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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Absolutely ridiculous. Takes FOREVER to make. Bake for an hour? Really? If you go to school, have a job, or have any type of life in general, don’t waste your time.
Have a question about the frying part, to get a golden brown takes longer than 1 to 2 minutes in my skillet, am I not using enough heat, the idea to is to have a crispy coating right?
They turn golden brown in several minutes but are kind of scrambled eggy. So I really want hotter oil is my thinking wrong here, I will try a cast iron pan with more heat. Thanks for the great recipe, and help.
Yes, that’s exactly right – the purpose of this step is to get that really nice golden brown exterior. Hope that helps!
Sorry if this has already been asked. I tried to find the answer in the comments but didn’t see anything. I actually don’t have sugar, but I do have maple syrup and honey. Can I substitute either of those for the amount of sugar called for? Thanks!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Absolutely amazing dish!!! I normally don’t post comments when I try out new recipes, but this one was outstanding!
Could I cook this with vegetables in the pan as well? Was thinking mushrooms and/or onions?
Yes, absolutely. Those additions sound amazing!
We love every recipe we have ever tried from your site! Finding good gluten free recipes for my son with celiac disease is always a challenge. I am so thankful for this recipe – he LOVES it. In fact, he’ll request this as an alternative for anything that everyone else is eating. Thanks so much! We reduce the sugar by 1/8 cup and use Bragg’s Amino Acids instead of the soy sauce to make it gluten free.
I’m not sure where I messed up, but during the frying portiom I had a gooey mess. I followed your directioms on coating with corn startch and dipping in the egg. Maybe I used too much egg? We will see how it turns out. Any suggestions?
I’m not too sure – how did it turn out once they were baked?
Can I use white vinegar insteaf of cider vinegar? And if yes how much?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
This is one of our absolute favourites – love this easy way to recreate it at home!
I use your recipes on a weekly basis!!!! Always easy and DELISH!!! With this recipe I just stuck with stove top rather then placing it in the oven for 50 mins. Is there a reason why you put it in the oven rather than let it simmer? If I’m missing out id like to know!
I actually found the chicken to be more moist and tender when baked – but as always, you can do what is easiest for you and your family. 🙂
Just follow the directions people. I was using ersatz Apple cider vinegar, it’s OK, but the real deal is even better. Have made this about ten times and it is amazing and makes great leftovers.
What kind of soy sauce do I use? I went to the supermarket and they had so many different types.
You can really use any brand – it’s up to you! 🙂
I would say that you, Ree Drummond and Martha Stewart are all anyone needs for awesome recipes and advice! This is one of your best! Thank you so much. BTW, for anyone having trouble getting the breading to stay on your chicken pieces: be sure the meat is absolutely dry, dry, dry before putting the cornstarch on it. This I know from my Nana’s fried chicken. If your chicken is not dried well with a towel, nothing will stick to it.
This was perfect! Thank you so much!
PS: I didn’t really have time to dip the pieces one by one so I just dipped them all together and the batter was sticky but made sure to have the pieces separated while being fried and it still worked.
Again thank you!
This is amazing. I typically don’t like takeout Sweet and sour chicken, because the meat is weird and the sauce is electric red/orange. Not good. However, I cook for two fellas that love it, so I gave this recipe a try. Followed it to a t, except I added a little fresh cut pineapple and steamed Broccoli, which I tossed in with the chic and sauce, while it cooled for a sec. I also slightly pounded the chicken breasts [2 for 3 of us was more than enough] so they were similar thickness. We were all very happy! Will add to the rotation.
I made this last night and it turned out great! Only thing is I substituted the sugar for 1/4 cup honey and the sweetness was just right for us. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
Cooking for an hour won’t dry out the chicken? It all sounds very delish though, I will definitely give it a go
I found this recipe less than a year ago and I don’t even know how many times I’ve made it. It is absolutely delicious! My family is hooked so I have to double or triple the batch now. Extra time consuming but totally worth it!
This looks so good! I have one question though when frying is it a shallow or deep fry?
Either option will work just fine – it really depends on how much oil you want to use.
Just made it and really like it. My husband and my 3 year old both loves it, husband said it’s better than take-out. Will definitely make again, although it’s a treat given how much cornstarch and sugar there is. I used Unsweetened Organic Ketchup and the chicken tasted great.