Sweet and sour chicken – Skip the take out and make this delicious recipe at home! The sweet and sour sauce is absolutely to die for. Serve with rice and fresh vegetables for the perfect dinner!
This sweet and sour chicken recipe is perfect for when we’re craving takeout. I love that we can make it at home and it’s even more delicious! We also love to make easy veggie beef ramen, baked teriyaki chicken and slow cooker honey chicken.
Sweet and sour chicken
I am so excited to share this sweet and sour chicken recipe that my family absolutely loves. My whole family is a fan (even the kids). This recipe will definitely be going in your “favorites file.”
I have to admit… I’m usually not a huge fan of Chinese food when we go out because I am super picky about meat, but I love making it at home. This yummy sweet and sour chicken recipe came from my friend Alison, however I added in a few of my favorite spices and loved the end result! The homemade sweet and sour sauce is what really takes this recipe over the top. If you’re in a hurry, you could always use store-bought too.
Ingredients for sweet and sour sauce
The sweet and sour sauce on top is heavenly. So good and definitely worth making it homemade! It’s what helps take this sweet and sour chicken recipe to the next level. Plus it’s really easy to make. You just need the simple ingredients below to get started.
- Sugar
- Ketchup
- Garlic salt
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce
How do you make sweet n sour chicken?
Scroll down for printable sweet and sour chicken recipe and video tutorial.
- Pre-heat oven to 325°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
- Place chicken, corn starch, salt, pepper and garlic salt in a large zip top bag and shake until chicken is evenly coated.
- Over medium heat, add 1/4 cup oil in large frying pan. Dip chicken in egg mixture and use a fork to place in frying pan. I did half of the batch first. Fry both sides of chicken for about 2 minutes a piece and place chicken on the pan. Dispose the burnt oil and then heat up the rest of the oil and finish the other batch of chicken.
- Next, whisk together all of the ingredients for the sauce in a medium size bowl. Then pour sweet and sour sauce over the chicken and bake for 20 minutes. Pull the chicken out and flip to evenly coat it with sauce. Then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Serve with steamed rice and vegetables. Enjoy!
Tips for making sweet and sour chicken
- Prep the chicken and seasoning ahead of time. Use a zip top bag for easy clean up.
- To test if the oil is hot enough, splash a little water on the oil. If it pops, it’s ready.
- Use tongs and an oven safe mit when flipping the sweet sour chicken.
- Double the sweet and sour sauce if you’d like extra for dipping the chicken in.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 pound chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
- 3/4 cup corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs (whisked)
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar (plus 1 Tablespoon; distilled vinegar will work too)
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
- Place the chicken, corn starch, salt, pepper and garlic salt in a large ziplock bag and shake until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and place in the frying pan with a fork. I did half the batch first. Fry both sides of the chicken for about 2 minutes a piece and place chicken on the pan. Dispose of the burnt oil and then heat up the rest of the oil and finish the chicken.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the sauce. Next, pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 20 minutes. Pull the chicken out and flip the chicken to evenly coat it with sauce. Then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Serve with steamed rice and vegetables. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
So so good. I cannot wait to make this sweet and sour chicken recipe again and again!
So have you tried making sweet and sour chicken at home? Give it a try! It’s a little bit of work… but SO worth it! Your family will love you even more. ;)
LOVE THIS! Have to try. I am right there with you….I am very picky about my meat too. Thanks for sharing. The hubs loves Chinese and I think he will be in love. ;)
Hope you enjoy, my family absolutely LOVED it! :)
HI, HAVE YOU TRIED THIS WITH CHICKEN THAT IS ALREADY COOKED?
This is one of my families favorites too!
It looks so delicious Jamielyn! I think I am going to make that tomorrow! Angie xo
It says garlic sauce as the last ingredient, what is that? Looks yummy!
It is supposed to be 1 tsp. garlic salt! Thanks for letting me know, I’ll change that! :)
Okay – hit add comment on accident :)!
