This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken is a delicious copycat of your favourite takeout dish, made with common ingredients from your pantry!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – use another neutral cooking oil like avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would also work here.
- Garlic – I prefer freshly minced garlic, but jarred minced garlic or garlic powder will work in a pinch.
- Celery – leave this out altogether or swap out for another veggie.
- Chicken breasts – you can also make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Hoisin sauce – if you don’t have any hoisin sauce, double the amount of soy sauce and brown sugar.
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best substitutes here.
- Brown sugar – make your own brown sugar using a combination of white sugar and molasses.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth will provide a similar flavour.
- Cornstarch – potato starch or arrowroot would also be good.
- Red pepper – use any colour bell pepper or another veggie of your choice.
- Zucchini – swap out for another veggie like broccoli, carrots or mushrooms.
- Cashews – you can also use peanuts but it will alter the taste of the dish (it’ll be peanut chicken instead of cashew chicken).
- Jasmine rice – or your favourite kind of rice like white rice or brown rice. You can also eat this recipe without rice for a low-carb version.
- Green onions – leave these out altogether if you don’t have any on hand.
- Sesame seeds – black or white sesame would both be good or you can leave these out altogether.
How to make this recipe
- Add the first nine ingredients to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure.
- Make the rice.
- Stir in the cornstarch.
- Add in the red pepper, zucchini and cashews.
- Let it sit until the veggies have softened.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
Making it on the stovetop
This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken can also be made on the stovetop, so if you don’t have an Instant Pot, you don’t have to worry!
I obviously prefer the Instant Pot version because you don’t have to be as hands on with the cooking time, but sometimes you just want a quick stir fry.
To make this recipe on the stovetop:
- Sauté the onions, celery and chicken with the sauce ingredients.
- Cook the rice separately
- Add in the zucchini and red pepper within the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
The major difference between cashew chicken and kung pao chicken is that kung pao chicken is made with peanuts whereas cashew chicken is made with cashews. Kung pao chicken also has a spicy flavour thanks to the chillies and cashew chicken is slightly sweet.
The sauce for this recipe is super easy. All you need is soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, hoisin sauce and chicken broth – all ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry! If you don’t have any hoisin sauce, no problem. Just double up on the amount of brown sugar and soy sauce and you’re good to go.
This recipe has 415 calories per serving. It’s a much lighter version of your typical takeout dish and is free of any preservatives or additives since it’s homemade.
Storing and reheating
This dish is great for meal prep. You can make a big batch and enjoy it throughout the week! The leftovers will last in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, just make sure you store the rice and the chicken separately so the rice doesn’t get soggy.
When you’re ready to enjoy, you can reheat it in the microwave for a couple minutes or in a skillet on the stovetop with a bit of olive oil. I suggest sprinkling a bit of water over top of the rice before reheating so it doesn’t dry out.
Freezing this recipe
You can technically freeze this recipe, but the veggies won’t freeze very well. They’ll lose their texture when they thaw and will be a bit soggy. If you want to freeze this dish, I recommend cooking the vegetables for less time originally – that way, when you’re ready to reheat, the veggies won’t be as mushy. Store the cashew chicken in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More takeout-inspired Instant Pot recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to freeze this recipe.
- And of course I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box!
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken {Takeout-Inspired}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 medium-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice (about 1 cup dry, cooked according to package directions)
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Add olive oil, onion, celery, chicken, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and chicken broth to Instant Pot in that order. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes then do a quick release of pressure.
- Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions.
- Open lid and gently stir in cornstarch, then add red pepper, zucchini and cashews, stirring to combine. Replace lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes for veggies to soften.
- Serve cashew chicken overtop of cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve and enjoy!
