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Home » Recipes » Easiest Cashew Chicken Stir Fry {Meal Prep}

Easiest Cashew Chicken Stir Fry {Meal Prep}

8/19/21

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Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is better than takeout, and the perfect meal prep idea. You probably already have the sauce ingredients on hand too!

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

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How to make cashew chicken

All you need is a large pan, a little bit of prep work, and about 20 minutes to make a delicious and filling meal. Try this recipe and you’ll have budget-friendly takeout right from your own fridge. You won’t even be able to tell the difference!

  1. Mix together the stir fry sauce ingredients in a bowl and set it aside temporarily.
  2. Season the chicken with a bit of salt and pepper and toss it in cornstarch.
  3. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet. Sauté the carrots and mushrooms for about 5 minutes.
  4. Place the seasoned chicken in the pan and cook until browned.
  5. Add the remaining vegetables and sauté for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Pour the sauce into the pan and stir until everything is coated. Cook for a couple more minutes until sauce has thickened. Finally, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cashews.

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients in cashew chicken

Stir fry recipes are perfect for a quick and healthy dinner option with leftovers (if you can resist eating the whole pan!)
This also works well for meal prep. Make this on one of your days off and portion it out to use as lunches for the week.

Cashew chicken is extremely flexible, so you can adjust and substitute ingredients as needed. It’s also a great way to use up any vegetables you have in the fridge before they go bad.

Here's what you need to make it:

  • chicken breasts, cubed
  • mushrooms, halved
  • chopped veggies:  carrots, onion, green and red bell pepper, and some minced garlic
  • cashews
  • sesame oil
  • soy sauce
  • honey
  • cornstarch
  • salt and pepper

photo shows ingredients to make a chicken stir fry recipe

Ingredient substitutions

  • Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of the chicken breasts.  If you like seafood, shrimp can be used as your protein instead of the chicken.
  • Vegetables: You can substitute or add in any sturdy vegetables you like! Zucchini or yellow squash, broccoli, snap or snow peas, bok choy, and celery are great options. You can also find pre-mixed bags of stir fry vegetables in the freezer section of your grocery store. No need to thaw them first – just add to the pan already frozen and cook until tender and warmed through.
  • Add some heat: If you like a spicier stir fry, you can add red pepper flakes or sriracha to the sauce. You can also substitute half of the minced garlic for grated fresh ginger. To save more time, you can use the paste in a tube from the fresh foods section of the grocery store.

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

How to thicken stir fry sauce

If you use frozen vegetables in this stir fry recipe, they will release water during the cooking process which can thin out your sauce. This might also happen if you use vegetables with high water content, like zucchini or yellow squash.

To thicken your sauce, you just need to add some cornstarch slurry.

Here's how:

    1. Combine 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of cold water and stir until well combined.
    2. Add the slurry to the pan of stir fry and mix to combine. The stir fry sauce will thicken in a few seconds. And the good news is, it doesn't change the flavours of the dish at all!

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

How to meal prep this stir fry

This dish reminds me of a stir fry dish we get at my family's favourite Thai restaurant in Hamilton. You'll swear you're eating takeout for the work week!

You can even switch your meal prep up, making a 2-for-1 deal.

Just use two pans to switch up the protein and veggies in both bowls, but keep the sauce the same. Do shrimp, zucchini, bell peppers and bok choy in one pan with the sauce, then do chicken, cashews, carrots, broccoli and onions in the other. Something along those lines.

I feel like the number one thing people complain about with meal prep is that they can't eat the same thing everyday for a week. Well, don't be afraid to switch it up – it's easy to do!

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Serving suggestions

This stir fry recipe is delicious all by itself, but there are several options if you want to add to the dish.

  • Rice: Cashew chicken is delicious over rice, or even fried rice. It’s a great way to stretch the recipe into more meals. Plus, the rice soaks up all of the delicious sauce.
  • Noodles: Lo mein noodles would be EXTRA tasty, as would rice noodles.

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Storing and reheating instructions

Chicken stir fry will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Store in airtight containers, either as a large batch or individually for meal prep.

Reheat in the microwave or toss in your wok or skillet until heated through, usually 1-2 minutes.

Can you freeze this stir fry?

Yes, it is possible to freeze cashew chicken! Keep the vegetables a little more firm by cooking them for less time. This will prevent them from becoming mushy when reheating.

First, let the dish cool to room temperature, then store in airtight containers or a freezer-safe plastic bag in the freezer.

Try to use it within 2 to 3 weeks for the best flavour. Nutrients will also start to break down after that time.

Also, it’s best to let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. But, if you’re pressed for time, you can run the bag or container under warm water until everything loosens up. Then reheat as normal.

