A Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe that shows you how to make the Chinese takeout favourite Sweet and Sour Chicken in the oven so the chicken is CRISPY but not dried out inside. Coated generously in a sticky sauce with a perfect sweet-sour balance!
I don’t like to shout out from the rooftops “this is the BEST baked Sweet & Sour Chicken!” because who’s to say that theirs is the best? But this is a darn good recipe. And it’s MY favourite way of making Sweet & Sour Chicken in the oven. Here’s why:
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Not sickeningly sweet. It’s made with 1/2 cup of sugar which is still a lot compared to my usual midweek meals. But it is less than the 3/4 to 1 cup that you’ll see in many recipes.
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Not eye-squintingly sour. I don’t know how to properly describe my reaction when I accidentally eat something far too sour! Suffice to say this is tart, not overly sour. 🙂
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The Sauce tastes like restaurant sauce. Many Sweet & Sour Sauce recipes taste like they’re missing “something”. Usually that “something” is either Worcestershire Sauce and/or oyster sauce (sometimes also soy sauce). You can omit one of these but don’t leave out all of them, the sauce will taste very “flat”.
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The chicken really is crispy! The fact is, you will never be able to make chicken in the oven that is truly as crispy as deep fried (except wings – see my recipe for Truly Crispy Oven Baked Wings!). But this is pretty darn close.
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The chicken is NOT DRY. I have seen recipes that call for the chicken to be baked for 45 minutes to 1 hour which I find dries out the chicken. I’m really fussy about dry chicken! Mine is baked for 20 minutes – tops. That’s all you need.
Pretty hard to pick what I love more about this – the Sweet & Sour Sauce, or the crispy chicken! The chicken itself is so yum, it’s hard to resist nicking the pieces straight off the baking tray before they even make it to the sauce.
Try to resist! I promise it’s worth the wait. 🙂 – Nagi x
PS Oh, the other little thing I think makes quite a difference is using some of the pineapple juice in the can for the sauce. It adds that little touch of fruitiness that I really think makes the sauce similar to Chinese restaurants!
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Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb / 500 g chicken breast , cut into bite size cubes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg or 2 small eggs , lightly beaten (enough to coat chicken)
- 1 cup cornstarch / cornflour , placed in a large ziplock bag
- 3 to 5 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola)
- Oil spray
Stir Fry
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small onion , cut into large dice
- 1/2 red bell pepper , cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 green bell pepper , cut into bite size pieces
- 1 can (8oz/250g) canned pineapple pieces in natural juice. Separate pineapple from juice.
Sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar (white or brown - I use either)
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 - 3 tbsp pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple pieces)
- 3 tbsp ketchup (Australia: tomato sauce)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Note 1)
- 1 tsp soy sauce (Note 1)
- 1 tsp Oyster Sauce (Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Thickener
- 1 tbsp cornflour / corn starch + 4 tbsp water , mixed together
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- Place chicken in a bowl, sprinkle with salt then add the egg. Mix to coat all chicken with egg, then drain out excess egg. (Note 2)
- Working a handful at a time, shake excess egg mixture off chicken then place chicken in ziplock bag. When all the chicken is in the bag, seal (trap as much air in it as you can to make a "balloon") and shake well to coat chicken in cornflour. Discard excess cornflour.
- Heat oil in a large skillet on high. Add chicken (in 2 batches if your skillet is not big enough) and cook briefly for 2 minutes, turning, just to make the outside light golden and a bit crispy. The chicken should be raw inside.
- Transfer to baking tray, spray with oil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until it becomes a little more golden brown and is crispy.
Sauce
- Meanwhile, discard oil in the skillet and wipe briefly with paper towels. Reduce heat to medium high and heat 1/2 tbsp oil. Add garlic and sauté for 20 seconds, then add onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add bell peppers and cook for 1 minute.
- Add Sauce ingredients. Stir until sugar has dissolved and the sauce begins to bubble.
- Add Thickener. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly. Then cook until it thickens to a syrup consistency - about 3 minutes.
