The BEST Sweet and Sour chicken – takeout OR homemade – I have ever had in my entire life! It is also baked with pineapple, carrots, onions and bell peppers so its a complete meal-in-one with no need to stir fry extra veggies!
Please trust me when I say this is the best sweet and sour chicken I have ever had in my entire life! Better than any homemade version, better than any take-out version, better than Trader Joe’s/Whole Foods/anything version… even better than any fried version! (I can’t even guess how much healthier this must be than fried/takeout version, but its got to be monumental without sacrificing any taste!)
It so good, that along with my General Tso’s Chicken aka My Favorite Chicken Ever (which if you haven’t tried yet, YOU MUST TRY), it is often what I serve company, out of everything I could serve company!
It is also fabulous for company because after your prep is done, it simply bakes away, no last minute finishing touches or stress!
I was first introduced to a variation of this recipe from my older (and only) sister, Kimberly, who is an incredible cook!
Kimberly is the same sister who gave me a basket busting with 30 of her most favorite things for my 30th birthday (which became my favorite things!) and the same sister who gave me her kidney last October, which is also now one of my favorite things!!! I have always looked up to my sister in every way possible and now feel so honored to always have a piece of her awesomeness with me – literally :)! (You can read more about her in my Easter Soul Food)
Kim is not only responsible for my current well being, she is also almost single handedly responsible for my love of cooking.
I always liked to cook but when she gifted me a recipe binder at the beginning of my marriage for Christmas comprised of all of her tried and true recipes, it lit a fire within me. After I cooked every recipe in the binder (and because they were all her favorites, they were all delicious and turned out great!), I wanted to cook more, much more. So I started cooking new recipes almost every single night of the week and pretty soon, I started creating my own recipes almost every single night of the week.
Her baked sweet and sour chicken was always my favorite recipes from her binder. I have played with it over the years, increasing the sauce, simmering the sauce, adding spices as well as pineapple, carrots and bell peppers so it has become a baked sweet and sour “stir fry” all in one baking dish! The sweet and sour sauce is first simmered with onions and ginger and pineapple juice, to awaken and meld the flavors. The chicken is then dredged in flour then breaded in spiced cornstarch which tenderizes and flavorizes (you don’t mind if I make up words do you?) the chicken as it cooks.
After the chicken is browned, the sauce is then combined with the chicken, pineapple, carrots and bell peppers and bakes for 50 minutes. It might seem like a long time to cook chicken pieces, but in this magical 50 minutes, the sauce permeates the chicken and “stir fry” veggies and pineapple so each pillow of breaded juicy chicken and each and every pineapple, carrot and bell pepper piece seep with sweet and sour goodness – the perfect balance of of sweet and sour goodness, I might add.
After what seems like an impossible task of self control, the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple, Carrots, and Bell Peppers is ready to be devoured when it has soaked up every last drop of the sweet and sour sauce.
When I make this Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, I always think of my sister, Kimberly, and how she is such a generous, courageous, selfless person (did I mention she is also the perfect, patient mother to 5 children?).
When I eat this Baked Sweet and Sour chicken, I hope to become more like her, in more ways than just sharing matching kidneys.
So in honor of my sister Kimberly, I give you Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple, Carrots, and Bell Peppers – so you too can take part of her awesomeness with you.
| Servings | -6 |
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 1/2 pounds), cut in bite-size pieces)**
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice from 20 oz. pineapple tidbits can listed below
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits in juice
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup carrots sliced as THINLY as possible (2-3 carrots)
Ingredients Chicken Breading
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Vegetables/Pineapple
| Rate this recipe! |
- Add "Sweet and Sour Sauce" ingredients to a medium/large saucepan, stir and bring to a boil then reduce to a gentle simmer. Allow to simmer while you prepare the chicken and dice the vegetables, stirring occasionally (turn off if longer than 20 minutes). Note, the sauce will not thicken, simmering is to soften the onions and blend flavors.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, set aside. Add 1/2 cup flour to a large freezer bag; set aside next to eggs. Whisk cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ginger powder and onion powder in medium bowl; set aside next to flour.
- Add chicken to eggs and coat, then remove, allowing excess to drip off, then add to freezer bag with flour. Toss until evenly coated then discard any extra flour. Add cornstarch/spices to the chicken in the freezer bag and shake until evenly coated.
- Over high heat, heat enough oil (any kind) to generously cover the bottom of a large skillet until hot and rippling. Add chicken and cook 1-2 minutes per side, or until browned but not cooked through. (You may need to cook in 2 batches depending on size of your skillet). Transfer chicken to prepared 9x13 baking dish.
- Add carrots pineapple and peppers to the sweet and sauce and mix until well combined. Pour sauce over chicken and stir until sauce/chicken/vegetables are evenly combined. Cook, uncovered for 50 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over rice. Enjoy!
