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Spicy Chicken Cashew Zucchini Noodles

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Spicy Chicken Cashew Zucchini Noodles are a great healthy meal option. Easy to make, ready in less than 30 minutes. Gluten free and paleo-friendly.

zucchini noodles in bowl with peppers and chicken, next to light striped napkin and green onions

Perfect 30 Minute Dinner

If you’re looking for a quick and simple dinner idea, cashew zucchini noodles are perfect!

I love adding zucchini noodles to dishes like these because not only are they healthy but cheap, easy and delicious as well!

I’m also a huge fan of making stir fry at home – you can use vegetables you have on hand, throw together a flavorful sauce and the meal is so satisfying.

Ingredients Needed

Most of the ingredients you need are for your sauce – spicy cashew butter sauce with lots of flavor from the ginger and garlic, coconut aminos and molasses.

And then for your vegetables you’ll need bell peppers, red onion and zucchini.

For the protein I went with chicken breast, but feel free to sub in your favorite plant based option. I have a tempeh recipe you could use in this post.

ingredients in bowls with text

How to Make Zucchini Noodles

  • Chop ends off of zucchini
  • Attach to Spiralizer (noodle maker, spiral slicer, etc. – whatever tool you’re using.)
  • Select blade thickness (spaghetti style in this case).
  • Spin to create the zoodles.

Once you’ve got your zoodles, lay on a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

zucchini noodles in spiralizer

TIP: Make sure to chop the ends of the zucchini flat and even, so when you stick the zucchini on the spiralizer, you don’t end up with half moons. You may find you have to adjust the zucchini throughout making the noodles.

Tips for Meal Prep

This recipe is easy to add into your meal prep rotation. You can chop the vegetables and marinate cubed chicken (or tempeh or tofu) the night before.

The zucchini noodles takes seconds to make but if prepping ahead of time, make sure to allow the noodles to rest on a paper towel in a storage container – this will allow the extra moisture to soak into the paper towel and keep the zoodles from getting soggy.

You can also make the sauce beforehand and store in the refrigerator – just add a little milk or water to thin slightly once ready to add into the pan.

close up of pan with peppers, onions, chicken and zucchini noodles, topped with cashews

More Healthy Dinner Recipes

hand using chopsticks in cashew zucchini noodles

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing from you and it helps others learn more about the recipe too.

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Spicy Chicken Cashew Zucchini Noodles

zucchini noodles in bowl with peppers and chicken, next to chopsticks
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 review

These Cashew Zucchini Noodles are a great healthy meal option. Easy to make, ready in less than 30 minutes. Gluten free and paleo-friendly. Use chicken or your favorite source of plant based protein for a vegan friendly meal.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tbs avocado oil
  • 2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb chicken breast, diced
  • 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup chopped orange bell pepper (1/2 medium)
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (1/2 medium)
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 2 medium zucchini,inspiralized
  • 2–3 green onions, chopped
  • cashews for garnish

for the sauce

  • 1/4 cup cashew butter
  • 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or tamari or soy sauce)
  • 1 TBS molasses or honey
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 cube fresh ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 TBS sriracha, or more to taste
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Make the sauce: In a small food processor or blender, add in all of the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  2. In a large skillet heat oil and red pepper flakes for about 1 minute. Add diced chicken and cook on medium heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and transfer to plate.
  3. In same skillet add peppers and onions. Cook on medium-high heat stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add in your zucchini noodles, chicken breast, and spicy cashew sauce and stir together. Garnish with green onions, cashews, and serve!

Notes

–Nutrition info is estimated and calculated for 4 large servings. Store leftovers in fridge and best enjoyed within 3 days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4
  • Calories: 355
  • Sugar: 14
  • Sodium: 417
  • Fat: 14
  • Saturated Fat: 2
  • Unsaturated Fat: 3
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 27
  • Fiber: 5
  • Protein: 32
  • Cholesterol: 65

Keywords: zucchini noodles, cashew chicken, healthy cashew chicken recipe

photography by About Dinner Thyme.

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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  1. Jess @hellotofit says

    It’s soooo easy for me to get into a cooking rut!! For a while I made the same three things every week. How do people do it?! It turned into me being like nope not gonna cook so then we ordered delivery…..YIKES. Last month I made a goal to try one new recipe per week, which is making cooking fun again 🙂
    These noodles look bommmmmmb!! And I found some plain cashews in the pantry so…time to make homemade nut butter with my REAL food processor that came last week!!

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Ah I saw your food processor and am so excited for you! And I like the new recipe once a week, that is a reasonable goal.

      Reply

  2. Emily says

    Ooh replacing part of the sauce with ‘sriracha’ was a good idea!

    And this ‘Read: messy kitchen (and face), fallen food on the floor, full notebook of recipe ideas, and countless trips to the grocery store.’

    I love following the life of a food blogger, because it’s so fun hearing about all the hard work that you put into each recipe. It’s such a blessing to get to be a part of hearing all about it!

    Reply

  4. Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says

    I love trying new things for dinner, since I’m often testing for the blog or trying out other bloggers’ recipes! That said, sometimes I just get “busy” enough that I fall back on huge hashes with eggs, sweet potatoes, and all the veggies. I made something similar to this tonight, and I’m definitely trying your version soon, too!

    Reply

  5. Cassie says

    My dinners are usually kale salads, tofu or a veggie stir fry with little to no variety! That’s why I can’t share a lot of recipes because they’re pretty much the same thing every day! I’m trying to get really creative in the kitchen as well–mostly for savory dishes!

    Reply