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5 from 6 votes

Instant Pot Cashew Chicken

Chinese-inspired food anyone? This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken is a delicious family friendly meal that is faster to make than to order in! Talk about a perfectly satisfying weeknight meal - in more ways than one!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
NPR10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 6
Calories: 592kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce low sodium
  • 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar packed
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger fresh, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless, cut into bite size pieces
  • 2 tablespoon cornstarch divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 cup cashews

Garnish

  • 3 green onions chopped
  • 21 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions

  • In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
  • Sprinkle 1 tbsp of cornstarch and pepper over the chicken and toss well, making sure each pieces of chicken is coated in cornstarch.
  • Turn the Instant Pot to the "Saute" setting and add the sesame oil and olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces and brown for 3 minutes. Press "Cancel" on your IP.
  • Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir so that all the chicken is coated evenly. Close the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to "Sealing" and cook on "Manual/High Pressure" for 6 minutes.
  • Turn the valve to "Venting" to do a quick release, wait fort the IP to depressurize. When it's safe, remove the lid. Whisk the remaining 1 tbsp of cornstarch with the 2 tbsp of water to make a slurry, then stir it in with the chicken. Add the cashews and stir everything together.
  • Turn the Instant Pot to the "Saute" setting and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until sauce thickens.
  • Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Notes

  1. Cashew chicken is going to last in the fridge, properly sealed in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I recommend freezing any kind of chicken to extend it's shelf life. Sealed in an airtight container, cashew chicken will last about 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 592kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 462mg | Potassium: 524mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 185IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 330mg | Iron: 6mg