My brother-in-law lived in Thailand for a couple of years and introduced me to delicious Thai food! I have been making this recipe for a couple of years now and it is one of our favorites.
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigh tenders or chicken breast tenders*
1/4 cup all purpose flour1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup cashews
Directions:
Combine flour and pepper in large Ziploc bag. Add chicken. Shake to coat with flour mixture. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side. Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in small bowl; pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Add cashews and stir. Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.
If you want like sauce and want to have some to pour over the chicken and the rice, double the sauce ingredients.
Recipe adapted from: 365 Days of Slow Cooking
*The original recipe said not to use chicken breasts, but I don't love chicken thighs, so I went ahead and used them and this dish turned out fine! So either kind of chicken will work great for this recipe.
Also, the red pepper flakes give this dish a little heat and a lot of flavor, so I highly recommend using them!
Looking for more slow cooker dishes?
Here are some of our favorites:
Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken
Slow Cooker Roasted Vegetables
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas
Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Looking for more slow cooker dishes?
Here are some of our favorites:
Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken
Slow Cooker Roasted Vegetables
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas
Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Yummy! I have been wanting some good Chinese food lately! Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really delicious! I have a lb of ground chicken that I need to use tonight. I might try this sauce with the ground chicken for lettuce wraps!! YUM!
ReplyDeleteEllen
http://everydaysisters.blogspot.com
What luck! Making chicken for dinner and I adore Cashew Chicken! I have to substitute gluten-free flour and Tamari sauce for the soy, for a sensitive son, but I'll give it a try. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you Thank you Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI just made this today for my family. My husband who also does not like chicken thighs {and yes I used those because that is what I had on hand} took his portion to work for his supper break {he works night shifts}. He wasn't too happy when he saw that it was chicken thighs.....but I just got an e-mail from him now complimenting me all over the place for this dish. He said it was absolutely delicious! Now that is HIGH praise from a man who is extremely fussy about what he likes and doesn't like. lol.
So thank you! I have to agree. This dish is amazingly good! I had seconds AND thirds. ; D
did you have enough sauce, does the sauce have to cover the chicken ?
DeleteBettyan,
ReplyDeletehow'd the gluten-free version turn out?
I made this tonight and it was very yummy! Even my three girls who are very picky little eaters, like it. My 20 month old kept saying "more."
ReplyDeleteGoing to try this tomorrow! Can't wait! I'll post and tell you how it turned out!
ReplyDeleteYummmm this sounds yummy and easy! Can'y wait to try it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.binksandthebadhousewife.com/
Maybe I messed up somewhere in the recipe, but I was not impressed AT ALL with this dish. The chicken came out with no breading and the sauce tasted horrible. Very disappointed...
ReplyDeleteHey,
DeleteI haven't tried this recipe yet but I have made lots of Chicken Picatta which calls for the same kind of flouring. Here are some tips:
1: dredge the chicken in the flour RIGHT before you put it in the pan. If the flour sits on the chicken too long it will get to wet and gummy.
2: Make sure your oil is quite hot before you put the chicken in.
3: Fry the chicken long enough to create a kind of crusty outside (in a tasty way). It should be just golden brown in places. If the chicken isn't browned enough the breading will come off in the sauce.
Yeah, I agree. I'm not impressed. It made no where NEAR 4-6 servings. It also was way too bitter. I had to add water just so I wasn't choking on how bitter it was.
DeleteHi there! I'm newly married and new to cooking. My typical shifts at work are 6 hrs. Can I leave the chicken for that long or will it ruin the recipe? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou need a programmable slow cooker! Try the one I have - Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Slow Cooker.
Deleteis this like spicy cashew chicken at Cheesecake Factory?? :) its my absolute favorite dish there!
