A healthy alternative to Chinese take-out, this Cashew Chicken Stir Fry with Sugar Snap Peas + Kale combines garlic, soy sauce, and a bit of honey for a comforting and saucy bowl of stir fry. Packed with flavorful bites of chicken, kale, spinach, crunchy sugar snap peas, and cashews, you’ll add this to your busy weeknight dinner rotation.
In the summer, I can get lazy with food preparation. It’s easy to tell myself I’ll make a quick salad, and then the reality sets in around 5 PM that I want more than a bowl of raw veggies. On weeks that I can cook up some proteins and grains to keep in the fridge, I feel more prepared for that last minute dinner or craving.
This Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is a recipe that I rely on, in some form or another, whenever we have leftover cooked chicken breasts or a package of tofu in the fridge. Don’t worry, it is still a quick meal even if you need to poach a chicken breast before beginning!
Start some quinoa or quick-cooking rice before you start the rest of the recipe for a meal your family will love. I recommend the pantry-stable packets of microwaveable rice/quinoa, or the pre-cooked frozen versions, which are both great time savers.
For the same reason that I created my Healthy Veggie Fried Rice recipe, I worked on my favorite sauce so that I had a simple 20 minute meal option for when I want to lay on the couch and order Chinese.
The 6 ingredient stir fry sauce relies on pantry staples to create a healthier dish: garlicky, salty, and a bit sweet. Note that there are no thickeners in this recipe, so it is a thin sauce, but i find that plenty of the sauce soaks into the veggies and chicken, with some leftover in the pan to pour over rice if you desire.
Feel free to bulk this recipe up further with veggies – I used a mix of spinach and kale, but any dark leafy greens or Asian-friendly veggies (mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots and onion, bell pepper, etc) would be great here.
- 2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
- 2 tablespoons water or chicken broth
- ¼ cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1-2 garlic cloves (depending on the size), finely minced
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 cups packed baby spinach and/or kale
- 2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce
- 2 heaping cups sugar snap peas, cut into pieces
- ½ cup whole unsalted cashews
- Poach a large chicken breast for this recipe if you do not have cooked chicken on hand. Dice or shred it and set aside.
- Combine tamari, garlic, rice vinegar, honey, and sriracha in a pan on low heat. Whisk until honey is incorporated.
- Dice sugar snap peas and add them, as well as the chicken and cashews, to the pan. Cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring until the chicken begins to absorb the sauce and sauce cooks down a bit.
- Roughly chop spinach and kale and add them to the pan. Stir everything together for 1-2 minutes until the greens are just wilted and hot.
- Adjust seasonings and serve over a bed of rice.
The truth is, take out doesn’t taste the same to me anymore after making similar and healthier flavors. As long as I keep some protein and greens around, this meal is crazy simple.
Let me know by tagging me (@uprootkitchen) or sending me a picture if you recreate this meal idea!
Marisa
Lauren says
This is magically perfect. I have snap peas and kale to use up (and have cashew on hand!)-totally making this for dinner this week!
Marisa says
So excited that you made the recipe already Lauren – you are a rockstar! Would love to hear your review of the flavors – and great substitution with green beans too.
Carly @ FitLiving blog says
This looks delicious! Cashew chicken is my favorite to order off the menu, and I bet it will be even better when homemade. I am definitely pinning to add to my meal plan for next week. Thanks for the recipe!
Marisa says
Glad to hear it, Carly! Let me know how you like it and come back and leave a review! xo
Carly @ FitLiving blog says
Definitely! Thanks 🙂
Liz says
Yum! this look delicious. I love healthy stir-frys!
Marisa says
Thanks Liz! It’s so fun to remake and healthify my favorite meals.
Sara @ Oats & Rows says
I’ve been craving some stir fry and this looks absolutely perfect and healthy..cannot wait to make this!
Marisa says
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it, Sara! I’m always craving healthy Asian food!