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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 Garam Masala would you start with? I’ve never personally cooked with it before. Very excited to try this recipe! It looks beautiful, and from all the positive feedback it sounds very flavorful!
I would start with 2 teaspoons. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This looks delicious, thank you for sharing.
I dont have a crock pot but do have an instant pot. Have you tried making this in an instant pot instead? And if so what tips would you recommend.
Thank you again!
Just bought your cookbook and sent it to my aunt in Japan.
i just discovered your website and this recipe looks delicious.
I dont have a crock pot but do have an instant pot. Have you tried making this in an instant pot instead? And if so what tips would you recommend.
Thank you again!
Just bought your cookbook and sent it to my aunt in Japan.
i just discovered your website and this recipe looks delicious.
I dont have a crock pot but do have an instant pot. Have you tried making this in an instant pot instead? And if so what tips would you recommend.
Thank you again!
Just bought your cookbook and sent it to my aunt in Japan.
HI! I have not made in the instant pot, but it should work great! I would cook on high pressure for 8-10 minutes and then use the quick release. Finish recipe as directed. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! ?
The first time I made the cashew butter chicken it was amazing. I followed the recipe exactly. The second time I made it I used milk instead of almond or cashew with not so great results as the milk curtled. I assume it was because of the lemon juice.
Hi Marie! I am so glad you liked this recipe! Thank you!
This is a weird mix of Thai and Indian curry flavor profiles. I knew a lot of the ingredients were not authentic Indian ingredients but gave it a go due to the convenience of using a crockpot. I think this could be good if you stuck with either an Indian flavor profile, or a Thai flavor profile. I would not recommend the recipe as is.
Hi Taylor, I am so sorry you did not enjoy this recipe. I hope you enjoy some other recipes on my blog!
This is probably a stupid question but it’s okay to put the chicken in raw right?
Not a stupid question at all! Yes, you can put the raw chicken in the crockpot. Hope you love this!
I made this and it was delicious! Do you know the nutritional information for this (calories/carbs per cup?) Thanks!
Hi so happy you liked it! I’m sorry but I don’t do nutritional information!
Thank you Jami!
I’m going to make this tomorrow night. My one question is – what is “2 inch potatoes”? I want to make sure I use the right amount of spuds. Thanks!
What does “2 inch potatoes” mean? Could you pls provide an approx measurement in weight?
So sorry so sorry for the trouble! Recipe has been fixed to read correctly. it is 2 small potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this!
Thanks! I made it a couple of nights ago and used a medium sized sweet potato since I already had it. That worked great! I might even put more potato in the next time.
Awesome! I am so glad you love these, Connie!
Do you think the original cashew/almond blend is okay? I bought it already, with the intention to make this dish, so I’d prefer not to have to buy a new one. Thanks!
Yes, that will be great! Hope you love this!
This recipe is bland and grossly underseasoned
Hey Marissa, I am sorry you feel this way. Maybe trying adding more salt, as this seemed to work for Michelle. Thanks.
I made this – I don’t know if I am a slow chopper or what, usually people say I am fast, but it definitely took me longer than 10 minutes to cut up everything, blend the sauce, prepare the chicken, etc. More like an hour. It smelled amazing, however, was SUPER bland!!!! My husband tried putting salt on it and realized that’s what it needed, a ton of salt! It doesn’t fix the problem, and I followed your recipe exactly, but I definitely recommend using 4 times as much salt, if not more, than advised on this recipe! Like, a tablespoon or more, because a pinch is not enough. It helps!
Hi Michelle, i am sorry you had trouble with this recipe. some people need more salt to taste, it’s more of a personal preference thing than anything else. Again, sorry it was not to your liking.
You are the shit! I finally found a blog with great recipes! You have so many great supporters, well deserved! A few trolls too, but good and bad are one. Kindu blows my mind how people write a comment just for a slight misspelling. I thought graham masala sp was hilarious. I’m smellin what yer sellin. Thanks so much for just being you! 😀
Hi Jenna! Thank you so much, I am so happy you like everything!! It is funny how much people catch. (:
If I want to double this recipe, does the cook time change or is it still four hours?
Hey Jessica! I would recommend cooking 1-2 hours longer. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this recipe! 🙂
I thought I had enough roasted cashews at home, but it turns out I don’t! Do you think I could use roasted almonds instead? Or will that completely change the taste, since this is a recipe for cashew chicken?
Hey Anna, I think you could use almonds. The taste will be a little different, but I am sure still great. Let me know if you have questions hope you love this! Happy Holidays!