This cashew chicken stir fry with broccoli is a weeknight hero! Ready in just about 30 minutes, it starts with boneless chicken breast pieces, broccoli and cashews all tossed together with udon noodles in an easy and delicious Asian sauce.
If you’re in the mood for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that’s both comforting and full of flavour, this one-pan noodle stir fry is it! With chunks of chicken, broccoli and cashews, all tossed together with noodles, this one-pan meal always satisfies.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Chicken – I’ve used boneless chicken breast here, but boneless chicken thighs will work just as well.
Noodles – I love udon noodles for this noodle stir-fry. For udon noodles, you can use shelf-stable udon noodles, which can be added directly to the pan or opt for fresh or frozen udon that needs just a few minutes in boiling water before adding to the pan. Other Asian noodles (cooked to package directions) or even spaghetti noodles (pre-boiled) would work nicely.
Broccoli – A bit of broccoli is the perfect addition to this dish, but spinach or green beans would also work nicely in this stir-fry.
Cashews – It would be cashew chicken without cashews, but in a pinch, peanuts would work. You can use salted or unsalted roasted cashews. In a pinch, salted or unsalted peanuts could be used.
How to make chicken cashew udon noodles
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below when making this recipe.
- Heat some oil in a skillet and briefly cook the garlic and ginger. Add the chicken, broccoli and cashews to the skillet.
- Cook the chicken and broccoli over medium-high heat.
- Cook until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package instructions
- Add the noodles to the skillet and pour the sauce over the top.
- Toss all the ingredients with the sauce to coat well. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe tips!
- I love udon noodles, but any long noodle will work just fine here, even spaghetti! Just cook according to the package instructions before adding to the skillet.
- I add the broccoli from the start, as I prefer a softer broccoli. If you’d like a more tender-crispy broccoli, delay adding the broccoli for a few minutes.
- The secret is in the sauce! If using extra ingredients in your noodle stir fry, you may want to double the sauce.
- Speaking of the sauce, it can be as spicy or not as you like. The Sambal Oelek is bringing the heat, so adjust the amount added to the sauce to your tolerance for spiciness.
- This stir fry doesn’t necessarily need a side, but certainly a green salad or a marinated cucumber salad would be a good fit.
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Get the Recipe: Chicken Cashew Noodles
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1-2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek, or Asian Chili Garlic Sauce or Sriracha, to taste for heat *see Note 1 below
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, or tamari
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, seasoned or unseasoned
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark
For the stir fry:
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 cloves garlic cloves, finely chopped *see Note 2 below
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 10-12 oz boneless chicken breasts, about 2 medium breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (or 4-5 boneless chicken thighs)
- 5 oz fresh broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces, about 2 cups
- 2 oz cashews, salted or unsalted, about 1/2 cup
- 14 oz (400 g) udon noodles, or any long noodle *see Note 3 below
For serving:
- 2 green onions, green part only, thinly sliced, to serve
- sesame seeds, to serve
- chilli oil or additional chili sauce, optional, to serve
Instructions
- Start a large pot of water to boil to cook the udon noodles, if needed (generally frozen or fresh udon needs to be boiled. Cook per the instructions on the package.) Shelf-stable udon noodles can be simply soaked in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes to loosen them up before adding to the stir fry.
- Make the sauce by stirring together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.
- Tip! I add the broccoli from the start, as I enjoy it softer. If you'd like a more tender-crisp broccoli, wait to add it after the chicken has cooked for a minute or so.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken, broccoli and cashews and cook for 2 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Add boiled or soaked udon noodles to the skillet, then add the sauce. Toss well to coat the noodles with sauce. Cook for an additional couple of minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is thoroughly cooked through. *If using shelf-stable udon, they may benefit from another minute of cooking time to cook through.
- Serve topped with the green onion, sesame seeds and chilli oil.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
