Spicy, Garlicky Cashew Chicken
- Total Time
- 45 minutes plus optional marinating
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1cup roasted, salted cashew nuts
- 6tablespoons chopped cilantro, with some stems
- ¼cup canola or safflower oil
- 4garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- 2teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 to 2jalapeño peppers, sliced (discard seeds or not, to taste)
- Juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for garnish
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3pounds chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
436 calories; 35 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 14 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 511 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
In a blender or food processor, combine nuts, 2 tablespoons cilantro, oil, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, jalapeño, lime juice and 2 tablespoons water. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Step 2
Season chicken all over with salt and pepper. Smear on enough cashew mixture to thoroughly coat pieces. (Set aside any remaining mixture.) Let marinate at room temperature while you heat grill or broiler. Or refrigerate for up to 12 hours before cooking.
- Step 3
Preheat broiler or grill. Grill or broil chicken, turning frequently, until it is crisp and golden on outside and done on inside (cut a small nick to check), 20 to 30 minutes.
- Step 4
Sprinkle chicken with remaining cilantro and serve with lime wedges and remaining cashew mixture.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
janet
I loved this recipe I read all comments and opted to use chicken thighs bone-in but skinless, used half the oil and added more jalapeno with seeds baked at 400 for 25min served with cilantro/scallion basmati rice and it was a homerun!
Ryan
DO NOT GRILL THIS. The outside mixture, when it falls off the chicken on the grill is a fire hazard. The oil and nut will ignite. Almost burned my house down trying these on the grill. Should have know better.
riverdalite
Have made this numerous times and prefer it with the skin removed from the thighs before I slather on the cashew mixture. The coating is thick enough to replace the skin. Also, I bake it on high temperature. (I'd have to watch it more carefully if I broiled it and, apparently, I'm a lazy cook.) I used to use cashews, but my sister likes the paste very smooth, so I've been using cashew flour instead. Either ingredient is nice.
Susan
You mean it never disappointed?
Meredith
Amazing!
adjustments:
I used boneless, skinless chicken, chicken breast cut into tenders, and fried skewer-style in a pan.
recommendations:
I recommend doubling down on a lot of the flavor. I used half the chicken and half the oil, but full amounts of everything else.
Came out deliciously!! Highly recommend
Kristina
I second the suggestion to bake the chicken. I broiled and encountered two problems: first, the cashew coating burned long before the chicken was fully cooked. Second, every time I turned the pieces, the tasty coating fell off, leaving me with a blander dish than I hoped for and a lot of expensive ingredients down the drain. Will try again, though - the coating is just as delicious as advertised, and the prep is super simple.
Mary Ann
This was delicious. I used half of the soy sauce because of the salted cashews. I also followed other suggestions and baked skinless, boneless thighs at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Came out great except pan clean up was pretty tough. Next time I will line the baking pan with foil before adding chicken and sauce. Will definitely make again.
Natalia Elies
Yes because 1085 calories per serving is a lot!!!
Thank you!!!
Nick
If you want to get the grill flavor you can pre bake at 300 degrees so sauce bakes in to chicken. Then throw on a high heat grill to finish and get char smokey flavor.
Matthew
I've made this recipe a few times and it's never failed to disappont. The cashew mixture is just the right amount of heat with 2 jalapeños, seeds added. I've altered this recipe and used boneless chicken breasts and thighs, primarily as an appetizer at dinner parties.
Tejus
Cooked it on the stovetop, added a couple of cloves, cinnamon sticks and whole black pepper. Let it simmer and add a little Garam masala... Total smash hit with the family... Took 45 mins on the stove for drumsticks to be tender and the curry to be silky smooth and cooked.
Pat
I baked bone-in drumsticks and thighs pieces at 410 rather than grill or broil them, and they turned out perfectly. Moist and very tasty. When I tried to turn the pieces, the paste fell off so I let them bake, skin side up.
marieke
sounds amazing, what would you serve with the chicken?
rice & green salad?
Abby
Made this with boneless/skinless chicken thighs and then grilled outside. A+!
Michelle
So delicious! I baked it for 35 minutes at 400. Perfect!
Yasmin
Sauce was SO good but it took a LONG time to cook on the grill with boneless skinless thighs. I would crank up the heat and plan to cook for 30 mins at least. Served with cilantro lime rice and some grilled veggies.
Shmerla
Baked instead of grilled. Add more lime and soy sauce. Cooked, the seasoning was a little less flavorful.
SFSuperJ
I made this using Arugula, thinking that my eaters hate Cilantro, turns out they like Cilantro so now my version includes equal parts Arugula and Cilantro. Also, this makes a very tasty dip. It rarely makes it to the grill.
Jennifer
NOT a review of original recipe and more used for inspiration. I used a half jalapeno and added in a tsp of peach white balsamic, just because I like that with cashews. I slathered it on pork tenderloin and roasted 20 minutes. Loved it. The very rare literal thumbs up from my picky spouse.
GinaH
Adore the sauce on this chicken! I took the skin off the legs as others suggested and slathered with sauce. I also used boneless skinless breasts as thats all I had. Baked at 425 for 15 minutes then broiled the last 10 minutes. It was wonderful! The sauce is so good I will use it on many things from now on!
Lucy
I love this recipe. I use boneless skinless thighs, blend the sauce until smooth and coat them to marinate for a few hours before grilling. I use 1.5x the sauce. It’s very good.
Jen in RI
I almost set my kitchen on fire broiling this dish. Keep a close eye on it if you’re broiling.
Alexandra
DELICIOUS! Cooked it on stovetop. Didn't have jalapeño. Still great. Yum yum.
malahat
Tasty, easy and well worth making. One note: if you save some of the cashew mixture for a dip, make sure it doesn’t come in contact with the raw chicken. The recipe doesn’t make that explicitly clear.
Lucy
Love this recipe. I blend the cashew mixture until smooth, use it to coat boneless skinless thighs and grill. I make 1.5x cashew mixture to have extra dipping sauce.
nilssons
This was worth the hype! Read all the reviews (always very helpful) and broiled chicken thighs, 8 minutes per side, my favorite way to cook chicken, so I didn't lose any of the sauce. Was careful to save some to eat with the chicken. Served with a watermelon/cojita/serrano salad (Cook's Illustrated) and it was a delicious lunch. I'm wondering if anyone has tried using this somehow with tofu?
JB
I have cooked this (using the broiler) many times and it is so, so fabulous.
Dani
I had some pistachios laying around and used those instead. The spread came out DELICIOUS! I would use the spread alone as a dip. Yum!
Chelsea
Cut the soy sauce in half and adjust after, too salty because 'roasted salted cashews' can vary.
T
I made this and used whole bone in chicken legs without the skin. I let them be slathered in the mixture a few hours before I baked them on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 30 mins as the chicken legs were quite large. Seems like a waste to place on the skin rather than the meat of the chicken which you would want the flavor to be. Many other recipes from the NYT'S have broiling at the end to finish, which most bakeware casseroles dishes cannot withstand. Any recommendations?
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