Faster than takeout and definitely better for you than takeout, this fun spin on cashew chicken has 38g protein, 6g fiber, and just 9g fat per serving. It combines ready-to-eat Thai wheat noodles with a simple ground chicken stir fry and cashew chicken sauce.
There’s zero veggie chopping or prep work required thanks to a few convenience ingredients, making this a truly easy meal that’s ready in 15 minutes or less.
Ingredient Rundown
You will notice all the ingredients pictured below are from Trader Joe’s, but you can definitely find alternatives at other grocery stores. All the ingredients are pretty standard fare. The frozen fire roasted peppers and the Thai wheat noodles are the only two slightly unique to TJ’s ingredients.
Thai Wheat Noodles
I would swap the wheat noodles for an instant udon or any other chewy wheat noodle. The TJ’s noodles are fully cooked and have the option of just throwing straight in a stir fry. You may need to boil other instant noodle options for a few minutes.
Frozen Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions
Any frozen pepper and onion blend works in place of the fire roasted peppers. Swap the peppers for a frozen stir fry veggie blend or even fresh peppers and onions that you sauté beforehand, if you prefer.
Cashew Chicken Sauce
Hoisin sauce, coconut aminos, sriracha, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger make up the sauce. Different ratios of these ingredients make up most of my sauces for noodle dishes, so stock up. You can make sticky hoisin steak noodles and gochujang beef noodles next.
You also need cashews, of course. My recipe opts for roasted cashew halves since they go in with the sauce at the end instead of being stir fried in a super hot wok. While the recipe calls for just 1/2 cup of cashews, I recommend bumping that up to 3/4 or 1 full cup if you have some calories to spare.
Serving and Final Notes
I like garnishing these noodles with some TJ’s chili onion crunch or chili oil. Feel free to add some sliced green onion, but I promised no veggie chopping or knife work. Maybe freeze dried chives? I think the alliums in the chili oil do enough.
And that’s all the notes I have for you. It’s an easy recipe, and I hope you enjoy it! If you’re a regular TJ’s shopper and want some more easy recipe ideas, check out my high protein Trader Joe’s guide. I keep a running list with 25+ high protein meals to make with TJ’s ingredients.
Don’t forget to leave a recipe review or tag me on Instagram with your masterpiece. – Mason
Cashew Chicken Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Chicken or Turkey
- 1 bag (14 oz) Frozen Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions
- ½ cup (56g) Roasted Cashew Halves
- 2 packs (7 oz each) Trader Joe's Thai Wheat Noodles see notes
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup (72g) Hoisin Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
- 4 Frozen Crushed Garlic Cubes or 4 cloves garlic
- 2 Frozen Crushed Ginger Cubes or 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
Instructions
- Mix the hoisin, coconut aminos, vinegar, sriracha, garlic, and ginger together. Set aside.
- Heat the noodles according to the instructions on the packaging. (I microwaved two packs of TJ’s wheat noodles for 1 minute.) Set aside.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat with cooking spray or a teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the ground chicken or turkey and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown on one side before breaking apart with a spatula and fully cooking.
- Add the frozen peppers to the fully cooked chicken. Cook until the peppers have thawed and very little liquid remains, another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sauce and cashews to the pan, stirring everything together. Once everything is evenly coated in the sauce, add the noodles. Toss everything together and serve.