**If your chicken breasts are extra thick (like the ones from Costco), I recommend tenderizing/flattening with a meat mallet or the side of a large can beforehand)
Carlsbad Cravings Original inspired by Kim’s Sweet and Sour chicken
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You might also like:
Sesame Chicken Egg Rolls with Sweet and Sour Hoisin Sauce
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Chinese Five Spice Chicken Wings with Sticky Soy, Balsamic Reduction Glaze
Secret Ingredient Better than Takeout Beef and Broccoli
Sweet and Spicy Skinny Cashew Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
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That is such a delicious looking meal. I have never attempted my own Sweet & Sour, but I want to try this!
Thanks Erinn! You should definitely try it, I know you will be so happy you did!!!
This looked so yummy I made it for dinner last night. It is as delicious as it looks. I will be making this again. The one thing I changed was the sugar. I used half of what it said. A new favorite at our house.
Hi Lyn, thank you so much for visiting my site! So happy to hear that the chicken is “as delicious as it looks”! great compliment! I am so intrigued that it wasn’t too sour with half the sugar – I am definitely going to have to try that! I haven’t wanted to “mess with a good thing” but it sounds like some more experimenting is in order! Thanks again Lyn!
Second time making making this recipe I fried the chicken instead and did everything on the stove and it came out amazing it taste exactly like a popular Asian restaurant here in Montreal,I’m so happy I finally found a recipe that taste exactly like the chicken at the restaurant. Now I can make this whenever I want thanks:) can’t wait to try your other recipes!!!
Oh how you flatter me Nikki! I am thrilled you were able to make this on the stove and have it taste like your favorite restaurant – yay! I hope you have fun exploring and trying my other recipes!!!
I just made this and it was amazing! The flavor was delicious… Tasted just like from a restaurant. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
You are most welcome Alexis, so happy you loved it! YAY!
This looks even better than the sweet and sour chicken I usually make! 😀
Thanks Ashley! You’ll have to try it out and tell me what you think!
Jen, You give me too much credit! Love you – your pictures are awesome!
Love you too Kim! It’s impossible to give you too much credit! I can NEVER give you enough credit!
Okay, this is TOTALLY happening in my kitchen soon! What an incredible recipe and pretty healthy too! Not fried and all that. Seems easy too and I am ALL for that!
Yes, easy, healthy and delicious, can’t beat that! Excited for you to try it! Thanks Sophia!
Looks like a nice dish to prepare! We order this from the take out all the time.
and an even nicer dish to eat! Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by!
I think my family will LOVE this. It looks so yummy! I have really missed these types of foods ever since I discovered my gluten intolerance (celiac disease). I love that this recipe uses mostly corn starch and only 1/2 cup of flour- I can use the gluten free flour and it should still taste pretty good since there isn’t a whole lot of flour in this recipe. I also have a gluten free soy sauce- so I am set to try this!!!
Thank you to both you and Kimberly. Both amazingly awesome women!
We had such a nice visit with your Mom and Dad when they were in town last Friday.
Thanks for sharing!
I am so happy you got to see my parents! I hope they gave you all a big hug from me!!!
I am happy you can still make this! The flour is to help the cornstarch stick better but you can even leave it out and I think it would still be fine. Here’s a gluten free pinterest board that you might like: http://www.pinterest.com/amspecks90/gluten-free-living/
xoxo!
What a great sister! How blessed you both are to have each other! This looks fantastic, Jennifer! I am putting it on my to do list!! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Marion, I hope you enjoy! and Yes, I have the best sister ever! Feeling blessed everyday!
And again with being hungry again…. seriously, I LOVE sweet & sour chicken… without bell peppers though. ^_^;
Luckily the bell pepper are easy to leave out and it will still be delish! Enjoy!!!
Love Sweet and Sour Chicken! Your recipe looks delicious! Love it!
Thanks so much Serena!
This looks so delicious! I love sweet and sour chicken! Great recipe!
Thanks Sheena! Sweet and Sour Chicken is the best! Enjoy!
This looks absolutely awesome! I will have to give it a try! Thanks!
Please do and let me know what you think! I think you will love it :)!
Looks incredible! I may add flavorize to my vocab too 🙂
LOL! It totally sounded like a real word, but spell check told me otherwise 🙂
Great recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken! I love the fact it’s baked!!
Baked and still tastes amazing! Thanks Heidy!
This looks delicious! I’m going to have to give it a try. Pinning!
Thanks Michele! Can’t wait for you to try it!
Sounds to me like you have the best sister a girl could ask for and it also sounds like she must think the same! 🙂 I love this recipe and I’m definitely making it. Grumpy always, always, always, orders sweet and sour chicken when we get take out. I’m anxious to try this on him!
I definitely have the best sister! I feel very blessed! Can’t wait fr you to try the sweet and sour chicken – I think you’ll like it just as much as takeout – or more! Thanks Shelby!
It looks amazing!
I tried to share it but it wouldn’t let me ;-(
Thank you! and thanks for letting me know it wouldn’t let you share it. I’ll have to check that out. Much appreciated!
Colorful, sweet and delicious!! Pass the chop sticks please!
Thanks Kecia! I wish I could pass the chopsticks with some sweet and sour chicken through the screen!
Now this looks good, and I’m pretty sure most of my kids would enjoy this too! 🙂
Thanks Lori! I think your kids would love it!!
