Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

Get dinner on the table in 30 minutes with this Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken. A fresh and healthy version with less calories, but tastes amazing with a homemade sweet and sour sauce. No need for Chinese takeaway anymore!

easy sweet sour chicken in bowl

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Recently, my son’s kindergarten teacher asked me if I cooked sweet and sour chicken at home. At first blush, I thought she was asking me (you know, the only Asian mother at a very traditional Swiss school) for a recipe.

But it transpired that the cook had prepared sweet and sour chicken for the childrens’ lunch earlier that day, and my son was the only child who happily ate his meal, plus an extra portion. I am most proud of my son when I hear that he has eaten well!

easy sweet sour chicken with rice

Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

But to answer the teacher’s question, I do in fact make sweet and sour chicken at home. A lot. I know it might not be the healthiest of meals, but it is one of the tastiest ways I know of eating a lot of vegetables.

This is actually a recipe I turn to often when I have odd bits of leftover vegetables in the fridge which need using up.

If I am not making my favourite Thai curry or Japanese curry with those vegetables, a sweet and sour sauce is something I can always whip up quickly using ingredients already in the fridge and pantry.

While I love the Chinese restaurant version of sweet and sour chicken where the chicken is first deep-fried in a crispy batter, I find this to be a bit time-consuming at home, especially on a busy weeknight.

A quicker – and healthier – alternative is to simply sauté the chicken pieces.

easy sweet sour chicken with coriander

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Use the recipe below for sweet and sour sauce to serve alongside any protein of your choice.

You could most certainly substitute the chicken for pork or fish, or leave it out entirely for a vegetarian meal.

I happen to love this sweet and sour sauce with thick slices of firm tofu cooked in the sauce.

easy sweet sour chicken on wooden board

What to Serve with Sweet and Sour Sauce

It goes without saying that you can also use whatever vegetables you like. Crunchy vegetables work best in this recipe, such as:

  • capsicums (bell peppers)
  • green beans
  • courgettes (zucchini)
  • carrots
  • celery

But as this is a recipe I frequently use to empty the vegetable drawers in the fridge, it also tastes great with:

  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • cucumber
  • bean sprouts

I sometimes also add frozen peas if I think the dish needs a bit of colour. But what I always, always, try to add is pineapple; fresh is always better, but I admit to keeping small tins of diced pineapple in the pantry just for this recipe.

We love to serve sweet and sour chicken with steamed Jasmine rice, which means making a lot of sauce to drizzle over the rice. But, as always, you can customise the dish to your liking and make less sauce.

There’s no need to order Chinese takeaway anymore!

easy sweet sour chicken with capsicums in wire basket
Print

Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 6 reviews

  • Author: eatlittlebird.com
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 3-4
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove
  • Cuisine: Chinese

Get dinner on the table in 30 minutes with this Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken. A fresh and healthy version with less calories, but tastes amazing with a homemade sweet and sour sauce. No need for Chinese takeaway anymore!

Ingredients

For the Chicken

  • 12 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 small chicken breast fillets, cut into large cubes

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce

  • 1 brown onion, cut into large cubes
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thickly on the diagonal
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons ketchup (tomato sauce)
  • 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), cut into large cubes
  • 1 green capsicum (bell pepper), cut into large cubes
  • 8 oz (230 g) pineapple (fresh or tinned), cut into large chunks
  • 23 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch) mixed in a little water (or pineapple juice if you are using tinned pineapple)
  • coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

To Serve

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in the saucepan over a medium-hight heat.
  2. Sauté the chicken until they have browned well allover. You may need to do this in batches.
  3. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
  4. Cook the onion and carrots until the onions start to soften.
  5. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, and stock.
  6. Bring to a gentle simmer.
  7. Return the chicken to the pan, together with the capsicums (bell peppers), and pineapple.
  8. Simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened slightly. I like to have the vegetables still somewhat crisp.
  9. Taste for seasoning. You might want to add more sugar to sweeten the sauce, or perhaps more vinegar to make it more sour.
  10. Quickly mix in a bit of the cornflour mixture until the sauce has thickened to your liking. You may not need to add all of it.
  11. Garnish with chopped coriander (cilantro) and serve with steamed Jasmine rice.

Kitchen Notes

VEGETARIAN
For a vegetarian version, simply omit the chicken and use vegetable stock. This dish is also delicious with thick slices of tofu stirred through the sauce.

VARIATIONS
You can substitute the chicken for thinly sliced pork in this recipe.
Crunchy vegetables work best in this recipe, but you can use whatever you like. Some suggestions include:
* green beans
* courgettes (zucchini)
* celery
* broccoli
* cauliflower
* bean sprouts
* cucumber

CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: Serves 3 to 4
  • Calories: 448
  • Sugar: 37.2g
  • Sodium: 659.8mg
  • Fat: 5.9g
  • Carbohydrates: 73.9g
  • Fiber: 3.5g
  • Protein: 24.9g
  • Cholesterol: 69.2mg

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment below and share your photos by tagging @eatlittlebird on Instagram and using #eatlittlebird

Update

This recipe was first published on 10 November 2017. It has been updated with more comprehensive recipe notes.

Shop this recipe

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

20 comments

  1. Ellen 11 November 2017

    My husband loves sweet and sour chicken. I need to make it for him.

    Reply
  2. Traci @ The Kitchen Girl 11 November 2017

    I need to get sweet and sour chicken on my meal planning menu in the near future. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  3. Ginny 12 November 2017

    Well, you can’t beat sweet and sour or easy. Love the addition of all of the vegetables.






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 13 November 2017

      We’re big on vegetables in our family 🙂 And this is a great recipe to make for the family.

      Reply
  4. Tina 12 November 2017

    I haven’t made sweet and sour chicken in a long time, It’s time to dust off the skillet. I love the colors, thanks for sharing your recipe:)






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 13 November 2017

      It’s one of my favourite dishes. Sometimes we go for periods where I haven’t made it in a while, but I always come back to this recipe 🙂

      Reply
  5. Jillian 12 November 2017

    I can feel this warming my tummy already!






    Reply
  6. This sounds so good and I love how versatile it is!

    Reply
  7. Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) 15 November 2017

    Looks yummy!!

    Reply
  8. Megan @ MegUnprocessed 16 November 2017

    Sweet and sour is one of my favorite sauces!

    Reply
  9. Carolyn Ingram 17 November 2017

    I love how colorful this recipe is!






    Reply
  10. Aria 4 January 2018

    This recipe sounds so amazing !!!photos look so gorgeous and mouth-watering!!Thank you!!

    Reply
  11. Julia 16 April 2018

    Is good food and this looks like one of the BEST!!






    Reply
  12. Angela 27 September 2018

    I tried this recipe and it turned out PERFECT. Kids loved it! because I mentioned there was lots of ketchup :))..consistency, flavor ..

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 7 October 2018

      That’s wonderful to hear! My kids love this dish too 🙂 If I mentioned there was ketchup, maybe they would like it even more 😉

      Reply
  13. Eva 14 April 2022

    I tried this recipe some years ago and remembered that we all loved it. I saw pineapple at the supermarket today and instantly thought of this recipe again. It tasted even better than I remembered!






    Reply