Sweet and Sour Chicken is kid friendly, even your pickiest eaters will love it and it is guaranteed to become part of your regular meal plan rotation.
It is the perfect 30 minute dinner idea.
This version of Sweet and Sour Chicken has definitely become a family favorite. I am not a big fan of the heavily breaded Sweet and Sour you usually get at Chinese places but this version is light and yummy! Some Sweet and Sour Chicken is overly sweet and this one is just the right amount of sweetness with only 1/4 cup of brown sugar. A lot of the sweetness comes from the pineapple juice.
Sweet and Sour Chicken is one of my favorite things to order at a Chinese restaurant. If you prefer Sweet and Sour Pork, just substitute pork for the chicken. Making it at home is so easy though you may never need to order out again!
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Cut your chicken into bite size pieces and then lightly coat with flour.
- Heat your olive oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken until cooked through. Don’t overcook your chicken which is easy to do when it is cut into small pieces. I often pull it out a minute before I think it is done. Remove the chicken to a plate or bowl while you cook the rest.
- Add your peppers or onions to the pan, there should be enough oil still in the pan. Cook until onions and peppers are tender.
- Mix together your sauce and add it into the pan along with the peppers and onions. Stir over a low boil for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add in your chicken and pineapple chunks into the sauce and stir to coat. Serve over rice.
It is great for a weeknight dinner because it is quick and easy to prepare and it is a pretty one with those slices of red pepper. I love to serve it with some white rice and a green salad and you’ve got a complete meal in under 30 minutes.
Other quick and easy 30 minute meal ideas:
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Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 6 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1 20 oz. pineapple chunks reserve juice
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice use reserved juice
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1/4 cup onion sliced
Instructions
- Coat chicken in flour with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and fry in olive oil until browned
- Drain and set aside
- In same skillet, combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, brown sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, chicken broth and soy sauce
- Cook and stir until boiling
- Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes
- Add chicken, peppers, onions, and pineapple
- Cook until heated through
- Serve over rice
Nutrition
Originally shared January 5, 2012
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Looks good! I’ve never thought to do sweet & sour in the oven, I can totally see how it’d be glazed and delicious. I’m feeling rather uninspired lately as well…thanks for this inspiration!
I pinned this off of your board a week or so ago and put it on the menu for this week. So glad to see that you made it and it was good. Can’t wait to try it!
I have made this recipe and my family LOVES IT!
I have made this several times, and I did get the recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. My family loves it and so do I . It makes a lot! 🙂 YUM YUM
I love Pinterest! So glad you loved this chicken, Leigh Anne. It is Brian’s absolute favorite!
Oh yes, we LOVE this recipe from MKC! I have my sister hooked on it now too;)
LOL! I didn’t cook the week before Christmas while I was making the cookie plates… too many things in the kitchen and on the table and no room to cook and eat. This recipe for sweet and sour chicken looks great. I’ll have to try it.
Pinned!!!! Add a few red pepper flakes and you could call it General Tsao Chicken – on of my favorites. I think this is going to be one of those “go to” recipes when you can’t think of what to make.
This looks FANTASTIC!! Yumm!!
I was so inspired by this post that I ran home and made it last night. Perfectly delicious. It’s hard to find gluten-free alternatives so THANK YOU for posting this one. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more. This one’s a keeper and even the gluten-eaters loved it!!
I was looking for a dinner suggestion last night, and there it was, my husband loves Sweet and Sour, so this was a winner. Except, he likes a lot of sauce so I always have to make twice the amount,. Also with leftovers, it absorbs the liquid. He loves the leftovers, I dont.
I just pinned this! Yummy, thank you.
im making this right now! looks amazin! did you use just regular white vinegar or rice vinegar?
I used white but either would work
I saw this and a light bulb went off in my head! CORN STARCH? Why haven’t I thought to do a GF breading with that before, and I tried it tonight to make chicken fingers and it was the BEAST I’ve tried since becoming GF 13 years ago! Not a BIG Sweet and Sour fan but It sure helped me with making a great meal for my family and they all loved it too! (I did add spices to the cornstarch)
This was such a hit at our house last night! My 17 year old daughter said it was the best blog recipe I have tried ever (she is very critical because I have made lots of good recipes)! Thank you….
This was delicious! I’ve been GF for nearly 5yrs and this turned out exactly the way I remember S&S chicken from our local Chinese Restaurant. I love that the chicken isn’t deep-fried and the sauce was perfect. In fact, I think I’ll make extra next time! I was a little slow at the cornstarch/egg dipping step, but hopefully will get faster next time. Thanks for sharing!
Making this tonight! I will stirfry a bit of broccoli and peppers to round out the meal.
Mmmm I’ve been craving Chinese…can’t wait to make this tonight. I’m out of garlic salt can I replace it with garlic powder and salt?
That should work fine!
Yet another delicious meal thanks to you! 🙂 Thanks again.
I just made this!!!! AWESOME! I doubled the sauce to have extra for pan heating!!! FAB!!!!!!!!