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.
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
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.
bayu says
The best!
al says
the best sweet and sour chicken recipe that I’ve tried
Sara Beth says
My whole family loves this recipe!
Do you think I could make the chicken ahead of time and bake later??
gemma says
This was excellent.
miles says
This was so good! definitely keeping this recipe.
Rose says
Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe! I look forward to preparing it regularly for my family. Thank you!
Deborah says
Thanks, Rose – I’m so glad you loved it!
Tim says
We’ve put this on the rotation – we love it so much
Julie says
we loved this dish. it’s going to become a weekly thing, if not twice a week! has anyone used this recipe to make sweet and sour pork, how did it turn out? please let me know. thank you
Liz says
Made this recipe and it tasted exactly
Ike the chicken from my favourite Chinese restaurant. Family loved ias well.. I was so excited cause I haven’t had it in years because it’s full of gluten in the restaurant. Ow I can have it any time
Deborah says
Yay! I’m so glad you were able to enjoy it!
Josie says
I made this today for dinner it was delicious it’s a keeper.
Thanks
Josie
Deborah says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Josie!
Kimberly A Doll says
This recipe is phenomenal. The sweet n sour is so good. I will definitely be making this again!!!
Deborah says
Thank you, Kimberly. I’m so glad you loved it. It’s a family favorite here! 😊
Kathie says
Awesome. I wasn’t sure because all I could smell was vinegar. I can’t believe how good it tasted 👍👍👍👍
Bob D. says
Just made this recipe for the first time and the whole family enjoyed it. I don’t quite understand why it’s necessary to bake the chicken for an hour? I cut it off at 40 minutes and they were plenty well done.
Debra Moats-Herron says
I owe you a great big thanks for this one. It was delicious but beyond that, my 78-year-old father with Alzheimer’s devoured it. He said he loved it and I have been struggling to get him to eat! My hubby thought it was a keeper too so I’m adding it to our rotation. I just stumbled on to your blog and will be trying other things.
Deborah says
Thank you so much for this review. It makes me so happy to hear that your father enjoyed it so much. I hope you find many more that you love!
Toni Johnson says
So this was a very much a trust the process recipe. The family I cook for are picky with their likes and dislikes. This was out of the box for them…and they LOVED it! I made a double batch and had no problems. This one will get made again!
Summer M says
I was definitely VERY hesitant about making this recipe considering how much apple cider vinegar is in it, but to my surprise it was actually really good! Kinda gives it more of a tangy taste which was very nice. I think if you were to decrease the amount of vinegar in it just slightly and maybe even add a bit of honey this would be really good!