ReplyDeleteI made this last night and really enjoyed it. I added more garlic and ginger than called for and chopped up three bird's eye chillies as we like our food to be spicy. I was wondering what size of crockpot you used for this? We ended up adding a little bit of water to the sauce as it didn't completely cover the chicken and was starting to burn - but we do have a very big crockpot, it can easy feed eight people and still have leftovers. We put some carrots, onions and peppers in the sauce a few hours into the cooking, then served it with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions on top.
ReplyDeleteI'm making this right now and I had to double the sauce because it barely came halfway up the chicken, so you're definitely not the only one. I don't mind though because I love sauces!
DeleteI hate to write such a negative review, but this recipe was absolutely horrid. I'm upset that I wasted money on chicken for this. The flavor was not good, nor was the texture. I followed the recipe exactly. This did not taste anything like chinese food. So sad...
ReplyDeleteMaybe that because it's not Chinese food... Thailand, Thai food. Thanks for the laugh! I haven't tried this recipe yet, but Cashew chicken is one of my all-time favorite dishes! Can't wait for dinner tonight!
Deletehahahaha that is so funny......Yea Thai and Chinese are quite different.....So funny
DeleteWhy does it really matter if she said Thai or Chinese? The fact was this recipe was not good.
DeleteMy husband LOVED this. I served it with brown rice and extra cashews, because he loves cashews. He said that this was one of the best meals he's ever had.
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! Pinning! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI made a gluten free version of this last night, and it was FAB! I subbed rice flour (made my own by running brown rice through my blender until super fine) for all purpose, and had to make some other creative changes to suit what I had on hand. Apple Cider Vinegar went in instead of Rice Wine, and I was all out of brown sugar, so I added white sugar and a bit of molasses. My family LOVED this. Even my picky two year old kept saying "This makes me happy!" after every bite. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah, for the gluten free directions! I'm fairly new to that,so I appreciate the info!That's as good a recommendation as you could GET, ~if your two year old loved it! :)
DeleteI just made this tonight and will definitely be having it again! I would probably make more of the sauce next time, as after three hours, it seemed like there should have been more. I would also brown the chicken for longer to get a crunchier texture. I made this recipe knowing my boyfriend does not like cashews, but he tried my portion with cashews and loved it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI made this last night for my husband's birthday dinner. I pretty much stuck to the recipe, but added a little bit of extra flour for the coating, and a bit of extra sauce. I decided to add some red pepper, green onion and shredded carrots as well, to add some color and flavor, and I think I would do this again. My husband couldn't stop raving about it. And we have enough for another meal! This is one I will definitely be trying again!
ReplyDeleteDid you leave the chicken whole or cut up
DeleteI put it in the slow cooker whole and then cut it up when it was finished cooking!
DeleteI used chicken tenderloins instead of breasts or thighs...then they are the right size. And healthier meet than the thighs I think. Have done it a few times, and every time is great!
DeleteLooks wonderful! What do you serve this with, vegi, rice?
ReplyDeleteYeah! I keep it simple and just serve it with rice and some frozen stir fry veggies!
DeleteMaking it right now...my house has smelled heavenly all day! I am putting it over quinoa, can't wait to eat it!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm putting it over also - quinoa. Healthy and it is my "go to" side dish instead of rice and potatoes. The dish is cooking now and I can't wait to try it.
Deletei made this last week for my husband and niece, both of whom are very picky. they loved it! my husband even ate leftovers! i'm making it again tonight because my parents will be here for dinner. (i made it with chicken breast cut into fat strips and doubled the sauce; i did 1 c of cashews because i wanted extra)
ReplyDeleteI made a double batch of this and it was an enormous success. Delicious! I took 1/2 to my mom as thanks for babysitting and she raved because it was "even better than take-out" and my Stepdad loved it too. I used skinless boneless chicken thighs pounded flat and quartered and a chicken breast. I am nuts about veggies, so I added diced celery & carrots and large pieces of red bell pepper. I wouldn't like it as much without the veggies, but it is incredibly delicious. I loved that it was hearty but not heavy or salty/sugar laden like restaurant Chinese food. It's delicious left over! ...I wonder if it would freeze well...
