This Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry is an easy, healthy weeknight dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes. Made with tender chicken, crunchy vegetables, toasted cashews, and a savory stir-fry sauce, this recipe is packed with protein and flavor — and tastes even better than takeout. Perfect for busy nights, meal prep, or when you’re craving a simple homemade Asian-inspired meal.

Why You’ll Love This Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry

This Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry is the perfect balance of healthy, comforting, and flavorful. It’s packed with lean protein, colorful vegetables, and crunchy roasted cashews, all tossed in a savory, slightly sweet sauce. Unlike takeout, this version is made with simple, wholesome ingredients and comes together quickly — making it an ideal weeknight dinner or meal-prep option.

High-Protein Focused

When I posted the reel I made of the revamped recipe, someone commented “protein-rich and delish”, and I couldn’t agree more. What’s not to love about a wholesome, healthy, delicious meal?

There’s a lot of talk about eating high protein these days, and for good reason.

Protein is an important macronutrient that, once digested or broken down, results in amino acids. Our bodies rely on amino acids to help build and repair muscles, can be used as an energy source, and more.

To make this a high-protein meal, I went with a lean protein – organic chicken breast, and gave it a slightly breaded texture by lightly covering the cubed pieces in arrowroot starch. Got us covered, my gluten-free girlies!

Packed with Veggies

And of course, you know me and my veggies. Especially my deep love of broccolini.

Between the broccolini, red bell pepper, snap peas, red onion and minced garlic – all tossed in a mouth-watering sauce – it’s impossible not to feel like a picture of health when you make this meal. So colorful, so yummy, and so nutritious.

Flavorful Sauce + Vitamin Rich Cashews

But just because this is a veggie-packed, high-protein dish, it definitely does not sacrifice in flavor.

The sauce – made with coconut aminos, minced ginger, white wine vinegar, sesame oil and naturally sweetened with honey – really rounds out this nutrient-rich dish. The ultimate dinner, if you ask me.

Let’s not forget about my favorite part, though – the toasty cashews.

Cashews are high in essential vitamins and minerals, like magnesium, and further boost this recipes’ protein, healthy fats and fiber content. Not to mention how they add the most perfect crunch to every bite.

This Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry is honestly one of the most nutritious meals that’s good enough for seconds and will have you making on repeat. Pair it with rice or eat it on its own. You can’t go wrong!

I can’t wait to see when you make it too! You have to let me know what you think in the comments below.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Stir-Fry:

• Coconut oil
• Organic chicken breasts
• Arrowroot starch
• Minced garlic
• Onion
• Red bell pepper
• Broccolini
• Sugar snap peas
• Raw cashews
• Sea salt

Sauce:

• Coconut aminos
• Sesame oil
• White wine vinegar
• Minced ginger
• Water
• Sea salt
• Honey

Toppings:

• Sesame seeds
• Chopped green onion

How to Make Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry (Step-by-Step)

#1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add cashews to a pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until starting to brown, and set aside once finished. While cashews are toasting, prep the stir-fry ingredients: wash and chop veggies, mince garlic, and trim, cube + toss chicken in a bowl with sea salt, pepper and arrowroot starch.

#2) In a large skillet, add about 1 tbsp coconut oil on medium to high heat. Once the oil is hot, add chicken and let cook for several minutes before flipping to turn golden brown. Cook another 5 minutes, then transfer to a bowl.

#3) Add remaining coconut oil to pan, along with garlic, to cook on medium heat for 1 minute. Next, add in all veggies and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken back in, along with toasted cashews, and give a quick stir.

#4) Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl, minus the honey. Pour over top of the skillet, stir, then drizzle the honey over the top. Stir once more. Cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low for 5 minutes.

#5) Serve with sesame seeds and chopped green onion sprinkled over top (option to add to the skillet earlier on if you prefer more of a subtle green onion flavor).

Substitutions

I used coconut oil for some extra flavor in the stir-fry, but you can also use avocado oil or EVOO.

Instead of chicken, you could try sliced or ground beef, or even ground chicken or turkey. If you opt for alt protein, I’d still cook it first as I do with the cubed chicken, set aside, and add back to the pan when the recipe calls for.

Tapioca or cassava flour, or cornstarch, could work in place of arrowroot. I haven’t tested those, so you may need to adjust the amount. If no gluten sensitivities, regular flour works too.

Feel free to use whichever veggies you prefer. There are tons of great stir-fry veggie options out there!

For the sauce, I use coconut aminos as I’m GF and prefer the taste (+ has less sodium), but soy sauce also works. And peanuts are an option if preferred instead of cashews, or omit altogether if any nut allergies.

SHOP THIS RECIPE:

Frequently Asked Questions

How to roast cashews for a stir-fry?

Like I do in this Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry recipe, you can bake cashews in a pan in a 350 F oven, for about 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Alternatively, you can heat a skillet over medium to medium-low heat, and cook the cashews, stirring frequently, until the nuts are lightly browned. This should take about 4-6 minutes.

No matter how you do it, it’s an important step not to skip! The smell, and taste, is truly perfection.

What does cashew chicken taste like?

Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry combines stir-fried chicken and veggies in a sauce that has a sweet and salty flavor profile, and toasted cashews that add a rich, buttery texture.

The sauce is typically made with soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and hoisin sauce.

My style of cooking is GF, DF and refined sugar free, so my recipe swaps a couple of those ingredients for coconut aminos and white wine vinegar, but you can of course make it however traditional, or not, you prefer.

What do I serve with cashew chicken stir-fry?

This dish is versatile and pairs well with a variety of sides. Serve it over jasmine rice, brown rice, or rice noodles for a classic option. For a lower-carb alternative, cauliflower rice or sautéed greens work beautifully. You can also enjoy it on its own as a protein-packed bowl.

LOOKING FOR MORE HIGH-PROTEIN, HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS MEALS? TRY THESE:

Beef Fried Rice

Crockpot Pot Roast  

Crispy Hot Honey Chicken Caesar Salad

Thai Basil Beef Lettuce Wraps

Click here to watch the reel I made of this recipe 🙂