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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.
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! 🙂
How much sauce does this make? My boyfriend has an appallingly high metabolism and is trying to gain weight, and he likes to take the leftovers I make to work with him to eat for lunch. I was thinking of doubling the amount of meat used, but I don’t know if that will leave enough sauce? If you could let me know that would be great.
Thanks,
Gwen
Hey Gwen!! Hmm, it is hard to say, I think you will be ok doubling the meat and not the sauce. If it is too thick, just add milk to thin it a bit. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
Thanks for answering! I ended up using about 3 lbs’ worth of chicken breasts (the ones I got at my grocery store were just enormous) and doubled the amount of ingredients for the sauce. It worked very well, proportion-wise. Quite tasty. Gonna make the coq au vin today, super excited! I love trying your recipes; it’s a lot of fun, and I love expanding my cooking repertoire. 🙂
So happy you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy the coq au vin! Thanks Gwen!
So happy it was a hit! Thank you! 🙂
I made this tonight and it was a hit! We served it over cauliflower rice, which was perfect. I couldn’t find the almond milk blend so I used regular unsweetened almond milk. If you ask me, the garam masala is not optional- it seemed like a key flavor there. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!
Hi!! So happy everyone liked it!! Cauliflower rice sounds delish!!
Thank you for making!!
Making this right now for dinner. Purple sweet potatoes, chicken and tofu. The smell of the sauce is intoxicating. Can’t wait to sample it. Thanks for the ideas and the beautiful rustic, pictures. So freakin drool-worthy!
Thank you so much!! So glad you tried it! Hope you loved it! (:
What is a good substitute for Almond Breeze Almondmilk Cashewmilk Original Unsweetened milk? Thank you!!
Hey Caroline! You can use canned coconut milk or even just regular milk. Both will work great. Let me know if you have any other questions, thank you!
This looks scrumptious and I can’t wait to make it! Do you think I could double this in the crock pot and would it change the cooking time? Thanks
Hi Candice! Thank you so much! You can double this, but go light on the cream. Start with just a 1/4 cup and then add more if you need to thin the sauce. I think the cooking times should be around the same, just make sure the chicken is all fully cooked before eating. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. I am curious, though. You used Thai curry paste in an Indian dish. Where did that idea come from? It worked beautifully, but I’m used to Indian dishes with tomato based sauces. It was a great way to get the depth of flavor and spice without watering the dish down or needing a million other spices. And without the heaviness that tomato sauces can add. I also have to add that my picky, picky husband has loved the 10-15 recipes I have made from your site. Thank you!
HI! I am THRILLED that you and your family loved this recipe. it is one of my favorites too! Thai curry paste or curry paste is actually used in a lot of Indian dishes. I use Thai because it it was is easily available to me, but I believe that there are Indian Curry Paste in stores as well or you can make them at home too! I also just LOVE the flavor of Thai curry paste. It’s just like what you said, it adds flavor, but doesn’t water down the dish. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks SO much Tibby! ?
Have made this most wonderful dish twice in 2 weeks…It is THAT delicous. Love the addition of cashew milk – first time I’ve had it and love it. Great marriage with the ground cashew. The spices are so intoxicating with the creaminess. Having to avoid carbs, used turnips vs potatoes and served over cauliflower rice. Love your blog and outstanding photography as well as your adventurous cooking/baking. You are truly living any foodie/cooks dream!
YEAHH! So thrilled you love this recipe and are enjoy my site. THANK YOU! Please let me know if you ever have questions. Thanks again! 🙂
My favorite Indian dish is kahdi pakora- it’s a yogurt based curry. I’m also not a fan of eating out but if I do I try to get everyone to agree on Indian food so I can order this dish! I have attempted to make it at home but haven’t had much luck. Would love you to try your hand at it! Xoxox
Hmm, I have never heard of that. Looking it up now, thank you!! 🙂
*garam masala
Could Thai coconut milk be substituted for the almond milk? I’m thinking it would also be the same amount (2cups?)
Yes that would be amazing and yes it would be 2 cups. Hope you love this and thanks!!
I’ve already made this twice since it’s been posted. It. Is. So. Friggin. Good. Once on the stove and once in the crock pot, both turned out equally amazing. I didn’t have cashews so I used walnuts instead…and sweet potatos. This may be one of my new fave recipes of all time!
Looks good! My husband is half Indian so we enjoy Indian food a lot :-). I’m with you on turmeric though. A small amount in a recipe is fine, but when I see something more than 1/2 tsp for four servings I know I probably won’t like the recipe. I do sometimes add a small sprinkle to white rice along with some oil or butter to make the rice more colorful, but you can’t taste the turmeric at all.
This recipe came together easily, looked and smelled delicious, but it ended up very bland. Definitely add salt!
Thank you!
I love playing around with making curry (usually coconut milk for my base, but I’m ready to start using almond milk!). Looks wonderful, Tieghan!
Oh, and BTW I’m loving on this recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us.