Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken is loaded with the sweet and hot flavors we love about this Asian favorite, and it’s so easy to make in the slow cooker. What could be better?
We are obsessed with this Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken! Skip the take out and make this classic right at home in your slow cooker!
The chicken comes out perfectly tender and cooks up in a sweet savory sauce with red bell pepper and the star of the show cashews! The sauce thickens up beautifully and is glazes the chicken and is delicious over rice. This dinner is such a crowd pleaser.
If you love easy recipes that will knock your tastebuds into next week, then this is the recipe for you. When we’re craving take out but we don’t want to order out, we love to make this cashew chicken recipe.
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store.
- It’s full of sweet, tangy, and hot flavors.
- It’s an easy slow cooker recipe that requires very little effort.
🛒Ingredients
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this dish, and you’ll find them all at your local grocery store. The main ingredients are here, but you’ll find the complete list along with amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Chicken tenderloins cut into bite-size pieces
- Chopped bell pepper
- Low sodium soy sauce
- ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Chopped garlic
- Ground ginger
- Red pepper flakes
- Sesame seeds
- Cashews
- Sliced scallions
🔪 How to Make Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Making this recipe is a snap. After you brown the chicken, it’s just a matter of letting the slow cooker do the rest.
Step 1: Brown the Chicken
Coat the chicken in cornstarch, then cook in a large skillet over medium heat until golden on the outside.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
Combine the soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, pepper, ginger, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds in a mixing bowl.
Step 3: Cook the Cashew Chicken
Add the chicken and chopped bell pepper to the slow cooker. Then, pour the sauce over the chicken and peppers, add the cashews, and stir. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Serve garnished with scallions over rice.
📝Variations
- Spicier – For even more heat and flavor, try adding sriracha to the mix.
- Chicken tenderloins – You can make this with chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Crunchy Cashews – For crunch cashews, mix the nuts into the dish right before serving.
If you love Asian dishes like this one, then check out our slow cooker orange chicken recipe.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Skillet
- Tongs
- Mixing bowl
- Slow cooker
🥫 Storage
Store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. For longer storage, you can freeze this for up to 3 months in an air-tight container.
💭 Tips
- Remember to keep the heat on the high side when browning the chicken. You’re not cooking it, just getting some color on it.
- Chop your bell pepper into bite-size pieces roughly the same size as your chicken for easy eating.
- In addition to rice, you can serve this over noodles for an equally delicious dish.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Cashew chicken is very healthy overall. Although it does have added sugar from the ketchup and brown sugar, overall, it’s full of lean protein, healthy fats, and the vitamins and minerals of the vegetables.
White rice and rice and thick rice noodles are both excellent options. Egg noodles for lo mein also work well.
Sort of. It’s a Chinese-American dish, so while it didn’t originate in China, it did originate in Chinese restaurants. It’s authentic-adjacent.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy chicken? Then try these delicious recipes:
📌 PIN IT!!
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Equipment
- large skillet
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins cut into bite size pieces
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup lite or low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds plus ore for garnish
- 1 cup cashews
- 3 scallions sliced
Instructions
- Coat your chicken pieces in cornstarch.
- Heat up the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Brown the chicken quickly in the pan. We are not looking to cook the chicken through, just get a little color on each side.
- Place the browned chicken in the slow cooker.
- Add the chopped red bell pepper.
- In a mixing bowl combine the soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, pepper, ginger, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Add the cashews and stir everything to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours.
- Garnish with the scallions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
- Serve over rice.
