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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My son and I made this together tonight. So very easy and absolutely delicious!!
I loved this. All the flavors were there my only thing is that mine did not turn that bright red of a color. Still very delicious and easy!!
Just made this again for dinner. Kids love it every time. I used rice vinegar and cut the sugar to 1/2 cup. I use a cheap fried rice (half brown half white) mix to go with it. Yum yum yummy. I’m ready to try the teriyaki chicken bowl too. Loving the Asian dishes down in Ringgold Georgia.
Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts?
Yes, absolutely.
Looks delicious!! Has anyone ever tried this in the crock pot? If so cooking tips thanks
If i wanted to half this recipe, how would I adjust cooking time?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
I love everything of yours I have ever tried!! I just had to tell you how easy, tasty and economical they are! Thanks for sharing!!!
I have made this four or five times, each time increasing the chicken amounts to allow for left overs! This weekend, used 5 lbs of thighs (prefer thigh meat in our house) and doubled the sauce. Over time I have played with amounts of this or that, and found sticking close to recipe is best. Two significant changes I’ve made are these:
Use half Ketchup, half Srirracha for a less sweet more heat version – one son is not a heat fan and this blend is fine, makes it just a lot less sweet, but still the same flavours overall.
The other change I’ve made with great success is to marinate the chicken in soya, chili flakes, fresh garlic and fresh ginger – for at least 15 mins (longer always better) before coating with Corn Starch. Just gives it a little more flavour.
Thirdly double, triple or quadruple the recipe, it won’t last!
This was delicious!!! I made it on Friday and now I am making it again three days later! I was nervous the first time because the sauce didn’t thicken til the last 15 minutes. I wonder how it would be to use half white sugar and half brown sugar?
Thanks so much for a perfect recipe!
That sounds like a great idea but without having tried this myself, I cannot really say with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
loooooks super yummy! any ideas on calories per serving?
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
Hi, I made this recipe yesterday for the first time- followed your ingredients/method exactly and it was delicious and so easy to make. I prepared everything in the morning and then poured the sauce over the chicken just before I put it in the oven. Will definitely be making this time and time again. Thank you so much. Will now go and have a look at some more of your recipes.
Tried this at Thanksgiving for about 15 people. Mixed sauce in pan and cooked it till thick, then placed it over chicken and baked it for about 30 minutes. Delicious. Also fixed fried rice and some Mexican dishes off pinterest.This was my fav out of all the dishes!
Bummer…didn’t like this at all and was so excited to try it! Way too vinegary – and the sauce never thickened. It never really “stuck” to the chicken and looked absolutely NOTHING like this picture on here….if I try it again – I’ll be adapting the recipe a ton. Tasted like apple cider vinegar more than anything! And, for being so time consuming – I’m disappointed. Oh well! Win some, lose some.
Naralie , I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well.
So I must ask – did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
This recipe is amazing. Its a repeat at my house. I even add pineapple chunks and green/red bell peppers, comes out perfect. I have extremely picky kids and this is a hit. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
This recipe is amazing. Its a repeat at my house. I even add pineapple chunks and greenand red bell peppers, comes put amazing. I have extremely picky kds and this is a hit. Thank you for this amazing food.
Just made this for dinner tonight. The meal itself was good, my family enjoyed it; but the recipe itself, for me, was more work than I’d thought. By the title of the recipe, I had hoped I could just throw everything in the oven, but I had to chop up 5 lbs of chicken. I put this recipe aside for tonight because I knew my day would be busy and I was looking forward to an easy recipe. Anyway, my own fault for not reading it through more carefully. All in all, it was a good meal. Thank you for posting.
I have made this recipe countless times over the past year. I would strongly suggest that you not alter it in the least – not the type of oil, the method of preparation, substituting ingredients (ESPECIALLY the corn starch as this is a staple in Asian cooking and you’re not going to get the same result). So veggie oil isn’t all that healthy – splurge a bit! Again, make it as written, or it’s just not going to be as good. I have tried various subs, etc., and it does make a difference. 🙂
Thanks for all the amazing recipes!!
Very good recipe, but the inclusion of bell pepper pieces and pineapple chunks is needed. The picture shows slices of scallion, but this is not in the recipe. Just made it tonight (added pineapple) and my wife and I enjoyed it a lot.
Can you replace the vegetable oil with some healthier like olive or macadamia? Is there a wheat free soy sauce out there, or would Bragg’s liquid amino acids make a good alternative?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Made this last night using cut up pork steak and rice vinegar….FANTASTIC! We won’t be ordering sweet and sour from a restaurant anymore.
Can’t wait to try it with chicken