Ready for another easy and flavorful weeknight dinner option? This Sweet & Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry recipe packs a little heat, a little sweet, and tender chicken served over rice. Simple to make with everyday ingredients and budget friendly as well.
This stir fry recipe with chicken is loaded with flavor and is quick and easy to prepare. This is a restaurant quality meal made simple, healthier, and the whole family can enjoy it. I simplified the steps to make this quick and easy. Of course you can add the things you like, but my family likes things pretty simple.
What I love about this Chicken Stir-Fry
- Healthier (than take-out)
- Family friendly (the kids will like the sweet flavors -you can leave out the spicy if you want)
- Customizable (can toss in more veggies that you like)
- Simple ingredents (you most likely have all of these ingredients in the house)
- Easy on the wallet (made with chicken thighs for a more more budget friendly recipe)
This easy dinner is seriously easier than it looks/sounds and is delicious. And making these restaurant favorites at home is great!
Equipment Needed for this Sweet & Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Mixing Bowl
- Pot for cooking the rice
- Large Skillet
Marinating the Chicken for Stir-Fry
First step is to whip up the marinade by combing the low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, sriracha, hot honey, corn starch, vinegar, and water. Whisk it up.
Add in the cut up chicken thighs, diced onion, and bell peppers. Give everything a mix and let marinate while you cook up your rice (or at least 20 minutes). If you are prepping this earlier in the day, just cover and refrigerate until you are ready to cook.
How to Make a Chicken Stir Fry
Next step is to heat up a large skillet over med-high heat and add some oil. Let the oil heat up. If your pan is large enough you can cook everything at once, if smaller I’d recommend cooking in two batches to not crowd the pan.
Add in the marinated chicken with the marinade (and peppers and onions). Cook for about 5 minutes at a higher heat. Then I turned the heat to a lower heat and cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes to help steam the veggies and thicken the sauce. I think the chicken is more tender this way, too.
Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened up, stir in some cashews and serve over rice. Then add some additional cashews on top if you would like and enjoy.
Adding Veggies & Flavor to your Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry
So I kept my Sweet & Spicy Cashew Chien Stir Fry pretty simple with bell pepper onions. But there are tons of additional veggies that would make a great addition to this dish. You could add:
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Shredded Carrots
- Water Chestnuts
- Broccoli
- Baby Corn
- Mushrooms
Note: If you do add more ingredients you may need to add some more soy sauce to make your sauce of a little further.
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Sweet & Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup Low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar
- Red pepper flakes to your liking
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp hot honey or regular
- 1 red bell pepper or green fineley diced
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1 tsp rice vinegar optional
- 1 tbsp starch
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 cup white rice cooked according to package
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup cashew pieces or more to your liking
Instructions
- Combine the low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, sriracha, hot honey, corn starch, vinegar, and water. Whisk it up.
- Add in the cut up chicken thighs, diced onion, and bell peppers. Give everything a mix and let marinate while you cook up your rice (or at least 20 minutes).
- Heat up a large skillet over med-high heat and add some oil. Let the oil heat up. If your pan is large enough you can cook everything at once, if smaller I'd recommend cooking in two batches to not crowd the pan.
- Add in the marinated chicken with the marinade (and peppers and onions). Cook for about 5 minutes at a higher heat.
- Then lower the heat and cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes to help steam the veggies and thicken the sauce.
- Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened up, stir in some cashews and serve over rice.
- Then add some additional cashews on top if you would like and enjoy.
