Sweet and Sour Chicken with crispy chicken, pineapple, and bell peppers tastes just like takeout without the food coloring. Try this today!
Sweet and Sour Pork and Sweet and Sour Chicken are classic Chinese takeout options many of us are too afraid to make at home. Cooking with woks can be intimidating, but my recipe will prove it is much easier to make than you would think!
Sabrina’s Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts , (about 4 pieces) cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs , beaten
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup pineapple chunks , cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 red bell pepper , cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 green bell pepper , cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 yellow onion , cut into 1-inch chunks
- vegetable oil , for frying
Sweet and Sour 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.
- Pour enough vegetable oil into a Dutch oven or frying pan so that comes up from the bottom about an inch and a half. Preheat on medium-high heat.
- Add the cornstarch to a large ziplock bag then add chicken pieces and shake until well coated.
- Dip the chicken pieces into the egg, then into the flour before adding to the hot oil. Add in batches so as not to have more than a single layer of it in the oil at a time.
- Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through and crispy.
- Remove to a cookie sheet (no paper towels!) and continue cooking the remaining batches of chicken.
- When done cooking remove all but a tablespoon of the oil, then add peppers, onion, and pineapple. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until crisp-tender.
- Add the chicken pieces and sauce, and stir until the sauce is thickened and bubbling.
- Serve immediately, with optional garnishes of sesame seeds or green onions.
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
About This Recipe
When I first started this blog, of all the Chinese Recipes that people asked for, the absolute top requested was sweet and sour chicken. I totally get it, it isn’t even just the recipe, but THAT SAUCE. When I was a teenager and I made this sauce for the first time I also actually started learning how to use chopsticks. So for a solid month (I kid you not, my mom was not thrilled with this), I used chopsticks for every meal and had a tiny little bowl of sauce to dip everything into it.
Chef’s Note
A word of advice: I don’t put the fried chicken on a paper towel to drain. While it may work to soak up the excess oil, it also causes it to steam and the batter on the chicken gets soft voiding our goal of crispy chicken pieces. You can use a paper towel to wipe off any oil from the cooking sheet after you’ve added them back to the wok.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Pounds Chicken Breasts: Cut into 1-inch chunks. You can use chicken thighs too.
- ½ Cup Cornstarch: This is used to create a base for the egg wash and flour to attach to.
- 2 Eggs and ¼ Cup Flour: These are the coating for the chicken.
- 1 Cup Pineapple Chunks: This is the secret ingredient that makes this recipe! Fresh or a can of drained pineapples both work.
- Vegetable Oil: This is used for frying. You can use a neutral oil like canola or sunflower oil.
- Vegetables: Red and green bell peppers, both cut into 1-inch chunks, add vibrant color and a mix of sweet and slightly bitter flavors. These can be substituted with other peppers or zucchini for a different texture. The onion, also cut into 1-inch chunks, provides aromatic flavor and slight sharpness; red onion or shallots are good alternatives.
- Sweet and Sour Sauce: White and brown sugar bring the sweet base with a hint of molasses; either dark or light brown sugar or coconut sugar can also be used. Apple Cider Vinegar is absolutely critical for bringing the sour flavor. Rice vinegar is a suitable substitute. Ketchup adds the base tomato flavor and natural red color. You can also use equal parts tomato paste. Soy Sauce can be substituted with tamari or coconut aminos which are also gluten-free. Garlic can be substituted with 2 teaspoons of garlic powder if fresh garlic is unavailable.
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
- Wok: Great for high heat, and quick cooking. A wok is a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir fries in general.
- Large Frying Pan: I use a Cuisinart for most of my non-cast iron cooking unless I am going with a stainless steel option, then I choose my All-Clad.
- Frying Spider Strainer: A frying spider strainer is the quickest and easiest way to scoop out items that are fried without wasting too much time or getting too much oil out of the pan. You won’t have pieces burning like you would with a smaller strainer, plus it is SO inexpensive. I use it for almost all of my small fried items.
Can This Be Made Ahead?
