Healthy Baked Chicken with Creamy Cashews Sauce
BAKED CHICKEN WITH CREAMY CASHEWS SAUCE
This baked chicken with creamy cashew sauce and asparagus is a healthy version of traditional chicken parmesan for people who can’t eat dairy. It’s delicious, packed with protein and good fat, and easy to make. This fantastic creamy cashew sauce gives the dish so much flavor that you want to eat more! It is a perfect homemade meal, and the dinner recipe is a must-try.
This baked chicken with creamy cashews sauce is chicken topped with fresh chopped cilantro and ensured to delight. You are going to love this recipe! It is dairy-free, Whole30, and paleo without sacrificing any flavor. Served on roasted asparagus for a nice crunch. It doesn’t get much better than that!
How To Make Baked Chicken with Creamy Cashews Sauce
- Prepare the Sauce: Blend-soaked cashews, lemon juice, fresh basil, coconut milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, sage, salt, black pepper, and chicken broth together in a high-speed blender until smooth so that no cashew pieces are remaining and set aside.
- Cook the Chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 F . Season the chicken breasts well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on both sides. Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Sauté the chicken breasts on each side for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is browned. Move the cooked chicken breasts to a plate and set them aside.
- Cook the Asparagus: In the same skillet, melt the butter, ghee, or olive oil over medium heat and sauté the asparagus for 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and pour the sauce over it. Move the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Serve hot, and enjoy!
Serving
This Baked Chicken with Creamy Cashews Sauce is simply mouthwatering all on its own. But if you’re looking to make a whole meal from it, consider serving it with roasted asparagus, vegetable noodles, cauliflower rice, mashed root vegetables, or roasted vegetables on the side.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 1 month.
- Reheat by letting it thaw in the refrigerator, then warming in a skillet over medium-low heat or in the oven at 350 F for 10 minutes.
For a vegan twist on this recipe, you can serve the cashew sauce over pasta or veggie noodles with crispy tofu or tempeh instead of chicken. Feel free to get as creative as you like with this sauce.
Please note that this cashew sauce requires you to soak your raw cashews for about 3 hours at room temperature before using them. Soaking nuts make the sauce more creamy and easier to digest.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews soaked and drained
- 2 tbsp olive oil ghee or butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 oz fresh basil
- 1 tbsp fresh sage
- onion powder
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Soak unsalted cashews in a small bowl covered with water for 4 hours at room temperature
PREPARE THE SAUCE:
- Melt olive oil, butter or ghee, and garlic until slightly brown in a large cast-iron pan.
- Add veggie stock, soaked-and-drained cashews, nutritional yeast, basil, sage, and coconut milk, to the pan. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring gently. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper. (For a bit of spice, throw in a pinch of red pepper flakes, too.)
- Transfer ingredients to a blender and blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy (no chunks). You can pour the sauce back into the pan to reduce the sauce to your liking. If sauce gets too thick, add some veggie stock to thin it back out.
PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brown chicken breasts in a skillet for 8-10 minutes on each side.
- Move the cooked chicken breasts to a plate and set them aside.
- When your asparagus is ready, transfer the chicken on the top of the asparagus, pour the sauce over and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and garnish it with fresh basil and lemon. Serve and enjoy!