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If there was ever a chicken dinner of my dreams, this would be it. 20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken. I don’t know what I like more. The fact that it only took 20 minutes to make or the yummy flavors!

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Watch the How To Video Here:

I’ve told the story of my chicken and rice days many, many times, so I won’t bore you once again, but the short version is, when you combine chicken and rice, I’m all about it. Especially when that said chicken is full of Thai flavors, basil and cashews…aka Tieghan food. 🙂

So you guys, I’ve probably mentioned that my days are twice as long and twice as hard as they have ever been. I’m cramming to meet my book deadline and basically my life is cooking non-stop from morning till night… and then from night till morning I write. OKAY. That’s a lie, I do find some time to sleep at night because I am one of those people who needs sleep to survive. Like you four hours of sleep peeps? Yeah, you guys are just plain weird. Sorry to be harsh, but sleep is where it’s at.

Just sayin.

The weird thing is, you would think I would be SOO over everything. Over cooking, over writing, over answering emails and comments, just over work in general. But you know what I have found really odd? I kind like it. I kind of like having every second of every day filled to the max. It keeps me focused and on task, which can sometimes be hard for me.

So I dunno, I guess I’m super weird too. I guess I just really love what I do….oh but the dishes. I really HATTTTEEEEEE the dishes. I am on my own this week, like completely. No help from the best Dad ever. It’s kind of miserable. All the dishes. UGH. Think about making six-eight recipes a day and then doing the dishes…and then needing to go feed the chickens.

It’s like NOOOOO.

The good news is that the goats are actually not here right now. So at least I’m not taking care of them too. I can’t believe I haven’t told you guys this yet, but baby goats are coming!!! Yes, BABY goats!! I know, I know. Too cute. I am SO excited. If all goes as planned this month (meaning that Billy Goat does his thing and does it well ?) than we should have baby goats come mid to late September!! The girls will be back in a few weeks, hopefully with full bellies. Prepare for way too many snaps of all the little goats. 🙂

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

OKAY. But back to the point.

With the non-stop days, I am all about these 20 minute, quick and simple recipes. Not only are they easy but they tend to be the foods I crave most…chicken and rice. When life is a little on the stressful side, or just GO GO GO, that’s when I GO to my fall back food of chicken and rice. Dad made it all the time when I was growing up, it just has a major comfort factor for me.

This chicken and rice dinner is a little different from Dads. Alright, it’s a lot different, but in a very good way. I mean no offense to Mom or Dad, but their chicken and rice dinners where kind of bland. I loved them back as a kid, but now it’s kind of like, let’s add a little flavor, you know?

Enter this 20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken.

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Flavor is one thing it is definitely full of, but yet it’s still really simple. The chicken gets a quick marinade in some soy and oyster sauces, then stir-fried with ginger, garlic and a few chile peppers. Finish it all off with a whole bunch of Thai basil (or regular basil if you cannot find Thai basil) and a handful of cashews. And that’s it, dinner is DONE.

I served my chicken over a giant bowl of coconut rice. I highly recommend making either this coconut rice or this lemongrass rice. Both are kind of the best rice recipes ever. 🙂

Lastly, I added some fresh slices of mango for a tropical little kick. I know I’ve mentioned before that I’m currently obsessed with any and all tropical fruits. They’re kind of my way of escaping from the “winter is my spring” I’ve got going on here. If you too are looking for a delicious and colorful pick-me-up, mango slices are where it’s at!

So that’s it – simple, simple!!

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 188 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
  • 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 4 cloves garlic minced or grated
  • 1 inch piece fresh ginger peeled + grated
  • 1 serrano chile or jalapeno seeded + chopped
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 2 cups fresh Thai basil or regular basil
  • steamed [coconut rice |https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/hawaiian-hula-pork-fajitas-pineapple-slaw-coconut-rice/] for serving
  • 1 mango peeled + sliced

Instructions

  • Add the chicken to a bowl and toss with the oyster sauce and soy sauce. Let the chicken marinate 10 minutes.
  • Heat a large skillet or wok over medium. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger and serrano chile, cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Watch close, you don't want to burn the garlic. Increase the heat to medium high. Add another drizzle sesame oil and the chicken. Stir-fry over medium high heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cashews and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and stir in Thai basil.
  • Serve the chicken over steamed rice with fresh mango slices and extra basil. EAT!
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20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Easy 20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken… Wednesday done right! 🙂

20 Minute Basil Cashew Chicken | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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Comments

  1. Love the sound of your recipe and will be adding it to my cooking list but I’m very excited about the BABY goats coming along in September. Oh so cute ?????????

  2. Love the presentation of your dish. I will be making this dish really soon!!! Love Thai food!!

    1. HI!! You cut the chicken before you cook the chicken!! Thanks! Let me know if you have any more questions!

  3. Most of the time, I have dinner planned in my head at least the morning of. There are some days where it’s just pure craziness. I one of those just the other day. My solution? I was standing in the grocery store staring at the meat section wondering what the heck to make and I remembered you had just posted this lovely recipe!

    So easy and yummy! They didn’t have any ripe mango so I subbed pineapple and the little bit of leftovers that were left were gobbled up by my picky daughter the next day! Thank you for the save!

  4. Delicious! It was so easy to make. I was wondering if you thought about adding a sort for quick meals on your website? I’m always searching throwing trying to use key words like”crock pot” or “20 minutes”. This would be such a helpful feature. Thanks for making a bust weeknight less hectic.

    1. Hi!! That is such a great idea! I have actually been thinking about that myself…something is in the works!! I am thinking of maybe adding a tab or section to the recipe page of 30 minutes or less dinners. I will update the blog when this happens. So happy you love this recipe! Thank you again!! ?

  5. Cooked this last night, using plain rice, for a hard-to-please family. They raved. I told them the recipe actually called for coconut rice, and they said, “Do that next time!”

    Well done!

  6. Oh my gosh, I just had to tell you. My husband and I made this for dinner last night and it was SO SO good (looking forward to leftovers for lunch!). My new favorite dish for sure. Also, oyster sauce weirds me out so we subbed Hoisin sauce. And we chopped the mango small and threw it in at the same time as the cashews. Delicious!

  7. Another fantastic recipe!! Total success, it was so quick and easy to make for a top result! The mango really makes 🙂 Thank you!!

  8. Basil chicken is one of my favorite Thai take out meals, and I love the addition of mangoes and cashews… so good! 🙂

  9. Holy Frijoles! It was awesome. Great suggestion for the coconut jasmine rice…i added a little extra liquid and used brown rice because I am a fiber freak…my sweet hubby and 13 year old cross country and track runner son sucked it down!!! Love your flavorful yet generally healthy recipes best, but save your more decadent feasts for special occasions. Keep up your lovely and loving posts.
    Food is my favorite!!!

  10. For a silly girl like me I DEFINITELY need more quick and easy recipes! This chicken recipe sounds AMAAAAAZING! <3 I cannot wait to dig right into it!

  11. How much of the oyster sauce and soy sauce should be added with the chicken breasts (after they’ve marinated)?