks great! However – how does slow cooker affect the dish? Everything is pretty much cooked before being put in the slow cooker. Would it taste as good if I just did everything on the stovetop?
It is really best to make this in the slow cooker as it really lets the flavors soak in.
Is a slow cooker the same as a crock pot
Yes, they are the same. Crock-Pot is a brand name of a slow cooker.
This will be in my crock pot tomorrow! Also making some coconut rice 🙂 YUM!!!
Hi,
I can’t wait to try this out. Here’s my question. I have powdered ginger already. Could I just use some of that instead of getting the fresh ginger?
Yes, that should be just fine!
I made this last night and we LOVED it! Thanks for always having the best recipes.
At first glance this recipe sounds pretty good. But after you read it it only contains chicken and cashew nuts. Needs something else-but I have no idea what! Sliced water chestnuts?brocolli flowerets? sliced carrots? I’ll try it and let you know!
Well, the title of the recipe is “cashew chicken” so those 2 ingredients are certainly the star in this dish! But yes, feel free to add more veggies, to taste, although with all that flavor in the sauce, you don’t really need them!
Can I use a pressure cooker? I know it will cut down the time in cooking. I’m worried the cashews will be soggy.
Wren, unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never used a pressure cooker before. I recommend using your best judgment to convert this recipe to utilize a pressure cooker.
I love, love, love cashew chicken! I love even more that you can throw this in the crockpot 🙂
Are you using seasoned or unseasoned rice vinegar?
It is best to use unseasoned rice vinegar.
I bought seasoned by mistake. I hope it doesn’t make too big of a difference!
Totally gonna try this. However, is it really necessary to saute the chicken first? Could I just use raw chicken and increase the cooking time a bit more?
You can certainly cook this with raw chicken and increase cooking time but that would really result in a shredded chicken texture. If that is what you prefer, I recommend using whole chicken breasts and shredding with a fork after the 8-10 hr cooking time.
Do you think I could use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of the chicken breasts?
Yes, absolutely!
Oh, I’m gonna try this one of these days. I always think cashews will soften up when we add them to slow cooker, but this sounds fun for family night.
Can u cook it over 8-10 hrs using raw chicken instead of browning it? Just wondering if I could throw everything in the fridge the night before and trow it in the crockpot before heading out the door for work…thoughts?
You can certainly cook this for 8-10 hrs but that would really result in a shredded chicken texture. If that is what you prefer, I recommend using whole chicken breasts and shredding with a fork after the 8-10 hr cooking time.
Thank you Chungah for the lovely and easy recipe.
I love it when you share chinese take out alternatives, so good, and so much healthier!
LOVE cashew chicken! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing it!
What if I wanted to add some veggies? Carrots, onion, celery, water chestnut…at what point would you recommend adding them?
I recommend adding them in the beginning along with the chicken.
Looks great but just wondering, would the cashews not get a bit soft after being in a liquid so long?
They soften a little bit but still has that great crunch to it!