Instant Pot Cashew Chicken

Perfect for fake-out takeout dinner night. If your craving Chinese food but don’t want to leave the house or slave over the stove this is the perfect Instant Pot recipe. Using the Instant Pot you can make perfect jasmine rice and cashew chicken to rival any take-out menu.

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For this you will need:

• 6 quart Instant Pot
• Wooden Spatula
• Flexible Cutting Board
• Knife

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. EVOO
• 3 Large chicken breast cubed
• 1 Tbs. Minced Garlic
• 1 Tbs. Minced Ginger
• 1 Bell (red or orange) pepper chopped 
• ¼ Cup Dry sherry
• 1 cup Unsalted Cashews
• 1 8 oz. can Water chestnuts chopped
• 2 Green onions
• 2 Tbs. Corn starch
• Sauce Ingredients:
• ½ Cup Low sodium soy sauce or Tamari Sauce
• 1 Tbs. Rice vinegar
• 1 Tbs. Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbs. Oyster Sauce
• ½ tsp. sesame oil

Easy Instant Pot Cashew Chicken

This recipe can be made all in one pot. If you enjoy takeout nights because you don’t want to do the dishes. This recipe has minimal clean-up. Start with adding all the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and set it aside. Add the EVOO to the Instant POT and turn on the sauté function. Next, chop up the bell peppers first and then cube the chicken so you don’t have to dirty two cutting boards.

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How To Make Cashew Chicken

When the display reads HOT on the Instant Pot add the cubed chicken and brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes. Next, add the minced garlic, ginger, and bell pepper pieces and sauté for 2 more minutes. Finally, add the cooking sherry and deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot with the vent turned to the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the cooking time to 5 minutes.

When the cooking cycle is complete let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. Combine the cornstarch and 2 Tbs. of water in a separate dish to make a slurry. Press cancel to turn off the keep warm function and select the saute function again. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and saute for 5-8 minutes or until the sauce thickens and reaches your desired consistency. Serve over perfect Instant Pot jasmine rice or Basmati rice.

Instant Pot Pro Tips:

When you use the sauté function on the Instant Pot it is very important to deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot. The pot will sense stuck-on food, causing the burn error during the cook cycle. I really like this spatula for sautéing and deglazing my Instant Pot.

Whenever you use the sauté function on the Instant Pot it is always important to deglaze the pot so that the sensor does not think there is food burning during the cook cycle. I really like this spatula for sautéing and deglazing my Instant Pot.

Use shortcuts! For this recipe, I used pre-minced garlic and ginger puree. They are most commonly found in the fresh produce section and last for 6 months in the refrigerator. I’ll be the first to admit I hate messing with fresh garlic and ginger but I don’t want to sacrifice the taste of fresh garlic and herbs so using minced ginger and That’s Tasty Brand Organic ginger puree is a huge time saver, not to mention way less mess.