Whole 30 Cashew Chicken Curry is dinner in a hurry! With a single sheet pan, you’ve got dinner made.
Do you ever feel late to the party?
The appropriate hashtag that I need to use when someone asks me that is: #SOML
I’m the person that makes vegan banana ice cream with cookie dough, liiiiiike, 2 years after it is totally cool and trendy.
I am also the girl who decides to FINALLY try making paleo pecan pie bars because, in her 26 years of walking this planet will call earth, she has NEVER tried pecan pie.
LIIIIKE WHAT? I can’t keep up.
This is exactly what happened with this Sheet Pan Whole30 Cashew Curry Chicken.
You probably caught the sheet pan dinner bug WAYYYYYYY back in the fall last year when Pinterest started blowing up your feed with delicious dinner creations like one pan honey roasted turkey and vegetables and one pan roasted chicken and vegetables for two
Aaaaand now I’m like “Hi, I made you a sheet pan dinner about 6 months too late, so I really hope you’re still diggin’ them”
Like I said, #SOML is appropriate.
But, you GUYS. Even if you’re getting tired of easy dinners that only take one pan (and, if you are, WHO ARE YOU?!) you MUSTMUSTMUST devour this mish-mash of spicy, tender roasty vegetables that sit under a bed of JUICY-on-the-inside and MEGA crispy-crunchy-curry-chicken YUM on the outside.
Not to mention it’s approved for all you SUPER BRAVE January whole30 goers. ßSRSLY, major round of applause to you.
I like testing the boundaries of just how healthy I can eat and all, but there is nothing that can part me from starting my day with chocolate overnight oats.
You first got introduced to my idea of crusting chicken in nuts, instead of things like flour, back when we munched on pistachio crusted chicken….whiiiiich I have basically been dreaming about forever and ever because WHY DO NUTS MAKE EVERYTHING SO MUCH MORE DELICIOUS.
Which is where the idea of cashew-crusted chicken came bursting inside my little recipe-creating brain. OBVI with curry. If the pumpkin quinoa curry, Thai curry cashews and sweet potato coconut curry didn’t tip you off that spicy-dinner-lovin’ is what my belly craves, then I wonder about the thinking status of your brain.
Anyway.
The roasty-toasty nutty flavor of the spiced-cashew-chicken-hug, in combination with notes of coconut-covered soft vegetables that you’re about to put in your mouth, is basically EVERYTHING that you THINK your easy-delicious-dinner-loving-inner-soul could want.
Spicy mega flavor? CHECK. Saucy goodness from bursts of juicy cooked tomato?
OH YES. Texture overload happening inside your food-munchin’ face? MOST DEFINITELY.
Just when you’re going to declare that this is the best STUPID-EASY weeknight chicken dinner that your healthy-food lovin’ self has ever had the happiness of eating, the SUPER REFRESHING cucumber hits you RIGHT THERE.
It balances alllll the warm curry feels that are happening inside your tummy in way that can only be described as the most perfect marriage of food EVER.
Cucumber may not be the most traditional addition to Indian food, but if it’s good? IT’S GOOD.
I have a question for you?
Where are my super-busy-after-work don’t-have-time-to-cook-but-so-HANGRY humans at?
This one goes out to you.
Planning a dinner party and need some inspiration?
How about looking for a new slow cooker dinner idea?
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We’re chatting cooking techniques, dessert ideas, and everything in between. If you’re already a member, invite your friends to join us too!
Whole 30 Cashew Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups Cauliflower cut into florets
- 2 large Fresh Tomato quartered (like Hot House tomatoes)
- 1 medium Red Onion roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil melted
- 1 tablespoon Yellow Curry Powder plus 1/2 teaspoon, divided
- Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 2/3 cup Roasted Cashews (salted)
- 1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (4 small breasts)
- 1 large Egg White
- 2 cups Cucumber thinly sliced and halved
- Chopped Fresh Mint for garnish
- Minced Fresh Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F.
- Place the cauliflower florets, quartered tomatoes and chopped red onion into a large bowl. Toss with the coconut oil and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp of the curry powder, reserving the rest for later, until well combined and the curry powder is evenly dispersed. Place on a large, rimmed baking sheet in one layer and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Add the remaining curry powder, the cashews and a pinch of salt and pepper into a SMALL food processor (mine is 3 cups) and pulse until broken down, but leaving some cashews a little chunky for texture.
- Dry the chicken breasts off and place the egg white into a shallow, sided plate. Additionally, place the cashews into a shallow, sided plate. Dredge a chicken in the egg white, gently shaking off any excess, and then press into the cashews. Flip and press the other side into the cashews, lightly pressing to adhere cashews both sides of the chicken.
- Place the chicken breast onto a small cooling rack (one that fits on your sheet pan, and preferably one with legs so it sits over the veggies. This allows both sides of the chicken to cook and get crispy.) Repeat with the remaining breasts.
- Place the cooling rack on top of the sheet pan, over top of the veggies, and bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, which takes about 14-15 minutes.
- Once cooked, toss the fresh cucumbers onto the pan, and garnish with mint and cilantro.
- DEVOUR.