Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
This slow cooker cashew chicken combines tender chicken, snap peas and crunchy cashews in a sweet and savory ginger, garlic and orange sauce.
Servings: 6
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Cups snap peas
- 1 Cup cashews unsalted
For the Sauce:
- 3/4 Cup soy sauce or soy sauce, low-sodium recommended
- 1/4 Cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 Cup chili sauce sweet
- 1 Tablespoon gochujang chili paste or Sriracha
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 Tablespoon ginger freshly grated
- 4 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 orange juiced, about ¼ cup
- 1 green onion diced
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan or skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
- Add diced chicken to a bowl with cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Add olive oil to the hot pan and swirl to coat. Add chicken and brown for 4 minutes, tossing frequently as it cooks.
- Transfer the browned chicken to the slow cooker.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sweet chili sauce, gochujang or Sriracha, ketchup, hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, honey and orange juice.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and add half the cashews. Add the snap peas now if you prefer them softer, then stir gently to combine. For crunchier snap peas, wait and add them during the final hour.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, or until the chicken reaches 165°F. Add the remaining cashews during the final 30 minutes.
- Garnish with the diced green onion before serving.
The chicken only needs to brown here. Don't cook it through since it will finish cooking in the slow cooker.
Notes
Don't cook the chicken through when browning: You're only looking for some color on the outside. The chicken will finish cooking in the slow cooker.
Choose your snap pea texture: I've made this with a 3-hour cook time. Add the snap peas at the beginning if you like them softer, or during the last hour if you want them to retain more crunch.
Use low-sodium soy sauce: There's quite a bit of soy sauce in the recipe, so using low-sodium gives you better control over the finished dish.
Save some cashews for later: Adding half the cashews near the end helps preserve their crunch instead of letting all of them sit in the sauce.
Freshen up leftovers: The cashews soften once refrigerated. I throw in another handful when reheating leftovers to bring the crunch back.
Choose your snap pea texture: I've made this with a 3-hour cook time. Add the snap peas at the beginning if you like them softer, or during the last hour if you want them to retain more crunch.
Use low-sodium soy sauce: There's quite a bit of soy sauce in the recipe, so using low-sodium gives you better control over the finished dish.
Save some cashews for later: Adding half the cashews near the end helps preserve their crunch instead of letting all of them sit in the sauce.
Freshen up leftovers: The cashews soften once refrigerated. I throw in another handful when reheating leftovers to bring the crunch back.
Nutrition
Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 2384mg | Potassium: 920mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 507IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 4mg
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