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Better than takeout and so simple, this Baked Easy Cashew Chicken Recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner. A favorite chicken stir fry recipe made in one pan with fresh veggies and a delicious sauce. Easy to make in advance and pop in the oven just before dinner, a dinner the whole family will love!
Getting dinner on the table for the family is always a challenge. I just don’t always have the energy to do it at the end of a hectic day.
I love prepping this super easy baked cashew chicken recipe in the morning and then just popping it right in the oven just before dinner. It’s a simple, flavorful meal that helps me manage my time in a better way and prep when I have the energy!
Homemade cashew chicken is not tricky at all with this recipe!
If you are up for a stir fry instead, try this Ground Turkey Teriyaki Stir Fry, Peanut Mango Chicken Stir Fry or Ground Beef Teriyaki!
Why You Will Love This Easy Cashew Chicken Bake:
- It’s so easy to make. The beauty of this recipe is how quick and simple it is to whip up. You just have to toss the sauce with the other ingredients and bake. In no time you have tender veggies, juicy chicken and crunchy cashews to spoon over minute rice (for another quick option!)
- Veggie packed. Broccoli and peppers, but you certainly don’t have to stop there! You could add some snap peas, mushrooms, and more! This is a great recipe for adding in vegetables and more goodness. Oh and water chestnuts are amazing in this recipe as well!
- A great option for meal prepping. If you are a Sunday or Monday meal prepper, this one is great to have on hand. You can bake this easy cashew chicken recipe up and then portion it out into meals for the week. Or you can prep it all in the morning and bake just before dinner for another easy meal prep option.
- Freezer friendly. I have frozen this as individual servings with rice to sort of make my own microwaveable frozen meal. As long as you put it in a freezer safe, airtight container, you should be good for 3 months!
Why bake your stir frY?
- Instead of standing in front of the stove for twenty minutes, I can pop dinner in the oven and then walk away. That way I can cook dinner and chase a little on all at the same time.
- The other bonus of baked stir fry recipes is prepping it all early and then heading straight to cook when I am ready.
Need more convincing that a baked cashew chicken recipe is a great dinner option? I doubt it.
Originally this baked cashew chicken was going to be a cashew chicken sheet pan dinner since I love a good sheet pan dinner. But since I like this to be a bit more saucy, I opted for tossing it all in a pan. No doubt you could still opt for a sheet pan, but things may get a touch messy.
What you will need to make this recipe:
- chicken: boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces. I considered using chicken thighs in this easy cashew chicken recipe, but opted for chicken breast because my husband isn’t a huge fan of thighs. You could use chicken thighs if preferred. Cooking time may vary slightly so check the internal temperature at 15 minutes and adjust from there.
- broccoli: a large head of broccoli or 2-3 broccoli crowns. You could technically use frozen broccoli florets if that’s what you have on hand, but I prefer the fresh broccoli.
- bell pepper: I use red bell peppers in this easy baked cashew chicken recipe. I like the sweetness and the extra pop of color. You could really opt for any bell pepper of choice.
- green onion: sliced green onions, whites included. You can adjust the amount of onion to your taste if 4 seems too much.
- cashews: For best results, use whole cashews, unsalted. They can be roasted or raw, I prefer to lightly toast them for extra flavor and crunch.
- rice for serving: it’s up to you how you serve this recipe. You can serve it over brown rice, white rice, cauliflower rice. It will also serve beautifully as lettuce wraps if desired!
For the sauce:
- soy sauce: only just now realizing it’s not pictured in this image. But also wanted to mention that if you need gluten free, opt for tamari instead. Coconut aminos work as well if you cannot have soy. I prefer low sodium soy sauce, but use what you have on hand!
- broth: low sodium chicken broth or you could also use stock if desired.
- sugar: I use brown sugar but also will sometimes use honey to add a different flavor to the sauce.
- hoisin sauce: a thick, sweet yet savory sauce that will help give some thickness to the sauce in this recipe as well as a nice tang.
- rice vinegar: adds a nice layer of flavor to the sauce. If you don’t have any, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar can be substituted.
- sesame oil: another flavor enhancer as this is what stir fries are typically cooked in.
- ginger: use freshly minced ginger for the very best flavor. Ginger powder is just not the same. I have used the bottled minced ginger when the grocery delivery sent it and it was not nearly as flavorful.
- garlic: same as for the ginger, freshly minced is ideal
- corn starch: this is what will thicken the sauce up as it bakes. I add a tablespoon to the recently updated recipe with more sauce, but you can add a touch more if it doesn’t come out thick enough for your liking.
- red pepper: we like a slight spicy kick to this recipe, and sometimes I add 1/2 teaspoon instead of the 1/4 teaspoon. Add to your liking and you can always add more later when serving.
- black pepper: freshly cracked pepper
- salt: this is totally up to you, salt it to your liking. I usually just add a couple cranks of sea salt
- sriracha: another great way to give the baked cashew chicken a nice kick. Certainly optional if you don’t want the spiciness.
