Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

12 Comments

5 from 7 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
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Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken is a healthy version of Chinese takeout. Chicken stir fry in the same great sauce with less calories and work!

This new, healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe is great for light summer meal and busy weeknights when you need a Main Dish in less than 30 minutes!

Sabrina’s Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken

The only thing better than making classic Chinese food recipes at home is making them with a healthy twist. You get all the delicious flavors in a lightened up version, just like my wildly popular Ground Orange Chicken. This Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe is kid-friendly dish with little heat and just the right amount of tang. It’s made with common pantry items and no special ingredients to buy. This is an easy go-to recipe for busy weeknights or whenever you need dinner fast.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken is a healthy version of Chinese takeout. Chicken stir fry in the same great sauce with less calories and work!
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Chicken on plate with rice and wontons
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion , cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1/2 green bell pepper , cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1/2 red bell pepper , cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1 cup pineapple , diced

Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 4 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced

Instructions

  • To make the sauce, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic into a small bowl. Set aside.
  • To a large pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and ground chicken.
  • Cook until a good crust forms before breaking apart, then finish cooking by breaking it apart with a spatula and cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes.
  • Remove the chicken from the pan, leaving oil, or add 1 tablespoon oil if draining chicken.
  • Add the bell peppers, onion and pineapple and cook for 1-2 minutes, until crisp-tender.
  • Add the sauce to the pan and stir to coat everything, cooking for 30 seconds to warm the garlic.
  • Return chicken to the pan and toss to coat, cooking 1-2 more minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 314mg | Potassium: 754mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 432IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

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About this Recipe

Sweet and sour sauce is hands down one of the best sauces on earth. It’s tangy, it’s sweet, it goes on everything from meat to veggies to fried wontons. The sauce in this ground chicken recipe has no food coloring and less preservatives than traditional versions but it is just as delicious. You can double the sauce recipe, removing half before adding the chicken back to the pan, to use for later recipes.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken makes great meal prep, leftovers, and party food. There is no frying or cornstarch coating so you don’t have to worry about soggy breading when you reheat it. If you are doubling the recipe, cook the chicken in two batches so it gets that crispy crust.

How to Store

  • Serve: Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it needs to be stored.
  • Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
  • Freeze: Place cooled sweet and sour chicken in a sealed container, or freezer safe bag, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw chicken overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in a skillet.

Ideas to Serve

Serve with sides that soak up the delicious sauce like steamed rice and Chow Mein. Complete your dinner with a healthy veggie side like steamed super greens or roasted broccoli. Don’t forget sweet and sour sauce’s best friend, Spring Rolls!

Frequently Asked Questions

What vegetables can be added to Sweet and Sour Chicken?

Add your favorite stir fry veggies like broccoli, carrots, green onions, or snap peas. You can also use frozen veggies to save time chopping.

Can I substitute onions and peppers in Sweet and Sour Chicken?

If you don’t like onions or bell peppers, don’t skip them, their flavor is needed to balance out the sweetness. Instead try cooking them longer to soften their taste while still balancing out the sauce.

What other meats can I make with Sweet and Sour Sauce?

Try this recipe with ground pork or ground turkey! You could also use chopped chicken tenderloins, shrimp, or baked tofu. Or, make my Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe.

How can I make Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken with less sugar?

To reduce the refined sugar in recipe, swap out the granulated sugar with pure pomegranate juice. Use ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar so it’s not too tart.

More Delicious Ground Chicken Recipes

Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken collage

Photos used in previous versions of this post.

Chicken on plate with rice and wontons and skillet in background
Ground chicken in sauce in skillet
Chicken in skillet with spoon

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. A total lifesaver for busy weeknights! The balance of sweet and tangy is spot on, and it’s so much better than takeout.

    Reply

  3. Made this for my parents, my Dad is a picky eater. Everyone loved it! I didn’t have any green bell pepper but had orange and Red – they worked great for this.
    Served it with jasmine rice (used some roasted garlic flavored better than bouillon with the rice) and everyone scraped their plates clean. Definitely something I will make again.

    Reply

    2. I was a little worried about the taste because my sauce smelled so vinegary, but boy was I wrong! It turned out deliciously wonderful. Thank you for the great and easy recipe!

      Reply