Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
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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 cornstarch
- 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.
What is the most requested meal in your house?
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I made this last night for dinner and it turned out amazing! everything was perfect. Thank you so much and you explained everything really well in the directions! I will be making this again here soon! 🙂
Andrea, thank you for the great review :), I’m glad you liked it.
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering if regular white flour could be used instead of the cornstarch?
Thank you! 🙂
I don’t think it would work the same way. I haven’t tested it, but I do think the cornstarch is important for the correct texture.
I want to try making these for a harvest celebration in our church, can I make the Orange chicken, the day before, cool, refrigerate, and the next day bake it in the sauce?
This tastes best when made fresh. I’m not sure about making it that way because the chicken gets partially cooked and refrigerating the breaded chicken might soften the breading and I’m not sure how it will affect the finished product. I haven’t tested it that way so I’d hate to tell you yes and have it not work out for a church potluck!
Hi Natasha,
Tried your recipe last night. It can out great. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for the great review!
I’m going to make the Sweet and Sour Chicken for dinner next week. According to the recipe, it mentioned that the chicken should bake in the oven for one hour. This is a stupid question. Do you add half of the sweet and sour sauce to the chicken before baking, and then add the rest? I’m a little bit confused. Thanks!!!
Pour all of the sauce over the chicken before it goes into the oven
All right. Thank you, Natasha!! I’ll let you know the recipe turns out. 🙂
I LOVE sweet and sour chicken!!! Can’t wait to make this recipe (I found you on Pintrest)!!!!!
Welcome to the site LaTrice and I hope to hear from you how it turns out :).
Natasha, wowwww its delicious! Just made it for dinner for tonight EXCELLENT!!!!!! Thank you again…so far all your recipes that I have tried came out fabulous 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for the awesome review! 🙂
Is there a modification for adding green pepper and pineapple? I know that my kids love having these in there sweet and sour chicken.
Hmmm… I haven’t tried adding those so you’ll have to experiment. I’m not sure how they would turn out in the oven if they were put in raw vs sauteed.
Hi Natasha,
I am making this recipe now; just want to ask where do you usually buy your meats (Chicken and beef) and your extra light olive oil? Thanks
I usually purchase chicken and extra light olive oil at Cosco. The beef comes from Fred Meyer usually, but I do buy it in other places also. I guess with the beef, it depends more on the price. 🙂
So quick and very easy to make, we loved it ! thank you ..very tasty indeed.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
This was so great!! I had some problems with frying the chicken since they were so small, but its totally worth it. Definitely going to make again! Thanks so much!
Frying the chicken is the most tedious part. I’m happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
So I’ve made this two times exactly by your recipe & it was okay(not enough sauce & it didn’t thicken & the smell of vinegar was very strong) so today I decided to ajust it a little, I used flour instead of cornstarch used chicken tenders & doubled the sauce & added 2tbls more sugar to the sauce. Baked it for 1:20 mixed it about every 20 min & raised the temperate to 350 after 50mins. And let me tell you it turned out A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications! 🙂
I am trying to make this recipe tonight for my boyfriend but we are out of cornstarch, I was wondering when subbing flour is it an exact 1:1 ratio?
I have not tried using flour as a substitute. I’m not sure it would work as well as cornstarch, but to be honest I just haven’t tested it.
I know when my husband thinks it’s good cause it all disapears…yeah it was all gone. Thanks
That’s definitely a good sign ;). Thanks Sara!
Loved this! It really tastes just like take out! I’ll definitely think twice before ordering Chinese from home now! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome Liza, and thank you for the great review :).
Hi. Your recipe seemed to be quite impressive when I first saw it. However, when I tried to replicate it I found it unnecessarily complicated. I found the sauce to be oversweet. I followed all steps except baking the chicken in oven for one hour. Put it in a wok and poured the sauce all over it. This recipe is quite misleading!
HI Rashi, The flavors meld better after baking it in the oven for 1 hour. I think it would be difficult to replicate the same flavors in a wok. It’s good to know it doesn’t work well in a wok. Thanks for sharing your experience.
This recipe is fantastic!, the chicken was tender and delicious a hit with all the family, thank you 🙂
That’s so great! Thanks Teresa for the awesome review!
We tried your sweet and sour chicken and it was fantastic!!!!! Three kids (6,9,11) and 2 adults and fighting over the last bites. Thanks.
What an entertaining scene I’m picturing! 😉 Thanks so much for sharing your awesome review 🙂
Tried it tonight very good. Thank you
I’m so glad! Thanks Alicia 🙂
Hi Natasha, my other half loves sweet and sour chicken and I really want to try this, just a quick question: does the chicken batter stay crisp as it is cooking in the oven? Wouldn’t really like it to go soft. Normally I would imagine you deep fry the chicken in batter then toss in the sweet and sour sauce last minute before serving. Never seen a recipe for this cooked in the oven, it looks a lot less of a faff than other methods. Thank you : )
The end result is soft and not really crisp at all. It’s similar in texture to what you’d get at Panda Express (except it tastes way better) 🙂
This looks delicious! Im wondering if I can make this in a crock pot?