I have pinned so many of your delicious recipes and this is the latest I’ll have to try – thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by Rhonda, I’m glad you have enjoyed the recipes!! Hope you enjoy the sweet and sour chicken…it is so yummy!
Yum! Making this tomorrow!
My family loves Chinese food, too! I will give this recipe a try!
We love this recipe! It is also excellent made with pork instead of chicken. You can also substitute honey for the sugar, my family cannot tell the difference when I do.
Oooh those variations sound delicious! Thanks for commenting Julia, I’ll have to try pork next time! :)
How much honey would you use?
I love how popular this recipe is…it’s everywhere. The original is from http://www.melskitchencafe.com. I found it on her site years ago and have been making it ever since. There are tons of blogs that have posted it with minor variations but I always stick to the original. It’s delicious. Love your blog!
This recipe definitely is amazing! I’ll have to try her recipe, thanks for sharing Jane! :)
I found this recipe through another blog that apparently stole your recipe and pictures. http://www.lovewithrecipe.com/recipe/329.html
Thanks for letting me know! I’ll check it out!
I made this a few weeks ago and EVERYONE loved it. Its hard to find a recipe that my husband and kids all like, let alone love. I doubled the recipe and it was still gone! My daughter asked if I can make it every week :) I am making it again today; they will all be so excited!! thanks for a great recipe
Thanks so much for your comment Miriam! I am so happy your family loved it! Finding recipes for everyone is my absolute favorite. :)
Great Recipe! Loved It! Made it Saturday and debated making it again today!
Thanks for your comment Kathy! I’m glad you liked this recipe as much as we do!
Love this! I made it with tofu and not quite as much sugar, and it turned out super well! I was hoping to have leftovers to take to work, but ended up eating the entire thing (whoops). And it really wasn’t that hard and didn’t take that long. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll definitely be making this again!
I’m glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing this healthier option! :)
This looks delicious! Am making it tonight. I always end up with your recipes and they are great!!
I hope you enjoyed it Karen, this is one of our favorites! Thanks for stopping by! :)
I can’t wait to try this recipe !! Looks amazing! Just have one question .what do you mean by Tb ??
Tablespoon! Hope you enjoy Silvia! :)
Thank you ! (: I’m sure I will! For the sugar.do you use brown sugar??
Thank you for this recipe – my family love it. I have made a huge batch of the fried chicken and frozen them and frozen than in family portion bags to make it an easy, quick mid week meal.
What a great idea for a quick meal, thanks for sharing! I’m glad your family loved this recipe…it is definitely one of our favorites! :)
Is there a taste difference between rice vinegar and white distilled vinegar?
The rice vinegar has a little sweeter taste, but you can use just regular if you don’t have it on hand.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love sweet and sour chicken but never made it myself. I even think my grandsons would love it. Thank you for posting this recipe.
This is one of my families favorite recipes! Homemade sweet and sour chicken is so delicious, I hope you like it Marsha!
I made this tonight. Always wanted to try a Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe but was always afraid of the mess, time needed, and could I make something as good as my favorite Chinese restaurant. But after looking over your recipe it didn’t seem so daunting so I gave it a go. Really wasn’t to time consuming and mess was minimal. The only thing I did differently was switch the ketchup and rice vinegar measurements as my husband is not a big vinegar fan. That worked great. I asked him how he liked it, if there was anything he would change and if he would like me to make it again. I got a thumbs up so we are good. :) I thought it was yummy and am excited I finally made Chinese! Thanks Jamielyn!!
Thanks for leaving a comment and telling us about your experience making it Denise! I’m glad you and your husband liked it! I am the same way, I don’t make Chinese food too often, but when you can find a good recipe it is so worth it! :) Thanks again for stopping by!