This looks incredible! I love making take out at home.
Is that a 1/2 C or 1 1/2 C of sugar? If it is 1 1/2 cups of sugar, have you tried making it with less? It seems like a lot!
The dish looks wonderful!
Hi Tricia, it is indeed 1 1/2 cups sugar because it is 1 whole cup of red wine vinegar, so that much “sweet” is needed to balance out the “sour.” (It makes a lot of sauce) The only real way of making it with less sugar is to make less sweet and sour sauce – you could half the sauce completely (so its only 3/4 cup sugar) and then either leave the chicken the same and then leave out the carrots, and bell peppers OR half the sauce and then half ALL the rest of the ingredients. Hope this helps!
Thanks! I am looking forward to making this.
This looks delicious- I can’t wait to try it! I may have just overlooked it… But at what temp should the chicken be baked?
Thanks Marguerite for catching that – I must be losing my marbles! It is supposed to be baked at 350 degrees. I will edit the recipe to reflect the change. Thank you so much and enjoy!
I’d love to make this, but wondering what temp you baked it at? Thanks!
Hi Liz, I just updated the recipe to reflect the baking time of 350. Sorry about that!!!
Thanks so much! I made this for my family tonight(used gluten free flour) and it was delicious!! Everyone loved it, thanks!!
Yay! Thank you so much for letting me know! LOVE when the whole family loves it!!!
I love, love, LOVE sweet and sour chicken! I need to try this! 🙂 I’ve pinned it!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
Thanks Jess, I think you will LOVE this one too! Thanks for hosting the Link Up!
This does not seem too hard at all. I’d probably try this some time!
Yes, please do! You will NOT be disappointed!
My family LOVED this. I followed the recipe but it looks like you also added green onion (from the photos).
If so, how much green onion did you add?
This is now on our “Favorite Dinner” list. EVERYONE gave it the thumbs up.
Thank You!
I am so happy your family LOVED it! That make me so happy! I just used the green onions for garnish so I am not really sure how much I used. I would just say a scant scattering per serving, but its totally optional. I am sorry if that is way vague!
The pictures make this dish delicious. I am big fan of sweet & sour. Unfortunately, I have not had much success recreating the same thing at home. I will have to try this and your food looks like that!
Thanks Lenze! Yes please try and let me know what you think! Hopefully this will be your winning sweet and sour chicken!
Made this last night and it was awesome. Somehow, though, the flour turned into a goopy mess when i tried to put the chicken pieces in. Maybe there was too much egg still on the chicken? I don’t know, but it was still good. Just a different consistency than I am used too when it was done. My mom and dad who love chinese food thought this sweet and sour chicken was awesome too. 🙂 It takes some work, but when I have the extra time, I’ll definitely be making this again!
So happy you loved it Kayla! The goop was probably caused from too much egg as you said, but I love how forgiving this recipe is when everything is cooked! Thank you so much for letting me know both you and your parents loved it, that makes me smile!
Is it possible to brown/cook the chicken ahead of time and then pop it all into the oven later?
Hi Julia! It would definitely work to brown the chicken before hand. I would keep the chicken and the sauce/veggies separate and when ready to cook, combine and you are good to go! Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.
I love the look of this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing, I will be making this tonight. I am so pleased the chicken isn’t deep fried 🙂 I am also going to follow you in Pinterest now.
I am excited for you to make this recipe Julie! I think almost all foods are just as good baked instead of fried with the only exceptions being corn dogs and country fried steak – for our occasional guilty pleasures 🙂 Thanks for following me on pinterest and for visiting my site! I am excited to hear how you like your sweet and sour chicken tonight!
I was just about to give up on internet recipes, because out of about 200 or so only 2 have come out good! Then I saw your website and was won over by the story about your sister and the binder she gave you when you got married. I decided to give your recipe a shot and guess what? It came out fabulous! I cut down the garlic to just 2 cloves, because my garlic is strong, and I used fresh pineapple juice made in my juicer and fresh ginger minced in my garlic press but other than that I stuck to the recipe. Next time I might try replacing half the vinegar with some cooking wine to see how the flavor is. Also, I am so going to start making myself a recipe binder and for sure this recipe is going in it! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Oh Colleen, your comment was one of the best compliments I have received! To be 1 of the recipes you’ve tried and loved out of A LOT of recipes is quite an honor! I am SO HAPPY you gave my Sweet and Sour Chicken a shot – sounds like its making it in your new binder 🙂 The changes you made sound delicious as well. I hope you try many of my other recipes and hopefully they can make it in your binder as well 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! Brought a big smile to my face!
This was AMAZING! My whole family loved it! A+
Can’t get any better than an A+ :)! It can be hard to find recipes your whole family loves, so I am so happy this was a family hit! Thanks Jenn!
