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This Crockpot Cashew Chicken is better than most Chinese takeout cashew chicken. Throw it all in the slow cooker and have a delicious, no fuss dinner!
In addition to being delicious, this Crockpot Cashew Chicken is super easy to make! You can have this ready and in the crock pot faster than you can get your kids in the car and drive to the nearest Chinese place for take-out. My family absolutely LOVED this recipe! We served it with some steamed veggies and it was the perfect pairing. You can throw veggies in the crockpot with this dish or you can serve them on the side — whatever is easiest for you!
Ingredients in Crockpot Cashew Chicken
- Chicken Breasts
- Flour
- Black Pepper
- Canola Oil
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Ketchup
- Brown Sugar
- Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Ginger
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Cashews
History of Cashew Chicken
When you bite into the sweet and savory flavor of cashew chicken, you might imagine a heritage-rich, ancient backstory for this food. In reality, cashew chicken heralds from Springfield, Missouri in 1963. A chef from China, David Leong, created the dish as he was trying to incorporate the flavors of his homeland with the tastes of the local residents. It quickly became popular as the recipe was widely circulated with other restaurant owners. Now, more than 50 years later, this delectable entree of bite-sized pieces of fried chicken coated in rich brown sauce with crunchy cashews is on the menu of almost every Chinese restaurant in the United States!
Cashew Chicken Freezer Meal
This cashew chicken recipe can easily be adapted to be a freezer meal. Make double the amount and freeze half for later! When making this a freezer meal, skip dredging the chicken in flour. That will just make a mess after freezing. Simply add the chicken pieces (un-dredged) to a gallon-sized plastic zip-top freezer bag, combine the sauce ingredients, and add the sauce to the bag. Squeeze the air out and seal tightly. That’s it! To enjoy later, thaw your bag in the refrigerator then add it to the Crock Pot just as you would in this recipe. Add cashews after cooking.
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
If you’re in a hurry to make dinner and would rather make this cashew chicken in an Instant Pot, it’s easy to do! You can even brown the chicken right there in the Instant Pot before cooking so you don’t have to dirty a skillet. You will just have to do it in batches.
- After browning the chicken, remove the chicken and add the sauce to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- To avoid getting the “burn notice” on your Instant Pot, you will want to add ½ cup of chicken broth over the sauce.
- Add the chicken over the top of the sauce, seal the Instant Pot, and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Do a quick release and stir to cover the chicken in sauce.
Stove-Top Cashew Chicken
If you don’t have a Crock Pot or an Instant Pot and just want to make this on the stove top, it’s a breeze! Just be sure to use a skillet large enough to hold everything.
- After cooking the chicken in the skillet, there is no need to remove it. Just pour the sauce right over the chicken.
- Cover and simmer on low heat until the chicken is cooked through (165-degrees F), stirring occasionally. This should only take about 30-40 minutes.
- If the sauce seems to be getting too thick, just add some chicken broth to thin out.
A Big Thank You!
This recipe for this version of Crockpot Cashew Chicken was adapted from Karen at 365daysofcrockpot.com. She is the best and her Crockpot recipes are all outstanding. I have had the pleasure of meeting her several times and she has some awesome recipes. She gave this one a 5-star rating and I couldn’t agree more. It is delicious! Check out her blog for even more amazing crockpot recipes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can put raw chicken in the slow cooker. However, because this chicken has an extremely light flour breading, you’ll want to brown it first in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker.
For this recipe, I recommend using at least a three quart crockpot.
Sometimes I like to add stir-fry veggies (just use the frozen kind from Costco) and they work great in the recipe.
Read Next: Easy Crockpot Chicken Recipes
More Crockpot Recipes to Try
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Soup: Chicken and Rice Soup warms you up on cold fall and winter days. It is also ideal for busy days. The ingredients go into the Slow Cooker in the morning and a nice, hot meal awaits in the evening.
- Slow Cooker Lasagna: This Slow Cooker Lasagna recipe is not only delicious, it is definitely the easiest way to make lasagna. You don’t have to boil the lasagna noodles ahead of time and deal with wet, sticky noodles.
