Oven-Fried Cashew Chicken

Cashew Crusted Chicken is a twist on a takeout favorite. It’s oven-fried and coated in a tangy sweet, and spicy sauce.

As you already know, we love our takeout around here, and I love nothing more than putting homemade twists on our favorite dishes. For this twist, I turned cashew chicken into a crusted chicken recipe with a delectable sauce. We are obsessed, and I think you will love it, too!

If you love cashew chicken, you will LOVE this recipe. I know I have a winner when my whole family loves something, and the combination of the cashew-crusted chicken with the delicious sauce got raves from everyone. Even Madden, my pickiest eater, loved it. And that’s saying a lot!

Baked Cashew Chicken

The classic takeout recipe was my inspiration for this recipe, but I took the components and rearranged them to make something new. It has juicy chicken, crunchy nuts, and a luscious sauce but is reimagined into a baked chicken dish.

Oh, and the sauce! It tastes like a combination of teriyaki and sweet and sour sauce. It’s a little sweet and savory with a touch of heat.

The chicken is coated in crushed cornflakes and cashews to create a crunchy, crispy coating. It pairs perfectly with the sauce. I borrowed this breading technique from my cashew pork chops, which work beautifully with chicken.

Overall, the dish is much lighter than regular cashew chicken because it’s oven-fried but without sacrificing any of the flavors. We love it with rice and steamed veggies on the side, and the leftovers are as good as when you first made it.

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Cashews
• Flour
• Salt and ground white pepper
• Ground ginger
• Paprika
• Granulated garlic
• Large egg
• Milk
• Sugar
• Hoisin sauce
• Sherry wine
• Soy sauce
• Red wine vinegar
• Sriracha sauce
• Sweet chili sauce
• Minced garlic

How to Crust and Bake the Chicken

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cover a wire rack on a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Finely chop the cashews. I do this using my food processor by pulsing until they are crushed. Using a mallet, you can also use a blender or crush them in a ziplock bag.

Place the cornflakes in a large mixing bowl and crush them with your hands. Stir in the crushed cashews.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Whisk the flour, salt, granulated garlic, white pepper, ginger, and paprika in a separate bowl.

Cut the chicken breasts horizontally to make two thinner cutlets per chicken breast.

Coat a piece in the flour mixture. Shake the chicken to remove excess flour, then dip it in the egg mixture. Let the excess drip off, place it in the cornflakes and cashews, and toss to coat. Make sure to cover it entirely so that it’s heavily coated.

Gently shake off any excess coating and place the crusted chicken on the wire rack. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.

Bake the chicken for 15 minutes or until a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the chicken cutlets reads 165°F.

How to Make the Sauce

While the chicken bakes, you can make the sauce.

Combine the sugar, hoisin, sherry wine, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, chili sauce, and minced garlic in a small skillet.

Bring the sauce to a boil for four to six minutes while constantly stirring. Once the sauce is thickened, take the pan off the heat and pour the sauce into a shallow bowl.

Using tongs, dip each piece of chicken in the sauce and turn it, so it’s completely coated.

Place the coated chicken back on the baking rack while you dip the rest of the pieces.

We love our cashew chicken with cooked white rice or brown rice. Steam broccoli, bell peppers, and cauliflower are delicious with it, too.

Tips

I like to slice the chicken into cutlets so it bakes faster, but you can leave the chicken breasts whole. If you do, you will need to increase the baking time.

Feel free to adjust the heat level of the sauce – you can add as little or as much sriracha as you like.

You don’t have to dip the crusted chicken in the sauce. Instead, you can serve it on the side and let everyone drizzle it on themselves.

This dish makes wonderful leftovers. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they will keep for three to four days.

I love so many things about this dish – the juicy chicken with the crunchy, crispy coating is delicious all on its own, but when you add the sauce… heaven. Make it soon – you will love it, too.

More Takeout-Inspired Dinners

• Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
• Sesame Ginger Chicken
• Asian Sticky Wings
• Sweet and Sour Fried Rice

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