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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One of my favourites. Can’t wait to try your baked version!
Hey there – instead of vegetable oil can I use canola oil? I’ve been asked by my doctor not to use the veg oil. 🙂 thanks
Yes, absolutely!
How about Olive Oil? I don’t really like using vegetable or canola oils for health reasons. But, I’m not sure if Olive Oil can be substituted for this purpose or not. Any advice is welcome! Thanks! And this recipe looks really delicious! Definitely going to keep it on hand. I have a feeling it won’t be long until I try this! =)
Dar, unfortunately olive oil will not be an appropriate substitute here.
What about coconut oil?
I’ve personally never fried using coconut oil so I cannot speak for the possible change in texture/flavor of this dish.
Try ricebran oil. Won’t alter the flavour and much healthier.
I used coconut oil to fry the chicken. Worked beautifully! YUM.
I use olive oil with no difference in taste
I haven’t used it yet for frying, but I hear coconut oil is great for that. Also, you could use avocado oil. They have organic at costco.
Lisa
Like you, I don’t like veg oil
I normally use peanut oil and food taste better. I use it to make French fries for my kids and they taste very good and not greasy at all. Occasionally I use grape seed oil. These oils can withstand high heat.
You could use olive oil but make sure it is Virgin Olive Oil (not extra virgin), or one that says for sautéing, baking and frying. It has a mild flavor and has a pretty high smoke point. Do not use other olive oils for cooking they have low smoke points and are good for dipping and salad dressings.
Another health option would be grape seed oil. It also has a high smoke point. Coconut oil has a smoke point of 350 degrees so it would be ok for this recipe.
here is a chart that you may find helpful http://jonbarron.org/diet-and-nutrition/healthiest-cooking-oil-chart-smoke-points#.VnAt14RfVmA
Just used coconut oil!! Delicious!
That looks absolutely amazing! Love sweet n’ sour chicken, thanks for sharing 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
This is a favorite of mine and I’m so glad you shared this baked recipe!! Love it and can’t wait to try 🙂
Love sweet and sour chicken and your recipe looks absolutely divine! Wouldn’t mind this for dinner any night of the week! 🙂
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a Happy Sunday!
Ok seriously girl, will you be my home chef? Everything you make looks incredible!!
You have to come over for dinner one of these days! 🙂
This is a hit in our home. I only wish I would have discovered this years ago. It’s absolutely perfect in every way. Your pictures are so good, one could almost taste food through the screen ! Surprisingly, this is on our menu for Monday night ! Can hardly wait!
This is one of our absolute favourites – love this easy way to recreate it at home!
This looks so good! We have four Chinese children and I try to make Asian-inspired (and kid-friendly) dinners regularly. They will love this one, for sure!
Thanks for sharing!
My mouth just watered up… I want this, now. At midnight! It looks damn, DAMN GOOD!
This is a great recipe!!! My son always ask when am I going to make the sweet and sour sauce again. It even works with pork chops
I LOVE this recipe! I have made it in bulk several times, using pork roast or chicken. Sometimes I add onions and bell peppers or even a bit of jalapeño for spice. I cook up rice, put the finished product over rice into microwaveable, freezer ware. Then, when we are in a rush for dinner, I pop them into the microwave, and they turn out PERFECT every time!
Hiii! I baked the chicken and my sauce did not get thick! How do
I make it thick?!!! But I baked it for 55 minutes and don’t want it to get over cooked
You can add cornstarch as needed, 1 tsp at a time, (to the sauce, not the chicken) until the desired consistency is reached.
While my chicken was cooking, I put my sauce on the stove to simmer & reduce. I had made extra sauce, and I didn’t think it would reduce enough in the oven to thicken a little. That helped a lot, and there was still plenty of sauce. Even so, it could have been a little thicker. Next time I might even add a little bit of cornstarch to the sauce itself beforehand.
Thank you so much for sharing that you freeze it and have tried it with pork roast.
I don’thave cornstarch. Is there anything else I could use?
You can try using all-purpose flour.
Ok. I don’t have any vinegar. Anything else?
You can certainly try substituting something else for the vinegar but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
lime,lemon juice
Potato Starch! Turned out just fine!
I used cornflour
hi does this recipe work out just as well with corn flour??
as I dont have corn starch..
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
“Corn flour” is a British term for “cornstarch”.
Just like they call “cookies” biscuits and the “trunk of a car” a “boot”.
Same/same, just a different name……. :))
cornstarch is Cornflour cheap and cheerful used in baking thickening agents for gravies and sauces even buy it in the corner shop. Buy some next shop should always be part of the larder.
I made it last is tooooo good. I am not a fan of cider vinegar, but it didn’t matter. Whole family loved it. Best I have ever had!
This was SO good. I was looking for a recipe to go with crab wontons that I planned to make and came across this. My husband isn’t a huge Chinese food lover like my daughter and me but he even loved this! I made the recipe exactly as stated and made another batch of the sauce separately on the off chance we’d need extra (great idea!!). I served it over rice with roasted broccoli and then sprinkled green onion and sesame seeds over the top. It was definitely a hit and even great the next day! A keeper around my house, thank you for an awesome alternative to take-out.