I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker so I’m not sure.
This was so delicious! And easy to make! Everyone loved it. 🙂
Jennifer, thank you for the great review :).
Delicious – the only changes I made were adding canned chunked pineapple and roughly chopped red and orange bell pepper. I also toasted the sesame seeds prior to adding on top of the finished and mixing seeds well. I severed with my favorite online fried rice recipe. Great suggestion for serving with the steamed broccoli.
I love the ideas of pineapple and bell peppers. Mmmm. You’re making me hungry!
Uh… MAZING! Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband and I could not stop eating it! So, we only had so much left overs 🙂 I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and it was still sweet. I also made extra sauce on the side to put over. LOVE IT!
I’m so happy you both enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for your great review! Also thank you for sharing your modifications. 🙂
Hi ! This looks amazing really want to try but do you know if i can substitute the egg with another ingredient?? I’m intolerant to egg and would much rather have it without 🙂 thanks x
Hi Roxane, I wish I could be more helpful, but I just haven’t experimented with any egg substitutes to see if they would provide the same results when frying. I even went back to the original recipe and couldn’t find anything helpful there either.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I look forward to trying it.
You’re so welcome! I hope you love it! 🙂
I made this recipe tree thimes and I will make it again my son love this .The only will not add only half of the apple vinegar because is to sour I like it more sweet .Thank you for the recipe .
I’m so happy you and your son are enjoying the recipe! 🙂
Where is the pineapple for the Sweet and Sour chicken
Do you add pineapple juice to yours or actual chunks of pineapple? Either way, it sounds yummy!
Hello,Natasha,I was wondering if I can leave the chicken with the cornstarch in the refrigerator until tomorrow?
Hi Marie, Sorry I couldn’t get to your comment sooner. I haven’t tried it, but I think the corn starch might become paste-like if you put it in the fridge overnight. It’s probably best to dip this in cornstarch and then sauté soon after.
Hey, this looks like a really good recipe but i have a question, does the chicken taste good with the apple cider viniger, because it smells really bad. So i was wondering if it will taste good because of the pungent smell the sauce has.
It does smell strong initially but after baking for an hour, it mellows down and tastes great with the chicken.
Amazing!!!! This recipe was super delicious. First time ever making this and was shocked. This has out beaten the Chinese food we have had lately at restaurants. 🙂
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing your awesome review!
Just made this. Very good!!! I used 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange Juice and 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar. Other than that followed the recipe. O and at the end I toasted some sesame seeds and mixed with chicken.
Thanks so much for sharing Diana 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I love the idea of adding toasted sesame seeds!
This is SOOOOO good! I think we are a litle obsessed with it 😉 I make it often! Love your website!
Ha! That’s awesome! Thanks so much for the great review and your sweet compliment 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I made this for my family for the holiday today. Instead of rice. I used rice noodles. I thank you again for this and the борщ.
Thank you for the great review and you are welcome Jeseph :).
I made this last week. It made my husband’s day….which obviously made mine! Thanks so much! The step by step instructions really helped 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I write out and photograph recipes the way I would want to see them and I’m so happy it was helpful to you too! 🙂
Hi, Natasha, I really loved your blog and definetely will try some of your ideas. This orange chicken is number one in my list). I am also a food blogger who lives in Ukraine so I always enjoy seeing so beautiful blogs like yours!
Thank you so much Ilona, your blog looks wonderful. We definitely have the same taste in food, I’m looking forward to exploring your site :).
This sweet and sour chicken was such a hit with my husband (and he has a very particular taste palate). Thank you so so much for this recipe! I was so excited and nervous to make something *different* … I am so glad this turned out because now we don’t have to go out and to get MSG infused Chinese food when we’re craving it… instead we can make it at home without the MSG 🙂 Thank you Natasha!
I’m so glad you and your hubby enjoyed it!! That’s so true about the MSG infused food from takeout. I love to know what’s in my food 🙂
These look great, I’m making this for dinner tonight!! I’m excited to try this out version out as it doesn’t include any oranges which is an interesting spin.
Thank you Beata! I hope you love the recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha
Just like to say I love your website and would like to know if you will be adding some new Russian dinner recipes to your website? Thanks
Hi Tania! Thank you :). We are always working on adding more recipes including Russian dinner recipes. Are there any specific ones you are interested in?
Im honestly so impressed with this dish! You’ve never failed me (lol) but chinese dishes made at home just never ever seem to taste like all our beloved takeout meals. So I was hesitant trying this recipe but it was absolutely amazing! Definitely going into the meal rotation. Thanks for all you do!!!
I’m so happy to hear that you loved it! Thanks so much for the great feedback 🙂
My friends requested this recipe, and as we gather in crowds, tripled the recipe. I tried a handful of cubes at a time, got frustrated with this mountain of meat I had to dip into egg yolk, flip, and put into the pan, then flip those. I ended up putting the starchy meat into a pot, then poured the egg mixture on top, swished it around, and proceeded to saute. It turned out great, so thank you. And awesome work on the site.