ReplyDeleteOh, and I used reduced sodium soy sauce & powdered ginger and it tasted great!
DeleteThis looks fantastic! Will have to give it a try. Do you think one could substitute cornstarch for the flour (and use less cornstarch)?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Kendra
I TRIPLED the sauce and actually cut up chicken breast into tiny pieces. It cooked in about 2.5 hours and if I left it in longer, I think the chicken would have shredded. I think it cooked in a shorter time period because of the chicken being in tiny pieces.
ReplyDeleteI love adding vegetables to all my dishes and I felt that this dish absolutely needed it! For texture purposes, I find crock pot chicken to be a little mushy, so I added carrots, celery, green peppers and onions. It turned out DELICIOUS. I bet broccoli would be a nice touch to this as well!~
Thanks for posting this recipe and I will for sure make this again.
Thanks for
I used chicken tenderloins, and then they are already in smaller pieces and I didn't need to do anything to it. I, too, add veggies. I liked adding red peppers (prefer them to green), green onion, and shredded carrots. But celery sounds good, too.
DeleteI made this in the skillet today and was surprised at the extent to which the ketchup overpowered the rest of the elements in the sauce. It's a shame really, especially considering that cashews are not the cheapest of ingredients. If I make this again, I will definitely stick to a more traditional asian sauce.
ReplyDeletefound this on pinterest and made it tonight -- DELICIOUS! it's a keeper -- will make again for sure.
ReplyDeleteI am in the process of making this and I have a quick question... do you cook with with the cashews or just stir them in AFTER you cook it for 3-4 hours?
ReplyDeleteYep! AFTER! :)
DeleteI found this recipe to be way too salty for my taste. With the sauce's main ingredient soy sauce plus with the cashews (I got salted ones) it was very overbearing. The blandness of the rice helps to balance that out though.
ReplyDeleteI made this for my husband, the chef, tonight. I cut the chicken up before flouring it because I knew I would be cooking it a shorter period of time. I doubled the sauce. About a half an hour before we were ready to eat, I dumped in a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables because that's what I had on hand. It was delicious. The only thing my husband suggested was to triple the sauce next time. Then he cleaned his plate and ate seconds. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
ReplyDeleteI "pinned" this a while ago and finally got round to making it. I was DELICIOUS! The chicken was so tender and the sauce was wonderful. I didn't double the sauce ingredients like you suggested, because the soy sauce we have is very strong and dark. Instead I put in 1/4 cup chicken stock and it was still delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe! xx
ReplyDeleteI made this for my husband to take to his work potluck today and it was great! I used thighs...wonderful! He said everyone loved it and asked that I make it for the family. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteWill seasoned rice wine vinegar work, or does it need to be regular rice wine vinegar?
ReplyDeleteI think that seasoned rice vinegar would be fine! It might taste a little different, but I don't think that it would be different enough to make a huge difference!
DeleteYeah, I went ahead an used the seasoned rice vinegar because that was what I had, and it still turned out great! Seasoned rice vinegar (from what I read) is really just a little sweeter than regular rice vinegar, and my husband and I didn't really think this meal ended up being that sweet at all. It was more of a zesty-savory taste with a kick. I cut three chicken chicken breasts into about 2-inch pieces so that they had more surface area to be covered by the sauce and I could lower the cooking time a little bit (I had gotten a slow start on this meal). I tripled the sauce and tossed in closer to a cup of cashews. It was fabulous! Thank you for sharing!
DeleteSalted or Unsalted Cashews? My assumption is unsalted, since you can always add more salt!
ReplyDeleteI was all set to make this today, but I don't have rice vinegar...darn.
ReplyDeleteI made this today! It was delicious - I forgot to add the cashews at the end but didn't really miss them. The spiciness added a really nice kick to my chicken. Thank you for posting this!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried this without breading and frying the chicken first? I'm trying to cut the calories a bit, and wondering if it would work just with pieces of cut up chicken in the crock pot. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI had the same question!