- Slow Cooker Cheese Tortellini Soup: This Cheese Tortellini Soup is a flavorful, easy slow cooker meal. Tortellini, sausage, and spinach in a creamy tomato soup and slow cooked to perfection.
- Slow Cooker Kalua Pork: Kalua Pork with Cabbage is a Hawaiian dish often served at Luaus. This version is made in the slow cooker and tastes just like authentic shredded Kalua Pig.
- Slow Cooker Pasta E Fagioli Soup: Our version of the Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup tastes just like the original.
- Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana Soup: Many agree that this Zuppa Toscana Soup Olive Garden Copycat is actually better than the original! It has a creamy both base and is loaded with sausage and potatoes.
- Slow Cooker Molten Chocolate and Caramel Cake: I am in love with this Slow Cooker Molten Chocolate and Caramel Cake. Besides this being rich, chocolatey, and delicious, it is so easy to make and the clean up is a breeze!
- Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops: With four ingredients and a sauce you’re going to love, you won’t want to miss this comfort food!
How to Make Crockpot Cashew Chicken
Crockpot Cashew Chicken
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless skinless , about 4 chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces
- 1/4 cup flour all purpose
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 4 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup cashews UNSALTED, or to taste
Instructions
- Combine flour and pepper in resealable food storage 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 2 to 3 hours. Stir in cashews and serve.
Notes
- After cooking the chicken in the skillet, there is no need to remove it. Just pour the sauce right over the chicken.
- Cover and simmer on low heat until the chicken is cooked through (165-degrees F), stirring occasionally. This should only take about 30-40 minutes.
- If the sauce seems to be getting too thick, just add some chicken broth to thin out.
Can I just say this was better than restaurant food? And it was ready the minute we walked in the door- amazing! I made a few tweaks- due to my daughter’s food allergies, I used an all-purpose gluten free flour instead of regular flour. We only had 2 chicken breasts on hand (1.4 lbs), which I cut into small, bite-size pieces. I also sprayed the slow cooker with vegetable oil cooking spray before putting the browned chicken in, to prevent it from sticking. I mixed in 1 c. diced carrots, 1 stalk of celery (diced) and 1 can of water chestnuts (coarsely chopped). Based on other reviews, I doubled the sauce except for the low-sodium soy sauce and mixed everything well before putting the lid on and cooking for 2 hours and 45 minutes on low. I did rinse my lightly salted cashews under running water and then lightly roasted them in a pan. It was fabulous- thank you!
So glad you liked it! Great substitution ideas!
The reason some people’s sauce turned out dark is because there are different kinds of rice vinegar (or rice wine vinegar): clear/light and dark. You didn’t specify which. They should taste the same, it’ s just not as pretty! Especially if you’re making orange chicken.
Hmmm I had no idea there was a darker one! I will have to put that on the recipe, thank you!
I made this for dinner tonight and we really like it. I think next time I will double the sauce because I really would have liked a little extra to moisten the jasmine rice that I served the chicken over. I contemplated tossing the steamed veggies that I made into the crockpot but decided against it for the same reason, not much sauce. Mine did not appear black, as some posters described, but it was darker than your photo. (I actually snapped a photo to post of my results but I don’t see anywhere to add it. All in all this is a good recipe. Thanks!
Just made it tonight (hi from Brussels, Belgium!), it was excellent, absolutely the same as in the picture 😉
I was concerned about the amount of liquid, seemed not enough but it all worked out perfectly, was a hit for everyone including the fussy 7 years old!
Thank you!
I am so glad it turned out well for you!!! Thanks for commenting all the way from Belgium! 😀
are you sure it is 3 to 4 hours !!! it really does not take that time at all !!! maybe 15 minutes or so
Its 3 to 4 hours in a slow cooker.
I haven’t been able to locate red pepper flakes at any of my local supermarkets. Does the recipe definitely need them or can I leave them out?
If you can’t find red pepper flakes, crushed red pepper is a good substitute. They are essentially the same thing and give the same flavor to the dish. You can also use cayenne powder as a substitute, but you would want to use about half the amount so it’s not too hot. I wouldn’t skip using it altogether. It gives great flavor to this Cashew Chicken recipe. Thank you for your question!
