Sweet and Sour Chicken
Skip the takeout – it’s easy to make the best Sweet and Sour Chicken at home! With bite-size chicken, veggies and pineapple in a tangy sweet and sour sauce, this recipe will have everyone at the table going back for seconds!
If you love sweet and sour chicken you may also enjoy these easy dinner recipes: Sesame Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple Chicken.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
These days, I much prefer making our favorite takeout recipes at home. Sure, you could go out for Chinese food and order sweet and sour chicken. But by making it at home your meal will be healthier, every bit as tasty, and you’ll know exactly what goes into it (no red food coloring here!). You can also add in an extra serving of vegetables – in this recipe you’ll find bell peppers and onions. The veggies are a nice contrast to the sweet sauce.
Coating the chicken in cornstarch and egg before adding it to the hot skillet helps it to brown and crisp as it cooks. If you’re in a rush, you can skip the egg and cornstarch and just season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Pineapple Juice: You’ll use the juice from a can of pineapple chunks in the sauce and then add the pineapple to the dish. Look for canned pineapple chunks in 100% juice at the grocery store.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: The vinegar brings the “sour” to the sweet and sour sauce.
- Ketchup: Ketchup adds sweetness, flavor and bring some signature red color to the sauce.
- Granulated & Brown Sugar: For sweetness.
- Soy Sauce: Adds salty, umami flavor. I recommend using a low sodium soy sauce.
- Garlic: If I can add fresh garlic to a recipe, I will! It enhances the flavor of the dish.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch makes the sauce thicken when you pour it into the hot pan.
Other Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: Chop it into 1-inch pieces.
- Cornstarch: Coating the chicken in cornstarch helps it to get slightly crispy. It won’t be as crispy as frying, but will be healthier and just as delicious.
- Eggs: Dipping the chicken in eggs also contributes to the brown, crispy coating on the chicken.
- Salt & Pepper: To season the chicken.
- Olive Oil: For cooking the chicken and vegetables. Avocado oil also works well.
- Bell Peppers: You’ll need one red bell pepper and one green bell pepper for a variety of flavors.
- Onion: I like to use a sweet yellow onion for its mild flavor.
- Canned Pineapple: Sweet pineapple goes perfectly with the other flavors in sweet and sour chicken.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
The key to making this sweet and sour chicken recipe is to prep all of the ingredients before you start cooking on the stove. Make the sauce, chop the vegetables and cut up the chicken. Then you’re ready to cook!
Make the sweet and sour sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients in a bowl or liquid measuring cup.
Put the cornstarch in one mixing bowl and whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper in another bowl. Coat the chicken first in the cornstarch and then in the egg mixture.
Cook the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the chicken, flipping the pieces over to brown them on all sides, until the chicken is cooked through. Then transfer the chicken to a clean plate.
Sauté the vegetables. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and sauté the bell peppers and onions until they start to soften.
Add the pineapple and sauce to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Then gently stir in the cooked chicken pieces.
Serve sweet and sour chicken with white rice, brown rice or fried rice, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and/or green onions, if desired.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe Tips
- You’ll need a large skillet to fit this recipe. I like to use a well seasoned cast iron skillet.
- Cut the chicken into pieces that are no larger than 1-inch so that the chicken pieces cook through quickly. You don’t want the coating to burn before the center is done.
- Be careful when flipping the chicken pieces so that the cornstarch and egg coating stays on the chicken.
- Stir the sauce again right before adding it to the pan, since the cornstarch tends to settle to the bottom of the bowl.
- As written, this recipe has just a little pineapple in the finished dish. If you want a lot of pineapple, use two 8-ounce cans of pineapple or one 20 ounce can.
You Might Also Enjoy these Stir Fry Recipes
- Shrimp Stir Fry
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Orange Chicken
- Broccoli Stir Fry
- Vegetable Stir Fry
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Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice, from the can of pineapple chunks
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Chicken
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Other Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small sweet yellow onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounce can pineapple chunks in 100% juice, save the juice for the sauce
- sesame seeds, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisking until well combined. Set aside.
- Place the ½ cup cornstarch in a medium mixing bowl.
- In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper.
- Coat the chicken pieces first in the cornstarch and then in the eggs, gently shaking off any excess.
- Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet (a cast iron skillet works well) over medium heat. Once hot, use tongs to add the coated chicken pieces to the pan. Cook until the chicken is browned and cooked through, flipping to help the chicken cook evenly, about 10 minutes. Be gentle when flipping the chicken pieces to keep the coating on the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add the bell peppers and onions to the pan and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the pineapple to the pan. Give the sauce one more whisk and then pour it into the skillet. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Gently stir the cooked chicken into the sauce. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Serve over rice, garnished with sesame seeds, or as desired.
Notes
- As written, this recipe has just a little pineapple in the finished dish. If you want a lot of pineapple, use two 8-ounce cans of pineapple or one 20 ounce can.
- Store leftover sweet and sour chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This was delicious…but am I able to freeze leftovers?
Thank you,
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
I’m glad you enjoyed this! I haven’t tried freezing it. I think it would freeze ok, but the texture (especially of the veggies) may be not as good after freezing.
Shouldn’t the chicken first be dipped in egg then in cornstarch?
No, first you dip it in cornstarch and then in the egg mixture.
Thanks Kristine. It turned out Great! Made a Double Batch of Sauce for 2 cups of Rice and 2 Chicken Breasts. Feeds 4 🙂
I really liked this recipe. Easy and better than the ones I’ve had at restaurants. I used less ketchup and brown sugar. It was perfect,not sticky sweet.