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Crock Pot Cashew Chicken

Takeout-style cashew chicken from the slow cooker: cornstarch-dusted chicken seared for color, cooked low in a soy, hoisin and rice vinegar sauce, with the cashews stirred in at the end so they stay crunchy.

Prep
20 min
Cook
3 hr
Makes
Serves 6
Jump to the recipe
A bowl of cashew chicken with peppers in a glossy brown sauce
Photo: Horizon Content / Pexels

Cashew chicken in a slow cooker has an obvious weakness: a slow cooker never gets hot enough to brown anything, and takeout cashew chicken depends on the color and flavor of a hot wok. The fix takes ten minutes. Toss the chicken in cornstarch and sear it in a skillet before it goes in the pot. It does not need to cook through, only to pick up a golden crust.

That cornstarch coating does more than help it brown. It is the same idea as velveting in Chinese cooking: the starch forms a thin layer that protects the meat from drying out over hours of cooking, and as it slowly dissolves into the sauce it thickens it to the glossy, clinging consistency of a restaurant sauce. Without it, slow cooker chicken comes out pale in a thin, watery liquid.

Use boneless chicken thighs rather than breasts. Thighs have more fat and connective tissue, which melts over three hours on low and keeps the meat tender. Breasts cook through quickly, and anything past about two hours in a slow cooker turns them stringy and dry. If you prefer white meat, check them early and pull the pot as soon as they are done.

The sauce is balanced on three points: salty from soy sauce, sweet and savory from hoisin and a spoon of brown sugar, and sharp from rice vinegar. Ketchup sounds odd but it is common in American Chinese cooking and gives body and a little tang. Fresh garlic and ginger go in raw; the long cooking mellows them, so do not be shy with either.

The cashews go in at the very end. Added at the start, they soak up the sauce for three hours and turn soft and mealy, losing the crunch that is the point of the dish. Toast them in a dry skillet first for the best flavor, then stir them into the pot right before serving, along with sliced green onions.

If the sauce needs more thickness when the chicken is done, stir in a little cornstarch mixed with cold water and cook on high for ten minutes with the lid off. A slow cooker traps all the moisture the chicken releases, so a little extra thickening is often needed.

Serve it over steamed jasmine rice with something green on the side. Raw broccoli florets or snap peas can go into the pot for the last 30 minutes on high if you want a one-pot meal.

The same seared-then-slow-cooked approach makes crockpot beef and broccoli. For a quicker stir-fry, five-spice Brussels sprouts and sausage is done in twenty minutes, and sweet and sour sauce is worth making for the fridge.

A glass bowl of raw cashews
Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya / Pexels

Slow cooker cashew chicken, start to finish

Takeout-style cashew chicken from the slow cooker: cornstarch-dusted chicken seared for color, cooked low in a soy, hoisin and rice vinegar sauce, with the cashews stirred in at the end so they stay crunchy.

Coated chicken, the takeout sauce, the crunch

For the chicken

  • 2 lb (900 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 in (2.5 cm) pieces
  • ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the sauce

  • ¼ cup (60 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

To finish

  • 1 cup (140 g) unsalted roasted cashews
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water (if needed)
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Sear, slow-cook, cashews last

  1. 1 Toss the chicken with the cornstarch and pepper in a bowl until evenly coated.
  2. 2 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in two batches, without crowding, until golden on the outside, 2–3 minutes per side. It does not need to be cooked through. Transfer to a 4–6 qt (3.8–5.7 L) slow cooker.
  3. 3 Whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken and stir to coat.
  4. 4 Cover and cook on low for 2½–3 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
  5. 5 If the sauce is thin, stir in the cornstarch slurry, turn to high and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, until glossy and thickened.
  6. 6 While the sauce thickens, toast the cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly golden, 3–4 minutes.
  7. 7 Stir the cashews into the slow cooker right before serving. Top with green onions and sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Breasts, extra vegetables and a stovetop version

  • Chicken breasts: they work, but check them after 1½ hours on low and stop as soon as they are cooked through.
  • Add vegetables: stir in 2 cups (180 g) broccoli florets or sliced bell peppers for the last 30 minutes on high.
  • Stovetop version: sear the chicken until cooked through, add the sauce and simmer 5 minutes until thick, then stir in the cashews. It takes 20 minutes.
  • Leftovers: keep the chicken refrigerated up to 3 days. The cashews soften overnight, so store extra toasted cashews separately and add fresh ones when reheating.
  • Gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce and check that your hoisin is gluten-free.

Skipping the sear, soft cashews and thin sauce

It is not strictly required, but it makes a big difference. Browning adds color and flavor, and the cornstarch coating thickens the sauce. Without it the dish is paler and the sauce thinner.

They were added too early. Cashews absorb moisture quickly, so stir them in just before serving.

Yes, for about 1½–2 hours. Low is gentler and keeps the chicken more tender.

The chicken releases liquid, and a slow cooker does not let it evaporate. Thicken it with a cornstarch slurry on high with the lid off for the last 10 minutes.