Juicy, tender chicken meatballs made with cashews, panko breadcrumbs, spices, and a super easy stir fry sauce. Perfectly cooked in 10 minutes!
In case you’re new here, you should already know how much I love quick, easy, flavorful meals. These cashew chicken meatballs are exactly that! Quick to put together, easy to make (on the stove top!), and sooo flavorful.
Cashews, chicken breast, stir fry sauce. It was delish! Plus it was simple to make…you know that’s my favorite kind of meal. But today, I wanted to make these cashew chicken meatballs next level.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Low sodium soy sauce. I prefer using low sodium so you can control the salt in the recipe. You can also use coconut aminos.
- Dry cooking wine.
- Sesame oil.
- Cornstarch. This is used to thicken the stir-fry sauce. You can also use arrowroot powder.
- Ground chicken.
- Garlic.
- Onion.
- Egg.
- Panko breadcrumbs.
- Fresh basil.
- Cashews.
How To Make Cashew Chicken Meatballs
- Make the stir fry sauce. In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Make the chicken mixture. In a large bowl, add ground chicken, garlic, onion, egg, panko breadcrumbs, fresh basil, cashews, and salt + pepper. Mix until well combined.
- Make the chicken meatballs. Form chicken mixture into meatballs (approx. 1-inch in diameter) using a medium cookie scoop so they are all the same size. Place on a plate.
- Cook the meatballs. In a skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil and cook meatballs over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs on all sides for about 4 minutes. Turn down heat to low heat. Add the soy sauce mixture and simmer for another 4-5 minutes, stirring the meatballs around until the soy sauce mixture thickens and meatballs are cooked through. Serve over rice with chopped cashews.
Tricks & Tricks
- Use this cookie scoop to form the meatballs. They will come out the same size every time. Once you scoop up the mixture, you do have to roll them by hand unless you don’t mind flat bottoms. But once you have them formed, you can cook them right away or…
- Freeze them! Yes, you can totally freeze these chicken meatballs without the sauce for up to 3 months! All you do is place the meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet then place the baking sheet in the freezer. Remove the sheet after about 2 hours (or when the meatballs are frozen) and transfer them to freezer-safe bags. Once you’re ready to brown/cook them, you make the sauce with the recipe, and dinner is served!
You can also freeze cooked meatballs too but honestly, there may not be any left after you make these bad boys!
Cookie Scoop
The easiest way to get perfectly uniform cookies or truffles! It’s also dishwasher safe, making clean up a breeze.
Common Questions about Chicken Meatballs
You can do either! The recipe below is for cooking meatballs on the stove. To bake these chicken meatballs, place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400ºF.
You gotta get your hands dirty! Make sure to combine all the ingredients with your hands in a bowl as that will help the meatballs stick together when it cooks.
Cooked chicken meatballs will last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
You may also like:
- 10-Minute Healthy Turkey Meatballs (No Breadcrumbs!)
- Cuban-Style Crispy Shredded Chicken (Vaca Frita de Pollo)
- Easy 20-Minute Baked Smoky Chicken Breast
- Cuban-Style Chicken Croquettes (Croquetas de Pollo)
Cashew Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup dry cooking wine
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/3 cup chopped cashews
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add ground chicken, garlic, onion, egg, panko breadcrumbs, fresh basil, cashews, and salt + pepper. Mix until well combined.
- Form chicken mixture into meatballs (approx. 1-inch in diameter) using a medium cookie scoop so they are all the same size. Place on a plate.
- In a skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil and cook meatballs over medium high heat. Brown meatballs on all sides for about 4 minutes. Turn down heat to low heat.
- Add the soy sauce mixture and simmer for another 4-5 minutes, stirring the meatballs around until the soy sauce mixture thickens and meatballs are cooked through. Serve over rice with chopped cashews. Enjoy!
Dawn says
This is a recipe I always come back to! I’m making it again today and noticed there is only one rating so I figured I should add mine in to help more people find this.
Jamie Silva says
So kind of you! Thank you! So happy you love this recipe!
Kankana says
We love meat or chicken balls specially in gravy and served with noodles. Adding cashew will add such an interesting bite. Lovely recipe.
Albert Bevia says
Such a clever idea turning that original dish into a chicken meatball! that is next-level stuff! this dish looks delicious with that rice
Jamie Silva says
Thanks so much, Albert! They really are beyond delicious!