Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken Lazy Oven

Published: Mar 20, 2020 · Modified: Feb 25, 2021

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This easy cashew chicken crockpot recipe is real crowd pleaser. Tender chicken, broccoli and cashews all in a delicious, savory, Asian-inspired sauce .

Close up of cashew chicken in a round pot

Who doesn't love picking up the phone and ordering dinner to be delivered right to the front door? Unfortunately, frequent take-out not only gets expensive but you also have no real control over the ingredients.

Crockpot to the rescue! All you have to do is toss a bunch of fresh, wholesome ingredients into your slow cooker and it magically turns them into an amazing meal. Like having a personal chef-ish. (Ok...its nothing like having a person chef, but a girl can dream, right??).

Top view of a diamond shaped bowl containing broccoli and chicken and cashew nuts with chop sticks in the background.

How To Make This Easy Chicken Dinner Recipe

The sauce for this chicken recipe is made up of soy, vinegar, ketchup, sesame oil and spices. The basic steps involve mixing these ingredients together right in your slow cooker (to save dirtying an extra bowl) then adding in the chicken pieces. Turn chicken over in the sauce a few times to make sure all surfaces are coated. Slow cooking provides the added benefit of both marinating and cooking simultaneously. About half an hour prior to serving, remove chicken from slow cooker. Add broccoli and cashews to cooked sauce in slow cooker and stir to mix. Cut cooked chicken into cubes (it may fall apart while you try to cut and that is ok too - neatness does not count here!) and add it back in to the mixture allowing it to all cook together until you are ready to serve.

Close up of cashew chicken still in slow cooker being stirred after cooking

Hints and Hacks for Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

I always recommend using a slow cooker liner for easy clean up. I like to buy mine in bulk for a lower per-piece price. Click here to see what I use. This is, of course, an optional step
This recipe works well with breasts or thighs. Breasts will produce a drier finished product. Since slow cookers vary in temperature, I suggest using a meat thermometer. This is particularly important when cooking chicken breasts since they can very quickly go from cooked through to dried out. Thighs are naturally fattier and therefore wont dry out quite as fast. Chicken is considered ready to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165˚. Here is my favorite meat thermometer.
This is a great dish to make with chicken tenders! They cook more quickly than breasts. Keep an eye on the temperature, but when I make it that way, the chicken cooks through in about 2 hours.
Cashew chicken is great served over rice, rice noodles or even riced cauliflower.
For added flavor and flair, sprinkle some crushed cashew pieces over the top of the dish just prior to serving.
If anyone is in the market for a new slow cooker, this is the one I am lusting after these days.

Chicken dish in a round with pot with the lid tilted off to the side. Fresh raw cashews are crumbled on top

3.5 quart slow cooker or larger
knife
cutting board

½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup ketchup
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 chicken breasts or 4 thighs OR about 8 chicken tenders
3 cups broccoli frozen or fresh
1½ cups raw, unsalted cashews

line slow cooker with liner, if using.
Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic and ginger to slow cooker and mix together
Add chicken to slow cooker and make sure it is well coated with sauce on all sides
Cook on low for 4-6 hours (or high for 2-3) or until temperature of chicken reaches 165°
about half an hour prior to serving remove chicken from slow cooker vessel and cut into cubes.
Add broccoli and cashews to slow cooker and Stir to coat
Return chicken to slow cooker, stir all to combine, cover and allow to cook for another 20-30 minutes or until broccoli is cooked.
serve over rice, rice noodles or riced cauliflower.
enjoy!

Calories: 370 kcal

Great Crockpot Chicken Recipes

Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs

Soy Peanut Chicken

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken

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