The slow cooker chicken recipe for when the decision between turning on your oven to make dinner or keeping it off and dipping raw broccoli and cashews in soy sauce instead is closer to a tie than you imagined possible. I adapted this Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken with vegetables from my recipe for Thai Cashew Chicken, one of my favorite quick-fix meals. Like that easy cashew chicken recipe (and my Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken), this Crock Pot Cashew Chicken is super simple to prep, offers every food group in a single meal, and the addictive, sticky sauce will make it a fast fave, even among picky eaters. As someone who loves her leftovers, I appreciate that this cashew chicken recipe is just as yummy reheated the next day too. Unlike my original Thai Cashew Chicken, however, this Crock Pot Cashew Chicken is almost entirely hands free. You’ll need to spend a few minutes at the stove—a quick 2 or 3 to brown the chicken, then 3 more to thicken the sauce at the end—but I pinky promise it is worth it!
Crock Pot Cashew Chicken — An Easy, Healthy Slow Cooker Recipe for Real Life
This Crock Pot Cashew Chicken also stands out for its flexibility. Like all excellent stir fry-ish recipes, you can use it to clean out your refrigerator. If I’m shopping ahead, I’ll make Crock Pot Cashew Chicken with broccoli and red bell peppers, but with a few modifications to the cooktime, you can easily swap almost any other vegetable instead. If you’d like to make the Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken with harder veggies such as sweet potatoes or carrots, chop them more finely so that they finish in a similar cooking time to the peppers and broccoli (just like in this Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli). Looking to add quicker-cooking vegetable such as asparagus? Stir them in closer to the end. Even veggies as fine as spinach are doable. Mix in a few handfuls at the very end, stopping as soon as the greens wilt. Flexibility also comes in the form of the crock pot itself. While in a chopsticks vs. chopsticks battle of Thai Cashew Chicken v. Crock Pot Cashew Chicken, I’d probably lean towards the more traditional stovetop Thai stir fry (no matter how careful you are, the slow cooker does steal some of texture and flavor from the veggies), the crock pot offers major benefits that stove top stir fries do not. Namely, you can walk away from them. This recipes cooks in 2 to 3 hours on low (even in a crock pot, lean chicken can’t be left all day the way fattier cuts of meat can), so if you’ll be away at work, you can prep all the ingredients in the morning or the night before, then pop them into the slow cooker when you get home from work. Those at home with kids could start the meal towards the end of the school day (or during nap time/Sesame Street time), and it will be ready in time for dinner. The slow cooker is also an excellent option for making meal time more stress free, as Crock Pot Bourbon Chicken agrees. With this Crock Pot Cashew Chicken, by the time dinner is ready, I can have the dishes washed, squeeze in an errand, and (assuming I bothered to change out of them in the first place) be back in my yoga pants by the time the recipe is ready.
Tips to Store, Reheat, and Freeze
To Store. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.To Reheat. Gently reheat leftovers in a large pot on the stove over medium-low heat. You can also rewarm leftovers in the microwave.To Freeze. Place leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe Adaptations
Crock Pot Cashew Chicken Thighs. I chose to make this a slow cooker chicken breasts recipe, but you can easily swap chicken thighs, which is what I use in this Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken and this Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken. Crock Pot Cashew Pork. I haven’t tried this recipe with pork yet, but based on how much we enjoyed this Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry, I suspect that diced pork tenderloin would be tasty too. To Make Gluten Free. Use a gluten free soy sauce or tamariTo Make Paleo. To make it a slow cooker cashew chicken paleo recipe, use arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch and enjoy it over cauliflower rice.
For even more slow cooker meal ideas for all diets, be sure to check out my collection of the Best Crock Pot Recipes too! You may find other recipes you love like my Crock Pot Pepper Steak, Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken or Crockpot Orange Chicken!