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

More stir fry recipes

  • Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken
  • Korean Bibimbap
  • Ground Turkey Stir Fry

Meal prep tools

  • This is the exact wok I use, and I love it!
  • Get your square glass meal prep bowls here
  • I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box
Cashew Chicken Stir Fry

Cashew Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is better than takeout, and the perfect meal prep idea. You probably already have the sauce ingredients on hand too!
4.77 from 39 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 333kcal
Author: Taylor Stinson

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced in half
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup cashews

Stir fry sauce

  • 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, season chicken with salt & pepper, then toss with cornstarch. Meanwhile, mix the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over med-high heat. Add carrots and mushrooms to skillet, cooking for 5 minutes until carrots soften and mushrooms release juices. Add chicken and saute for another 5 minutes until browned, stirring often.
  • Add onion, green pepper and red pepper to the skillet, sauteeing another 2-3 minutes, then add sauce, cooking for 2-3 more minutes until sauce thickens.
  • Stir in cashews, then remove from heat. Serve garnished with sesame seeds (optional), and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 549mg | Potassium: 828mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3623IU | Vitamin C: 67mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg
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Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is better than takeout, and the perfect meal prep idea. You probably already have the sauce ingredient on hand too! #cashewchicken #stirfry  Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is better than takeout, and the perfect meal prep idea. You probably already have the sauce ingredient on hand too! #cashewchicken #stirfry

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About Taylor Stinson

Hey there, my name's Taylor! I’m the founder of The Girl on Bloor, a food blog where I share healthy meal prep recipes for busy people. I'm a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto on (you guessed it!) Bloor Street. I've got 10 years experience meal prepping, along with a Master's degree in journalism, and you can find my work across the internet featured on publications such as Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Women's Health, Reader's Digest and more. I also run the awesome 5-Day Meal Prep Challenge, which is a free email course and Facebook group where I share my meal planning strategies and easy meal prep tips and recipes. Be sure to check out my free beginner’s guide to meal prep and follow me on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get my latest recipes and meal prep tips!

Comments

  1. Lin says

    September 17, 2021 at 00:59

    I made this tonight. It was fantastic! I love the honey in this recipe, it makes a big difference.

    Reply
  2. Cara says

    March 27, 2021 at 23:19

    Going to freeze this, I know mushrooms don’t freeze good. Thought of this too late but next time I’ll do waterchest nuts instead of mushrooms

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      March 29, 2021 at 07:54

      Please let me know how freezing goes!

      Reply
  3. Erin says

    November 7, 2020 at 19:47

    5 stars
    This recipe was so good, I added some rice and hot sauce, definitely will make again!

    Reply
  4. Erica says

    June 9, 2020 at 16:55

    Hi, didn’t this recipe used to be different? I’ve been making it for awhile now and have the link saved but I remember it differently with fresh ginger and siracha. I’m sure this recipe is great too, but is there an original somewhere? Or am I going crazy? 🙂

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      June 10, 2020 at 08:33

      Hi Erica – I recently updated this recipe and changed it very slightly to make it better than the original. The only things missing from this version are the sriracha and ginger as you noticed so go ahead and add those back in if you’d like 🙂

      Reply
  5. george says

    April 16, 2020 at 14:56

    How many days can this be stored in the fridge and if it can, what area the reheating instructions
    Thanks
    George

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      April 16, 2020 at 15:17

      Hi George! It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Store in airtight containers, either as a large batch or individually for meal prep.

      Reheat in the microwave or toss in your wok or skillet until heated through, usually 1-2 minutes. There are some more tips in the blog post above the recipe card if you’re interested in reading more 🙂

      Reply
  6. Erin says

    April 14, 2020 at 07:48

    I just found this recipe and made it for supper using broccoli, carrots, celery and peppers and it was DELICIOUS. There were so many layers of flavour! Everyone loved it! Thanks, Taylor!

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      April 14, 2020 at 09:08

      I’m so happy you liked it Erin! Thanks for the kind words 🙂

      Reply
  7. Amrita says

    September 17, 2019 at 16:54

    absolutely love your page! Recipes are saving my life rn
    – from another toronto girl , now living in ohio 🙂

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      September 18, 2019 at 07:38

      Thank you so much Amrita, you are so sweet!!! Please let me know if you ever have any requests 🙂

      Reply
  8. Dina says

    February 21, 2018 at 17:50

    Yum! One portion for me please 🙂

    Reply

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Taylor Stinson

Oh hey there, welcome!!

I'm Taylor Stinson, a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto. Looking to switch up your weekly meal prep routine? I've got you covered with healthy recipes and meal planning resources. Join 1.5 million other monthly readers and dive in! MORE ABOUT ME..

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