This looks like a wonderful recipe and I’m going to take your word for it that this is the best sweet-and-sour pork you’ve ever had. I definitely want to make it but my concern is the amount of sugar. . At 1 1/2 cups it seems excessive. Is this a typo? Please tell me that it is – LOL
Hi Gloria, thanks for visiting my site! Yes it is a indeed 1 1/2 cups sugar needed to balance out the 1 whole cup of red wine vinegar, creating the balance of “sweet” and “sour.” I hope you give it a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
WOW!! I made this tonight for dinner as promised and I have to say you were right, this was the best sweet and sour I have ever had. Had to make a couple of small changes: I cut the sugar back to 2/3 cup and found that it was more than enough and used pork instead of chicken because I had a 1 pound piece of pork tenderloin in my refrigerator that I had to use.
I made the mistake of not reading the whole recipe which I usually do and mixed the flour, cornstarch and seasoning together. It didn’t make one bit of difference because the pork pieces came out crisp and delicious. I also added the vegetables to the sauce at the beginning and gave it a head start cooking while I browned the pork. Into a 350 oven for 30 minutes which was sufficient to cook everything perfectly. This was without a doubt the most incredibly delicious sweet-and-sour I have ever had. My only regret was that I didn’t make enough sauce-next time I will double the sauce because it is absolutely sensational. Good job Jen – thank you for posting.
I am thrilled you loved it so much! I am intrigued by the changes you made and am going to have to give them a try! Thank you so much for letting me know how much you loved it!!!
Oh my gosh – I followed a Pinterest link for your Beef and Broccoli. Simple enough. But here I am half an hour later, having pinned several of your delicious recipes and subscribed to your blog.
So glad I found you – recipes with proper nutritious ingredients instead of using cans of cream of soup as a base 🙂
Yay Lynne! I am so happy you found my blog too! Your comment made me so happy! (if you can’t tell by 3 “!” already 🙂 ) I love it when new soul “food” mates” are made. Happy cooking!
I was wondering if you ever tried it in a crockpot. I would love to have it as a Sunday lunch item, but I tend to use the crockpot for Sunday lunch.
Hi Marie, I have never tried it in a crockpot, so I can’t guarantee how it would come out, but I think it would work just fine. If you try , let me know! Sorry I can’t be of more help!
I love sweet and sour chicken and yours is so colorful! Thanks for sharing at Foodie Friends Friday!
My absolute pleasure! Thank you for having me!
Thanks Tracey! I think you will love it! I do have a recipe for orange chicken 🙂 I wasn’t planning on posting it quite yet but definitely within the year. Stay tuned 🙂
Pinned and will be sharing on FB!! Love this combo of flavors
Hugs from Freedom Fridays!
Thank you so much for visiting, pinning and sharing! So much appreciated! Hugs right back at ‘ya! 🙂
My family loves this! Thanks so much for sharing at Freeodm Fridays – I’m sharing on my FB page today! 🙂
My pleasure! Thank you so much for sharing! Love your page!
I usually do not comment on recipes but this dish came out AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
I am on a set budget and love sweet and sour chicken but never go out to dinner often because it is expensive. Now thanks to you I can have one of my favorite dishes whenever I want. This is as good, if not better, than any I have ever had at a restaurant. I had it for supper last night and dinner today. Posted on my Pin Interest page. Thank you very much.
As I said I love this as postted. But my dh wants the sauce a little less thick so it will saturate into the rice. How would you suggest I thin it just a wee bit? My neighbors comment was “You hit the taste, just right!”
Hi Brenda, I am so happy you found my sweet and sour chicken and love and can make it any time you want :)! I was thrilled to know you liked it as much as takeout! The sauce is made to saturate into the chicken so by the end there isn’t much “sauce” left. If you want more/thinner sauce, I think the best option without changing the flavor is to use less chicken or vegetables or you could increase the sauce by another 1/3 or 1/2. Hope this helps!
I made this recipe for my family tonight. The only thing I did differently was instead of stir frying the chicken in a pan, I just placed the seasoned chicken in the prepared 13×9 dish. Baked for 20 minutes stirring half way through. Then added the sauce and cooked until it thickened. I really didn’t want to dirty another dish. My husband loved it and he is extremely picky! Thank you!
Hi Amber, I am so happy you and your husband loved the sweet and sour chicken! It’s always so nice to find a dish that everyone enjoys – which isn’t always easy 🙂 I’m glad you were able to cook the chicken all in the oven too -what a great idea to not dirty another dish :)!
This looks SO tasty, I’m sharing on my social media (wish I could tag your twitter… do you tweet?
Hi Hilary! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you as I’ve been out of the country all week (all my posts have been pre-scheduled). thank you so much for sharing my Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, much appreciated! I have a twitter account but I haven’t started tweeting yet – I really need to though! I think you just gave me the impetus to get on that this week! Thanks again for visiting!
I made this last night for my family, and it was outstanding! I got my husband to help, which rarely happens! It was enough to feed an army, plus have some leftovers! Definitely going to make again, all my boys loved it! Thank you for posting this!
Hi Claudia, I am so happy you and your whole family loved it, that makes me so happy! Its always nice to find a recipe everyone likes – let alone you can get your husband to help make :)!
Hi Jen. I was quite sceptical at first when you said” this is the best sweet and sour chicken I have ever had in my entire life!” I have followed different recipes and instructions religiously but not everything went and tasted like it was described.