This dish is best served fresh. If it isn’t served immediately the coating will soften and become soggy. You can easily store a batch in the fridge for up to 3 days before reheating and serving. Just keep in mind the breading won’t be crispy. The sauce can be kept in the fridge separately from any cooked chicken for up to a week.
How to Store
- Storing: Place the leftovers in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. The chicken will stay fresh for up to 3 days, while the sauce and vegetables can last up to 4 days.
- Reheating: For the best results, reheat the chicken in an air fryer or oven to restore its crispiness. Warm the sauce and vegetables in the microwave or on the stovetop, then combine just before serving.
- Freezing: Freeze the chicken and sauce separately in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating and serving.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees. Coat chicken pieces as usual with cornstarch, egg, and flour. Arrange in a single layer in the air fryer basket, spray lightly with oil, and cook for 10-12 minutes, shaking halfway through. Air fry the vegetables and pineapple after the chicken. Make the sauce on the stovetop, toss the chicken and veggies into the heated sweet and sour sauce, and serve immediately.
Frequent Questions
For this recipe you want to keep the breading super crispy and light, which cornstarch will help you achieve. I have experimented with coating the chicken in both in a tempura batter and a straight cornstarch coating. I prefer cornstarch for ease of use, but either way, you don’t want something doughy that will absorb your sauce like a sponge.
You can reduce the sugar in half for less sweetness. For less tanginess, cut the vinegar from ½ to ¼ cup of vinegar.
Variations
- Vegan Sweet and Sour Tofu: Replace chicken with firm tofu, patting with with a paper towel it to remove excess moisture before frying. Use soy sauce or tamari for the sauce.
- Garlicky: If you’d really like to add some extra flavor to the flour, season with salt and black pepper and add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic or 1 tablespoon of powdered garlic to the chicken while frying. Add an extra tablespoon to the sauce when mixing.
Related Posts
More Sweet and Sour Recipes
Photos used in previous versions of this post.
This is a GREAT recipe. I haven’t made it for a while – and trust me when I say this is great- I am from Hong Kong – this tastes authentic. Thanks so much for sharing! Reminds me a piece of my Home.
I made this today it is very good , if you all have not made this yet please find the time to do so
Thanks, Liz.
Delicious! Just like takeout! No leftovers in this household! Thanks for this recipe.
I don’t have sugar, can I use pineapple syrup instead? ( from can) Or only use brown sugar?
Thank you
You can use brown sugar.
Delicious & very tasty. Thank you ?
We loved it. Better than takeout
This is my absolute favorite dish. Love it, love it. My family totally enjoyed it. I cooked this during quarantine in the Bahamas. We could not go out so I brought the orient to us.
Making this over and over again.
The sweet and sour chicken was the best I’ve ever had! Great recipe, ingredients, directions, etc. Thank you for sharing this.
Very good. I used less than a half a cup of vinegar bc i saw people say it was overpowering. Needed some pineapple juice to take the edge off the sauce. Really nice flavor! Will make again!
May be a stupid question, but do you mix the cornstartch with water before adding it to the ziplock back in step #4? Or just plain cornstarch powder in the bag then dip the chicken in it?
No, just plain cornstarch in the ziplock bag. Enjoy!
My grandson is picky but loved this sweet and sour chicken. I will definitely be making again.
I looked for use of frozen sweet pepper chunks and received a new recipe with chicken that looks great. To my biggest surprise I also got led to your Honey Orange Firecracker Shrimp recipe. Being a sweet & sour shrimp nut the O/F shrimp
lead is on my highest step of recipe ladder to be shortly delighted with.
Other shrimp ideas are on the ladder also.
Sabrina you are on my “ YOU ARE A LADY AND SCHOLAR “ list. Your 88 year old newest reader, John
Thank you for the kind words, John!
I tried it the first time and it was awesome!!! However, my question is (which I forgot to ask beforehand), on instruction number 3, does that mean I should brown the chicken first before putting it in the ziplock with cornstarch?
Your response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!??
Keep safe!
I’m so sorry but your comment was snagged in my spam filter.
