Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
No need to order take-out anymore – this homemade version is so much healthier and a million times tastier!
I am a complete sucker for sweet and sour chicken when it comes to take-out. But it’s been hard to find a place that has it down perfectly – crisp on the outside yet completely juicy and flavorful with a sweet and sour punch. Thankfully, I found a homemade version from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe that has it down to a tee.
What makes this recipe so perfect is that the chicken is first fried to get that crisp exterior. Then it gets baked in a low temperature for an hour, really letting the sweet and sour flavors meld right into the chicken. I was worried that the chicken would get overcooked but it was actually so unbelievably tender. And the flavor packs in quite a punch!
The cooking time takes a little over an hour but I promise you – this version is well worth the effort!
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
For the sweet and sour sauce
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- To make the sauce, whisk together sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic powder in a large bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to combine. Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
- Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Top with sweet and sour sauce. Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened, about 55 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes to evenly coat the chicken.
- Serve immediately.
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Can I fry the chicken ahead of time (earlier that day) and then bake them closer to dinner time (having guests over and don’t want to be frying when they’re there). Thank you!
Yes, that should be fine.
I made this on Thursday and served it with Rice and Snow Peas. It was so good! The chicken was moist and the sauce was perfect!! Personally I would like more sauce with it. The next time I make it I may try a double batch of the sauce and pour all the sauce into the pan with the chicken to see if I get more sauce.
Thank you for the recipe. I am making it for lunch today but i ran out of powdered garlic.
Can it be replaced by fresh garlic and if yes, how much ?
Yes, you can certainly use fresh garlic. There’s generally a 1:3 ratio of fresh:dry.
Unreal came across ur recipe two weeks ago and my word its unreal… never tasted a dish like it… actually having it for tea tonight again brillaint and lovely recipe …. thanks so much
Hi I made this for dinner tonight. It was great! Next time I make it I will triple the sauce recipe as it cooked way down and we want extra sauce for all the leftovers! Thanks for the great recipes
I want to make this tonight but i dont have the apple cider vinegar =( can i substitute it for something else
You can certainly substitute something else for the apple cider vinegar but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
This was DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for sharing. My husband has celiac disease and sweet and sour chicken is one of his favorite dishes. I loved that this was so easy for me to make safely for him at home. My kids scarfed it up, too. I have made several of your recipes and really enjoy your blog. Thanks for all of your hard work!
I just have to say that I love this recipe more than I love certain people in my family. 😉 Thanks so much! It’s definitely a keeper in my recipe book!
What if I don’t have apple cider vinegar is there a substitute I can use?
You can certainly substitute something else for the apple cider vinegar but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish as further recipe testing is needed. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
Chungah… this recipe was AMAZING. I have tried my hand at Asian-inspired dishes before and completely failed (I’m better at Italian things), but this was, hands-down, better than any take-out I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’m so proud of myself and thankful to you for the recipe.
(I liked it so much I’ve got another one of your recipes in the oven right now).
Cheers!
I have a daughter with an egg allergy. How can I make this? Use cornstarch, but skip egg dip? Thanks!!
You can certainly skip the egg dip but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish.
I was out of eggs and did just the cornstarch. It was still awesome. I don’t know the difference since it was the first time I made it, but it was really good.
This was so tasty! I made this tonight and it was perfect with brown rice. It tasted like takeout without all the bad, unhealthy stuff. Winner! I will make this many time over. Thanks for sharing.
I have made this dish 3x now – and it’s one of our favorites (kids + husband). It’s wonderful!
do you think i can stick broccoli underneath the chicken to cook in the oven while it bakes?
You can certainly give that a try but I worry that the broccoli will end up being overcooked.
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Amazing recipe – its even better than take out 🙂 First tried with chicken and our family loved it… tonight we made it with pork! A family favourite – thank you.
I’m having a big crowd at my house this week-end and I’m thinking…after the frying going to a crock pot on high for a couple of hours, then on low for my guests to serve themselves (no oven time at 325). Any input? I’ll be doing around 8#’s of chicken.
I’ve never tried this in the crockpot but I don’t see why this wouldn’t work.
Just wondering if you tried this recipe in a crockpot and if so how did it turn out.
I just made this tonight and it was sooo delicious! Exactly what I was craving 🙂 I was worried I’d mess it up because I doubled the recipe but it turned out just fine. I’m definitely bookmarking your site. Thanks so much.
I made this this morning, and it is delicious. The only thing is that the breading or crust didn’t stay on the chicken, and sort of got mixed in with the sauce. It still tastes so good, (eating it right now, lol), but I’m wondering if I did something wrong, or if that’s what’s supposed to happen.
Benji, the breading should definitely stay on. Did you follow the recipe exactly as is?
A co-worker made this at home yesterday and brought in left overs today! The left overs were so damn delicious that I cant wait to make it myself!