by Alyssa RiversThis website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my privacy policy.
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is 1000x better than any takeout! It’s crispy on the outside, tender juicy on the inside and exploding with flavor. There is a reason why this is our favorite recipe on the blog!
This meal is going to blow your family away! We love to complete this meal with this dishes like Homemade Egg Rolls, Cream Cheese Wontons or Easy Fried Rice.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
I am going to keep this as short and simple as possible…you NEED to make this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe. This recipe is number one for a reason, it’s absolutely incredible. We have yet to find any takeout restaurant beat this recipe.
The secret to the breading is the cornstarch, it makes such a huge difference and the flavor of the sauce is unbeatable. It will thicken as it cooks, coating the chicken perfectly. It’s also easy enough that you just might have to add this to your menu every week, it’s just that good! Easy take out at home!
Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken Ingredients
Amazing restaurant quality sweet and sour chicken that you can make from home!
- Chicken Breasts: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for easy prep.
- Salt and Pepper: To taste
- Cornstarch:Creates a superb crunch
- Eggs: Well beaten to help the coating stick.
- Canola Oil: Just enough to give the chicken a quick fry for crispness.
- Sugar: It wouldn’t be sweet without the sugar
- Ketchup: Classic ingredient in the sauce
- White Vinegar and Apple Cider Vinegar: I like the combination of both.
- Soy Sauce: Sweet and sour wouldn’t have that classic flavor without the soy sauce
- Garlic Salt: Adds the perfect punch of flavor.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Prep: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut your chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- Dip: In separate bowls, place the cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip the chicken FIRST in the cornstarch and then coat in the egg mixture.
- Flash Fry: Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and cook chicken until brown but not fully cooked throughout. Place the chicken in a 9×13 inch dish.
- Sauce: In a medium sized mixing cowl, combine sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt.
- Bake: Pour over the chicken and bake for an hour. Stir every 15 minutes to coat them in the sauce.
Trust Me on these Tips
- Method to the Madness: Make sure you first coat your chicken in the cornstarch and then the egg. This method makes the perfect breading for the chicken.
- Fast: Do not cook the chicken all the way through before baking. You just want to get the chicken lightly brown on the outside, and then it bakes to perfection.
- Low and Slow: Baking the chicken at a low temperature will not over cook the chicken. This helps to cook the chicken all the way through and thicken up the sauce.
Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken Tips
- Vinegar: You can use all Apple Cider Vinegar, but I wouldn’t use all White Vinegar, the flavor and zing will be different.
- Substitute: If you want a lighter vinegar flavor try Rice Vinegar, it’s still tangy but a little milder.
- Chicken: Cut the Chicken into even bite sized pieces so it’ll cook evenly. Using thighs might result in uneven cooking as light and dark meat cook differently.
- Pork: This recipe would also work perfectly with pork.
- Saucey: If you like your dish saucey, double the sauce recipe and place half on the chicken and another half on the stove in a pot at a simmer for 8-10 min till thickened.
- Veggies: Feel free to add vegetables or even pineapple to the dish before baking.
Storing Leftovers
- Fridge: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezer: This can be frozen too. Just place in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Sweet and Sour Chicken is best reheated on the stove. Reheating it in the microwave can make the chicken rubbery and overcooked. Place leftovers in pan on the stove top and heat on medium heat, stirring often, till heated through.
More Amazingly Delicious Baked Chicken Dishes
- Baked Honey Sesame Chicken
- Firecracker Chicken
- Baked Orange Chicken
- Amazingly Easy Kung Pao Chicken
- Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with peppers and pineapple
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken breasts boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic salt. Pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour.
- I stirred the chicken every 15 minutes so that it coated them in the sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Serves: 6
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
my meal is absolutely destroyed by this sauce. the flavors are so exaggerated that the meat ends up in the trash. one cup of sugar…really?? 🤦🏼♀️ I should have followed my intuition and experience..
My family (son) loves it. I would like to ask for advice on the skillet cooking. I did it in batches, but the mixture all stuck together. Made it difficult to turn(stir) them. Thank you.
Love this dish so much. Even my husband, who is rather fussy, loved it. Will definitely try more of your recipes! Thanks for the post.
This dish was delicious! I don’t know if the chicken breasts I got from the store were freakishly large but I think I could have used half the amount of chicken. I have plenty of leftovers to freeze.
My only complaint is the prep time estimate. I am not the strongest cook but I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t a professional chef who can cut the chicken, bread the chicken, prep the sauce, fry the chicken, and get it all into the baking pan in 20 minutes. I think all of the prep easily took me 40-60 minutes and my kitchen looked like a bomb went off. It could also be because I had an insane amount of chicken. My 4 chicken breasts barely fit in the baking pan. There was no room for stirring them throughout the baking process.
P.S. I also marinated the chicken the night before in a mixture similar to the sauce but without ketchup and added ground ginger & hot & sweet mustard.
Absolutely delicious!!!!! The family begs for it now that I made it. It taste even better then the restaurant . I added some red bell pepper and some chunks of onion. Thank you so much for this recipe. Yay!!!!😊