Sheet Pan Cashew Chicken

There’s no need to spend a ton of money on takeout for your family to enjoy a delicious dinner! With this simple sheet pan cashew chicken recipe, you can whip up a full meal right in your oven. Prep the ingredients ahead of time, store them in the freezer, then pop everything in the oven when you’re ready to start cooking to whip up this quick and easy dinner in a matter of minutes.

Sheet Pan Cashew Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 9 ounces snow peas or snap peas
• 1 cup raw unsalted cashews
• 1 yellow pepper, very coarsely chopped
• 1 red pepper, very coarsely chopped
• 1 orange pepper, very coarsely chopped
• 1 purple onion, cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger

Assembly Instructions:

1. Place the chicken breasts, snow peas, and cashews in a large resealable freezer bag.
2. In a separate large bag, add the yellow pepper, red pepper, orange pepper, and purple onion.
3. Mix together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and ginger together in a medium bowl.
4. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bag with the chicken and half into the bag with the vegetables. Seal the opening of each bag and squish the ingredients together until well mixed.
5. Remove excess air from the bag, seal it, and staple the bags together above the seal. Place the chicken and veggies in the freezer until you’re ready to start cooking.

Cooking instructions:

1. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Spread the vegetables in an even layer and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and add the chicken, snap peas, and cashews over the top of the vegetables.
5. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.
6. Before serving stir the ingredients together and top with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve over rice.

How Do I Thicken Cashew Chicken Sauce?

The simple sauce that tops the chicken and vegetables is designed to add flavor to your meal without becoming thick and gooey. But if you prefer to enjoy a thicker sauce on your stir fry chicken, it’s easy to change the texture of this sauce.

Before mixing your sauce with the chicken and vegetables, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of cold water. Once the cornstarch dissolves, pour the mixture into the bowl with the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to mix.

After, that simply add the sauce to your freezer bags and cook the meal according to the recipe instructions. The addition of cornstarch will help your sauce thicken as it cooks.

Can You Make Stir Fry and Freeze It?

Prepping stir fry ingredients, like this cashew chicken recipe, is a great way to meal plan. And the good news is that there isn’t much prep work involved when it comes to freezing stir fry! Just follow these simple steps to meal prep your own cashew chicken:

• Prep the ingredients. Chop all your vegetables and transfer all the ingredients to freezer-friendly containers. There is no need to cook your stir fry ingredients before freezing them!
• Add the sauce. Once all your ingredients are in the freezer bags, simply add the sauce to the bag. The sauce will serve as a marinade to add flavor to your stir fry while it’s in the freezer.
• Store it in the freezer. Remove as much air from the bags as possible, then place them in the freezer until you’re ready to start cooking. Make sure to label your bag with the name of the recipe and date of freezing.
• Thaw and cook. When you’re ready to cook your stir fry, transfer the frozen ingredients to the refrigerator to thaw. After that, you can heat them in the oven or in a skillet to prepare the meal.

What Vegetables Go with Cashew Chicken?

The best part about this easy sheet pan stir fry is that you can customize the recipe using your family’s favorite vegetables! While this recipe does feature a yummy combination of peppers, onions, and peas, there are a variety of other veggies you can mix in with your baked chicken.

Try adding these other vegetables to your sheet pan chicken to make this meal work for you:

• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Baby corn
• Water chestnuts

How Do I Store Cashew Chicken?

This delicious cashew chicken makes great leftovers because the flavors intensify in the fridge! If you have extras after dinner is over, simply transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator. The leftovers will stay good for up to four days.

You can reheat your leftover cashew chicken in the microwave or in a 350° oven.

What to Serve with Cashew Chicken?

This chicken and veggie dinner is a delicious one pan meal. And since it’s made with meat and vegetables, you’ll have everything you need for a well-rounded dinner. But if you’re looking for some other recipe ideas to serve alongside your baked cashew chicken, try some of these simple sides:

• White or brown rice
• Fried rice
• Eggrolls
• Cauliflower rice
• Rice noodles

Print

Sheet Pan Cashew Chicken

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4

Calories: 288 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 9 oz snow peas or snap peas
• 1 cup cashews raw unsalted
• 1 yellow pepper very coarsely chopped
• 1 red pepper very coarsely chopped
• 1 orange pepper very coarsely chopped
• 1 purple onion cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp. ginger minced

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

1. Place the chicken breasts, snow peas, and cashews in a large resealable freezer bag.

2. In a separate large bag, add the yellow pepper, red pepper, orange pepper, and purple onion.

3. Mix together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and ginger together in a medium bowl.

4. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bag with the chicken and half into the bag with the vegetables. Squish together to combine, remove excess air from bags, seal, staple bags together above the seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Thaw.

2. Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Spread the vegetables in an even layer and bake for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from oven and add the chicken, snap peas, and cashews over top of the vegetables.

5. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes.

6. Before serving, stir and top with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve over rice.