This easy Gluten Free Cashew Chicken with Broccoli makes a perfect high protein meal. It is cooked in a healthy homemade stir fry sauce, which comes together easily with a few basic ingredients. You can serve it with rice, or just on its own for a low carb option.
As far as chicken stir fries go, this one is pretty simple to make. The sauce is made in a jar, so all you have to do is shake the sauce ingredients together. Plus, the vegetable preparation is simplified by just using broccoli and onion.
What is stir fry sauce made of?
This stir fry sauce is made with the following ingredients to achieve that delicious combination of salty, sweet and spicy:
- Tamari: Adds saltiness to the sauce. Tamari is a gluten-free alternative to traditional soy sauce. You can use soy sauce if you don’t need the recipe to be gluten free.
- Chicken stock: Provides a beautiful savory note to the sauce. Since only a small amount of stock is needed, you can leave it out if you don’t have any.
- Maple syrup: To balance out the salty and spicy flavors of the sauce. You could use another liquid sweetener like honey or brown rice syrup if you prefer.
- Garlic: I add two cloves of garlic to the sauce. Make sure to finely mince or crush the garlic to avoid large chunks.
- Fresh ginger: Adds fresh heat to the sauce. Like the garlic, you want to mince the ginger. I mince it using a fine microplane grater. If you don’t have fresh ginger, you could substitute one teaspoon of ginger powder.
- Red chili flakes: To add spicy heat to the sauce. The amount used in the recipe gives a mild level of spice. You can leave it out if you don’t like spice, or add more if you like your sauces extra spicy.
- Black pepper: Adds another savory note to the sauce. Freshly cracked black pepper is ideal. I only add pepper, and no salt to the sauce, since the tamari is salty enough.
Why coat chicken in flour before stir frying?
When making a chicken stir fry, you want the sauce to coat each piece of chicken. The best way to achieve this is by coating, or dredging, the chicken in flour before stir frying. The flour helps the stir fry sauce thicken and stick to the chicken. It also helps you get a crust on the chicken and prevents the chicken from drying out.
The best flours for this purpose are actually starches. Tapioca flour, also known as tapioca starch, is what I use in this cashew chicken recipe. It’s made from the root of the cassava plant and is gluten free and grain free.
Alternatively, you can use arrowroot flour. Arrowroot flour, also known as arrowroot starch, is also a starch derived from plants. Like tapioca flour, it is also gluten free and grain free. Corn starch will also work if that’s what you have at home.
Ingredients for gluten free cashew chicken
- Chicken breast: I usually use chicken breast in this recipe. However, chicken thighs will also work. Just make sure the chicken is skinless and boneless since we are cooking it quickly.
- Broccoli: I use a small head of broccoli cut into florets. You could also use broccolini if you prefer and cut it into pieces of a similar size to broccoli florets.
- Brown onion: These are usually easy to find. However, you can use any type of onion. White onion or red onion both work well.
- Tapioca flour: To coat the chicken before frying. It helps the sauce thicken and stick to the chicken. You can also use arrowroot flour or corn starch instead of tapioca flour.
- Avocado oil: To fry the chicken and vegetables. Avocado oil works well for higher heat cooking since it has a high smoke point.
- Raw cashew nuts: Raw and unsalted cashew nuts work best in this cashew chicken recipe. They also provide some good fats to make the recipe more filling.
- Homemade stir fry sauce: I make my own stir fry sauce as mentioned above. Making your own is usually healthier and allows you to adjust the spice level to suit your taste. However, you could use a store-bought sauce if there is one that you enjoy.
More healthy meal ideas
- Parsley Pesto Pasta with Cashews
- Gluten Free Zucchini Fritters with Feta
- Shakshuka with Fresh Tomato and Spinach
- Easy Hummus without Lemon and Garlic
- Easy Gluten Free Flatbread
Check out the Dinner Recipes page for more healthy meal ideas.
Gluten Free Cashew Chicken with Broccoli Recipe
Serves
2
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Ingredients
For the stir fry sauce:
- 3 tbsp / 45 ml / 45 g tamari
- 2 tbsp / 30 ml / 30 g chicken stock
- 1 tbsp / 15 ml / 20 g maple syrup
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- Dash of black pepper
For the stir fry:
- 1 small brown onion
- 1 small head of broccoli
- 10.5 oz / 300 g chicken breast, boneless and skinless
- 3 tbsp / 22 g tapioca flour (or arrowroot flour or cornstarch)
- 2 tbsp / 30 ml avocado oil
- 1/3 cup / 48 g raw cashew nuts
Method
- Prepare the stir fry sauce by adding all of the sauce ingredients to a jar and shaking until well combined. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Cut the broccoli into florets.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces about 1 inch / 2.5 cm wide (see Note 1). Sprinkle over the tapioca flour and toss until each piece of chicken is well coated.
- Heat the avocado oil in a well seasoned skillet or non-stick frying pan (see Note 2) over a medium heat. Add the chicken in one layer and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, flipping each piece regularly, until it’s just cooked through.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 1 minute, then add the broccoli. Cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, stirring regularly, for tender-crisp broccoli.
- Put the chicken back into the pan and add the sauce and the cashew nuts. Toss everything together and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve on its own or with rice.
Notes
- Cutting the chicken – I cut the chicken into pieces using kitchen scissors. This allows me to snip the chicken straight into a bowl, rather than getting out a chopping board. You can watch how I do this in the recipe video above.
- Skillet or frying pan – I recommend using a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or a non-stick frying pan. Chicken is more likely to stick to stainless steel or new cast iron skillets that are not well seasoned.
- Leftovers – This recipe is best served straight away. However, leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 serve (excluding rice)
- Energy: 571 Calories / 2391 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 27.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 39 g
- Dietary Fiber: 4.8 g
- Sugars: 13.7 g
- Protein: 57.9 g
- Sodium: 1284 mg
- Potassium: 968 mg
Great dish. Easy to prepare and very tasty Husband made it in no time and was delicious. Will do it again
I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