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 (Panda, here’s looking at you)! It’s a family favorite and PERFECT for busy weeknight dinners!
Table of Contents
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 recipe features a simple sweet and sour sauce that’s packed with the perfect balance of sweet yet sour Asian flavors. 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 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.
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 Needed
For both the chicken and the homemade sweet and sour sauce, you’ll need the following:
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Ketchup
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Cornstarch
Chicken
- Chicken breasts
- Olive oil or canola oil
- Salt and pepper
- Cornstarch – 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
- Chicken is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Chinese 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.
Making this for my grdkids tomorrow. Can’t wait. I’m sure it’s delicious as everything i have made of yours. Thanks for sharing. Reda
They’re going to love it! Kids and adults alike always love this sweet and sour chicken!
I am going to cook sweet & sour chicken tonight. I am going to try change some ingredients for my diabetes and heart condition. I’ve always liked it in the past, but had to stop eating because of all the sugar. Thank you for this recipe. I’m not a cooker so here I go.
hi Mari, I wish you luck and I think it’s great that you’re making some dietary changes and reducing your sugar. I think you could easily reduce the sugar to the in this recipe to 1/2 cup white sugar and omit the brown sugar entirely. The other option is that you can use a sugar substitute like a monk fruit. Perhaps use half the amount of real sugar and half the amount of monk and see how that goes. I do that in my personal cooking for myself.https://amzn.to/4ao6l2R
It was a success with my wife who is totally anti vinegar. But not this time ……..she didn’t notice. Ha ha
Thanks for the five star review and I’m so glad that this was a success with your wife! 👏🏻
Delicious
Thank you Patricia!
Thought I should finally leave a comment: my family has been enjoying this recipe several times a month for over a year now, it’s part of our regular rotation! It’s easy, delicious, and I typically already have all the ingredients. Definitely recommend!!
Thank you so much for finally leaving one! Im so happy you love it! 😍
I’ve had one bite. This definitely goes in my keeper file. It is so so good. I used chicken thighs, and added pineapple following your suggestion. I sent a question earlier about whether this could be frozen. There’s not going to be any need to freeze any of this. We’re just going to gobble it down. I made four times the amount of sauce and used several pounds of chicken so there’s enough there to freeze, but I think we’re just going to eat it. It’s really that good.
It’s not a Pinterest worthy picture but I thought I’d send it anyway. Thanks for a great recipe. We will use it again and again. It’s also nice not to have to Dr to make it gluten-free.
I was LITERALLY just now responding to your comment from yesterday and freezing and reheating and this one came in. I am so glad you loved it and that it goes in your keeper file. Thanks for sharing your photo, too!
Going to try this today. Scrolling down to ask a question I saw the other easy Chinese recipes. I’m going to pin a number of those. They look yummy too. I’ll be back to report on how this one turns out today.
Oh, the question. I like to make big batches and freeze extras for later and for sharing. How well does this freeze and reheat?
Freezes and reheats very well! Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious, soooo easy to make. Thank you
Thanks for the 5 star review, Jenny, and I’m so pleased that this is absolutely delicious and so easy for you!
Absolutely delicious! Made several servings over rice with one recipe. Next time I will be adding some vegetables, like snow peas or even adding some cashews. I do have to say it took longer than the recipe says. Just to gather the ingredients mostly. Once that was done it was very easy.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Nancy, and I’m glad to hear that it was absolutely delicious and that you’ll make it again and add some veggies. Great idea!
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”!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Liz, and it’s stories and comments like yours that keep me creating and sharing recipes! Knowing that my recipes are part of your family, and this is your 20 year old daughter’s favorite comfort food meal, seriously that’s the highest compliment! Thank you for sharing this!
Easy and delicious!!!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Lety, and I’m glad this was easy and delish for you!
I love this recipe. I have been making it for quite a while now. My brother keeps telling me he wants to come and watch me make it so he can do it at home, but he hasnt been here yet …so I continue to make it for them.😁😁 My family and friends love it. I make the sauce ahead of time so it makes it easy to put it all together. I also add some pineapple at the last.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Mary Ann, and I’m glad to hear you’ve been making this for awhile now and that your family and friends all love it!
This recipe is the absolute bomb. I don’t change a thing, make it exactly as written and it is fabulous!! Thank you so much for this recipe
Thanks for the 5 star review, Jackie, and I’m glad you love it as written!
This sweet-and -sour chicken recipe is a total winner! The balance of tangy and sweet flavours is spot-on and the sauce is so good I could eat it with a spoon. The chicken came out crispy on the outside and juicy inside just the way it should be. I also appreciated how straightforward the instructions were. Everything was easy to follow and didn’t require any fancy ingredients. This one’s definitely going into my regular dinner rotation. Highly recommended!😋
Thanks for the 5 star review, Celine, and I’m glad to hear this was a winner and that it’s going into your rotation!
Made this tonight and the final result was great – with a couple changes. I tasted the sauce while it was cooling, and the taste was a little… sharp? so I added a healthy splash of pineapple juice (and a teaspoon of corn starch to re-thicken). That did the trick! And I added a green pepper and half of an onion at the same time as the chicken, and about a cup of pineapple tidbits toward the end of cooking. That’s where I got the pineapple juice from. And don’t forget to get your rice going while the chicken cooks – I always forget that part so it delays dinner. Aside from that, though, although “15 minutes” may be a stretch even without my changes, it came together easily within 30 minutes from start to (besides the rice) finish.
Thanks for trying the recipe, Jennifer, and I’m glad you were able to tweak the flavor to your liking. It’s one of those recipes that everyone has a different opinion on what is too sweet for a savory dish, what’s too acidic (sharp) or not enough, etc. I am glad you hit the right balance for your preferences!
This is an absolutely awesome recipe! Love it every time, tastes like restaurant quality.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it turned out absolutely awesome for you and that it’s restaurant quality!