No, you’re actually not cooking the chicken until step 7. In step 3, you’re just heating up the oil.
Hope this clears up any confusion.
The chicken breading turned out perfectly! I think next time I’ll try adding a little cayenne to spice it up a bit.
I had this with wild rice. It was excellent. I will make this again. Thank you!
Incredible!! At least my 10th time making it for my little unit ? Fam favorite for sure!
Wow! I’d definitely call that a winning dish!
Thanks for sharing this recipe, will be making this tonight. When you place the chicken on a cookie sheet, should you line it with parchment paper or maybe wax paper or just leave the pan with nothing on it?
Thanks in advance
I usually don’t put anything on the cookie sheet.
Can I make ahead and freeze it or make a portion ahead to freeze?
I would suggest freezing the chicken and the sauce separately and making the vegetables fresh when you serve it so they don’t get soggy.
I make about a gallon at a time, portion it into sandwich bags and freeze it Works for us.
If you use can pineapple do you drain
Yes 🙂
I wasn’t sure about how the sauce would taste when I had it all mixed together but WOW!! This was incredibly tasty! Honestly tasted pretty authentic. 10/10 will make again 🙂
There are lots of good sweet and sour recipes out there but this one is hands down the best. I have now made it many times, it’s perfect as is, and, compared to other recipes, it’s not a lot of work. Minimal work and ingredients, great results. Thanks Sabrina!
This recipe is a 5 star hit in our house. I added snow peas though. Excellent recipe!
Absolutely delicious! I will make this again. I didn’t change anything.
I loved this recipe but the chicken doesn’t get enough flavor from the sweet sauce any ideas what I can do I had to use regular soy sauce so I used less and use more pineapple and the flavor sauce was the best
Pure perfection!! I needed to change 3 ingredients just bc I didn’t have them at home, still, it came out perfectly. My husband and I tried this meal in so many restaurants all over the world and there was always just one on the top of the others, but after this recipe, I guess only eating it at home from now on. Amazing receipe, BIG THANK YOU!!!!
So glad you were able to make it work, Ida. I appreciate the 5 star rating.
This was soooo good!!! One of those recipes you keep on-hand forever, my family is obsessed. I added broccoli for some extra veg. Best sweet and sour chicken recipe out there!
Great recipe! I did tweak it a little though. I substituted the pineapple juice reserved from the pineapple chunks for the 1/2 cup of sugar, added some 5-spice (1 tsp) to the flour for the chicken coating, substituted mushroom soy sauce, and added the remaining corn starch after coating the chicken to the sauce mixture. I also served it with some fried rice. Very easy and tastes great!
First time making sweet and sour chicken and this was an excellent start. I may modify the volumes for the ingredients to make the sauce the next time I make this. Found it a bit too vinegary (the ketchup and vinegar made it too sour) and a bit too sweet. Definitely makes enough for 6 too!
All in all, a good recipe to test out my first foray into home made Chinese takeout.
Am making this tonight. Have my homemade eggrolls in the freezer waiting to have along with this. Can’t wait to try it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Thanks for such an easy looking recipe!
Both my husband and I found the vinegar flavor to be over powering.
My food came out great! My family liked it. Thank you.
This recipe looks interesting, but I feel like it calls for a lot of sugar. Will the flavor change dramatically if I use less sugar, or more brown sugar instead of white? Is there a healthy substitute I can use? Thanks!
This really never is considered a “heathy” dish. You can cut back on the sugar as you’d like.
This was the best Chinese food I have ever had!! The first bite my husband and I had we were like “WOW” . Then my son and his wife came over and polished it off and their reaction was the same. Thank you for sharing. This was my first time using the wok that has been in my cabinet for years. I was a little concerned about the ketchup and the apple cider vinegar. I am more used to pineapple juice used instead. I was prepared to not like it. But it was perfect. Thank you for sharing it. This is a game changer.i am thinking no more takeout.
I totally agree with you. Take out is not necessary after making this recipe. It was fabulous.