- Stir through pineapple pieces (just to warm) and remove from stove.
- When the chicken is done, add it into the skillet and toss to coat in the sauce.
- Serve immediately with rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! Garnish with scallions if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Hi Nagi, I finally tried this recipe last night and the sauce was fabulous! Need some advice: the cornflour on the chicken looked rather lumpy, is that normal? Also, I don’t have oil spray on hand, so didn’t manage to ‘oil’ the chicken before placing it in the oven, is that why the chicken didn’t turn out nice and brown? Do you have any suggestions to replace oil spray? Lastly, the oven temperature, would it be for fan-assisted ovens? Thank you! Love your recipes!
Hi Jenny! I’m so glad you enjoyed the sauce! Was the cornflour lumpy?? Mine doesn’t go lumpy, I never have to even sift it. For oil spray, unfortunately I can’t think of a substitute and yes that would definitely be a factor in the colour the chicken comes out. All I can think is to turn the chicken while baking so most of the sides are in contact with the baking tray which is what will brown it. 🙂 And yes the oven temp is for fan ovens but for this recipe, it doesn’t make much difference, so use the same temp for fan or oven 🙂 Hope that helps! N x
Hi Nagi, thanks for the reply! I might try the stir-fry version instead! Haha. Thanks again!
Hi there! I’m totally new in cooking world, and I found your website helps me a lot. Just wondering when putting the chicken to the oven, what is the temperature that you use to bake? Sorry if my question sounds stupid :s I just want to make sure 😀 Thank you !
Hi Sarah! No problems at all, don’t apologise! In step 1 it says to “Preheat oven to 200C/390F” so that’s the temperature the oven should be when you pop the chicken in 🙂
ah right! Blimey I didn’t realise that. Thank you so much !
Throughout the years I’ve tried countless recipes for sweet and sour sauce hoping to find one that tastes like the restaurant-style sauce served in our area. Well, that was before finding your website. Oh my goodness, Nagi…….your recipe is THE elusive one I’ve been seeking! Woo-hoo. My search is finally over. Thank-you so much for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it Marie! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Omg!! This sweet and sour recipe is amazing!! Love it! THe best home made sweet and sour chicken. Thank you so much for this recipe. I always check your website for recipes ☺☺
I’m so glad Mary!! Quite different to that thick overly sweet stuff some places serve up, isn’t it? It’s the real deal! 🙂 N x
Sweet & Sour Chicken was our dinner tonight, another winner, that’s three for three…
Thank you 🙂
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Carolyn, thanks for letting me know! N x
Your recipe is amazing, better than take out. Going to use with pork and teach my older son. Loved, loved, it.
Thank you Natasha! I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed it!! N x
I would like to take this to a group. Can i fry the chicken and delay the cookibg in the oven unit i get there/
Hi Donna! I would recommend cooking the chicken all the way through in the oven, then reheat later 🙂
Nagi, your recipes NEVER FAIL,
When our 19 yo daughter discovered what we were eating tonight, she had to Instagram it to her followers ! You see, Sweet n Sour has always been her favourite meal of ALL TIME. and your recipe did not disappoint. It was sensational, even when I forgot the Apple Cider Vinegar, but I saw another follower asked if plain white vinegar was ok. So I went with it, and it was PERFECT. sometimes the cook loses her appetite after all the prep, etc – but not tonight. I kept saying this is amazing – I’m amazing – Nagi is amazing !
I’m eyeing off some leftovers, but 16 yo son arrives home soon from flipping burgers @ Maccas. I know what he would prefer any day. YAY YOU!
AWWWW Vanessa! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am SO GLAD you enjoyed this!!! PS Your daughter ROCKS!!! PPS Flipping burgers is good learning ground for him! N x
Update on my previous post! My daughter made this last night for us and it was OUTRAGEOUSLY good. We never order Chinese food anymore because it’s usually very oily and salty. Your recipe was so simple that you gave her the confidence she needed in the kitchen. Thank you so much! She will be making more recipes from your blog 🙂
THANK YOU Catherine!! I am so glad you enjoyed this, and what a fantastic daughter you have!! You are SO LUCKY!!!! If you liked this, I have a whole collection of Asian takeout recipes that I think you might both like! -> https://www.recipetineats.com/indexes/recipe-index/asian-takeout/
Hi Nagi – I LOVE your recipes! My daughter is 20 and is just starting to learn to cook. So many of your recipes are nice and simple. She will be trying this one this week. What is your favorite rice? And also – any tips for cooking rice? Thank you!!
