Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: You’ll find tender chunks of chicken, juicy pineapple, crisp bell pepper and onion, and a tangy sauce in this easy sweet and sour chicken recipe. Homemade stir fry is much healthier than restaurant versions, and it’s a quick dinner idea.
How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, stir fry pan (large skillet or wok)
Servings: 6
Easy Chicken Stir Fry
Do you love Chinese take-out? Did you know that it’s easy to make your own sweet and sour chicken? In just 30 minutes, you can have your own Chinese restaurant style sweet and sour chicken on the table. I bet you can hardly get take-out that fast!
I just know you’re going to love this recipe! And since you’re the chef, you can make it just the way you like. Add more veggies, like broccoli, mushrooms, or pea pods. Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. Make your stir fry with shrimp or tofu instead. Why let the restaurant chefs have all the fun?!
P.S. If you love everything sweet and sour, be sure to try sweet and sour shrimp lettuce wraps. They are super tasty!
Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken
It’s a natural color (not bright red). If you’re used to restaurant sweet and sour dishes, you may think that this recipe doesn’t look anything like that because the sauce isn’t bright red. Guess what? That vivid color is just red food coloring and doesn’t add anything to the flavor. With pineapple juice, soy sauce, and fresh ginger root, this stir fry is lighter in color but certainly not pale in flavor.
Nothing is deep fried. Because the meat isn’t deep fried, this recipe is easier and better for you. Breading and deep-frying can be messy and a bit time-consuming. Why bother? This dish tastes great without it and it’s way less greasy.
This stir fry is nutritious and low in calories. With lots of lean white meat for protein and packed with healthy vegetables, you can feel good about eating this chicken stir fry. One serving is only 233 calories (not including the rice).
How To Make Sweet and Sour Chicken
Cook the rice. You’ll want to get your rice cooking first if you intend to serve your sweet and sour chicken with rice. I love it with jasmine rice but brown rice is so good, too, and more nutritious since it’s a whole grain. If you’re looking for a lower carb alternative, try cauliflower rice.
Make the sauce. Next, stir up a simple sauce made with pineapple juice (from the can of pineapple you’ll be adding later), rice vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and fresh ginger. The sauce is thickened with a little cornstarch. Just stir the ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup and set it aside. You’ll be adding it to the pan later.
Prep the chicken. You’ll want to get all your ingredients chopped and ready to go. Once you have your pan/wok heated up, things go pretty fast. Get the chicken cut up into bite sized pieces and toss the pieces with salt, pepper, and cornstarch.
Cooking Tip
Why do you coat the meat in cornstarch before cooking it? The cornstarch helps seal in the juices of the chicken, aids in browning, and will thicken the sauce up a bit.Prep the veggies. Next up are bell peppers, cut into one inch chunks, and an onion. Use whatever color peppers or onions you have on hand. You could also add broccoli, mushrooms, pea pods, or carrots, or whatever you like.
Heat your wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Once it’s hot, add a little oil and get ready for action!
Stir fry the chicken until it’s nearly done, about 5 minutes, and remove it from the pan, keeping the heat on.
Final steps: Add the veggies, and stir fry those another 5 minutes. Put the chicken back in the pan, add the pineapple chunks, and the sauce ingredients (give them a quick stir first because the cornstarch tends to settle). Heat and stir until the sauce thickens, another few minutes.
Serve: Wow, you’re done! Dinner is ready! Wasn’t that fun?!
Complete your “take out” dinner by making homemade air fryer egg rolls or air fryer crab rangoon. Easy fried rice is always popular, too.
Tips For A Great Stir Fry
A stir fry is a healthy meal that can be prepared quickly. Here are a few pointers for a successful stir fry:
- Have everything prepped before you begin. If you’re serving rice, start that first because it will take longer to cook than the stir fry. Measure out and stir together the sauce ingredients ; wash and cut the vegetables; prep the meat.
- Heat the pan over medium high heat before adding anything to it. You’ll need a wok or a large frying pan, preferably with curved sides. A good hot pan ensures that the elements of your stir fry will sizzle and fry, and not slowly steam.
