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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.
Can you make this recipe without coating the chicken in egg and cornstarch
Hi! That’s an important part to getting the texture right on this chicken so I wouldn’t skip that step 🙂
I have made this recipe numerous times. There us never any left, so I make more than we will need. I also have to double the sauce to have enough t[ spoon over Jasmine Rice. Made additions include chunk pineapple, green pepper, and broccoli. I have found that the sauce never thickens unless I back it a good 1.5 to 2 hours.
I made this last night and it was amazing! I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so I used 1/4 rice vinegar. I also cut them into smaller bites. After frying I put them in for 30 minutes but stirred every 15 minutes and they came out great! My husband loved it too.
Took longer than the hour and at the hour mark we needed to turn it up to 350 and cover it. Otherwise, good.
How dry will the chicken breast get after an hour in the oven?
It won’t be dry! Try it out and let me know how you like it!
You say baked but you also fry it, which is deceptive. Fried is fried & that adds to the calories.
This was so good!! Made it for the first time last night. Everyone loved it so much – I’ll double the sweet and sour sauce next time, like you mentioned. There was enough for the chicken and a little extra, but my family wanted more for dipping ….. it was that good!
Thank you for sharing – and linking recipes. I came to this one from the chicken fried rice recipe. That was SO good, I knew I couldn’t go wrong making this one too.
I love this recipe, and I’m pretty fussy. I’ve made it multiple times. The only thing I do differently is I add vegetables. I’ve added peppers,onions, broccoli, and pineapple. Today I’m trying cauliflower, peppers and onions. Wish i had pineapple, but not this time!
Would love to try these recipes, have just been diagnosed with diabetes. Are there any low carb recipes you can recommend?
Try these to start with:
Turkey Taco Stuffed Avocados
Stuffed Pepper Soup
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (Low Carb and Keto Friendly!)
Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
I made this and it was delicious but my chicken was not crispy on the outside. It was browned but not crispy. Not sure what I did wrong.
This chicken won’t be overly crispy once the sauce has been absorbed into the chicken. I’m so glad to hear that you liked it!
I haven’t made this yet but wonder if I can substitute something like Stevia for some of the sugar.
I haven’t tried that but I’m sure it would work fine!
Can I cook the chicken in a crock pot instead of the oven?
I haven’t tried that with this recipe but I’m sure it would work! Try using this recipe as a guide! Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
Making this recipe again for the 3RD TIME!!! Best sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever had and the fact it’s so easy just makes it that much better! Always follow the recipe, never have made any changes (other than follow your suggestion for extra sauce) and it comes out great every time….made it for friends and now we’re all making it!
Question; do you happen to have a Lemon Chicken sauce recipe that could be used for this same recipe in the oven as well? I’ve looked on line but all sauce recipes require you cook the sauce first….I’m digging the not having to cook the sauce and just pour over the chicken and into the oven.
Thanks for ALL the great recipes….trying them one at a time!
Making this recipe again for the 3RD TIME! The taste is incredible and beats any takeout plus it’s super easy to make. Haven’t changed a thing in the recipe other than took your suggestion to double the sauce and keep on the side for that extra “punch” of flavor on leftovers. I’ve shared this recipe with friends and family and all say it’s a WINNER! Going to try with pork next time.
So I am making this tonight and hope you can get back to me before then! I only have white vinegar I don’t have apple cider can I just not use the apple cider?
I made this tonight and it was way too sweet. I will cut back on the sugar next time.
Hello,
I was wondering if you could use pork rind instead of cornstarch, i looking for a low carb CRISPY BAKED SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN.
thank you
Yes, that will work too!
It was so good and easy to make! The chicken was almost melt in the mouth tender! We were scraping the sauce out of the pan. — so yummy
I will definitely make this again and again!
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes
Made this for the first time tonight and it was delicious!
I added a little pineapple juice to the sauce and also some orange bell peppers and onions.
Will absolutely be making it again!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
This recipe is awesome! Made it just the way it was printed,
Thank you for sharing