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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Do you happen to know any nutritional information (e.g., calorie count per serving) for this recipe? It sounds delicious. Thanks.
June, unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information of my recipes. Please use online resources to obtain such information.
Thanks for the recipe. Chicken came out perfect and yes 50 to 55 minutes is needed.
Should the chicken be baked in oven covered or uncovered?
Rebecca, the chicken should not be covered in the oven. If a dish requires to be covered, I will always indicate that in my recipes.
This was excellent! I was worried that after 55 minutes in the oven it would be terribly dry but it was perfectly moist and delicious
I had the same worries but it really needs those 55 mins to absorb all that sweet and sour goodness!
Tried this dish tonight. It was fantastic!! Your directions were so easy to follow. The chicken had just the right amount of breading, and the sweet and sour sauce had just the perfect combination of flavors. I will certainly make is again! Thank you =)
Sweet and sour chicken has been on my list of things to make for a long time. And with your description of this recipe, all others that have been bookmarked are going away. Must try this. Thanks for sharing.
Another winner for dinner. And for lunch today. Great flavors!
This looks divine Chung-Ah, you are on a Asian food takeout kick and I’m loving every minute of it! This is one of my all time favorite dishes, love the sweetness of it. Totally making it soon and throwing in a couple of veggies… cuz thats what I do. Pinning and sharing! 🙂
Do you think I can freeze this chicken?
I would advise against freezing for optimal results.
I recently found your blog and this is the second recipe I’ve tried….SO YUMMY! And omg so easy to make!!! We ate this all up, no leftovers for lunch today! Only one thing I noticed; the amount of vinegar made this a wee bit too ‘sour’ rather than sweet so next time I’m going to cut back a bit on the apple cider vinegar. Loved it though!! Thanks!
this look delicious and i’d love to try the recipe but I don’t eat chicken 🙁 do you think i could try it with tofu? what do you suggest for the baking time?? Thanks!
I’m sure tofu would be an amazing substitute. You will have to adjust cooking time as needed as I do not think the tofu needs to be in the oven for an hour.
I just made this with tofu tonight. I baked it for the full hour as I was waiting for the sauce to thicken. It was delicious! The baking was great for the tofu’s texture and flavor.
Wondering If I could use coconut sugar? It’s a lot of sugar!
You can cut down on the sugar amount if it’s too much but I would advise against the use of coconut sugar to avoid changing the taste/texture of this dish.
I used coconut palm sugar, but used a 1.1 ratio (a little bit more) and it turned out GREAT!!
Hi,
This looks amazing n am sure gona try it tomorrow or before the end of the week. I jus wanted to confirm at what point do u add d sesame seeds? D do u bake it as well. N whats d green stuff 🙂
Natasha, the sesame seeds and green onions are mainly used as a garnish. It’s completely optional if you’d like to add it to your dish when serving.
I recently discovered your blog and I’m so glad I did! I This recipe looks amazing-I’ll definitely be making this someday soon! Can’t wait to try it:)
Oh my goodness, this sounds delicious! I always want to try to recreate favourites from takeout at home (so much cheaper and healthier!) Will have to give this a try next time I’m craving sweet and sour chicken. Thanks for the great recipe.
Is it 1/4 c ketchup?
Yes, 1/4 cup ketchup – thank you for pointing that out!
Your recipes are always delicious, Chung-Ah, but I just have to tell you…your photos get better and better! Your food is practically glowing. Makes me want to eat everything you make right off of the computer screen! 😉
Just made this! It’s delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
Made a few modifications, in the sense that i eliminated the steps with frying the chicken. It came out great, i can’t imagine how this could be better 🙂
I’m so glad you were able to give it a try!
I would never believe this chicken is baked from how crispy it looks – infinitely better than take out!
Looks even better than take out!