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{This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk! I’ve used their Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend to create this simple and delicious crockpot creamy cashew chicken. Its ethnic food not out of a box, but made in the comfort of your own home, and it is SO good!!}
You guys!! You guys!!
Today we are doing Indian takeout, but at home!! YESSS.
I think I have said this before, but I am a huge homebody. I just really love being home. So much so, that I would totally choose cooking dinner at home over going out to eat. And SO much so that I’d even choose homemade “takeout” over having to get in the car, drive to a restaurant and shlep the food home…okay, that might just be pure laziness on my part, but either way homemade is always the way to go, in my opinion.
Really, it is true, homemade is a million times better, plus YOU get to control over what goes into your food. Sometimes restaurants can totally freak me out. I mean who knows what they are doing back there behind closed doors… clearly, I have serious issues, but I have declared this many times.
Anyway, my point is that most of these takeout foods can be made at home, and may even take less than time than ordering and picking up. They will probably taste much better too!! I have a whole list of “takeout” foods that I want to recreate at home…orange chicken anyone?!?
Anything you guys REALLY want to see??
Here’s the deal, do you guys remember back in December when I announced I was partnering with Almond Breeze on their “Imagine the Blendabilities” contest? Well, today’s recipe is the recipe idea I chose to create. I had a GIANT list of recipes to choose from, and to me, this one sounded yummiest, so I went with it! Plus, cashew chicken has been on my list of things to make for way too long now.
It was time!!
I mean, who could not fall in love with a big bowl of creamy cashew chicken, rice and naan. It’s total comfort food, but made healthier and simpler thanks to the crockpot!
When I was younger, Indian food was pretty much off my radar. My family ate very average foods… and that’s saying it nicely. It was mostly, chicken, steak, pasta, so many ground beef tacos, and burgers for the first twelve to thirteen years of my existence. My brothers LOVED it, and my two oldest brothers still continue to eat the same diet. Honestly, they are both going to majorly regret the amount of meat they are consuming. Just saying.
Sometime during my twelfth or thirteen year, I decided I was so over the steak and started doing some of the cooking. If you really want to get into my whole cooking journey, this is where it began, but I feel like we should try to stay on topic here.
So when I started cooking, I would google things, watched a lot of Food Network and eventually started reading food blogs. One thing or another led me to some Indian inspired recipes and I was HOOKED on their spices and flavors…plus any dish you can eat with rice or couscous I am SO in on. Cashew Chicken is a recipe I have seen and known about for ages now, but just never got around to making.
Oh man, what a mistake that was. Cashew chicken is the best!! I have made this crockpot creamy cashew chicken recipe a little different than it is traditionally made, but you guys! It is SO good! Think spicy, but not overly so. Think SO creamy, but without any actual cream. And then think super cozy and crazy delicious!! It’s the perfect weeknight meal or even weekend meal. You can add everything to the crockpot before work or school or wherever you may be, and then come home to a house that smells in-freaking-credible and a delicious dinner that is ready to eat!!
SCORE.
One little tip I have learned over the years is that, while my family loves the spices used in Indian cooking, turmeric is not one of them. So for this recipe I have adapted it slightly to my family’s taste. If you are a huge fan of Indian flavors I highly recommend adding a little garam masala to this. It’s still delish without it, but with it there is more of a traditional cashew chicken flavor.
Also, you may have noticed that I have become slightly obsessed with edible flowers lately. Honestly, I am just on this whole HUGE flower thing all together. I blame it all on winter, and the need for lots of color in my life…ok and my brother Malachi’s snapchat of the 90 degree days, sunshine and flowers he has out there in LA are killing me…highly considering a move to LA. Like HIGHLY.
Anyway, I really love edible flowers. Not only do they add a great flavor, but they are so beautiful. Therefore, I have been adding them as garnishes to everything lately. You DO NOT have to do this…but if you are into flowers too, I say GO FOR IT. 🙂
Crockpot Creamy Cashew Chicken.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 335 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews
- 1/2 of a sweet onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher of salt, more to taste if nedeed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups Almond Breeze Almondmilk Cashewmilk Original Unsweetened
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
- steamed rice + fresh naan, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the chicken, potatoes and red pepper in the bowl of your crockpot.
