Healthy Sesame Ginger Cashew Chicken with broccoli is a marvelously flavorful dinner recipe that takes no more than 40 minutes to make from start-to-finish!
The newest star in my sky!: Sesame Ginger Cashew Chicken.
Featuring broccoli, fresh ginger, and guest starring garlic!
In addition to its fresh, delicious flavors, this easy recipe is ready in 40 minutes or less, making it the ideal healthy weeknight meal.
If you’re into Chinese food or Chinese-inspired recipes, you’ll get a kick out of this simple dish!
What is the flavor profile? A little sweet, a little sour, and a little umami. You can easily add some spice too if you enjoy spicy food!
Texturally speaking, we have lots of variety of textures between the tender chicken, soft yet crunchy cashews and crisp broccoli.
We’ve got crunch, we’ve got snap, we’ve got squish. What more do we need??
Enjoy it with your favorite side dishes for a nourishing, well-balanced meal.
All factors considered, this easy dinner recipe is paleo-friendly, soy-free, refined sugar-free, quick and easy to make, and guaranteed to be on constant rotation on your weeknight menu!
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients Cashew Chicken!
Cashew Chicken Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Boneless Chicken Thighs: Pick your favorite cut of chicken to make this healthy cashew chicken recipe. I use chicken breasts, but boneless skinless thighs work great too!
In fact, if you’re going for tender chicken, I recommend using thighs because their higher fat content keeps them juicy.
Fresh Broccoli: Pick up a large crown of broccoli and chop it into broccoli florets for this healthy dinner.
Fresh Garlic: Adding a ton of flavor to everything it touches, fresh garlic is a must here. Increase or decrease the amount to your personal taste.
Cashews: The reason we’re all here! Raw cashews pair nicely with chicken to make this Chinese takeout inspired meal an absolute dream.
Avocado Oil: Used to brown the chicken and sauté the stir fry, we need a quality cooking oil. I prefer using avocado oil because it has a high smoke point, and it is a decent source of omega-3 healthy fats.
Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients:
Coconut Aminos: Taking the place of soy sauce, I love using coconut aminos for two reasons. First, it is soy-free and gluten-free, which is how I generally eat. Secondly, it adds sweet flavor to the stir fry sauce, which in my mind is a must.
You can replace the coconut aminos with low-sodium soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos. Be sure to also add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar or pure maple syrup to get some sweetness in there too.
Chicken Broth: We need more liquid in the sauce, but not more coconut aminos so as to not overpower the sauce. For this reason, I like using chicken broth because it adds some chicken flavor in addition to liquid.
Toasted Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is a must in stir fry recipes because it brings that unmistakable flavor. Don’t skip it unless you need to.
Fresh Ginger: Quite possibly one of my favorite ingredients for adding flavor, fresh ginger root adds that little bite and bold flavor. You can adjust the amount to your liking, or skip it if you aren’t into ginger.
Sriracha (Optional): Bringing a little spice to the cashew chicken sauce, I like adding some sriracha. Feel free to skip it if you prefer mild food. A little bit enhances this easy cashew chicken recipe in a big way!
Tapioca Flour: Used to thicken the sauce so that it is nice and sticky, we need some form of thickener. I like using tapioca flour because it is generally easy on everyone’s bellies and works great.
You can replace it with regular all-purpose flour, corn starch, or gluten-free all-purpose flour if you’d like.
Sea Salt: Season the meal to taste using sea salt. If you’re using soy sauce in this recipe instead of coconut aminos, you likely won’t need additional salt.
For Serving:
I like sprinkling sesame seeds and chopped cilantro on top just before serving. Chopped green onions are great here too! You can also top it off with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or sriracha for some heat.
There are plenty of ways you can customize this healthy cashew chicken recipe. Here are some options.
Recipe Customizations:
- Add more fresh vegetables to make it more veggie-rich. Bell pepper, bok choy, zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots are all great options.
- If you have a stir fry sauce you love, feel free to use it instead of the homemade stir fry sauce recipe in the recipe card below.
- Replace the chicken with pork, steak, or any kind of ground meat.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s make it!
How to Make Sesame Ginger Cashew Chicken:
Add the ingredients for the sauce to a small blender and blend until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
Heat the avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the chopped chicken breasts and brown for 3 to 4 minutes (without cooking through).
Stir in the broccoli, garlic, sauce and cashews into the skillet and bring to a full boil.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
The recipe is finished when the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce is bubbly, sticky, and pulls away from the pan when stirred.
Serve this simple cashew chicken recipe with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. You can serve with steamed white rice or brown rice and/or cauliflower rice or choice of side dishes.
I love a side of Stir Fry Vegetables, because as you know, your girl loves her veggies!
And that’s it! A simple weeknight dinner recipe that you’ll want to return to over and over. Make it in bulk to enjoy it throughout the week for meal prep!
If you’re all about chicken, try some of these reader favorites!
More Healthy Chicken Recipes:
- Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Greek Chicken Spinach Salad
- Basil Crispy Baked Chicken
- Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata
- Chicken Marsala (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Aromatic Saffron Chicken with Coconut Rice
Make it the newest star in your sky!
Healthy Cashew Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos or liquid aminos
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp tapioca flour or gluten-free flour
- 1 (2-inch) nub fresh ginger peeled
- 1 Tbsp sriracha optional
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste
For the Cashew Chicken:
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 3 chicken breasts chopped, about 1.5 to 2 lbs
- 1 large crown broccoli chopped into florets
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tsp sesame seeds for serving, optional
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro for serving, optional
Instructions
- Add the ingredients for the sauce to a small blender and blend until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the chopped chicken breasts and brown for 3 to 4 minutes (without cooking through).
- Stir in the broccoli, garlic, sauce and cashews into the skillet and bring to a full boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. The recipe is finished when the sauce is bubbly, sticky, and pulls away from the pan when stirred.
- Serve with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. You can serve with steamed white or brown rice and/or cauliflower rice or choice of side dishes.
Nutrition
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Made this dish last night. Followed the recipe. Absolutely delicious. Next time I will add a few carrot medallions.
delicious!
I’m so happy you like it, Jennifer! xoxoxo