by Alyssa RiversBaked Sweet and Sour Chicken is 1000x better than any takeout! 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 Easy Fried Rice. Also be sure to try this Firecracker Chicken and this Baked Kung Pao Chicken! These are all so much better than takeout!
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 became our number one favorite meal last night! I love Chinese food and this baked sweet and sour chicken blew my mind. If there is one recipe that you need to try on my website, it is this one. It is absolutely incredible. We have yet to find any takeout restaurant beat this recipe.
The breading on the chicken was exactly the same as from an amazing restaurant. I usually use flour to bread my chicken, but I think the difference in this one was cornstarch and eggs. The flavor of the sauce was incredible and it was even thick on top of the chicken.
One of the best parts of this meal is the picky eater asked for seconds! We all couldn’t get enough of it. Including the 5 guys that came over to eat later that night. They said it was even better than a restaurant. We decided that this has to be made weekly. We now have Chinese Wednesdays and this will be made every week! It is just that amazing!
How do you make baked sweet and sour chicken?
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut your chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. In separate bowls, place the cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip the chicken FIRST in the cornstarch and then coat in the egg mixture.
- 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.
- In a medium sized mixing cowl, combine sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, soy sauce and garlic salt. Pour over the chicken and bake for an hour. Stir every 15 minutes to coat them in the sauce.
Tips and tricks for making baked sweet and sour chicken:
- Make sure you first coat your chicken in the cornstarch and then the egg. This method makes the perfect breading for the chicken.
- 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.
- 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.
Looking for even more delicious baked chicken recipes? Try these!
- Baked Honey Sesame Chicken
- Baked Orange 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.
Recipe Video
This is so good and easier to make then the pandas orange chicken recipe I got on facebook. The orange chicken is very good too but this is just as good if not better. Lets see…do I want to stand in front of a hot stove deep frying or do this? The orange chicken has a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps. I am making this again tonight. Not too sweet or too tangy….just right…and only a few steps to make…yum!
AWE! Thank you so much! That is so nice of you to say! I really appreciate this review. Thank you for sharing!
Can you freeze this?
Yes! Freeze the chicken before adding the sauce to it. When heating them in the oven you can add the sauce afterwards and stir it all together.
Can this be baked instead of deep fried, trying to cut down on fats and calories…sounds really good though!!!
Yes, totally! You can bake the chicken prior to baking it with the sauce to get that crispy texture.
How long to bake before baking with the sauce.
You will bake them with the sauce on them.
So dip in corn starch then eggs not the other way around??
Yes, that is correct! You will dip the chicken in the corn starch and then eggs.
How many servings does this recipe make?
This will make about 4 to 6 servings.
Tried this with some changes. In lieu of breasts, used 18 large wings and five thighs with skin and bones.
Used grade b maple syrup vs sugar, regular soy and brined the chicks for an hour. Temp probe was at or above 170 F. Next batch will cut up the wings. (rate it five can’t adjust the 4)
Is it possible to reduce the sugar? If so, how much?
You can make it your own way if you prefer. It will alter the taste and how the chicken is cooked.
Can you use a sugar substitute like Splenda
Yes, it does have an after taste but it will be great!
Liking the look of a lot of your recipes. Do you have an email newsletter?
Thank you! I do have a newsletter each week. If you go to my site at therecipecritic.com, scroll down to the picture of me, you will see the free subscription to my free emails.Thank you so much for following along with me!
Made this for dinner tonight and can I just say…YUM! Will definitely be making this again. ??
Can you substitute pork for the chicken (and follow the recipe exactly)?
Yes, that will be tasty!
Would olive oil be ok or does it have to be canola?
You can use olive oil but it will alter the taste. Let me know how you like it!
I am a terrible cook and this still came out delicious!!! Thanks for making me look good!
Can you use flour? Instead of corn starch
Yes, that will work great too.
How much is a serving ( e.g. 1 cup, 3/4 cup)?
A serving size is about 1 cup.
Made this tonight! It didn’t get very crispy though :/ besides that it was good.
Tonight I will make this for the second time in 2 weeks. My whole family loved it!! My husband isn’t biggest sweet and sour chicken fan and he raved about it. Loved the sauce and how crispy the outside is with a moist tender inside!! Thanks for the recipe. Going to make your mongolian beef recipe tonight too. Can’t wait!
This recipe turned out great. I made a couple of changes. I used 10x whole thighs (skin on+bone in). I followed the recipe as is and it gave a great flavor and outcome. I added roasted red peppers and red onion and also added a can of sliced pineapple. I cut half the canned pineapple into quarters and left 5 rings an cut in half, so 10 (half per piece of pineapple per thigh). I added the pineapple juice to the sweet and sour liquid. So follow the recipe, brown the chicken, add sauce, add cooked peppers/onion, place a half-piece of pineapple on top of each thigh to keep it moist, cover and cook in oven. Served over rice. This gave me plenty of leftovers to reheat or freeze. Not possible to leave a photo, but it looked great!
Do you think ising vegetable oil would alter the taste?
It may a bit but it will still be okay and taste good.
My sons new favourite…. really yummy 🙂
This one is a family favorite! So good!