DeleteI'm gluten free, so breading is out for me. I've made this recipe using rice flour as a coating, but most of the time I'm lazy, so I just plop my frozen chicken into the slow cooker, pour the sauce over, and set it on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours. If you want to thicken the sauce a bit, you can add a cornstarch slurry at the end.
DeleteI made this yesterday and will definitely be making it again. Eight out of eight of my kids ate it and liked it! I used tenderloins, added a can of cut baby corn, and doubled the sauce. Thanks for a great recipe!
ReplyDeleteI made this last night per recipe. It was very good, but there are a few changes I'd make for my tastes. The ketchup used really came through as a flavor in the sauce. I don't like ketchup. So, as I'd doubled the sauce ingredients, next time I would keep to the original amount for the ketchup. I also sauteed onion, zucchini and mushrooms to add veg. My b/f doesn't care much for veg, so he was fine with just the chicken and rice. And the smell was wonderful! I think that this may only be a few short steps away from a good orange chicken, too! Will definitely be experimenting more with this recipe!
ReplyDeleteJust made this and it was delicious. I have to admit, we are bad with planning, so we cooked in the oven instead of the crockpot. I also tried a little trick with chicken prep I had learned from another site. Here's my steps:
ReplyDeleteI followed the sauce recipe from SixSistersStuff, but coated the chicken in baking soda for 15 minutes prior to cooking. Rinse the baking soda off, then cut into bite-sized pieces, dip in flour, then cook.
I used 3 breasts, and doubled the sauce recipe. I also added 1/2 of a green pepper (cut up), and a few baby carrots (cut up). I put the chicken, peppers and carrots into a 9x13 dish, then poured the sauce on top, and baked at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. I'd recommend covering with foil, and also adding about 1/2 cup chicken broth or water to thin out the sauce. In the end it was very tasty, but the flavor was incredibly intense.
Do you have the nutritional facts for any of these recipes. Looking for some healthy options and would like to try this but I'm not sure if the recipe I found online is the same for nutritional content.
ReplyDeleteI also would like to know how it turns out w/out the frying?
Just click on the "magic" button under the picture and then click on "nutrition". You can cook your chicken anyway you want before adding it to the slow cooker, it doesn't have to be fried. -The Six Sisters
DeleteI'm making this right now and it smells wonderful (has about 30 minutes to go). I just tasted a piece of chicken to make sure it's not drying out and it is perfect.
ReplyDeleteI made the recipe as written only adding much more fresh ginger (as I love ginger), I did not double the sauce. I used 1 pound of organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 3 pieces) and 1 pound of organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
I am serving it with jasmine brown rice (which is more traditional for Thai food). I get mine at Cost Plus World Imports (if anyone has that store near them).
Thanks for another wonderful recipe.
I made this for dinner left night, and after reading lots of the comments decided to double the sauce and add sliced carrots. I was so disappointed! The ketchup overpowered all of the other ingredients in the sauce making it taste nothing like Chinese food. I will not be making this again.
ReplyDeleteThis recipe was way too salty and I followed the directions exactly as written. I even used unsalted cashews. Very disappointed.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone considered using hoisin sauce instead of ketchup? I made an orange chicken sauce the other night that called for BBQ sauce and I think next time I will try it with the hoisin (since I have a huge bottle of it just sitting in my fridge taking up space) for a more asian flavor. I noticed one of the biggest complaints in this recipe is the flavor if the ketchup being too strong and thought that might be an easy remedy.
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious! Be sure to let us know how it turns out! -The Six Sisters
DeleteOkay - seriously - I cannot rave enough about this recipe. Cashew Chicken is my favourite Thai dish and I can't believe I can make it at home now. This will surely become a regular meal around my house. I am also planning on printing out the directions and giving it to friends as inexpensive birthday presents. :)
ReplyDelete