Quick and Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken 🍗🥡🥢 This Chinese-inspired sweet and sour chicken recipe takes just 15 minutes to make and tastes way better than takeout or what you’re getting from your local food court! It’s a family favorite and PERFECT for busy weeknight dinners!
- I’m all about a 15-minute dinner. Especially when it tastes better than what I’d get in a restaurant, it’s healthier, less expensive, and faster than calling for takeout. Chinese food always hits the spot and is picky eater approved! Score on all fronts.
- This better-than-takeout recipe features a simple sweet and sour sauce that’s packed with the perfect balance of sweet yet sour Asian flavors including soy, sesame, garlic, and more.
- The homemade sweet and sour sauce coats the chicken beautifully and really makes this dish what it is. You’ll likely have extra, which I could eat by the spoonful. It’s great over rice, such as coconut rice, or veggies.
- Before cooking the chicken it’s tossed with cornstarch, which helps keep it moist, tender, juicy, and provides a very lightly ‘breaded’ exterior without actually breading it. Chicken cooked like this is my favorite way to eat high protein!
My daughter is 20. This is HER comfort meal and has been since you posted it years ago! Something to celebrate? Bad day? Birthday? We are making this week and sour chicken! Thank you for sharing and helping be a part of our family’s “comfort food”!
Liz
Ingredients in Better-Than-Takeout Sweet and Sour Chicken
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar give the quintessential sweetness
- Apple cider vinegar add the sour element
- Ketchup
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce so don’t skip it
Chicken
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts are what I use but you can sub with boneless chicken thighs
- Olive oil or canola oil
- Salt and pepper
- Cornstarch is used for the chicken coating which helps it crisp up just a bit
- Green onions (optional, for serving)
- Sesame seeds (optional, for serving)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
Making homemade sweet and sour chicken that tastes better than Chinese takeout is so much easier than you may think – and no wok required!
If serving with rice, be sure to get it started first so it’s done by the time the chicken is ready to eat.
- Make the sweet and sour sauce: It consists of sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, corn starch, and water. Add everything but the water and cornstarch to a saucepan.
- Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat, then combine the water and cornstarch in a separate bowl before adding it to the homemade sweet and sour sauce.
- Let that bubble away for a few minutes until it thickens up.
- Make the chicken: Add the diced chicken into a baggie with the cornstarch, salt, and pepper, and shake and toss to coat the chicken pieces fully. (I’ve seen people use egg + all purpose flour to coat chicken but it’s not required for my recipe.)
- Fry the chicken in a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil (no need to deep fry!).
- Once the chicken is cooked, pour in the sweet and sour sauce and continue cooking until the chicken is coated in sauce and heated through.
Serving tip: I like to serve my homemade sweet and sour chicken with rice and sprinkle chopped scallions and sesame seeds on top as garnishes. I adore the contrasting textures!
Recipe FAQs
If desired, you could dice the chicken a day or two ahead of time and you can also whisk together the sweet and sour sauce beforehand. That way, all you have to do is quickly throw everything in a pan the day you plan on making the recipe.
Yes you can. If using canned pineapple, make sure it’s packed in water or pineapple juice and not syrup. Drain well before adding to the skillet at the very end of the cook time.
If using fresh pineapple, add to the skillet just before stirring in the sauce. You want the pineapple to heat through, but still retain some bite.
If you want to make this Chinese sweet and sour chicken with veggies, like broccoli, bell peppers, or sugar snap peas, add them after you add the sauce to the chicken and let them simmer in the sauce for a few minutes until they’re crisp tender.
This recipe calls for chicken breasts, but you could use boneless skinless chicken thighs as well. I don’t recommend using bone-in chicken for this Chinese sweet and sour chicken recipe.
If you want to make this dish spicier, add some red pepper flakes at the end as a garnish.
Video Tutorial
What to Serve with Sweet and Sour Chicken
Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Sauce
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Chicken
- 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (boneless skinless chicken thighs may be substituted)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if necessary
- 2 green onions, sliced into thin rounds, optional for garnishing
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional for garnishing
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- To a medium saucepan, add all ingredients except water and cornstarch, whisk to combine, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- To a small bowl, add the water, cornstarch, and stir to combine.
- Add the water and cornstarch mixture to saucepan, reduce heat to low, and allow sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes while you make the chicken; whisk intermittently.
Make the Chicken
- To a large ziptop bag, add the chicken, cornstarch, salt and pepper to taste, seal, and shake to coat chicken evenly.
- To a large skillet, add 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, chicken, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until chicken has cooked through. Stir and flip intermittently to ensure even cooking. If skillet seems dry while cooking, add an additional tablespoon or two of oil as necessary.
- After chicken has cooked though, reduce heat to low, add the sauce, stir to coat evenly, and allow it to simmer for a minute or two.
- Optionally garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Chinese-Inspired Easy Chicken Recipes:
Better-Than-Takeout Cashew Chicken – Juicy chicken, crisp-tender vegetables, and crunchy cashews coated with the best garlicky soy sauce! Skip takeout and make your own restaurant-quality meal that’s easy, ready in 20 minutes, and healthier!
Easy Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice – One-skillet, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never want takeout again after tasting how good homemade is! Way more flavor, not greasy, and loads of juicy chicken!
Healthy Sesame Chicken and Broccoli — Skip takeout and make this Asian favorite at home in just minutes!! So EASY and HEALTHIER than what you’d get in a restaurant but tastes just as AWESOME!!
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe — An easy, BETTER-THAN-TAKEOUT recipe with juicy chicken and such a flavorful sauce!! Don’t call for takeout when you can make this HEALTHIER version at home in 20 minutes!
Better-Than-Takeout Sticky Chicken — Stop calling for takeout or going to the mall food court and make this AMAZING sticky chicken at home in 15 minutes!! So EASY with the perfect balance of sweet and spicy with plenty of sticky sauce!!
Healthier Orange Chicken — Stop calling for takeout or going to the mall food court and make this HEALTHIER orange chicken at home in less than 10 minutes!! EASY, authentic, and so INCREDIBLE that you’ll never miss the fat and calories!!
Chicken Chow Mein — Chewy chow mein noodles, crisp-tender veggies, and juicy chicken are stir-fried in a sesame-soy sauce! It’s a SIMPLE and FAST recipe that anyone can make.
Originally posted on January 18, 2017 and reposted on August 12, 2022 with updated text.
Quick, easy, and delicious! I usually wind up “tweaking” recipes after the first try, but this one is perfect as it is!
Thanks for the 5 star review Jim and for letting me know that this perfect as-is, no tweaking required!
My family loves this recipe. I double the sauce. The spatter from frying made a mess of my stovetop but the delicious sweet & sour chicken was worth all the clean up.
Thanks for the 5 star review and you can always reduce the oil just a bit to reduce some of the splatting or use a deeper skillet if you have one. But regardless, glad this was delicious and worth it!!
I’m a massive sweet & sour fan but find most recipes too deep fried and not GF friendly. This recipe is incredibly simple (although I can’t make it under 25 mins) and I add a red inion, red pepper and snow peas to stir fry once the chicken is cooked for extra nutrition and it’s bang on! Highly recommend!
Thanks for the 5 star review and it’s great to hear my recipe fits the bill for you and I love that you add extra veggies to it! Sounds wonderful!
Delicious and so fast and easy! Averies recipes do not disappoint.
Thank you so much Donna for the vote of confidence and that’s the best compliment ever to know that you trust my recipes and they don’t let you down! Thank you!