Pressure cooker cashew chicken is to die for! You just need a few ingredients to make this sweet sauce with crunchy nuts and tender pieces of chicken. Make it in your Instant Pot, Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi tonight!
Last night we made this pressure cooker Instant Pot cashew chicken and served it over rice. OH MY was it good! You can use breasts or thighs to make it. We love easy Instant Pot recipes! (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
We also just got a Ninja Foodi and it’s the bomb too. It works the same way except you can air fry at the end if you want. In this case you’re just pressure cooking. You can make it in a Crockpot Express too. I honestly can say I haven’t turned on my oven in months.
I bet you’re a Panda Express fan right? We are, but my wallet can’t handle it several times a week. Now you can make their very favorite dish at home, and adjust the heat to your liking too. This will surely become part of your weekly meal plans too.
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should still deglaze pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Using either chicken breasts or chicken thighs, this turns out great in less than 30 minutes flat. With a sweet sauce, my girls all agree it is one of their favorite meals over rice. You can skip the nuts on the top or skip that step if you want.
Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
It’s easier to make than you might think. Add a bit more hoisin sauce to make it even sweeter, or more soy sauce for a saltier base. As always, I say you should adjust it to your taste buds.
- I would say the first time, start with my measurements and then go from there. 😉
- If you love Panda Express cashew chicken this is the dinner for you!
There may be a few ingredients that you might need to buy such as hoisin sauce. If you haven’t heard of this, it is super versatile and what makes a lot of Asian dishes sweet with a thick dark sauce. I’m sure you have soy sauce.
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken Breast
When I am coming up with something new I kinda’ stick to my to go sauce choices and adjust until they are just right. I would never share an easy Instapot recipe that wasn’t absolutely 1000% perfect of course. 😉
- Just get everything out so you’re ready.
- I’m not kidding you when I say this is a dump and go throw it together dish.
- You don’t even need to precook the meat beforehand.
- Sauce + diced chicken for 4 minutes on high pressure and it is done to perfection. So moist too.
- At the end I suggest you take that last step to thicken the sauce with cornstarch. If you don’t want to of course you can skip that.
This is basically what we added to our pot. Use any brand of pressure cooker you might have. We used our Foodi this time. No matter which brand you have, I highly suggest having a non stick pot as you see here.
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken with Rice
Oh yeah, and you can add a bit of heat too if you’d like. We don’t. A squeeze of Sriracha or a pinch of chili powder would do the trick though. That’s what’s great about making homemade cashew chicken, you can make it JUST like you want it. If you want with rice make that separately.
- Using chicken broth instead of water also gives this one pot meal more flavor. It definitely isn’t lacking of that!
If you’re familiar with our Instant Pot honey chicken or Hawaiian chicken recipe this is somewhat like those with a few different ingredients.
Many of these Asian dishes have a lot of the same items with a tweak here and there. Of course you can personalize it from there but you’ll need these basic items to make most of them.
Cashew chicken Instant Pot recipe
- Pressure cooker
- I highly suggest getting a non stick pot too
- Chicken breasts
- you could use chicken thighs if you wanted
- cut into bite size pieces
- Hoisin sauce
- Minced garlic
- Cashews
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Green onions
- Salt and pepper
- Chicken broth
- Cornstarch – to thicken sauce at the end
- White rice to serve it over
- Sesame oil or olive oil
Sesame seeds and diced bell peppers would be optional add ins as well.
Do you have to brown meat before putting in a pressure cooker?
NO. You do NOT need to precook or saute this chicken before you pressure cook. It cooks all at the same time and in just 4 minutes flat which makes for a short cook time!! Seriously.
- Some recipes like our Instant Pot crack chicken casserole you do.
- So it depends on what you’re cooking.
Ingredients for pressure cooker cashew chicken
- Pressure cooker
- If you have an Instant Pot I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot too!
- A Crock Pot Express, Mealthy or Ninja works too.
Easy cashew chicken recipe
Dice your chicken into bite size pieces. This will make it easier to eat, allow the meat to absorb lots of sauce and cook faster. Add your meat and all other ingredients (minus your cornstarch) into the pot and stir so everything is coated.
- You’re going to close your lid, close valve to sealing, and start cooking on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Quick release the steam when your pot beeps and remove the lid.
- Set that aside and turn your pot off and then press saute.
- Once sauce bubbles, add cold water with cornstarch. Whisk together until smooth, then add into the pot.
How do you thicken a sauce in a pressure cooker?
In a small bowl whisk together some of the hot liquid out of your pot with your cornstarch. Make sure it is nice and smooth, now dump that into your pot. Stir and allow to thicken. Turn pot off and serve immediately over rice or quinoa!
Looking for more pressure cooker chicken recipes? We have a LOT but our spicy teriyaki Instant Pot chicken is always a winner.
Sesame chicken with cashews
Here are a few more family favorite one pot meals everyone enjoys. Try a few others after this one, especially if you’re new to this way of cooking. Believe me, after a few recipes you’ll be a “pro” at this too!
- Try our peanut butter chicken recipe
- Panda Express has firecracker chicken or orange chicken you can make yourself too
- If you haven’t cooked a whole chicken in your pot yet it is a game changer for sure.
- Or try something new with our Instant Pot lemon garlic chicken dish we love
How many carbs are in cashew chicken?
That depends on what recipe you’re following but for ours the nutritional information is all listed below in the recipe card. Each serving is calculated for 3 ounces of the chicken and sauce itself. We always serve it with a side.
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Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken boneless skinless breasts or thighs, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3 green onions sliced
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 c chicken broth
- 1/2 c cashews roasted
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Put your diced chicken, sesame or olive oil, salt, minced garlic, pepper, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and chicken broth into your pressure cooker. Stir.
- Close pressure cooker lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a quick release when done. Open lid and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together your cornstarch and 5 tbsp of hot liquid from your pot until smooth.
- Set your pressure cooker to saute and when sauce inside begins to bubble pour your cornstarch mixture in and stir for 1 minute. Then turn pot off.
- Dice green onions and put into pot, add as many roasted cashews as you’d like. Stir so everything is combined well.
- Serve alone or on top of rice!
Video
Conni
Monday 29th of January 2024
Hi, can you use precooked chicken breasts rather than raw? If so does the cooking time change? Thanks, Conni
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 30th of January 2024
You could. I would almost just add those with the sauce on saute and just warm together since it doesn't need to be cooked
Jessica
Friday 24th of September 2021
This is wonderful! Great timing and directions. The flavors really come together better than the wok version! Thank you for the fabulous recipe! Nyummers!
Margaret
Wednesday 15th of September 2021
The vinegar flavor seems a little strong to me. Can I reduce it by half without completely changing it?
The Typical Mom
Thursday 16th of September 2021
If you feel it is strong to you then of course reduce it a bit to your liking.
Pat
Friday 20th of August 2021
Is 1/4 cup chicken stock enough? I thought you need 1 cup minimum in a 6 qt pressure cooker
The Typical Mom
Sunday 22nd of August 2021
Juices are created when cooking chicken, I wouldn't share a recipe that didn't work.
Stephen
Friday 13th of August 2021
Would be nice to have ingredients with measurements.
Justine Howell
Friday 13th of August 2021
@Stephen, It is right there in the recipe card at the very bottom of the post.