Instant Pot Cashew Chicken

Chicken and peppers coated in a sweet and garlic savory sauce with an added crunch from cashews.

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Instant Pot Cashew Chicken is Chicken and peppers coated in a sweet and garlic savory sauce with an added crunch from cashews.

Lately we have been working hard at sticking to our budget and not eating out as much as we previously did.   One of the ways that we are doing that is remaking all our favorite restaurants meals at home. I love cashew chicken because it’s light instead of the heavily battered and fried chicken.  Less calories and more freshness. 

What is hoisin sauce? 

Hoisin sauce is traditionally used in Chinese cuisine.  It’s a dark colored sweet and salty sauce. It is most commonly used as a glaze for meats and stir fries.  Typically you will find soybeans, fennel, red chili peppers, and garlic in hoisin sauce.  If you are looking for it in your grocery store you will find it in the Asian aisle.  If you cannot find this in your local store, you can make your own. 

What ingredients do I need to make cashew chicken?

To make cashew chicken you will need chicken breasts, olive oil, minced garlic, green bell pepper, soy sauce, water, vinegar, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and cashews and a cornstarch slurry. 

I always serve my Cashew Chicken over a bed of white rice.  However if you prefer fried rice you can find my chicken fried rice recipe and give it a try.  I also like to garnish my chicken and rice with some thin sliced green onions. 

If you want to get really adventurous.  Try toasting your cashews after you toss them in a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with a small amount of sea salt. Toasting them brings in an additional and deeper flavor and adds a little extra crispness.   

How do you make cashew chicken? 

Place chicken, oil, and garlic into the instant pot and saute until chicken is cooked on all sides. In a small bowl add the soy sauce, water, vinegar, brown sugar and hoisin sauce. Mix well. Set to the side.

Add pepper, celery, and zucchini to the instant pot, stir to combine. Saute’ until soft. Add the chicken back to the instant pot. Pour the sauce on top. Place the lid on the instant pot and close the pressure valve.

Set the pot to Manual, High Pressure for 5 minutes. When the cooking cycle is complete, quickly release the pressure and open the pot. If the mixture is thin, add cornstarch and mix well.

Stir in cashews. Serve over a bed of white rice Garnish with thinly sliced green onions.

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Cashew Chiciken

Chicken and peppers coated in a sweet and garlic savory sauce with an added crunch from cashews.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 532kcal

Author: Wendy

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 zucchini diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 2 carrots diced
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 cup cashews
• 2 cups white rice prepared
• 1 green onion sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

• Place chicken, oil, and garlic into the instant pot and saute until
• chicken is cooked on all sides.
• In a small bowl add the soy sauce, water, vinegar, brown sugar and hoisin sauce.
• Mix well.
• Set to the side.
• Add carrots, celery, and zucchini to the instant pot, stir to combine.
• Saute’ until soft.
• Add the chicken back to the instant pot.
• Pour the sauce on top.
• Place the lid on the instant pot and close the pressure valve.
• Set the pot to Manual, High Pressure for 5 minutes.
• When the cooking cycle is complete, quickly release the pressure and
• open the pot.
• If the mixture is thin, add cornstarch and mix well.
• Stir in cashews.
• Serve over a bed of white rice
• Garnish with green onions.

Notes

You can make this in a skillet or wok instead of your Instant Pot. 

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Disclaimer:

Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.

Nutrition

Calories: 532kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1827mg | Potassium: 761mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 5mg