Thanks for the recipe! My husband loved it. It was a little on the sweet side for me, but I’m excited to try the chicken with other sauces too! :)
Thanks for your comment Shelby! The chicken would definitely be yummy with other sauces as well! I’m glad your husband loved it, that is always a victory for me! :)
I have to say a big thank you. We tried this tonight for the first time and my very picky child ate this and went back for seconds. I was shocked as he said the only reason he tried it is because it smelt good! Yay a keeper recipe!
Yay! That really is the best feeling when my picky eaters go back for seconds! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for stopping by to let us know! :)
Wow, saw this on Pintrest and decided to give it a try. DELICIOUS! I would recommend not cutting the chicken in tiny pieces as I did. Definitely making this again.
I’m glad you liked it Cindy! It is definitely one of our family favorite recipes! :)
Made this last night. I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I have a hard time finding Chinese takeout recipes that actually taste like takeout. It was just me and my little one for supper last night and we both loved it!
I’m glad you and your little one loved it! This is definitely in our monthly meal rotation because the whole family will eat it! :)
Tried this tonight… AMAZING! Sooooo good, super easy! Served with Stir Fry Veggies!
Comments like yours make my day Carla! I’m so glad you tried it and loved it! :)
Looking forward to making this tonight. Just curious what you think about using a crock pot instead of the oven for the second part. My husband likes orange chicken less on the crispy side.
Hi Kate! I’ve never tried making this in the crock pot before but I’m sure it would work great! It would definitely change the texture, but it will have the same taste! If you give it a try, let us know how it goes! :)
HOLY COW!!! This seriously is the best recipe ever! I’m really skeptical when it comes to Chinese restaurants and now I can get my Chinese food fix! Seriously AMAZING! My husband better get home soon before it’s all gone! Thanks!!
Your comment made my day Ashley! I am so happy you loved this recipe, it is definitely one of my families favorites!! Thanks for commenting. :)
I just made this for lunch and wow! So good!
I’m glad you liked it Jamie! It is one of my favorites! :)
Can I use Honey or other kind of sweetener instead of Sugar?
Hi Daisy! I have never tried substituting the sugar, but you could definitely try honey! I think it would work.
I USED 1/2 c BLUE AGAVE INSTEAD OF 1 c SUGAR AND TURNED OUT GREAT IF THAT HELPS ANYONE
Thanks for sharing Calvin. I’m glad to know it works great with agave too! :)
GREAT RECIPE I USED A WOK RATHER THAN A FRYING PAN & I USED 1/2 CP AGAVE INSTEAD OF SUGAR THANK YOU FOR SHARING ! GBA
I JUST USED THE SAME RECIPE TO MAKE DRUMSTICKS AND THEY ARE FALL OFF THE BONE GOOD AND CRISPY THE ONLY THING I CHANGED WAS I BAKED THEM FOR 30 MINUTES ON EACH SIDE OUTSTANDING RESULTS THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SHARING GBA
I love this recipe! It is so worth it! I’ve used it with pork too, and it has been fabulous!
I haven’t tried it with pork…yum! This recipe takes a little bit of work, but I agree…it is so worth it! :)
I made this for my family and it was delicious, especially as my hubby doesn’t usually like sweet and sour! One question… Do you know roughly how many calories there is in it? Thanks xx
I’m glad you liked it! I’m not sure how many calories are in it, but if you google there are some calorie counting websites that you can add the ingredients into. :)
I made the sauce for dinner tonight! Yummy! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by Heidi!
I tried this recipe a few months ago. I crave it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It is the BEST! Thanks for sharing :)
I think I make this close to once a month! Love it leftver too! Can you make this in the slow cooker?
Stumbled across this recipe via pintrest. This is incredible!!! My family loves it. Hard to eat it in a restaurant now because this is too [email protected]
Thank you Vicki! This is definitely one of my favorite recipes! :)
Love Chinese food. Made this tonight! So pretty!
So glad you enjoyed these, this recipe is one of my favorites!
Sounds amazing! I’m totally gonna make it today. Tnx!
Hope you enjoyed it Sharon! This is one of my all time favorite recipes! :)
Both my kids and the grown ups in the house loved this recipe.