Then i told myself i’ll have a go on this one as the photo looks really mouth-watering. You never let me down mate! thank you for this wonderful recipe. Reallllyyy gooooood! And your story is wonderful too! Say hi to Kimberly for me.
Hi Ram, you are most welcome for the recipe. I know how that can be to be so excited for a recipe and then it doesn’t turn out so I am so happy the Sweet and Sour Chicken didn’t disappoint! So happy you loved it! Thank you for your wonderful comment and I will definitely say Hi to Kim for you 🙂 🙂
Just found your blog and already have a half dozen recipes bookmarked (and mentally marked URGENT!) that I cannot WAIT to try! Your pictures and the food in them look INCREDIBLE. Though I fear the word incredible in all-caps isn’t strong enough… I was just staring at the pictures of the 5-spice chicken wings and saying, “wow…….” repeatedly. You’ve done a terrific job on your blog, and I really appreciate your fun writing style! Not to mention I love your story about your sister! I am so glad for you!!! Praise God! Thanks for all the hard work and time you’ve clearly put into your blog, I wish you the best!
Angie, thank you so much for your super thoughtful comment and bounty of compliments, your words had me smiling for days and all over again when I reread it to reply! I am so happy you found my blog and I am excited for you to try some of the URGENT recipes :)! I wish you and yours the best as well!!!
I normally don’t leave comments about recipes, but this was fabulous! Made it last night and I told my husband it was the best chicken recipe we’ve ever made. He is allergic to peaches and apricots so he can never eat sweet and sour chicken out for fear the sauce has them in it. We doubled the recipe, used our Dutch oven to go easily from stove to oven, and will freeze the rest. The Dutch oven worked great…maybe took a little longer, but we also had double the ingredients in it. Wonderful and really pretty dish!!
Hi Lindsay, I am so glad you did take the time to comment and so happy you all loved the recipe! That makes me so happy :)! What a great idea to cook it in the Dutch oven as well and I love that you doubled it to have leftovers – thank goodness it turned out 🙂 Hope you find more recipes you love on my site! Thanks again Lindsay!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and your love for life with us! Going to try it this week
My pleasure Debbi, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy!
Made this last night, followed advice of suggestion in comments and reduced sugar to 2/3 cup. Since I’d never made it before, not sure of the exact effect this had on the recipe, but it was yummy! And we have dinner for two nights. Thanks! Your story is inspirational, and so is your love for your sister.
I am so happy you loved it Courtney, even with less sugar – that is always a good thing 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind words. I am so blessed to have my sister!
Just made this tonight and my boyfriend gave it the double thumbs up, he said, “now that you can cook this we will never need to order Chinese takeout again!” This was truly better than almost all Chinese takeout I have had!
What an awesome compliment, thank you so much! I am thrilled you both loved it so much!!!
This looks great! I am concerned however that 1 1/3 cups of is too much. That’s almost half a container….
Is that right?
Thanks Linda! I am assuming you are referring to the sugar? Yes, 1 1/2 cups is accurate because it makes a lot of sauce. Others have said in their comments that they have used 3/4 cup or 1 cup instead and it still tasted delicious. I have not tried less sugar yet as I feel right now the sugar perfectly balances the red wine vinegar. I hope you enjoy!
I am always looking for ways to cook more healthful foods. I absolutely love cooking and Chinese food is one of my favorites. Your recipes look wonderful and I’m following you on Pinterest so I can get more ideas from you. Thank you for sharing this. I will definitely be trying out your recipes.
Hi Desiree, I am so happy you found my site! I am excited for you to try this Sweet and Sour Chicken – I think you will love it! I hope you have fun browsing my recipe archives, I only post what I love, so I hope you love it too! 🙂
I would like to prepare this meal before I pick up my daughter. Would it be okay to follow all the steps up until sticking go it in the oven? And instead place in in the fridge until time for dinner?
Hi Kayla! I would complete all the steps up until combining the sauce and the chicken – so once you get home all you have to do is pour the sauce over everything and bake. Enjoy!
The pineapple tidbits are they in the heavy syrup or just water?
Hi Mary! They are the tidbits in pineapple juice. Hope this helps!
Hi Jen. I tried and succeeded at this recipe and it came out wonderfully! I love cooking and i usually get compliments from my husband. When i made this sweet and sour chicken, wow-i got THE compliment of compliments. Its become our favourite of late. Why buy chineese when you can make Jen’s sweet and sour chicken.!
Hi Mandisa, YOUR comment is the compliment of compliments :)! I am so happy you both loved it enough to become your latest favorite! Thank you!
Can this be adapted for gluten-free? Have you experimented with a gluten-free flour blend instead of the flour? This looks so yummy and I want to try it but we eat gluten-free.
Hi Jessica! I have not experimented with a gluten free flour but I think a gluten free flour would work fine in this case. I recommend trying with Bob Red’s Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Flour. I have used this in baking recipes with excellent results. http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-1-to-1-baking-flour.html
I made this just leaving the flour out completely and it turned out great!
