This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken is the perfect mix of sweet and savoury. Pair it with a bag of vegetables from Mann’s Fresh Vegetables, and you’ve got dinner in a jiffy!
Disclaimer: This recipe was created in partnership with Mann’s Fresh Vegetables. Thank you for supporting the brands who support me to make this blog possible.
Meal Prep This Sunday Night or Make Dinner in a Jiffy: Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
I’ll confess that one of my favourite take out orders is Cashew Chicken because 1. I love cashews and 2. I love that it’s a mix of sweet and savoury. A while back, I had made a sheet pan version of this cashew chicken but with the purchase of an Instant Pot, I wanted to try to make an Instant Pot version of this.
In my previous sheet pan version of the recipe, I had suggested pre-cutting the vegetables to night before to make making the recipe quicker but to save even more time for this Instant Pot Cashew Chicken, I teamed up with Mann’s Fresh Vegetables to use their California Stir Fry. The vegetable mix goes perfectly with the cashew chicken and since they come ready to go, there’s no cutting/dicing/prepping required – you just open the bag and pour it in. Easy peasy and time saved – making it the perfect quick weeknight dinner or if you’re on a time crunch while meal prepping.
What You’ll Need To Make This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
- olive oil
- chicken breast
- soy sauce
- garlic powder
- salt
- hoisin sauce
- honey
- chicken stock – I used Better than Bouillon or if you want to make your own, here’s how to make chicken stock in the Instant Pot
- cornstarch
- unsalted cashews
- Mann’s Fresh Vegetables’ California Stir Fry
- optional grain of choice to serve with
How to Make This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
- On sauté mode, place the olive oil in the Instant Pot before adding in diced chicken.
- Lightly brown the chicken before adding in the soy sauce, garlic powder & salt, hoisin sauce, honey, and chicken broth.
- Stir to make sure everything is combined and then set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Once done, quick release.
- Now you have 2 options:
- Add in the cornstarch, cashews, and California Stir Fry mix and quickly stir before closing the lid, allowing the heat to steam the vegetables and sauce to thicken for 5-6 minutes.
- Set the Instant Pot onto low on sauté mode and add in the cornstarch, cashew, and California Stir Fry mix. Sauté until the vegetables is cooked to your liking.
- Serve with your grain of choice and add toppings such as chili flakes, sesame seeds, or green onions if you wish.
Tips and Notes on making this Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
- You can also skip dicing up the chicken and cooking it whole instead. After cooking, you can shred the chicken breasts and put it back in the sauce to coat.
- There’s going to be extra sauce leftover, I love drizzling it over my couscous to use it up.
- This recipe was only tested in the Instant Pot Duo 9-in-1 6QT.
- I stored my meal preps in these airtight containers.
- You could cook your rice with your chicken like I do in my greek chicken recipe but I chose to make my side separately because I felt like making couscous instead of rice.
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 chicken breast, diced
- 7 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- salt, to taste
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup unsalted cashews
- 1 bag Mann’s Fresh Vegetables’ California Stir Fry
Instructions
- On sauté mode, place the olive oil in the Instant Pot before adding in diced chicken.
- Lightly brown the chicken before adding in the soy sauce, garlic powder & salt, hoisin sauce, honey, and chicken broth.
- Stir to make sure everything is combined and then set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Once done, quick release.
options 1
- Add in the cornstarch, cashews, and California Stir Fry mix and quickly stir before closing the lid, allowing the heat to steam the vegetables and sauce to thicken for 5-6 minutes.
- Serve with your grain of choice and add toppings such as chili flakes, sesame seeds, or green onions if you wish
option 2
- Set the Instant Pot onto low on sauté mode and add in the cornstarch, cashew, and California Stir Fry mix. Sauté until the vegetables is cooked to your liking.
- Serve with your grain of choice and add toppings such as chili flakes, sesame seeds, or green onions if you wish
RESOURCES AND TIPS FOR MEAL PREPPING
- How To Cook Chicken Breasts Perfectly
- What Is An Instant Pot
- Tips To Help You Meal Prep For The Week Successfully
- Tips for Meal Prepping on a Budget
- 7 Freezer Friendly Chicken Marinades
- 5 Freezer Friendly Marinades
MORE CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY
Other places to connect with me
Instagram: @carmyshungry
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Email: [email protected]
Kristina says
Wonderful meal that my whole family enjoyed. Super easy too!!
Carmy says
Thank you! :) So glad you enjoyed it!