I doubled the amount of chicken, but needed just half the amount of cornstarch mix.
I regretted I only doubled the amount. I have to give you a huge thumbs up because this is the first recipe my son loved. I’ve tried many many recipes, he will eat some, but usually leave some of the portion if not most of it on his plate.
This time he couldn’t have enough :) thank you!!
Hi! I really can’t wait to try out this recipe, but before I start, I just want’s to know for how many people the recipe is for :-)? I really hope you can help me, even though it’s quite some time since you put the recipe up :-)
Hi! This recipe should serve between 4-6 people. :)
Thank you so much for this recipe. I make this once a week for my girlfriend and I. This taste sooo good, just like a Asian sweat and sour you get in the Asian restaurants . I also make chicken fried rice on the side the combo is awesome. Your the best Jamielyn. Thanks again!!
I’m so glad you like this recipe Joe, it is one of my favorites! Mmm I will have to try chicken fried rice with it next time!
I made this recipe tonight and it came out perfect! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
I’m so glad you liked it! It is one of our favorites! :)
Just curious does anyone know what the calorie count is for this recipe?! I’m excited to try it for the first time tonight for my boyfriend and I! I’m just curious really!
I made the sweet and sour chicken last night and my family just loved it!! What a great recipe. thank you!
I’m so glad your family loved this recipe! :)
Yr recipes look good and seem easy to make with not much preparation
made this tonight! Found it on Pinterest. Made close to 2lbs of chicken bites and my boys devoured it. We loved it! Served it over rice and quickly sautéed some red bell pepper, onions and threw in some pineapple chunks. This is my new fave sweet n sour recipe!
Hi, Cara! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s a favorite in our family too!
You instruct to fry BITE-size chicken pieces for 2 minutes then bake for 35-40 minutes. I’m just wondering if the chicken pieces turn out DRY? Seems like a long time to bake small chicken pieces. Would like to try this.
Hi! They have never turned out dry for me! With the frying, the chicken pieces aren’t 100% cooked yet, so they finish cooking in the oven! :)
This looks all so good!
I really enjoyed this recipe I’ve made it a couple of times now, I even included in my newest blog post, I gave you all the credits by the way.
http://livingwithjuan.blogspot.com/2015/03/10-cheap-and-easy-chicken-recipes.html
Thanks for the feature! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I just made this recipe. I was sceptical because of the ketchup. I followed the recipe verbatim including using rice wine vinegar.
At the end of cooking time it smelled heavenly. The chicken was well coated and some of the pieces at the corners of the tray actually got a little charred and that was outstanding! It was the best part. It was more like a sticky asian bbq sauce than sweet and sour to me. My notes on it: 1) make extra sauce or don’t use the entire thing, and instead heat or microwave it until cooked, because this finished dish doesn’t have enough to saturate rice. 2) I think small pieces of pineapple would have been excellent and may have also made it more saucey. Well done!
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for your tips and suggestions. :)
Hi Jamie I made this recipe last night absolutely delicious I only change the 1 cup sugar to honey and wanted to inform you that I will blog about this recipe some day this month or next mentioning your website and pinterest thanks for a great recipe.
I’m so glad you liked it Jackie! Thanks for sharing that switching sugar to honey worked well. :)
This was so good! I made this tonight for my husband and we both agreed it tastes just as good as takeout- better b/c it’s homemade though, imo. Thanks so much for the recipe! Sometimes “homemade take out recipes” feel like they’re missing something but this was awesome. It definitely exceeded any expectations!
I’m so glad this was a win for you and your husband. It is one of our favorites! :)
I made this, it’s so simple. Thanks for the great recipe! :)
My husband loves this! Thanks for sharing.
Making this right now! But my sauce turned out very watery. is this normal? I’m hoping it will thicken up in the oven but yes.. very very watery. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Auddie! It should have thickened up considerably while baking – due to the evaporation in the oven and the corn starch on the chicken. :)
This dish is absolutely delicious. The taste is just right not too sour nor too sweet. My family loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
Need to make these immediately! My mouth is watering!
