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Keto Cashew Chicken

I only dirty one big pan (my favorite pan) to make this recipe, but I do it in a few different steps.
Note that more oil instead of butter can be substituted below if you'd like, or you could use avocado oil, a little olive oil, or this (unflavored) coconut oil can be substituted for sesame oil too.  I just like to use sesame oil for Asian dishes.
Also, if you don't have all of the veggies on-hand, it's okay, just use what you have.
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Ingredients

For the veggies & crunch:

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 cups roughly-chopped cashews, soaked/dried nuts are best-see this crispy nuts recipe
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
  • About 1 onion chopped
  • About 1-2 shallots chopped
  • A few garlic cloves, about 5-6, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon or so of fresh ginger or 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
  • About 2 bell peppers, whatever color you have, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 handful sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrots or whatever else you'd like to throw in there, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 4-5 green onions chopped

For the chicken:

  • About 4# boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (don't have a good local source for healthy pastured chicken, beef, pork, etc.? Click here for a safe online source.)
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

For the sauce:

  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger (or more fresh ginger, cut into small pieces)
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or any Asian flavored balsamic vinegar you may have
  • 1/4 cup Tamari or soy sauce or coconut aminos
  • 2 Tablespoons chili-garlic sauce if you have one with a clean ingredient label, it's also good without if you can't find it
  • Sea salt and pepper to your taste

Rice

Instructions

  • If you're serving with rice, start that first. Then melt butter in a big pan (again, I use my favorite pan for this!), add the oil and cashews and start to stir around until they just start to get a little golden, then add the sesame seeds.  Keep stirring and keep heat low-medium so they don't burn.  Once it's all toasted nicely, remove from the pan into a glass/ceramic bowl.
  • Next cook onions and shallots in the butter and sesame oil until starting to get golden, then add in the garlic and ginger and saute 2 more minutes.  Toss in the bell peppers and/or other veggies 'til they just start to get soft.  Remove everything from the pan into a separate glass/ceramic bowl.
  • Next cook chicken with oil, butter, ginger, and salt until chicken is no longer pink, about 4 minutes or so on each side.  Remove from the pan into the glass dish with the veggies.
  • Start adding the sauce ingredients to the same pan and stir around.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients back in except the cashews and sesame seeds.  Taste-test and add more of the sauce ingredients if you think it needs it, maybe add a little more salt and pepper.
  • Serve with cashews, sesame seeds, and green onions on top.  I also served it over rice for the family but I ate just the meat and veggies to make it a low-carb meal.  :)
  • Enjoy!