This easy Sweet and Sour Chicken is made with crispy chicken, bell peppers, onion, pineapple, and a quick and easy Sweet and Sour Sauce. It's simple and a meal the whole family will enjoy.
Check out more of my Chinese-Inspired recipes. I love Mongolian Beef, Chow Mein, General Tso's Chicken, and Kung Pao Shrimp!
Why I love this recipe:
- Delicious – Whenever we're craving take-out flavors from home, this sweet and sour chicken tops the list. I first made this recipe over a decade ago, from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, and this adapted version has been a family favorite ever since. It's definitely not authentic like this recipe, but it uses simple ingredients and is always devoured.
- The Sauce – nothing beats simple sauces made from home and this easy sweet and sour is no exception. It tastes so much better than anything bottled in the grocery store, and I love knowing the ingredients added.
- Make Ahead – I love to prep this recipe ahead, so It comes together effortlessly at dinner time.
How to make Sweet and Sour Chicken:
Prep Chicken: Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks then season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a large Ziploc bag; add the chicken pieces then toss to coat the chicken evenly.
Dip Chicken: In a shallow bowl beat the eggs together. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Dip the chicken pieces in the beaten eggs and place them carefully in the hot skillet (you may need to coat and cook the chicken in batches), and cook for just about one minute on each side, until golden and crispy, but not cooked through.
Bake: Add chicken to a large rimmed baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-17 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Sauté Veggies: Meanwhile, add the bell peppers and onion to the skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add pineapple.
How to make Sweet and Sour Sauce: Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl then pour into the skillet with the veggies. Cook, stirring, until thickened.
Serve: Remove chicken from oven then pour sauce and veggies over the top. Toss to coat. Serve homemade sweet and sour chicken immediately with hot steamed white or brown rice.
Make Ahead Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Cut the chicken and chop veggies ahead of time, storing seperatly in the fridge. Make the sauce 1 to 2 days a head of time, stored in the fridge. then store it in the fridge. You can also cut up the veggies ahead of time to make this a super fast meal!
Try more of my Chinese-Inspired Favorites:
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Mongolian Beef
- Chow Mein
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Lettuce Wraps
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Hibachi Chicken
- Kung Pao Shrimp
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Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1 inch chunks
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 3 large eggs , beaten
- 1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola), or more as needed
- 2 bell peppers , red and green, chopped into large chunks
- 1/2 sweet onion , chopped into large chunks
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 5 or 6 cups hot cooked rice
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Coat chicken: Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks and season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a large resealable bag; add the chicken pieces and toss to coat the chicken evenly.
- Dip chicken:Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs together. Dip chicken pieces in beaten eggs and place on hot skillet
- Cook: Add chicken pieces to hot pan (may need to cook in batches) and cook for about one minute on each side, until golden and crispy, but not cooked through.
- Bake: Add chicken to a large rimmed baking dish and bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Veggies: Meanwhile, add the bell peppers and onion to the skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add pineapple.
- Sauce: Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl then pour into the skillet with the veggies. Cook, stirring, until thickened.
- Serve: Remove chicken from oven and pour sauce and veggies over the top. Toss to coat. Serve immediately with hot steamed white or brown rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe August 2014. Updated January 2019 and March 2024.
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Tastes really good to me! Now however I have a ton of tasty leftovers, as I live by myself.
My kids loved this! I would like to add more veggies next time! I personally used tamari and garlic powder instead of garlic salt and low sodium soy. The salts in tamari and the amino acids are a requirement for longevity whereas the salt used in garlic salt is most likely basic table salt. Nutritional yeast is another way to get those important amino acids!
Loved this recipe! Cooked this for my 79 yr old dad and he loved it even more than the Mongolian Beef…and he LOVED the Mongolian Beef!
So yummy. Made the recipe as is. Adding it to our meal plan.
Thank you!
Made this recipe this last weekend with chicken thighs, think her suggestion for chicken breasts would be better for more consistent size pieces. Very good, will make again soon, add more vegetables than you think you will need as they melt into the chicken and sauce and are very good.
The sauce had waaaaay too much of a ketchup flavor. Not sure why ketchup is being used to make sweet & sour sauce but it was not good.
It was a tasty recipe, but I would reduce the amount of apple cider vinegar-feedback from the kids and husband were that it was the predominant taste.
They still went back for seconds, so not a fail by any means!
I really loved this recipe! I made it for lunch today and plan on using the leftovers for more lunches! Note for myself : I used rice wine vinegar.
Very tangy. Chicken delicious. I will cut back on sugar and vinegar next time but great easy recipe. Loved the coated chicken – will use that in more recipes
Very good! Very sweet – if you’ve been cutting back on sugar or don’t have a sweet tooth, I’d suggest reducing the sugar in the sauce. Chicken very moist – thank you!
Thank you for another great recipe I cant wait to try. If you can in the future make it so when the recipe is printed it all fits on one page. When I went to print this one it was going to be 3 pages.