Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken Recipe

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Questions & Reviews

1. Lindsay says:

   Yummy! I have been wanting some good Chinese food lately! Thanks for the recipe!
2. Ellen Zames says:

   This 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!

   Ellen

   http://everydaysisters.blogspot.com
3. Bettyann Schmidt says:

   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.
4. Lynn says:

   Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

   I 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
5. Ami says:

   Bettyan,
   how’d the gluten-free version turn out?
6. Anonymous says:

   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.”
7. Kaitlin says:

   Going to try this tomorrow! Can’t wait! I’ll post and tell you how it turned out!
8. AbbyA says:

   Yummmm this sounds yummy and easy! Can’y wait to try it!

   http://www.binksandthebadhousewife.com/
9. Mrs. Massey says:

   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…
10. Mrs. M says:

    Hi 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!
11. Fringey says:

    Hey,

    I 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.
12. The Richins Family says:

    is this like spicy cashew chicken at Cheesecake Factory?? 🙂 its my absolute favorite dish there!
13. Rachel says:

    I 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.
14. Felicia says:

    I’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!
15. Carroll Jo says:

    I 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…
16. 4b00e2aa-cd35-11e1-969d-000bcdcb471e says:

    My 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.
17. 2 Puggles and a Baby says:

    This looks great! Pinning! Thanks!
18. Aiello Family says:

    Maybe 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!
19. Sarah says:

    I 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. 🙂
20. burghgrl says:

    Thanks 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! 🙂
21. Jocelyn says:

    I 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!
22. Erica says:

    I 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!
23. jaime says:

    did you have enough sauce, does the sauce have to cover the chicken ?
24. ce3e868a-dc0e-11e1-9588-000bcdca4d7a says:

    Did you leave the chicken whole or cut up
25. Camille says:

    I put it in the slow cooker whole and then cut it up when it was finished cooking!
26. Angie Ohmann says:

    Looks wonderful! What do you serve this with, vegi, rice?
27. Camille says:

    Yeah! I keep it simple and just serve it with rice and some frozen stir fry veggies!
28. Lindsay says:

    Making it right now…my house has smelled heavenly all day! I am putting it over quinoa, can’t wait to eat it!
29. newlyweds + a canon = a blog says:

    i 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)
30. Felicia Morehouse says:

    I 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…
31. Felicia Morehouse says:

    Oh, and I used reduced sodium soy sauce & powdered ginger and it tasted great!
32. KENDRA BAILEY MORRIS says:

    This looks fantastic! Will have to give it a try. Do you think one could substitute cornstarch for the flour (and use less cornstarch)?

    Thanks,
    Kendra
33. tracyjopa says:

    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.

    I 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
34. MaryBeth Bennett says:

    I 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.
35. Rebecca Malone says:

    found this on pinterest and made it tonight — DELICIOUS! it’s a keeper — will make again for sure.
36. nheckscher says:

    I 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?
37. Camille says:

    Yep! AFTER! 🙂
38. Katrina says:

    I 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.
39. Zoey and the furballs says:

    I 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!
40. Erica says:

    I 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!
41. Erica says:

    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.
42. Lauren says:

    I “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
43. Mrs Sarah Coller says:

    I 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!
44. AshleyMcK says:

    Will seasoned rice wine vinegar work, or does it need to be regular rice wine vinegar?
45. Camille says:

    I 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!
46. AshleyMcK says:

    Yeah, 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!
47. Suzana Correa says:

    That’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.
48. Linsey Heermans says:

    You need a programmable slow cooker! Try the one I have – Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget 6-Quart Slow Cooker.
49. Chrissy says:

    Salted or Unsalted Cashews? My assumption is unsalted, since you can always add more salt!
50. Cass says:

    I was all set to make this today, but I don’t have rice vinegar…darn.
51. Mystrys says:

    I 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!
52. Its Me, Shawn....... says:

    hahahaha that is so funny……Yea Thai and Chinese are quite different…..So funny
53. Stevie says:

    Has 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!
54. lotsakids says:

    I 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!
55. Amber Solis says:

    I 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!
56. Kym says:

    Just 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:

    I 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 9×13 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.
57. Nora says:

    I had the same question!
58. Errin Koon says:

    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.

    I also would like to know how it turns out w/out the frying?
59. Sarah says:

    I’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.
60. VaBelle1964 says:

    I’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.

