Skip the take out – this Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe is so good that you’ll put it on the permanent rotation. Chicken is coated in a sweet and sticky sauce and baked to perfection.
Years ago, I worked in an office where they would bring in lunch every day. I mostly skipped that lunch and opted to head home for my lunch hour instead, but every once in awhile, I’d stick around and have some of the lunch that was provided that day.
I remember one day, (I was pregnant with my first child, so let’s blame this on pregnancy haha), the lunch was from a local Chinese restaurant. And it smelled so good. So I decided to have lunch at work that day. I chose out an egg roll and some sweet and sour chicken, then went to my desk to eat – only to be completely disappointed. It was not good at all, and I don’t think I even ended up eating it.
That is what led me to this recipe so many years ago. It has now been here on Taste and Tell for over 10 years and remains a favorite for a good reason – it’s so stinking good. It’s one of those rare meals that everyone in my family likes. And yes – it’s so much better than that takeout sweet and sour chicken! I think I’ll forget the take-out Chinese from now on and make this Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe!
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
This recipe is a little different, but trust me here!
- Start by cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces and seasoning them with salt and pepper.
- Place the cornstarch in one shallow bowl, and the eggs in another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs lightly.
- Take each piece of chicken and dredge it in the cornstarch. Then dip it in the egg. Transfer that to a skillet with oil that has been heated over medium-high heat. And yes – you dip in the cornstarch then the egg – this is a little different than a lot of other recipes.
- Cook the chicken in batches, just until it is browned. The chicken will bake in the oven, so this is just to brown and crisp up the chicken, not to cook it through. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine your sauce ingredients – sugar, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder. Pour this mixture over the chicken in the baking dish.
- Bake the chicken at 325ºF for an hour, stirring it every 15 minutes.
- Serve the sweet and sour chicken over rice and be prepared to never want to get it for take out again!
More Chinese Recipes
Daddy Wu’s Chinese Chicken
Pressure Cooker Cashew Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
Easy Lo Mein Recipe
Easy Egg Roll Recipe
Orange Chicken
General Tso’s Chicken
Tools Used to Make this Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
- My favorite skillet, especially for this recipe, is my cast iron skillet.
- I like to use tongs to dredge the chicken into the cornstarch, eggs and oil.
- I love my rice cooker and rarely cook rice any other way.
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Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 3 eggs ,lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoon ketchup
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
- Put the cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Put the eggs in a separate bowl. Place the oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches, dredge the chicken in the cornstarch, then dip in the egg. Add to the hot oil and brown on all sides. You do not need to cook the chicken through, just brown the outside to get a crispy exterior. Transfer the chicken to a 9×13-inch baking dish and continue with the remaining chicken.
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy sauce and garlic powder. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken.
- Bake the chicken for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Serve over prepared rice.
Dawn says
Oh these look very crispy!! They came out really good. I love these crispy and greasy, ready to absorb that s&s sauce!
Aimée says
That sucks when you are craving something and then it turns out to be so blah. This looks like a recipe to try–maybe my little one will even eat it…
Veronica says
What a simple delicious sounding dish. How nice that you can go home for lunch!
Colleen says
Oooh, I like that this is baked instead of totally fried. Definitely starred this!
Patricia Scarpin says
Deb, sweetie! You served it with rice – something Brazilians love! 🙂
My mouth is watering.
Ginny says
Looking good! I never try my hand at Asian food and I really should! 🙂
Aggie says
I’m always craving Chinese food, pregnant or not. I will have to try this! Looks great!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
A wonderful version of that yummy classic! Delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Happy cook says
I love sweet and sour chicken and this looks delicious.
I too am always disapointed if i get takeawya chines, so now a days i dodn’t do it.
Just try to make them myself
Maria says
I am sure yours was MUCH better than the Chinese at work! That is nice they provide food, but too bad it isn’t good food! Glad you are able to go home. I don’t take a lunch at work…I am on the Governor’s 4-10 work schedule so I like to save my time to go home early…I just bring food to eat at my desk. It usually isn’t that exciting:)
Jamie @ Baldwin Bungalow says
Thank you for this recipe – I think I’m going to try it in the deep fryer.
Deborah says
Katerina, I was surprised too!! I actually cranked up the heat a bit and only had it in there for about 45 minutes because we were impatient, but it wasn’t dry at all!
Leah says
Hi, this recipe sounds yum!!! I usually bake chicken coated in corn flake crumbs on 475 for about 23 minutes instead of frying, so that it’s healthier. Would that work for this kind of recipe?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure, but I’m guessing it would be worth trying! Let me know if you do and how it turns out.
Kate says
This recipe was AMAZING!. not dry at all, and so much better than take out! Ive made it three times, and will continue to have it in my meal rotation
Noele says
Not sure if the crumbs would stay on..the cornstarch way..its a fried on coating..
Marriss says
Should I dip the chicken back in cornstarch after the egg? Or is it: cornstarch, egg, pan fry? Or cornstarch, egg, cornstarch, pan fry?
Deborah says
It’s just cornstarch, egg, then fry. 🙂
Emily S says
Loved this recipe so much. I added some crushed garlic and ginger and served it for a family dinner. I also mixed in some my aunt Nora’s special powder into the cornflower mix and it went down a treat. Everyone was raving on about it for days after eating this.
Katerina says
This sounds really good, I am amazed it doesn’t dry out in the oven for a whole hour!
Vicki says
Min chicken did turn out dry. I was careful not to over cook tasted the chicken, it was tender the chicken,, not browned. may try it again but not soon until I have a lot of leftovers. Cannot waste chicken so I expect the ,toughness and drynrss. Thanks
Patsyk says
Don’t you love when you can make something even better at home, than take-out? This one looks so good!
kat says
That does sound like a great version of sweet & sour
Melanie says
Deborah – I feel honored you made this, liked it and posted about it! Your pictures are always so great – I wish you could be at my house to take pictures of my food. 🙂 I’m glad you liked it!
MabelI zoet says
love this recipe it is so good.
Brandi Fleshman says
This is my husbands favorite meal I make. This is what he gets for birthdays and when I’m feeling like treating him! It does take a bit of time since I have to use more chicken since we are a family of 7. But it’s so worth it!!
I was just thinking this evening as I was preparing this dish… I wonder if I could do this in strips.. Chinese chicken strips…? It would take less time for me to fry for our family… but I’m not sure. What do you think? Would I need to cook longer? Or higher?
Deborah says
I think it would totally work! I would just keep the temp and time the same and just make sure it is cooked through before serving.