- Cook the meat first and remove it from the pan. If you leave the meat in the pan the entire time, it will get overdone. Once the meat is cooked, put it on a plate, and set it aside. Return the pan to the burner and make sure it’s good and hot before stir frying the vegetables.
- Don’t throw all the vegetables in the pan at the same time. Begin with the vegetables that take longer to soften, such as onions, celery, and carrots. Once they have started to soften, add vegetables such as mushrooms, broccoli, and bell peppers. Quick cooking vegetables such as sugar peas, snow peas, and spinach can be added right at the end of the cooking time.
Recipe Variations
Like I mentioned above, you’re the chef so feel free to add whatever you like to this versatile stir fry.
- Add or sub in veggies. In addition to (or in place of) bell peppers, add add fresh veggies like broccoli, pea pods, mushrooms, carrots, celery, egg plant, or whatever you like best.
- Add canned Chinese vegetables like water chestnuts, baby corn, or bamboo shoots. Drain them well before adding them to the pan.
- Meat options: Replace the chicken breast with boneless skinless chicken thighs, or shrimp. Shrimp will cook even faster than the chicken.
- Vegetarian options: Cubed extra firm tofu is perfect. I make crispy all purpose baked tofu, baked sesame tofu, or air fryer tofu to add to the stir fry before serving it.
- Sauce: Adjust the sweetness/tanginess of the sauce by tweaking the vinegar and sugar ratio. If you’re not a fan of sweet and sour, take a look at the stir fry recipes listed below; each one has a sauce recipe that can be used interchangeably. You can also buy pre-made sauces in a jar. Lately, we’ve been loving this sweet chili chicken recipe.
- Flavor boosters: There are many ways to add flavor to your stir fry. Garlic and fresh ginger really amp up flavor. Red pepper flakes, dried chiles, and Sriracha add heat. Soy sauce adds salty umami. Fresh herbs such as basil (try Thai basil!), parsley, or cilantro are delicious, too.
Any leftover sweet and sour chicken can be stored in the fridge in an air tight container for up to three days. Reheat gently in the microwave.
More Stir Fry Recipes
Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained (reserve ¾ cup of the juice)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (reduced sodium)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
Stir fry:
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into approx. 2” pieces
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- sesame seeds or green onions for garnishing, optional
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare sauce by mixing together pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch, ketchup, and ginger in small bowl or measuring cup.1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
- Toss chicken with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, and salt and pepper to taste.1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into approx. 2” pieces, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- In a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and nearly done, about 5 minutes; remove from pan and transfer to a plate.1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Add bell pepper and onions to pan; stir fry until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the pineapple chunks and chicken.1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks, 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks, 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Stir sauce mixture well before adding it to the pan; cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 3 more minutes.
- Serve over rice; garnish with toasted sesame seeds or sliced green onions.
Notes
- Veggies: Feel free to add additional vegetables or make substitutions! Add slower-cooking vegetables to the pan first, cook until slightly softened, then add the faster-cooking vegetables.
- Rice: Make Instant Pot jasmine rice to serve with your stir fry. It’s easy and turns out great every time. Be sure to start it before you begin making the stir fry.
- Nutrition information is calculated for the stir fry only and does not include rice or optional toppings.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Sounds good! I have all that stuff in the house so will make it, but plan to add mushrooms and snow peas. They are my favorite things in stir fry.
You did a great job with this! It looks amazing and i am definitely bookmarking this!
I made this one too, a few weeks ago. I agree about the tangyness (is that even a word?), and wasn’t a huge fan. I’d definitely add more veggies next time too.
Yeah. I think maybe since it was the “budget” recipe, they kept it really simple to keep the price low. I swapped out the white vinegar for rice vinegar, but definitely going to mke a few more changes next time. I was a little surprised my husband likes it, he isn’t usually a fan of sour things.
Yum – I LOVE red peppers. I would totally throw a bunch in more too :). Have an awesome weekend Rachel!
That looks darn good! Love the combination of pineapple and ginger – very refreshing!