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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!
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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
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!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Has anyone froze this dish? I like to make things for my college student and freeze then he reheats “homemade” meals
Hey Terri,
I think that would work nicely for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it:) xT
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was so good! I couldn’t find pickled ginger so I left that out and added some red bell pepper. It’s definitely a new favorite on the quick, easy dinner rotation!
Hey Andrea,
Happy Friday! Thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for your comment and making it! Xx
Very delicious! Didn’t have pickled ginger but this dish was still excellent!
Hey Lori,
Happy Friday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out well! xT
This was delicious, and perfect served over rice. I pretty much followed the recipe except for adding 1/2 pound of ground pork since I had that on hand and only 1 pound of ground chicken. I actually think it added to the body of the dish. I also poured the entire cup of sauce into the skillet rather than just 2/3 of it, which worked out fine. Definitely one I’ll be making again.
Hey Helen,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your feedback, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
Like some of the other comments I also wasn’t able to get the chicken crispy despite turning up the heat and adding cook time, but it was still a tasty recipe!
Hey Nixie,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your feedback, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
Can you use diced chicken breast instead of ground? Would anything in recipe change?
Hey Stacey,
Sure, that would work nicely for you, you may just need to add some cook time depending how large the chunks are. I hope you love this recipe! xT
I’ve replaced ground meat with cubed meat in a few of her recipes and haven’t had any issues, just need to increase the cook time and if she uses cornstarch, you may want to dust a little on your chunks/cubes before adding so you get a similar crunch effect.
Wow! This was amazing-delicious and easy! I didn’t have picked ginger but added shredded cabbage with the broccoli because I needed to use. I would definitely make this again!
Hey Anne,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
This was so quick and delicious!! I used ground chicken because that is what I had and it worked perfectly!!
Hey Lindsey,
Wonderful! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you making it and your feedback! xT
The recipe was delicious, but I was never able to get my chicken crispy or that well-coated in sauce. I used a pound and a half as the recipe calls for, and a 12-inch skillet. Perhaps I need to use an even bigger skillet, as it took much longer than the recipe called for to brown the chicken (which was thawed and at room temperature) especially at medium heat. I think next time I will reduce the amount of chicken down to a pound. Otherwise, this was a delicious recipe we will use again.
Hey Vanessa,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! I also used a 12 inch skillet, but you could definitely try using a bigger one to see if that helps! Xx
Thanks for your reply! We are making the weeknight Khao Soi tomorrow – so excited!
This is definitely in our dinner rotation. It is one of my favorites!!
Thank you Tieghan!!
Love to hear this, Angela! Thanks so much for making this dish so often and your feedback! xT
Quick and delicious meal packed with flavor! This is the second time I’ve made this dish and it’s so tasty. Even my toddler loved this one! Half Baked Harvest does not miss!!!
Hey there,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! xT
I love all her recipes, but this one was particularly amazing and I agree with most of the other reviews so easy to put together. Definitely will be making again.
Hey Tammy,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Thanks for your comment! xx
This was absolutely DELICIOUS and SO quick and easy to make. It’s definitely going on the rotation! Thank you!
Hi Lora,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for your comment and making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! xT
I’ll definitely try the recipe with pickled ginger next time, but if I’m out and don’t feel like (another!) run to the grocery store this week, what would you suggest as a substitution?
Have loved several of your recipes. Thanks for teaching this “I’ll never ever cook” to cook.
Hi there! If you’re wanting to sub pickled ginger I would use a little bit of rice vinegar with a sprinkle of ginger! xT
This has become one of my favorite recipes ever! It really does come together very fast and it’s always a crowd pleaser. I’ve never cooked with pickled ginger before but I am obsessed. Such good flavors, this is a great dish.
Hey there! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for giving it a try! xT
My family loves this dish (as with most of your recipes). I usually steam the broccoli separately, then add it in at the end. Great meal, and so quick to come together!
Hey Lori,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx