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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.
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.
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 is a great recipe. Tasted like it was made at a restaurant! No adjustments made or needed on my end. My family will love this!
Hey there! Sooo glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
I made this tonight and every single family member LOVED it. Thanks for sharing.
@Angieeats
Hey Angela,
Happy Sunday!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your comment, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
Family declared this a “keeper”. Made it with ground pork and used up random bits of veggies in addition to the broccoli. Since we have all of the needed seasonings on hand because we cook Asian inspired dishes frequently, this was so easy to throw together. Very easy, very flavorful, and adaptable to whatever protein and veggies are available. I might play with decreasing the fat a bit next time but that would be my only real tweak.
Hey Chris,
Happy Wednesday!!🫐🍒🍓 I’m so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your feedback! xT
I don’t have any cornstarch on hand. Could I use flour?
Yes, a bit of flour should work fine! xT
Wow, how easy and so delicious! Used summer veggies – zucchini and fresh green beans in place of broccoli. Was missing hoisin but subbed 1 tsp PB and 1 T. of BBQ sauce. This is a definite 5!!
My rating should be a 5 and not 2! Great recipe Tieghan! Thank you for all the fabulous meals you bring into our home!!
Thanks again Lauren:)
Hey Lauren,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
This was amazing. I didn’t have pickled ginger so I topped it with kimchi when I served it. It was AMAZING.
Hi Keri,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! xx
Made this for dinner. So much flavour and I love picked ginger, this is a fantastic recipe.
Hey Colleen,
Amazing!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and sharing your feedback! Thanks for making it:) xx
We loved this! Our area is experiencing a sriracha shortage, can’t find it anywhere, so I substituted red curry paste. It definitely added more of a kick. All in all very delicious and easy!
Hey Alyssa,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback!🌼🥑 xx
Tonight, with a dash of rain as atmosphere, I made a rendition of this. Diced chicken breast, red harissa, fish sauce and carrots as substitutes. Ninja multi cooker behaved and dinner is now served. Oh, a side of Pak Choi with orange segments. And chopsticks with bowl to serve.
Hey Sharon,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback!🌼🥑 xx
I’ve made this twice and it has been great both times. I am not a fan of broccoli, but keeping the pieces small and at measurement and I have changed my mind here. I’ve growing the chicken once and another time my grinder was in storage so I chopped it very small. Both ways were great.
Hi there,
Fantastic!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! Have a great weekend😎
One of my favourite recipes so far. Next time I would try 2 tablespoons of sesame oil instead of 3 just to see if I can get by. I omitted the pickled ginger as well. Sooooo good!!
Hi Tanya,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear that it turned out well for you:) xT
We have made this once before and it was delicious! My husband doesn’t care for broccoli so we are going to try it with green beans. We also added a bit of cilantro sprigs at the end.
Hi Matt,
Happy Monday!!🇺🇸😎 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! xT
Wow!! Love the speed on this one. Week night for sure. Five stars across the board!
Hi Mark,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Happy 4th of July weekend! 🇺🇸🍓
Delicious, quick and easy!! Made for the second time today. Like by both my MIL and 12 yr old daughter.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Shari,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great holiday weekend! 🇺🇸🎆 xT
Could I use rice vinegar instead of ACV?
Hi Caroline,
Sure, that should work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
So, so very good. It definitely took me a bit longer to cook but regardless it’s easy and a household crowd pleaser. TY!
Hi Holly,
Happy Monday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great week! xT