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it I can attest that it is the best sweet and sour chicken!! It is soooo good. I must say it takes quite a bit of time to make; it’s always the chicken part that takes forever for me. The sauce comes together pretty easily and is delicious and when baked with the cornstarch coated chicken, it thens up beautifully. Both times I have increased the sauce, the first time I multiplied it by .5 then this time I doubled it. I really like sauce (like it makes the dish for me); so I am glad I double it. I also add extra veggies and chicken since I want to have lots of leftovers when I spend so much time to make this dish already. You could reduce the sugar in the sauce but I added most of it this time since I was cooking for others and just wanted it to be its maximum deliciousness! This is a winner recipe; so thank you. I need to try your other Chinese recipes!
Wow, Joy, thank you for the ultimate compliment of attesting that this is the best sweet and sour chicken! I agree, the chicken does take some time but I am glad you agree that it is so worth it! I love that you have customized it to just how you like it. I hope you enjoy my other Asian recipes as well – they are some of my favorites! Thanks again!
This sounds delicious. However, I do not own a bottle of ketchup! Is there something I could substitute for ketchup? I am saving, just in case!
Thanks
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca! I have not made this substitution so I cannot guarantee that it will come out exactly the same, but my best suggestion would be to substitute 6 tablespoons tomato paste plus 3 tablespoons sugar for the 6 tablespoons ketchup. Best of luck!
It is not often that I find a cooking/baking site that keeps me coming back repeatedly. I was so thankful to have stumbled across your blog. EVERYTHING I have tried has been 100% wonderful and raved about. This Baked S & S Chicken recipe was the first one I tried and it blew us away with how delicious it was and how tender the chicken was. All of your recipes that I have tried have turned out exactly as you said they should. We look forward to many more delicious meals. Thank you!!
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you Debbie as I have been out of the country without internet for over a week but I was SO happy to come back home to your comment! Seriously, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and make my day! I love hearing that you have enjoyed all my recipes and that they have all turned out – YAY! We must be foodie kindred spirits with the same taste in food 🙂 I hope you continue to find more recipes you love her! Thanks again!!!
Thank you for your reply. Last night I made your “Secret Ingredient Mongolian Beef” and it was another keeper! So very delicious. I often find that I double/triple the amount of spice in recipes to get a deeper, richer flavour. But, I followed your recipe exactly, and it was perfect. Thank you “foodie kindred spirit” :)!
So happy you loved the Mongolian Beef! I LOVE spices and try to keep myself from over spicing everything so I am happy we are on the same page 🙂 Love that you keep trying more recipes – so fun! Have a fabulous weekend!
I have made this recipe several times now. The first time I cut back on the sugar. A little too vinegary for me but it was still tasty but I didn’t make that mistake again! Used pineapple chunks, red and green bell peppers, no flour (just the cornstarch and spices). I also increased the garlic and ginger. Husband asked for it again and we both really loved it. I love it when I find a keeper of a recipe.
Hi Karen, I am so happy this recipe is a keeper – the ultimate compliment, thank you!!! I have had questions about cutting back on the sugar so I am glad to know that it is indeed the right amount! sorry you learned the hard way but glad you tried again! I hope you find more recipes t love here!
Thank you so much for posting this amazing recipe! This is not the first recipe for sweet and sour chicken I’ve attempted and a big downfall before was disappointing batter for other recipes, but oh boy did the batter turn out perfect for this recipe! Everyone loved this dish!
I do admit I had my doubts when I initially poured the sauce over the chicken in the baking dish and it didn’t have that red colour but that was remedied by the oven time. Also out of pure laziness I mixed the flour with the cornstarch and other dry ingredients in the freezer bag. But I must say turned out great! I got so many compliments! Thanks so much!
You are so welcome Tiffany, I am so thrilled you finally found a sweet and sour recipe you love – YAY! I will have to try combining the cornstarch/ingredients knowing that it worked for you and saved a step – win- win! Thanks again, I hope you find more recipes to love here!
I would just like to comment on your sweet and sour chicken…..It was fantastic!!!!! I will be including this recipe in my “special” recipe book. Thanks for a great recipe.
Yes! Always the highest honor to make it into the “special” recipe book – THANK YOU! so happy you loved it! Thanks for visiting my site and for taking the time to comment! I hope you find a lot more recipes to love!
Just made this and it turned out beautiful. Tad too sweet for our liking so I would reduce sugar to 1c next time but there definitely will be a next time.
🙂
Hi Kerstin, I am glad you enjoyed it and there will be a next time -with less sugar 🙂 Thanks!
Tried this tonight and it’s definitely a keeper!!! My son who is home from college declared that THIS was the great home cooked meal he’s been waiting for. My daughter proclaimed it better than a Chinese restaurant. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you!
you are so welcome! Thank YOU for sharing the rave reviews – yay!!! I am so happy that everyone loved it so much!
This was the best sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever had! Also, I don’t know if it was the fact that the chicken was baked in the sauce in the oven, but the chicken was so juicy and tender inside – I have a tendency to overcook it when it’s fried all the way in the pan. Thanks for the great recipe – my husband was also very impressed with it!