Hi Catherine! So glad you’re enjoying my recipes!! For rice, I use medium or long grain day to day. 1 cup of rice + 1 1/2 cups of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat lid on, as it comes to a boil turn down to low. Cook for 12 minutes or until water is absorbed (tilt saucepan to check) then remove and rest for 10 minutes (most important step!). Fluff rice and serve!
I’ll do it that way next time. Thanks so much!
Hi Nagi
I am going to make this tomorrow night. Can I substitue brown or white vinegar for the Apple Cider Vinegar?
Would it alter the taste very much
Nope, it will be pretty close!
Omg, how good the sauce is. And so easy to make. Kids polished the plates and even ate the capsicum and onions. Thank you for sharing another restaurant secret. Happy days 🙂
Thanks for trying this recipe Sveta, I’m SO GLAD you and the kids enjoyed it! And thank you for coming back to let me know! N x
Being complete fan of your Charlie Brown sauce, I knew this had to be good. It was! Thank you for a great sweet and sour chicken recipe. Complete success!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Ana! Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Hi Tin,
if i will be using Fish instead of chicken can i make the same procedure. except i don’t need to bake it.. am i correct?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Raquel! You are absolutely spot on 🙂 The fish will cook much faster so you can skip the baking step, just cook it through on the stove!
Hi Nagi,
Can I use cornstarch as a thickener instead of cornflour? I don’t have cornflour.
Thank you!
Gosh Maggie, I should have written it in the post – cornstarch and cornflour are the same thing! 🙂 So YES! I will update the recipe
Awesome, thanks Nagi!
Made this dish for dinner tonight and it was pretty darn delicious!
Thanks again for another yummy recipe, Nagi!
Yay!! I am so SO glad you loved this too Maggie, thank you for letting me know! N xx
I absolutely LOVE your recipes!! So far I’ve made the spaghetti and meatballs twice and the sweet and sour once but will definitely be making it again! These recipes are so easy and delicious, my whole family loves them and there a few fussy eaters! I will definitely be venturing further into the website to find more tasty meals
WOO HOO! I am so glad you love my recipes Maia, thank you so much for letting me know! N x
One word-YUM! I made this tonight for my husband and I, and it was top of the line stuff! Loved it. The best homemade Chinese receipe this far!
Thanks so much for posting this.
WOO HOO! Thanks Beth, so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
P.S. I ran out of eggs so I had to find a substitute for the egg coating. I used plain Greek yougurt and thinned it (to the consistency of egg yolks) with milk. Worked perfectly. A great substitute for those with egg allergies too.
Great tip, thanks Beth!! 🙂
I would assume one could use thigh meat as a substitute for breast meat. Would that change the recipe at all?
Hi Steve! Nope, not at all 🙂 Hope you love it! N x
I am a big fan of your website, whenever I wanna make something that’s tasty but not spend a long time making it, I always come here (ooh your pictures always make me drool)! Today I made this for the first time and I must say, its soooo good that I will never waste my time and money ordering this from a Chinese restaurant again! I didn’t have any pineapple juice or chunks so I used mango juice instead and I cannot tell the difference! Keep up the good work Nagi~
WOW Michi, thank you so much for your wonderful compliment! So glad you enjoyed it!!
wow! This is a great recipe! My hubby and boys went into raptures over it and definitely want me to make it again. I don’t eat chicken so for me just I added a bit of the sauce to some prawns that I had coated in cornflour and fried – delish!
Into raptures?? I’m SO FLATTERED!!!! All you 🙂 You’re the talent in the kitchen!!!