How to make this recipe:
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Combine veggies, chicken and cashews in an oil sprayed 9×13 inch baking pan. I like to season my chicken with a bit of salt, pepper and garlic powder for extra flavor. This is optional!
- Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken mixture. Toss well to allow sauce to coat chicken and veggies.
- Pour ingredients into lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Pop the easy cashew chicken in the oven and bake!
Recipe Tips
- Feel free to prep this in the morning of or even the night before you plan on cooking. It will allow the chicken to marinate and absorb all the more flavor and allow you to take care of business when it works best for you!
- If you prefer a pretty thick sauce, add another teaspoon of corn starch to allow it to thicken even more.
- My husband prefers his cashew chicken with pineapple. I was going to add it in to the recipe, but then decided not to. If this sounds good to you, you can add a few teaspoons of pineapple juice to the sauce, or add some fresh pineapple chunks before baking.
Storage:
To store leftovers, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for about 3-4 days for best results. Microwave leftovers or bake to reheat.
To freeze, allow the cashew chicken to cool completely. Then place in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. You can portion out single servings with rice and freeze for easy, ready to go meals.
Possible Substitutions or Variations:
- Are you allergic to cashews? Don’t like them? Feel free to switch up the nut then. Lightly toasted almonds would be a delicious option to add in instead of the cashews.
- If you want to adjust the veggies, feel free to do so. Some zucchini, pea pods, maybe even some mukimame. The more the merrier!
- Arrowroot powder is a simple substitution for corn starch. I have used it several times in other recipes and works great to thicken sauces!
Is this Cashew Chicken Gluten free?
Most cashew chicken recipes have soy sauce which contains wheat, so it’s not always easy to have it at a restaurant as gluten free. Some restaurants are more accommodating than others.
If you make it at home, you can use Tamari instead of soy sauce and then your baked cashew chicken will be gluten free!
I know living with allergies can be difficult for so many, –hope this helps!
Other Recipes To Try:
- PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN SHEET PAN DINNER
- MOZZARELLA STUFFED CHICKEN WITH TOMATO AND BASIL
- BAKED ORANGE CHICKEN SHEET PAN DINNER
- EASY CHICKEN STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS
- CHICKEN WITH MANGO SALSA
- HONEY LIME BAKED CHICKEN FAJITAS
- PEANUT MANGO CHICKEN STIR FRY
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Baked Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets, (about 3-4 cups)
- 2 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 green onions, chopped (whites included)
- 2/3 – 1 c unsalted cashews (lightly toasted if desired), they can be raw or roasted
For the Sauce:
- ⅓ c soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free), I prefer lower sodium versions
- ⅓ c chicken stock or broth
- ¼ c hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 T brown sugar or honey
- 1 T grated fresh ginger
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 T corn starch
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- salte to taste
- 2 tsp siracha (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and whisk together. Place the chicken, cashews and veggies in a medium bowl or right into an oil sprayed baking dish. I like to season the chicken generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder, but this is optional.
- Pour sauce over chicken and veggies and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking dish if you haven't done so already.
- Place in oven and bake for approximately 20-24 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Allow to sit for several minutes to absorb flavor and sauce to thicken slightly. Serve over rice or as desired with a sprinkle of sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- I recently updated this recipe to make extra sauce for the recipe. If you are a big sauce fan, you can double the sauce and then add half before baking and stir in desired amount after baking and removing from the oven.
- Feel free to prep this in the morning of or even the night before you plan on cooking. It will allow the chicken to marinate and absorb all the more flavor and allow you to take care of business when it works best for you!
- If you prefer a pretty thick sauce, add another teaspoon of corn starch to allow it to thicken even more.
- My husband prefers his cashew chicken with pineapple. I was going to add it in to the recipe, but then decided not to. If this sounds good to you, you can add a few teaspoons of pineapple juice to the sauce, or add some fresh pineapple chunks before baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How much is a bunch of broccoli, weight wise? I get mine in packages so I need the pounds, ounces or grams?
Thanks
Hi! A bunch is usually about 2-3 stalks of broccoli. I use about 3- 3 1/2 cups. A bunch would be about a pound and a half to 2 pounds. Hope that helps!
Fantastic! I made double the sauce so there was enough to poor over white rice. This was a huge hit and delicious. 20 min didn’t seem like enough time, but it was. I recommend toasting the cashews for crunch, but it was still delicious using raw ones. I also added a little onion and carrot that I didn’t want to waste.
10/10 delicious and easy!!!!
Yay!! Love hearing all of this! And I agree on the toasting of the cashews–makes a big difference. Did the carrots come out ok?
This is absolutely the tastiest easy broccoli cashew chicken recipe ever. My husband, who is a very picky eater, absolutely loved it. My only suggestion would be to add more broccoli. I used 2 bunches but will add 3 bunches next time.
So great to know, Kathi! I think adding extra broccoli is a great idea as it’s my favorite as well! Thanks for noting!
My family loved this! So easy to prep and make. I even used 1/2 of the siracha and the kids still loved the flavor. Will be putting in the rotation for weekly dinners!
Yay Jamie!!! Props to the kids for going for a bit of heat too!!! Make my day to hear a recipe has gone well!