If you don’t have access to rice vinegar, how much and what kind of regular vinegar should you use?
Here are some substitute suggestions for the 2 Tbsp of rice vinegar:
2 Tbsp White Vinegar plus 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar plus 1/2 tsp sugar
I hope this helps! I think you will really enjoy this recipe!
Yummy! On the second batch I doubled the sauce receipe, but only used 1/3 cup soy sauce. It was toooooo salty using 1/2 cup. I also steamed some brocolli and grilled some red peppers, adding to mixture right before I served it. The guys were asking for more!!
Great ideas! I’m going to mix in some colorful veggies next time I make it. Thank you for commenting!
Can I put the chicken in the slow cooker uncooked and increase the cooking time?
You CAN, but it may not turn out the same. Frozen chicken tends to make the sauce watery. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out!
this is easy to fix on short notice and is yuuummmmyyyyy !!!!
Can I just leave out the vinegar ~ or use something else. I, typically, do not buy speciality vinegars because I rarely use them and it’s a waste of money. But, this looks amazing and I really want to try it. Suggestions? 🙂
You could probably leave it out but I can’t promise it will taste the same! :S Especially in Asian-type food like this the vinegar is necessary to give it that extra little something.. even just white vinegar would be better than no vinegar IMO
Loved this dish! I cooked it on the stove instead, using chicken thighs and added more vegetables. I did add some chicken broth because the sauce was too thick (from the flour and sauce mixture). My hubby said it was restaurant style food. So we’ll be making this again in the near future. Thanks!
I’m going to make this tonight but would really like to be able to throw the veggies into the crockpot to cook & marinate in the sauce! How much time before the meal is done cooking should I do this (to keep them from getting soggy) thanks so much!
I bet 30 minutes should be plenty of time. Depends on how chopped up the veggies are. The bigger the pieces the longer they will need to cook.
What are the red pepper flakes? Is there an alternative?
You can use a dash of cayenne. They are those little round flakes that a lot of people put on pizza.
This can easily be converted to GF by not adding flour and watching ingredients. Putting this in my menu rotation.
I made this tonight…and my VERY picky, chicken hating hubby LOVED it! He asked for seconds and for it to be for his lunch tomorrow. Thank you for helping this chicken loving lady find something that he will eat 😀
So glad that you (and the hubbs) liked it!!!! We love that stuff too. It heats up well too so I hope he enjoys his lunch today!
I don’t have a delay timer on my crokpot and I am gone from home for about 12 hours every day at work. My crockpot does have a keep warm setting after it’s finished though. If I leave this on the “Keep Warm” setting for approximately 8 hours until i get home, will the chicken still come out ok?
Thanks!
yes, it should be fine!
I was going to do the same thing, how did it turn out?
I made it the taste even though it was salty and strong flavored was okay. the chicken turned out really dry. Between the salty flavor and it being dry I can’t give this a good review. I might make some of the alterations mentioned before I scrape the recipe.
I am making this recipe as we speak. I suggest the recipe be changed to show unsalted cashews. I doubled the sauce and added the bones removed from the chicken breast. Tasted the sauce, hmmmm good but a little salty. I had already bought the salted ones while shopping for the recipe and didn’t want to go back to the store. As someone else posted, I rinsed them several times to get rid of some of the salt. I tossed the cashews about 3 minutes on medium heat in a skillet to get rid of some of the moisture. I love crispy nuts. My sauce is rather thick since I browned the chicken in flour. To thin it out a bit, added a cup of water. This also helped with the saltiness. The additional water didn’t take away from the flavor since I already had the extra flavor from the bones. I am going to serve it over white rice. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have added salt to the rice but I don’t think it is going to be a problem.
I will change it on the recipe! We have had a lot of people confused on which kind of cashews to use… thanks!
oops…what I wanted to know is this : is it RAW or ROASTED cashews (I know it’s unsalted from the start)…
We always just use roasted…
Took about 15mins to prepare – chicken came out juicy, not dry which was really nice. A small bit of water would give you some sauce to go with it.