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My sister Anna shared this sweet and sour chicken recipe with me because her family absolutely loved it. It’s a winner indeed; the best orange chicken I’ve ever tried! Anyway, I pinned it for safe keeping and finally whipped it out.
My son’s eyes lit up when he realized he was having “Panda” for dinner – in his world, all Asian food is “Panda.” Except, this is way way WAY better than takeout! I’m super thrilled that I know exactly what went into this sweet and sour chicken; no preservatives and I even used organic chicken. #patontheback for Mom :).
I tracked down the original recipe source and it was the talented Mel of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe who said it was easily the most popular recipe on her blog (yeah – I can see why!). The only thing I changed was adding an extra egg for easier coating.
This really is quite a treat. Make it tonight!
Ingredients for Orange Chicken:
2 lbs (about 4 Medium) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup extra light olive oil, canola or vegetable oil to saute, plus more as needed
Ingredients for the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken:
1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
2. Place 1 cup cornstarch into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, add chicken and toss to coat (go on, toss it up, just make sure the bag is closed; that part is important).
3. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large, heavy bottom pot (I used my French oven with nice tall walls to reduce splatterage on the stove).
4. In a shallow dish, whisk together 3 eggs. Dip the cornstarch-dredged chicken pieces into the beaten egg, coating both sides then transfer the chicken to the very hot oil.
5. Cook chicken in hot oil about 30 seconds per side or until golden. Having very hot oil is key. You don’t want to cook the chicken through, but just until golden. Transfer chicken to a 9×13 baking dish and continue dipping and sautéing remaining chicken, adding more oil as necessary.
Cooking tip: if you add oil to the pot, let it heat up a little before you add more chicken.
6. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 4 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp garlic salt.
7. Pour sauce over your sauteed chicken pieces and toss to coat. Bake uncovered at 325˚F for 1 hour, turning the chicken twice while baking to coat with sauce.
Serve warm or hot over steamy white rice, and crisp tender broccoli for a balanced meal.
My son spotted this photo as I was putting the post together and the first words out of his mouth, “Can you make that for me?” :). Mel, thank you so much for sharing this goodness! It’s music to my ears when my son makes requests like that.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs about 4 Medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 cup corn starch
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup extra light olive oil, canola or vegetable oil to saute, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp garlic salt
Instructions
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken: Preheat oven to 325˚F.
- Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- Place 1 cup cornstarch into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, add chicken and toss to coat.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large, heavy bottom pot (I used my French oven with nice tall walls to reduce splatterage on the stove).
- In a shallow dish, whisk together 3 eggs. Dip the cornstarch-dredged chicken pieces into the beaten egg, coating both sides then transfer chicken to the very hot oil.
- Cook chicken in hot oil about 30 seconds per side or until golden. Having very hot oil is key. You don't want to cook the chicken through, but just until golden. Transfer chicken to a 9x13 baking dish and continue dipping and sautéing remaining chicken, adding more oil as necessary. Cooking tip: if you add oil to the pot, let it heat up a little before you add more chicken.
- In a medium bowl, stir together sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 4 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp garlic salt.
- Pour sauce over your sautéed chicken pieces and toss to coat. Bake uncovered at 325˚F for 1 hour, turning the chicken twice while baking to coat with sauce. Serve warm or hot over steamy white rice, and crisp tender broccoli for a balanced meal.
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
*My favorite French oven – somehow food just tastes better when you use it 😉
*This covered 9×12 baking dish comes with a lid, reducing foil waste; and it’s perdy.
*My glass mixing bowls are so versatile; everything from this sauce to your morning cereal 😉
*These cooking utensils are next to my stove always in reach on their little caddy.
I love this recipe the fact that you finish the cooking in the oven freeing up stove top. I plan on making multiple recipes of yours in same night, including your orange chicken which is amazing. Can do duplicate the cooking technique on the orange chicken with the same success?
Hi Susan! Yes, you can double that recipe. Just make sure to not over crowd the pan when making the chicken.
So excited to find a simple sweet and sour chicken recipe.
Everything I’ve tried has been exceptional and loved by family and friends, tutorials are great where you share your knowledge, wishing you great success!
So easy and yummy! the sauce is delish and unique tasting! was a very satisfying dish. I swapped out the sugar in the sauce with monk frut sweetner and it was perfect! Natasha you are by far the best food blogger out there! Im a big foodie and quiet good in the kitchen so thats saying a lot!!! Keep doing what your doing!
My husband requested Sweet and Sour Chicken for work and he heats his meal in a little crockpot so since it didn’t sound as if it would reheat well, I decided to use plain chicken breast without the coating. It worked beautifully and the sauce was wonderful! I wasn’t sure about it when I started but oh my goodness! It did not disappoint! Can’t wait to try the original recipe for dinner over the weekend.
Make this last night. It was pretty yummy for my first time making it, but the chicken was a little soggy so the breading came off very easily. Would I be able to cook the sauce on the stovetop (separately)to reduce it/cook off the vinegar and then coat the chicken and serve (making sure chicken is cooked all the way through first)? If so, any recommendation for heat setting and how long for doing the sauce on the stove?
Hi Windi, I haven’t had that experience, I recommend ensuring nothing was altered in the recipe or with the ingredients. you can definitely try cooking the sauce separately, I can’t advise on the outcome, but you can try coating the chicken right before serving. I hope this is helpful.
I just tried this recipe tonight. It was succulent and top 🙂
Every week I am trying one of your recipes Natasha! I am really impressed 🙂
Aw, thank you. Sandy! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them.
The first time I made this recipe, I found the soy sauce took away from the “sweet & sour” flavour, but it could be due to the type of soy sauce I use. The second time making it, I halved the soy sauce and added tabasco for a little kick. I also didn’t dip the chicken in egg as I wanted it to be crispy. I gave it a quick fry and then popped it into the air fryer while I heated the sauce in a pan. When the chicken was done, I added it to the sauce and it was delicious! Even the leftovers were crispy the next day!
Thanks for sharing that with us. Yes, that could be it, this is my amazon affiliate link for the exact soy sauce that I used.
Very good, had lots of compliments! How can I reheat this and it still be just as good and not mushy?
Hi Jenna! I’m so glad this recipe is loved. I do think this recipe is best enjoyed fresh and would probably get a little dry if you reheated it.
This recipe was fantastic, delicious and so easy to make, thanks to your easy and excellent instructions. Next time I will make extra sauce to serve over the rice. My family just loved it. I
Sounds like a plan! Good to know that you loved the recipe, thanks for sharing!
Hey Natasha,
Were not sure what we did wrong but our sauce ended up being runny at the end, not sticky and thick like you have on the pictures. Any suggestions?
Hi Natalya! Did you make any substitutions or use different amounts of the ingredients? Did you possibly use another size pan? If the pan is smaller, it could be that the liquid doesn’t have enough time to heat up as much as it needs to thicken. I would look over the recipe again to see if you missed anything. This hasn’t been an issue for me.