I am going through old comments and am SO embarrassed I am just now seeing this but THANK YOU so much for your comment! I am so happy you and your husband both enjoyed it!!!
Omg I totally forgot to add the cornflour mix to the flour mix before frying!! What can I do to save it?
Sorry Sophie I am seeing your comment too late! I hope it turned out okay!
It was the best sweet and sour dish I’ve ever had! I can only imagine how delicious it’d be if I followed the instructions 😉
This was simple AMAZING! I tried it tonight and my family loved it! It tasted just like the sweet and sour chicken from a restaurant, wait let me correct myself, it tasted better because it was not greasy. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My family loved it! Just think, I spent only $23 on all of the ingredients (which includes the chicken and rice) and I got two night’s dinner out of it. THIS IS A MUST TRY RECIPE!
YAY! I am thrilled you loved it so much Wendy! Thank you for making my day!
Made this tonight! It was so delicious. The sauce didn’t thicken up at all and made the breeding a little soggy. I followed the recipe but maybe I missed something. How do you think an up. the sauce? Thanks!
Hi Leslie! Glad you enjoyed it! As far as the sauce thickening – there is no thickening agent, it just thickens as it simmers down. There shouldn’t be very much sauce left at all by the time its done baking – just enough to coat the chicken so if there was extra sauce you can add more chicken next time. As far as the chicken being soggy, I would suggest browning the chicken longer before baking. Hope this helps! 🙂
I’m so glad that I found your blog! As a young wife and mother its a struggle to get dinner on the table every day with everything else on my plate, but all your recipes are easy and full of flavor. I wish I had a sister who had given me a cookbook when I first got married! Keep up the good work and the kid friendly hidden vegetables 🙂
I am so happy you found my blog as well, Jessica and so happy to hear you find my recipes easy and flavorful – win, win – thank you!!! I’ll do my best with the hidden veggies 🙂
I had extra bell peppers and plenty of frozen chicken breasts, so I searched for a baked sweet and sour chicken recipe. Eureka! The only challenge I had is that the sauce never really thickened. However, that did not discourage me. I did a quick cornstarch slurry, after draining the sauce back into a pan. It thickened up beautifully, and I returned it to the baked chicken. My husband absolutely loved it. You’re right. It’s better than take-out and I know what’s in it. Thank you. This one’s a keeper.
I am so happy you stumbled upon my recipe and agreed it was better than take-out! Thank you so much!!
The 1/2 tsp of red flakes was too much for my kiddos but the husband and I liked it next time no flakes great recipe though thanks
My daughter and I are giving this a try tonight — wish me luck.
Just one question — all your pictures of this look like they contain scallions, which aren’t mentioned anywhere in the ingredients or instructions. Were the scallions an omission?
Hi John, the scallions are just a garnish – you can add them to taste after cooking if desired 🙂 Enjoy!
The sweet and sour chicken is awesome. You need the time to make it but it will definitely be worthwhile. Thank you
Thank you Barbara, I am so happy you loved it and I appreciate your kind comment!!
I found this recipe about one week ago and we had it for dinner. My husband said “You need to give that girl a big thank you!” Although I am a very good cook, I have never seen him eat two large bowls like he did tonight. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes and thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
You are so welcome Sandi! I am thrilled he love enough for 2 big bowls – yay! I hope you find more recipes to love here – I would try my Mongolian Beef or Caramelized Cashew Ginger Chicken next if you like Chinese food 🙂 Enjoy and thank you!
This looks great! In step #6 it says to cook until sauce stirring occasionally. Is it suspose to say…until sauce “thickens”? Thank you for your delicious recipes! Time to browse your site.
Hi Lisa, in step 1 it says to simmer the sauce just to meld the flavors and it will not thicken and in step 6 you are just combining everything, together so its evenly coated in the sauce – the sauce will still be thin but will be absorbed by the chicken as it cooks. Hope this helps!
Hi! Reader from New Zealand here- I found you on Pintrest and have just made this amazing meal for the third time. Thank you for your delicious, easy to follow recipes
Hi Jenn all the way from New Zealand, welcome! I am thrilled you found my site and have already made this three times – wahoo! Thank you for your kind comment! I hope you continue to have fun exploring my site and trying my recipes! All the best!
Hi Jen, I found this recipe on Pinterest while searching for a baked version of sweet’n’sour chicken. Your pictures were very enticing and your chicken looked quite yummy, so I decided to give it a try. Like many other readers I was rather perplexed at first when I saw how much sugar I was supposed to use. Well….let me tell you, the result was simply fantastic! Sugar and vinegar are in the right amount and proportion and you are also totally right about the 50 minutes oven cooking. This sweet and sour chicken was absolutely delicious and both my family and my friends were enthusiastic about it! Thank you very much for your recipe! I will visit you blog and search for other nice ideas!
Hi Francesca, I am so happy you followed the recipe and loved the results – phew and wahoo :)! and welcome to my site! I hope you have fun exploring and trying new recipes!
This Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is AMAZING! Has anyone ever tried freezing it?
Thank you Melody, so happy you loved it!! I haven’t frozen it but maybe someone else will chime in…
I made this for dinner tonight. It was excellent! Thanks for the recipe.