- To a blender or food processor, add the cashews, onion, garlic, ginger, Thai red curry paste, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, a god pinch of salt and lemon juice. Puree the mixture until completely smooth. If needed, add 1/2 cup of Almondmilk Cashewmilk, to help the mixture blend. Pour the paste over the chicken. Add the remaining Almondmilk Cashewmilk. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
- If the sauce is too thick, add more Almondmilk Cashewmilk to thin it, if the sauce is too thin, crank the heat to high on the crockpot and let cook, UNCOVERED for 20-30 minutes. This will thicken the sauce.
- When ready to eat, stir in the fresh cilantro. Serve with steamed rice + fresh cilantro and basil...and of course Naan.
Notes
*TO MAKE THIS ON THE STOVE: To a blender or food processor, add the cashews, onion, garlic, ginger, Thai red curry paste, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and lemon juice. Puree the mixture until completely smooth. If needed, add 1/2 cup of Almondmilk Cashewmilk, to help the mixture blend. Drizzle a large pot set over medium heat with oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the curry paste, cashew milk, potatoes and red pepper. Cook, partially covered over medium-low heat until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thicken, about 30-45 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve as directed.
And DONE. Let’s eat!
P.S. it’s Wednesday!! We are halfway through the week and tomorrow is Thursday and then Friday and, YESS!!!! Friday is my favorite! 🙂
This was one of my favorite meals I’ve had in awhile. I will say that when I’m making a meal in the crockpot, I always season it far more than a recipe calls for. That was after many things coming out of the crockpot bland in my opinion. Something about the way it cooks holds less seasoning or something. So I might have doubled on most of the spices. I also used canned coconut milk instead of the blue diamond. (Sorry, I know that was the ingredient that was supposed to be the highlight). I also used a regular onion and not a sweet one. I just prefer yellow onions to sweet onions. We had leftovers and I ate it for every meal after until it was gone.
Hey Carrie,
Happy Monday!!💐 Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
Do you think sweet potatoes would work?
Hey Maria,
Sure, sweet potatoes would be great for you to use! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I normally love Tieghans recipes, and was excited for this. Waited all day for it to cook, and it didn’t have any flavor at all. I should have read the reviews…
Hi Michelle,
So sorry to hear that this recipe was not enjoyed. Is there anything that I can help with? Please let me know! xx
About to make this Recipe tonight. Can you throw in extra cashews at the end?
Hey Nivea,
Sure, that would be great! I hope this recipe is tasty for you, let me know how it turns out! xT
This may be a nice recipe but it is most certainly not Indian. Case in point: Indian people don’t use Thai curry paste in our food. To conflate the two is ethn0-centric — at best. I don’t think you mean harm but please know that just because something is “ethnic” to you that does not mean you can treat all non-white cultures the same. This is ignorant and hurtful. I hope you rewrite this recipe.
Followed the recipe to a “T” and this was the most bland meal I’ve ever made or eaten. Super annoyed considering I waited all day for this to cook & even bought the exact brand / type of cashew milk. Tossing the leftovers!
Hey Mo,
So sorry to hear you did not enjoy the recipe, please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Have you tried it without the red curry paste? Just wondering…not a huge fan of that flavor.
Hey Jacqueline,
So sorry I have not tested this without the red curry paste. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Great texture, but bland. Didn’t have the bite.
Hey Alex,
So sorry you found this to be bland, please let me know if I can help in anyway! Happy New Year! xTieghan
Is the almond-cashew milk required? If not on hand what could one substitute ie milk, half & half or is just plain almond milk ok? Thanks
Hey Deborah,
Any milk that you have on hand will work. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
If I don’t have a food processor or a blender (dorm life) can i just finely chop/dice everything that is supposed to go into the food processor?
Hey Maddy,
You could go ahead and do that, just try to get everything as smooth as possible. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So excited to try. I’m prepping everything tonight, putting ina ziplock, and cooking tomorrow. I only have whole milk, should it still be ok? I know flavor will be alright effected. The sauce is so good!!! I’m going to eat it all before I even cook anything.
Hey Jen,
Yes whole milk is fine to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan