Why You’ll Love This Recipe
EASY – We know that some pressure cooker recipes can be a little intimidating. But we promise this Instant Pot Cashew Chicken Recipe only has a couple of easy steps. And we will walk you through the whole thing! I have had a few of my family, friends, and readers tell me that they are a little afraid of using a pressure cooker. Some of them are intimidated and some have just heard horror stories of the past. They see me making recipe after recipe each week and want to know how they can do it. Honestly, read our guide to pressure cooking and find yourself a great cookbook or website with good directions to get you going.
HEALTHY – Lets face it, ordering takeout isn’t always the healthiest option. When you can make your own, homemade versions of classic chinese takeout, you can be sure what you are putting into your and your families bodies. This recipe is full of simple, clean ingredients!
EASY CLEANUP – One of the best things about making recipes in an Instant Pot is that you can make the whole dish in one pot! You saute your ingredients and then pressure cook them all in the same place! So there is a lot less dishes to do!
DELICIOUS – By sealing in all of those flavors and aromas, Instant Pot Cashew Chicken is something you’ve got to taste to believe! The tender comes out so moist with all those rich, authentic flavors!
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken Recipe
We all love a good cashew chicken take-out, but I promise you won’t be dissatisfied with this easy cashew chicken recipe. Read below for step-by-step instructions or check out the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is what you’ll need to get started:
- CHICKEN BREAST – Cube your chicken into bite size pieces. Yes, you can use frozen chicken in an Instant Pot.
- OIL – We use Extra Virgin Olive Oil because of it’s high smoke point. You’ll be using this to saute the chicken and veggies.
- GARLIC – Minced. To saute with the chicken.
- GREEN PEPPER – One green bell pepper, chopped. If you’d like to substitute for another color bell pepper, go for it!
- SOY SAUCE – Any brand of soy sauce will work. Use low-sodium if you are watching your intake.
- WATER – A lot of Pressure Cooker Recipes call for more water
- INGREDIENTS FOR CASHEW SAUCE – This will be a combination of vinegar, brown sugar and hoisin sauce. You can pretty easily find hoisin sauce in the International Section of your grocery store.
- CASHEWS – We used one cup of cashews. You can use salted or unsalted, depending on your taste buds. And, you can add the cashews before cooking or after cooking. Adding them before will make them a little more tender and soft, adding them after will give you more of a crunch.
- WHITE RICE – Two cups of white rice, prepared. You can easily make rice in your instant pot. Just add two cups of rice with two cups of water. Seal the lid and hit the “rice” button.
- GREEN ONION– Or scallions. Finely chopped as a garnish.
Can You Use Chicken Thighs For Cashew Chicken?
Yep! Actually a lot of Cashew Chicken Recipes call for the use of chicken thighs. They will cook up even more tender than the boneless skinless chicken breast. But it is dark meat, and won’t be quite as lean.
How To Thicken Your Sauce
After pressure cooking is complete, your sauce may be a little too thin for your tastes. Everyone has different preferences. To thicken your Cashew Sauce, simply make a cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl, whisk and mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir it in your sauce to thicken it up!
How To Make Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
1. Place chicken, oil, and garlic into the instant pot and saute until chicken is cooked on all sides.
2. Stir in soy sauce, water, vinegar, brown sugar and hoisin sauce.
3. Mix well.
4. Add your peppers and stir to combine.
5. Place the lid on the instant pot and close the pressure valve. Set the pot to Manual, High Pressure for 8 minutes.
6. When cooking cycle is complete, quick release the pressure and open the pot. If the mixture is thin, add cornstarch and mix well. 
7. Stir in cashews. Serve over a bed of white rice topped with green onions.
Notes, Tips and FAQs
- CAN I MAKE THIS SPICIER? – Yes! Add some crushed red chili flakes to the sauce ingredients before cooking.
- CAN I ADD EXTRA VEGETABLES TO CASHEW CHICKEN? – Sure! Water chestnuts, mini corn on the cobs (baby corn), onions or broccoli would be great!
- CAN I MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME? – Making Instant Pot Recipes ahead of time is super easy with the “keep warm” function! You can also dice your chicken and veggies and prepare your sauce ahead of time. So, when you are ready to cook you can have dinner on the table in just minutes!
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast cubed
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 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
Optional to Thicken Sauce
- 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. Stir in soy sauce, water, vinegar, brown sugar and hoisin sauce. Mix well. Add pepper and stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the instant pot and close the pressure valve. Set the pot to Manual, High Pressure for 8 minutes. When cooking cycle is complete, quick 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 topped with green onions.
- Serves 4
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
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