Honey Cashew Chicken
A healthier version of a popular Asian dish -- Cashew Chicken. Gluten-Free. Dairy-Free. Sugar-Free. A spicy and sweet chicken with crisp vegetables in a flavorful sauce.
Have you ever grabbed Chinese take-out only to wonder what they might be putting in it behind the scenes? It may taste incredible but you likely won't feel so great after you eat it. Who has been there? It is amazing the difference between making homemade Chinese Cashew Chicken at home and what you pick up at take-out.
My husband could eat Asian food every day of his life. One of his favorite dishes is Honey Cashew Chicken, but it's breaded and fried at almost every Chinese food joint. So my goal was to get the same flavor profile without all of the fat and calories and this is how Honey Cashew Chicken was born.
No breading.
No frying.
This is your healthier gluten and dairy free version of Honey Cashew Chicken that tastes so good that you will forget it's also good for you.
How to make Cashew Chicken:
It's all about sauteing chicken breast, fresh vegetables, chili garlic honey sauce....then topping it with crunchy cashews and scallions. It is made with only fresh, healthy ingredients. You need to get to the grocery store pronto.
Oh and a huge bonus! It's ⅓ of the price of Chinese take-out. Basically, I am saving you serious cash here, which means you should go buy a new pair of shoes with all of the money you are saving.
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Honey Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 ½ lbs. Chicken Breast cut into bite size pieces
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Carrots sliced diagonally
- 1 Yellow or Red Pepper sliced
- 1 Onion diced
Sweet Honey Chili Sauce (may want to double sauce if putting over rice):
- 2 Tablespoons Chili Garlic Sauce *
- ¼ cup Honey or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Tamari or Soy Sauce **
- 1 cup Whole Cashews
- ¼ cup Scallions diced
Instructions
- Heat large skillet over medium high heat and add oil. Add chicken and saute for 6-8 minutes until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add carrots, yellow pepper, and onion and saute for 4-6 minutes.
- Turn down to medium heat and add chili garlic sauce, honey, ginger, and tamari and stir to coat. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of water, if needed. Stir in cashews and season to taste. Heat for 1-2 minutes. Top with scallions.
- May be served with rice.
- *If you are putting this over rice, I suggest doubling the sauce. **May reduce chili garlic sauce to 1 Tablespoon if you don't like spicy food.
- ***Tamari is a gluten-free version of soy sauce. Either one can be used in this dish.
Nutrition
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Happy Cooking!
Michael Pace
I made this recipe last night and it was delicious however the chicken came out a little dry and rubbery. Do you recommend marinating or brining the chicken to keep this from happening in the future?
Rick
Great recipe! Made it for my boys tonight and we all loved it. Looking forward to trying more recipes from your website.
Modern Honey
Rick! Great to hear from you! Thank you for trying the recipe out. I am so happy that you all loved it and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. I really appreciate it! 🙂 -Melissa
Amber
I'm trying to find the chili garlic sauce. Can you use any chili sauce? Or should it be hot?
Thank you!
Modern Honey
Hi Amber! Great question! There are many varities of chili sauce out there. You want the asian chili garlic sauce as it has red chilies, vinegar, garlic, and salt. It adds a ton of flavor! Here is a link so you can see what it looks like - https://www.amazon.com/Huy-Fong-Vietnamese-Chili-Garlic/dp/B0006SKCVI
I hope that helps! 🙂
Modern Honey
Hi Annie! Thank you for making my day! That is a great question! You are right, fresh is always best, but when it is cooked into a sauce, like this one, ground ginger is a fine substitute. Since I don't always have fresh ginger on hand, I have used ground ginger in this recipe and it still tastes great.
Annie
So impressed with your recipes! This will be the fifth one that I'm trying and I have loved them ALL. Your blog is amazing. My question here is, does it make a difference whether I use fresh ginger or dried? I know that as a general rule, fresh is always better, but I haven't been able to figure out if there's really a flavor difference between fresh and dried ginger. Maybe my palate isn't sophisticated enough 🙂 What do you think?
Kayla
Just wondering if I am making this to be served later could it be kept warm in say a slow cooker until ready to serve?
Modern Honey
Hi Kayla! That is a great question! This is fabulous reheated and made ahead of time. You can put it in the crockpot on warm. You can always make a little more sauce to add to the dish as it heats. Thanks for reaching out. 🙂