Skip takeout and make this quick and easy sweet-and-sour chicken recipe instead. Delicious crispy chicken, bell peppers, and pineapples with sweet and sour sauce baked and served over rice. You will love this super simple weeknight dinner recipe.
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Sweet and sour chicken is one of our favorite dishes. I try to make it as often as I can because it’s simple to make and so delicious. When we are craving take-out, but want to save money it’s the perfect quick and easy family dinner for busy nights at home.
Why You Will Love This Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
- Easy to make with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.
- Packed full of flavor making it the perfect family dinner everyone will love.
- Ideal for busy nights at home when you want to get Chinese takeout but are trying to save money.
- It’s kid-friendly and perfect for picky eaters. (it’s a favorite with my boys!)
- Perfect to meal prep and enjoy for lunch throughout the week.
Helpful Tips for Making Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Make sure you cut your chicken into small bite-size pieces so they cook faster when you are quickly frying before putting them in the oven to finish baking with the vegetables and sauce.
- Ensure the oil is hot when frying your chicken and cook in small batches so the outside gets nice and crispy.
- Make a flour slurry when thickening the sauce. You can do this by whisking together water and flour until it’s dissolved and then slowly adding it to your simmering sauce. Then, continue to cook stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
Variations
- Use cornstarch in place of flour in both the breading and to thicken the sauce.
- Add different kinds of veggies like onions, carrots, or broccoli.
- Make it healthier by pan-frying the chicken and skip the breading.
- If you are short on time, skip the breading and fry your chicken in the pan as mentioned above (set aside). Then, make your sweet and sour sauce but add your pineapples and peppers to the saucepan and cook until the peppers are tender. Add your flour or cornstarch slurry, and cook until the sauce has thickened. Lastly, add the cooked chicken to the sweet and sour sauce and serve over rice. (You may need to add a little more sweetener as the peppers may add a slight bitterness when cooked this way.) I will usually taste the sauce before serving and adjust as needed.
Ingredients for Sweet and Sour Chicken
- chicken tenderloins (cut into pieces)
- bell peppers (multi-colored) cut into chunks
- pineapple
- flour
- oil
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
Sauce
- sugar
- vinegar
- ketchup
- pineapple juice (reserved from the can of pineapples)
- Worcestershire sauce
- flour and water to thicken
Looking for more easy chicken recipes? Find quick shortcut rotisserie chicken recipes for busy weeknights. As well, as simple one-pot chicken recipes, no-fuss chicken slow cooker meals, hearty chicken casseroles, and healthy air fryer chicken recipes.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Gather your ingredients and preheat your oven to 375°.
- Cut chicken into 1-inch chunks, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then dip chicken in flour and then into the beaten eggs.
- Fry in a preheated skillet or frying pan with 1 inch of vegetable oil until golden brown.
- Add the cooked breaded chicken to a 9×13-inch pan with the pepper chunks and pineapple (save the pineapple juice for the sauce).
- Make the sweet and sour sauce by adding the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and reserved pineapple juice to a saucepan.
- Cook on medium-low until it comes to a boil, let boil for 2 minutes, and turn down and let simmer.
- Make a flour slurry by whisking together 2 tablespoons of flour with a 1/4 cup of cold water in a bowl until flour is dissolved and then slowly add to sauce. Stir and let simmer for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Alternatively, you can use cornstarch to thicken the sauce. (I’ve always just used flour as it works and I always have it on hand).
- Pour sauce over the chicken, pineapples, and peppers and bake for 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the chicken and peppers are cooked through.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Skip takeout and enjoy this quick and easy sweet and sour chicken recipe instead. Delicious crispy chicken, bell peppers, pineapples with sweet and sour sauce baked and served over rice.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins cut into pieces
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- 1-2 multi-color bell peppers cut into chunks
- 1 can(20 oz.) pineapple chunks or tidbits
- vegetable oil for frying
Sauce
- 1½ cups sugar
- ⅓ cup vinegar
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup worcestershire sauce
- pineapple juice from the can of pineapples
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Preheat 1-inch vegetable oil in a frying pan or skillet on medium high.
- Beat 2 eggs into a bowl and add the cup of flour into another bowl.
- Cut chicken tenderloins into 1-inch chunks, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Dip them into the flour and then into the beaten eggs. Add to the oil and cook until the breaded chicken is golden brown.
- Add the cooked chicken to a 9x13-inch baking dish, along with the peppers and pineapples (save the juice for the sauce).
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- To make the sweet and sour sauce, whisk the sugar, vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and reserved pineapple juice in a saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat until it comes to a boil and let it boil for 1-2 minutes before turning it down to simmer.
- To thicken the sauce, make a flour slurry by adding 2 tablespoons of flour to ¼ cup of flour. Whisk in a bowl until flour is dissolved and then slowly add to your sweet and sour sauce stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- Pour sauce over chicken, pineapple, and peppers and bake for 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and chicken and peppers are tender. Serve over rice.
Notes
Note: You can substitute cornstarch for the flour in this recipe if you prefer using it. I always use flour because it's what I have on hand but both options will work for this recipe.
Chicken breasts (4-5) can be used instead of the chicken tenderloins as well.
You can thicken the sauce to your desired consistency. We like the sauce to be thicker so I usually have to double the flour slurry to get it thick enough.
Looking for more easy recipes for busy weeknights?
- Easy Layered Nacho Casserole
- Chicken and Mushroom Stuffing Bake
- Shortcut Chicken Parmesan Bake
- Kielbasa With Peppers and Onions Over Noodles
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