Greets,
Hello-
This looks like a great recipe. I can’t wait to try this tonight for the family. What kind of chicken did you use? Or would chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces work.
Thanks!
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs would work perfectly!
I cannot wait to try this recipe out with my family! I think I might try chicken thighs since the breast tends to dry out and get chewy. Otherwise, I will be back for more inspiring recipes :) love from Iowa
Hi! I love this dish and tried it many times.. However, I am in a pinch. I live out in the country and currently have no cornstarch on hand. Could I use flour?
You could! It won’t be exactly the same but it’ll be close! :)
I used sesame seed oil which can withstand higher temps and didn’t have to change it out.
You specify sweet & sour sauce with an asterisk but I can’t find the reference.
We wrote out *Sweet and Sour Sauce* like that so you’d like that the ingredients below were specifically for the sauce. :)
Sweet and Sour Chicken!!!
One of the most unbelievably delicious recipes ever!!
Thank you so very much for sharing!
Wishing you happiness in 2017.
Chris
I made this last night a d it was sooo yummy!! Everyone loved it!
This is delicious! I’m going to need to get some of those tongs though, because the oil pops and burns when it pops onto my hand. My little fork isn’t long enough ,lol.
I’m so glad you liked it! It is a staple in my home! Tongs definitely help with the popping oil!
I just want to make sure I make this correctly…..I cook the chicken on each side for 1 minute is that right? And then it finishes baking in the oven? Sounds so delicious….can’t wait to make it. Thanks so much!
Just wanting to make sure I make this correct…..I cook the chicken for 1 minute on each side and then let it continue baking in the oven. Is that correct? Sounds so delicious….can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
So I left a comment and then didn’t see it posted and so I left another one and then the previous one popped up. now I don’t see either of them so hopefully they will pop up again with my question. Maybe its just my computer having an issue LOL.
I tried this recipe as a last resort after not finding jarred sweet and sour sauce. I will never need to buy a jar of sweet n sour sauce ever again!! The whole process works perfectly. I added sauteed onion and green and red bell peppers to the chicken once it was time to go into the oven. I sauteed first just in case they wouldnt be cooked enough in the oven because the chicken didn’t take very long in the oven. I may just add them raw next time to see how it turns out. I dont usually review recipes but this turned out so wonderfully I had to tell everyone. Thank you for making my son’s birthday dinner so awesome!!
Thank you so much for your comment Andrea! I’m so glad your family liked this recipe, it is one of my go-to’s when we want homemade chinese food!!
Under how to make the sauce it says half cup plus 1 tb of vinegar. What is the half of cup?
Hi Amber! It is 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 Tb of vinegar! :)
As in what ingredients I’m I using a half of cup of?
Do you have the calorie breakdown for this recipe
Hi Vickie! I’m not sure how many calories are in it, but if you google there are some calorie counting websites that you can add the ingredients into. :)
I am also very picky with meat I have to say, and I usually get to eat more veggies in general. Your recipe is really good! I too prefer to make take away at home ( I know what goes in, if you catch what I mean:) ) I make this slightly different, but I will try your recipe next time:) I am sure it’s super tasty, I can tell from the look of that sauce!
Keep up the great work, your blog is amazing.
I’ve made this one other time plus doing it as i type this. First time came out AWESOME. I’m pretty sure it will again right now. Highly recommend this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for leaving a comment and review Meghan! :)
Great Recipe! Loved It!! Thanks for a great recipe
So glad you enjoyed the chicken :)
OMG!!! That was delicious!!! Oh, and easy to prepare and most of all; clean up was a breeze! Definitely looking forward to trying more recipes. Thank you!
We made this with potato starch instead of corn startch due to corn allergy. It was awesome! The whole family loved it. Definetly a keeper!