This is the only sweet and sour chicken recipe I use now. My teenager asks for this sweet and sour chicken for all of his special occasion home-cooked dinners (birthdays, end of school, good grades etc.) I double the recipe for my family of four and leave out the pineapple because I am allergic to it, but it is delicious. So much better than take out!
Tasted like vinegar and ketchup, not to my liking at all.
Perhaps substitute to rice wine and use pineapple juice. I make this with pork and its absolutely amazing just a little hint of sour that’s not over powering
I made this over the weekend and it was insane! Will definitely be making this again
When it says to continue cooking chicken on cookie sheet is that in the oven?
No, I just recommend placing the cooked chicken on a cookie sheet in between each batch. Just allows it to have a resting place but make sure not to line it with paper towels. You don’t want to end up with it sticking to them. Hope this clears things up. Enjoy!
Delish! Followed the recipe to a “T” and the memories of Chinese restaurant family dinners came flooding back. It’s a keeper!
Sabrina, thank you SO much for this recipe! I made it for my wife last week. She loved it so much that she asked me to make it again tonight. I have never had much luck with sweet and sour chicken, but your recipe was very easy to follow and came out wonderfully!! One note… my wife is gluten intolerant s I used the Pamela’s artisan blend instead of regular flour. I was a little worried that it may not come out as well, but it crisped up and tasted wonderful. You do have to watch that you don’t over cook it though. It tends to not turn dark as quickly, so I cook it just until it starts to turn slightly darker.
Great recipe! I cooked the Sweet and Sour Chicken last night. Husband said it was a keeper. Just ate more of it for lunch today. I think I may make more sause maybe by a third so plenty to soak into the rice.
This came out smelling and tasting like tomato ketchup, despite me putting in less than what the recipe called for. Disappointing waste of time.
Sabrina
Can I cook this in advance and take it to my parents to eat after maybe 3 hours? Or it will be soggy?
Can I have shrimp instead of chicken?
This is best served immediately.
I tried this recipe because the sweet and sour chicken in the photo looked delicious and because my go to recipe for sweet and sour chicken called for pineapple with heavy syrup and I only had pineapple with pineapple juice. Unfortunately, I did not have fresh pineapple but I will use that next time. I also did not have apple cider vinegar so I had to tweak the recipe and use a combination of apple juice, pineapple juice and regular vinegar. It turned out great nonetheless and my husband LOVED it! I will be making this recipe again many times I am sure! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. PS – My other recipe called for 3 T water and 2 T cornstarch to thicken it up a little bit so I decided to follow this step as well. However, I swapped 2 T of apple juice and 1 T of water for the 3 T water. Please note you may not need to do this if you make the chicken as directed. My other recipe called for plain chicken so since I was trying to duplicate that recipe with help of this recipe, I did not make the crispy chicken bites. (I will definitely try doing that next time.) Anyway, with the help of this recipe, my dinner was a big hit! I am so thankful I found this recipe. 🙂
I’m so glad you were able to tweak it to your liking. Thanks for the 5 stars, Margie.
Dearest Sabrina, I have an urgent query. I don’t have pineapple or bell peppers. Can I make this lovely dish without them? Could I substitute them with anything else at all? Thank you so much for helping me.
You can still make it with just the chicken portion. Enjoy!
My first try was a great success! I was especially pleased with the way the batter fried the chicken pieces. I’ve never been able to duplicate that light, Tempura style before. The next time I make it I’m going to double the sauce recipe. My normal size chicken breasts are larger than 1 1/2 lbs for 2 breasts. I’m very happy I found such a good recipe Thanks!
Finally I found this perfect recipe !!! Thank you!
First time commenting on a recipe…I’ve been sampling Chinese recipes for sooo long and this is by far the easiest and most delicous. Thank you!!
Yay!! Glad you loved it enough to want to leave a comment.
Made this to go with your fried rice recipe…..it was awesome! Thank you for sharing such great recipes.
Easy to make and delicious!
I am severely allergic to cider vinegar. Could I substitute white distilled for it?
You’re better off using white wine or lemon juice. Those would be closer to the intended flavor.