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.
Judy says
Absolutely delicious. I made it but added a few sweet peppers and pineapple. It was beautiful and tasted just like I ordered it from the restaurant. I will make it over and over.
chantal says
i loved this recipe!!! tastes just like my favorite chinese dish!
Haylin Armendariz says
IM SCREAMING THIS IS SO GOOD
Mia says
It was terrible. Avoid apple cider and use plain white vinegar
Grace says
I tried this today. I first heated the oil, then dipped a few bite sized pieces of chicken into cornstarch mix then egg and fried. I realized this might take forever so I put the egg mixture on my seasoned chicken, mixed it up. The I put the cornstarch mixture with a little self rising flour, (Used for chicken fingers) in a paper bag. Like frying chicken. Shook it up fried it up. Did the rest as follows. I added a little fish oil, and sesame oil. Delish. Fish oil always seems to give me the missing *Something is missing* from online recipes. It works miracles for fried rice. I thought it was gross at first, But trust me. Make a stir fried rice with it, and you will know automatically that is what has been missing. Any hoo. This is great. Only issue I had was the color of the chicken. I was expecting golden. It was fairly white. I might have over cooked the first batch. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It was great.
Jackie Lines says
This recipe is the best! Never need take out Chinese now. A little fiddley but worth the work!
Thank you!!
Stephanie Novello says
This was super delicious, I added just a touch of pineapple juice for added flavor as I am allergic to garlic and wanted to make sure there was additional flavor. Tender and flavorful. Will definitely make again
Cindy S says
Made this a couple of weeks ago and trying it again with pork, delicious!
Angela Milon says
So I mad this recipe and my family couldn’t get over the smell from the apple cidar vinegar. What could be substituted?
Deborah says
You could leave the vinegar out, but then it would just be sweet chicken. The vinegar is what brings in the sour. The taste is much more mild than the smell, though.
Rosie miller says
I have made this recipe several times and we absolutely love it. It’s a little bit of work but so worth the effort.i also make fried rice to go with it .this is definitely a keeper Thank You!
Allan Dionne says
I fried a couple of peppers and an onion to add to it,was beautiful
Susan D Smith says
Loved this used panko couldn’t get cornstarch lovely
Melinda says
This was amazing. I’ve never even had sweet and sour chicken, but my husband requested it. I just happened to pick this recipe over all the others and I’m so glad I did. This is definitely getting added to my meal rotation!
Andrea says
We enjoyed this recipe very much. Only problem is that it was a little dry. we are having leftovers of it tonight. I am making the sauce again. When I make this again I am doubling the sauce. I am cutting down on the sugar as well.
Karisha Allen says
I love your recipes so much.
Ted says
So so recipe. I followed recipe as described. However, I still like the authentic version from Chinese restaurants. Will not make again.