This delicious slow cooker cashew chicken recipe is just as tasty as the one from your favourite Chinese takeaway. It’s easy to make plus it is both gluten and dairy free.
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
Now that the weather is turning to Autumn there is nothing I love more than having slow cooked food for dinner. Whether you have been busy in the house all day or out of the house at work having a meal ready with minimum effort is such a time saver. You just throw all the ingredients into the pot, put on the lid and *switch the machine on and go about the rest of your day. *Very important: I’ve not noticed until much later that I hadn’t turned the slow cooker on! I only noticed because there were no delicious smells wafting around the house. and go about the rest of your day. When it’s time for dinner it is ready to eat. Depending on what you are making you might have to cook some sort of side dishes like rice, potatoes, veg, etc.
Chinese food is probably my favourite food (it varies between that and Mexican). However a lot of dishes contain soy sauce which has fermented wheat in it. This is a no-no if you are gluten free! So if I fancy some Chinese food then I have to make it myself. I use Kikkoman’s Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce for when my recipes require soy sauce. I have been slowly trying to adapt my favourite dishes into gluten free versions and have come up with this Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken recipe.
As the chicken is slow cooked it means that it is very soft and tender. I used chicken breast for this recipe but you can use thighs if you prefer. If you like the veg and cashew nuts with a bit of a crunch then add these in towards the end of the cooking time.
Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
This delicious slow cooker cashew chicken recipe is just as tasty as the one from your favourite Chinese takeaway. It’s easy to make plus it is both gluten and dairy free.
Ingredients
- 500 g Chicken Breasts
- 3 Tbsps Cornflour
- 1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil To brown the chicken
- 1 Red Pepper Chopped
- 100 g Cashew Nuts Unsalted
- 2 Tbsps Gluten Free Soy Sauce
- 4 Tbsps Honey
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1/4 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes
- 2 Tbsps Rice Wine Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar
- 2 Spring Onions Chopped; To Garnish
Instructions
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Add the cornflour and black pepper into a bag
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Cut the chicken into 1 inch chunks and then place it into the bag and shake to coat the meat in cornflour
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Heat the oil in a frying pan and once hot enough brown the chicken pieces for 2 minutes each side. Once the chicken is browned chuck it into the slow cooker along with the chopped red pepper
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Combine the soy sauce, wine vinegar, honey, brown sugar, garlic and chilli flakes in a bowl. Pour over the chicken and red pepper in the slow cooker. You can either add the cashew nuts now before cooking or if you like them with a bit more of a crunch then add them to the last 30 minutes of cooking.
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Cook on LOW for 4 hours.
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Serve with rice and chopped spring onion.
Possible Variations:
Use a different protein: Instead of chicken you can use pork, prawn or even beef.
Add more veg: Try adding some broccoli, carrots or onion to the slow cooker. Remember and add it in towards the end of the cooking time if you like your veg crunchy.
More spice: Increase the quantity of chilli flakes if you want a bit more heat to the dish.
Want it a bit sweeter: Add some more brown sugar.
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback!
If you are looking for other Chinese dishes:
Gluten Free Prawn Toasts & Honey Chilli Chicken
