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.
NicoleM says
Subbed the 1 cup of white sugar for 1/2 cup of brown sugar… plenty sweet and had a rich taste. Loved this recipe and it’s now in my dinner rotation!
NicoleM says
This recipe came out great! I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and it was plenty sweet. I used less than 1.5lb of chicken so I was able to reduce the corn starch to 1/2 cup and the eggs to 2. The flavor of the sweet and sour sauce was spot on and family loved it served over rice and veggies on the side. This is a keeper.
NOTE that I sautéed and cooked this in the Instant Pot. After sautéing the breaded chicken, I poured the sauce over it and cooked it on high pressure for 3 minutes. Came out PERFECT in less than 30 minutes.
akiko says
I’ve been using this recipe for TEN years…. that’s crazy! I thought it was time I left a comment 🙂 It’s delicious!! Super easy and I love meals with downtime.
Kayleigh says
We loved this. We added diced red pepper and onions and next time will add pineapple chunks too. It was delicious. Will make extra sauce next time to pour over once cooked
V says
I loved this recipe! So simple – so rich!
Rae says
So delicious, and so easy. A family favorite.
Cristina says
It was sooooo good!
eliza jane says
omg! i have made this recipe constantly and it’s such a win! (it’s a little time consuming) but i’m 12 and it’s pretty easy! best chicken ever!
Kimberly A Collins says
I’m making this tonight for my kids. Is there a way to lower the sodium without taking away from the taste?
Gillian Piper says
This is a great recipe. I actually dropped the cubes into a fat fryer and cooked them all the way through just a few minutes and added the sauce as I served it…. Yummmy . Thank you have made it twice now.
Kim Petersen says
Oh my goodness! This is just the best ever. I made it last night for my family. It just took longer than expected to fry the chicken pieces. Next time, I won’t use 2 packs of chicken! My 7 year old went mad for it. Thank you for a winning recipe.
Steve Nicholson says
Yeah this was good. Light batter on the chicken and well balanced textured sauce. Added the cooked light battered chicken to the sauce at the very end. Coated it in sweet and sour sauce lost a smidgeon of its crunchiness but that’s the way it’s meant to be. Otherwise you might as well do supermarkety deep fried chicken nuggets from Idaho with a sachet of sauce made in Bakersfield or somewhere.
Tina says
I don’t eat Chinese food
But my family loves it
So when I used your recipe for sweet and sour
Chicken last night
They thought it was amazing
Thanks so much
Ashley says
Breading was good and chicken was moist. WAY too much vinegar for the sauce! That’s all you smell and taste. Sauce didn’t have much covering it.
Elaine Brazier says
Very good.
I added some diced red pepper fried in the leftover oil and added to the sauce for the last ten minutes.
I served in noodles soaked in broth and then drained with a nice big blob of butter!
Marissa Bok says
This was very good, it was time consuming but def worth it. I followed it to a T with the exception of adding pineapple, sliced green pepper, sprinkling of red pepper flakes and sesame seeds in the last 30 minutes. I cannot believe how well this came out and it was well received by all. i read some comment their chicken was dry, I did not experience this at all. Mine was juicy and nicely breaded. Thanks!