You are so welcome Kaye, so happy you loved it!
Going to make this recipe tonight! Can you tell me – do I cut up the chicken before I put in the oil and bake? Or do you bake in the sauce and cut up after cooked? I’m thinking before so it can be coated with the corn starch mixture? Thanks!
Hi Lauren! Yes, you cut them first and then add to egg mixture, then flour, then cornstarch mixture. Good luck, hope you love it!
This recipe looked so delicious and with soooo many wonderful comments on it I decided to try making it tonight. Not sure how i missed that the chicken was to be cut into bite size pieces, (both in the photo and in the ingredients list ), but I managed to. Instead I breaded the chicken breasts as per your instructions and used fresh pineapple and mini sweet peppers, making the sauce a little chunkier. I put them in the baking pan with the sauce piled on top of the breasts and slathered them in it. While Im sure it would be more delicious had I followed your instructions, this dish still came out so good I cant imagine what better would taste like! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, you make chicken sound good for dinner again (I was so over it). I cant wait to try some more recipes of yours!
Thanks again!!
Tanya
Hi Tanya, I am so relieved this recipe turned out delicious even with full chicken breasts! I hope you have fun exploring my recipes and hopefully falling in love with chicken again! 🙂
love this recipe! Leftovers the next day taste even better! I added cherries to mine…yum. did anyone else think it was spicy? I don’t know why mine had such a kick to it.
Hi Ann! love the addition of cherries – I never would have thought of that but I can totally taste it, yum! The kick was probably from the red pepper flakes – so I would use 1/4 teaspoon next time for less of a kick. So glad you liked it though!
I made this last night. It was amazing, very flavorful. I love Chinese food, making it myself is way better than going out.
Awesome, I am thrilled you loved this, thank you so much Colleen!
I have made this dish several times, never changing a ingredient or instruction and trust me I am always tweaking something. It is the best dish ever better than most take outs. I am so happy you shared recipe and I am not lying get one bit, it was and is delicious thank you
What an awesome comment/review Nikki, thank you so so much! I am thrilled you love it so much, even better than most takeout! I hope you find more recipes to love here!
Having to go gluten free, I really miss takeout Chinese food. This was so good. I did use rice flour instead of regular flour. Would not change a thing. The chicken was so tender. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. Tonight I’m making the Mongolian Beef. Can’t wait to try it
Hi Michelle, I am so happy this was such a hit and you were able to use rice flour instead to make it gluten free- yay! My mother in law is gluten free and I often make my Asian dishes for her as well 🙂 Hope you loved the Mongolian Beef – and the Beef and Broccoli is even better 🙂
I lived in China for 14 years and one of the dishes I often ordered in restaurants there was sweet and sour chicken – or pork. Sometimes it was good but sometimes it was just ‘meh’. Now that I’m back in Canada for good, I wanted to find a good sweet and sour chicken recipe to try. I just stumbled on yours and thought I’d give it a try. I’m just a beginner cook, so figure that I’ll follow your recipe as it is before doing any possible tinkering. One thing, though, that has me a bit disturbed (even more than I usually am) is the amount of sugar called for. I understand that this is to balance out the vinegar, but is there some way to cut back on both sugar and vinegar, such as substituting something else for part of the vinegar?
Just curious (Zhishi Haoqi)!
Hi Bruce, I would have to experiment with the recipe in order to cut back the sugar and use a substitute. Sorry!
Thank you for this recipe. Delicious
You are so welcome Charlotte, I am so happy you enjoyed it!
Hi! I am ready to make this recipe this week. I think my twin boys will love it. Have you heard of anyone replacing the sugar with honey? Do you think this is a good idea? Or coconut sugar? Thanks!
Hi Christine, Sorry but I haven’t had any feedback from anyone doing that- let me know if you decide to try it, I’d love to hear the results!
OMG…. this was delectable! Hubs a way too much he liked it so well. Shared I on FB too.
haha – eating too much is the ultimate complement 🙂 SO happy you both loved it, thanks Gwen!
Stumbled across your page because my son asked if we could order sweet & sour chicken for dinner, but since we are on a tight budget at the moment I had to tell him no… then I saw this and realized I had everything onhand except the pineapple! Quick trip to the minimart and we were in business… my kids have always been weird about bell peppers but since they are a veggie that is readily available year round here in Nepal, I’m training their palettes by adding to everything anyway. I sliced them very thinly and in this rich sauce, they gobbled them up, commenting repeatedly, “Mom, this is better than Pho 99!” I personally found the sauce a bit too much on the “sweet” side so will probably scale back the sugar next time, but I also ended up having to use apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar because I didn’t realize until after my quick shop that I was out, so perhaps that affected the sweetness a wee bit. Thanks for this lovely recipe! If I were writing a ‘review’ I would add “100% toddler-approved!” I intend to peruse your blog further now!
That is awesome Erin Joy, thank you so so much! I am thrilled it was such a hit with the family! I hope you find more recipes your whole family will love here!
This meal is DELICIOUS! Try it now.
Thanks Mariann!!!