    I 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.
61. Natty R.. says:

    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.
62. Natty R.. says:

    Why does it really matter if she said Thai or Chinese? The fact was this recipe was not good.
63. Kimberly says:

    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.
64. catherine mechler says:

    This recipe was way too salty and I followed the directions exactly as written. I even used unsalted cashews. Very disappointed.
65. Tiffany Hoskinson says:

    Has 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.
66. Kayla Kopke says:

    Okay – 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. 🙂
67. Six Sisters says:

    Sounds delicious! Be sure to let us know how it turns out! -The Six Sisters
68. Nicola V says:

    Eating this now…and so delicious. Only tip I would offer and came across it accidently….is to fry the chicken and then place in the fridge to cool before putting in the crockpot with the sauce…seems to set the crust on the chicken more. I did it with hot chicken the first time and it made the sauce gloppy. This time is was perfection!!!!
69. Vicki says:

    Thank you for the hoisin sauce suggestion! I just got on here to leave a comment and saw yours. My husband and daughter cannot eat much tomato, so I think I’ll try the hoisin next time.
70. Vicki says:

    I made this tonight and it was great. I made a couple of alterations though. My chicken cutlets were frozen so I just mixed up a double batch of the sauce (a little easy on the brown sugar so it wouldn’t be too sweet) and then popped the chicken on top. Cooked it for about 5 hours then added about a half tsp of cornstarch mixed with equal water to thicken it up a bit. Added a half bag of mixed veggies and the cashews and served over rice. Next time I’ll try it with the hoisin instead of ketchup, but this way was really good!
71. Eve says:

    Made this today for the first time for friends. Really really nice. Had repeated comments of how nice it was from one guest. Very happy. I doubled the sauce but didn’t double the ketchup having read the other comments. Will be making this again.
72. ginhoegun says:

    I’ll make this again for certain. My husband and I both thought it tasted very good. I cooked up a bag of those stoplight peppers and rice to add something else to it. Would also be good with little matchstick carrots added in about an hour into the cooking time,

    But I will say this – if I had not tripled the sauce part, this would have been a disaster. Seriously – at least TRIPLE the sauce part or your crock-pot will be full of thick, burned goo. Maybe my crock-pot is just too large, but that sauce basically disappeared into nothingness. Take care of this one step, and you are golden.

    Thanks for providing an easy, accessible way for me to try out something I’d never have tackled otherwise!
73. Leann says:

    This recipe is delicious! I made it for my sister and she loved it. I was low on rice wine vinegar and added 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and was delicious so added the same to my next recipe. I also added celery – maybe 1/2 way thru coking for crunch!
74. Julie says:

    This recipe turned out amazing. I doubled the sauce, used chicken breast, whole wheat flour, and olive oil instead of canola. It was ready after 3 hours. My boyfriend and his co-workers could not stop raving about it. They said it tastes better than the Thai restaurant!
75. Caro says:

    I tried this recipe but it didn’t turn out as the picture. My sauce is very dark, almost black. Any idea where it could have gone wrong? The sauce taste very acidic also. Very disappointing.
76. Karen says:

    I saw this posted on facebook somewhere and I saved it to try. I think it was a little to salty however we loved it, I did double the recipe for the sauce and used thin cut boneless skinless breasts. My only question is on the soy sauce, has anyone ever used the low sodium soy? I ask because this is the first recipe that I have ever made that required more than a tblsp of soy and I was amazed at it’s salty flavor. Or do you think you could cut the soy with water so it’s not so strong.
77. Jaro George says:

    Thanks much for this recipe. Chicken recipes can never be too much. 1/4 cup of soy soy sauce is a bit high though. I would like to see how it turns out with less soy sauce.
78. Deborah L Buehler says:

    You can buy a timer, like you would use for lamps or Christmas trees. A do it yourself slow cooker. Put the chicken in frozen, forget about breading. Same great taste. I also throw in frozen sugar snap peas. Making it for dinner tonight. I double the sauce, too.
79. Leslie says:

    Was not impressed. We doubled the sauce (we love sauce!) and it was SOOOO salty. I would definitely recommend using reduced-sodium soy sauce (or half reg, half low). Even with doubling, there wasn’t a whole lot of extra to use on the rice. My 6 year old (who LOVES food and isn’t picky) at a few pieces and said it tasted weird. My youngest would even try it. I ate a little bit, but I had to stop because of the salt. Pretty bummed 🙁
80. katharine says:

    I have frozen cubed chicken breasts. Could I just throw everything in the crockpot without browning the chicken first.
81. Momma Cyd says:

    Yes, you just saved yourself the first few steps! This will be so easy for you to make!
82. Caitlyn says:

    Can you do this as a freezer meal? if so how 🙂
83. Momma Cyd says:

    If you want to freeze your Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken, prepare the recipe as written below. Make sure you allow it to cool before putting it in a freezer bag.
    You can also use a freezer-safe container. Make sure if you are using bags they are freezer safe and remove as much air from the bags as possible.
    What you can also do is follow the recipe to brown the chicken and make the sauce mixture and add to a freezer bag. Then, when you are ready to cook it, just add it all to your slow cooker.
84. Gil says:

    Salted or unsalted cashews
85. Momma Cyd says:

    Either will work fine. We like lightly salted.
86. Sheila M says:

    Do the cashews go in after the chicken is done cooking?
87. Steph @ Six Sisters says:

    They go in at the end, right before serving.
88. Debby S says:

    I made this recipe even easier. I didn’t I didn’t have time to do the 4 hr slow cooker version. I used Bare Chicken Nuggets (Target or Costco) made the sauce and baked in the oven for 25 minutes. Turned out excellent! Also, I added some frozen peas and chopped baby Bella mushrooms.