It’s good to know that it works out that way too! lol. I agree, that is the most tedious part of this recipe; the dipping, especially if you’re tripling the recipe! That’s quite a feat! Way to go! 🙂
I made this chicken and it was amazing!!! I never thought that I would be able to make something like this! Thank you sooo much Natasha for sharing! God bless you and take care!!! 😀
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you Diana 🙂
The sauce was a little to watery so I added a little cornstarch and turned out perfect!
Hi Angelika! Did you bake it the full 1 hour and it was still watery?
Hi Natasha, just wanted to say thanks for sharing such great recipes with us. I just made this chicken and it was very delicious, tasted like it took me half a day to make but really, it was more like half an hour minus the baking time. . Anyways kids really loved it and I think i will make it again. . Merry Christmas to you by the way. .
I’m so happy to hear that your kids loved the chicken! 🙂 Thanks so much!
I’m just wondering… Does canned chicken breast also work for this recipe?
I don’t think it would work well at all. it wouldn’t fry up very well; much too flaky and too wet. I’d definitely only recommend raw chicken, but you can use chicken breast, tenders or even thigh meat.
Wow!! Thank you for the quick reply!! But good to know 🙂
I have a Q. Can I use turkey breast in this recipe?
I haven’t tried with turkey breast, but it might work well. Turkey breast is a little dryer so it might not re-heat as well later.
Hello, Natasha. I really want to try this receipe out, but i live in Ukraine, and I don’t think we have an apple cider vinegar… What can I use instead of that?
To be honest, I haven’t tested it with any other kind of vinegar. Sorry, I’m not able to help with that one.
Hi Natasha! How does this dish taste when reheated? Does it still taste good or its better when its eaten same day?
It’s best eaten fresh. It still tastes good re-heated but it’s most tender and tasty when it’s made 🙂
I just thought of looking for this recipe online and here it is posted it at a perfect time! Thank you! Can’t wait to try it.
Will it make a difference if flour is substituted for corn starch? They would serve the same purpose it seems.
Hi Larisa, to be honest, I haven’t tried it with all-purpose flour, I’ve just done it with corn starch. I went back to the original recipe and someone commented that they mixed corn starch with flour with good results, but I haven’t tested it myself so I can’t really speak to that. Sorry I’m not more helpful.
Wow! This chicken is the bomb dot com!! My son liked it more than Panda’s 🙂
Thank you for sharing such amazing recipe. This definitely will go on our regular rotation.
Yay!!! I’m so happy to hear you and your son liked it 🙂 Thanks Vika for an awesome review!
I meant to give this recipe 5 stars, but I noticed it’s not always registers it :/
I making these again right now! The first time I made them there was not enough sauce but still turned out really good this is definitely a family favorite. Making more sauce this time! This is the best sweet and sour chicken I’ve ever made! Thanks for the incredible recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the chicken :). Thanks for a great review!
Hi Natasha 🙂 You used boneless chicken breasts in this recipe or boneless chicken thighs? For some reason, in your picture it looks like thighs but u wrote breast so I’m just making sure 🙂
thank you!
It was boneless skinless chicken breast. Thighs would work too, but they do take more time to pick through.
DO you know what could be the reason that mine didn’t turn out crispy? I browned them pretty well. and baked them accordingly. The outer part of the chicken was almost soft. they were still good though and my boys complimented on how much they really loved them. thank you
They aren’t meant to turn out crispy, but soft, especially after baking in the sauce for so long. I’m so glad you all liked the chicken 🙂
its a bad idea to look at your website when your hungry. it was morning and i was looking through for christmas recipes and i got so hungry that i made your sour cream pancakes and hash browns and eggs. it was so good!!!!!thank you. now im back being brave enough to look at your dinner recipes 😉
Awesome!! Thanks so much for the great reviews :). I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes. Yeah, that’s my problem with being on Pinterest at night. I’m always starving really late at night 😉
Made it tonight – this was absolutely unbelievable! Love your recipes, so far everything I tried turned out to be a winner.
Thank you Yuliya for such a sweet comment, Merry Christmas to you and your family :).
Thanks for the wonderful meals, as a single mom of 2 boys they appreciate it too>;)
The most requested meal in our house is breakfast burritoes, they like it simple with hashbrowns, sausage, green chilies, and of course the tortilla. They will gladly eat this any time of the day. But after making your sweet sour chicken that may change;)
You are so welcome Sheri :), and thank you for the compliment.
So I made this dish the other night and my entire family loved it! So I’m making it again for tomorrows suprise birthday party for our pastor at church:) one thing I did different was I used flour instead of corn starch 🙂
Thank you for the great review Julie and good to know that recipe works good with flour instead of corn starch :).
I made this last night.. me and my husband both had seconds.. It was very good definitely taste like sweet and sour chicken from take out but homemade is always better. Do you have any recipes coming with orzo in future?
Thank you for the great review Masha :). As far as orzo goes, we usually like to eat it plain with some butter but I will be on the look out for a good recipe.
Hallo Natasha, your sweet and sour chicken looks so delicious, thanks for the step by step instructions 🙂
Thank you so much Amallia 🙂
Sweet and sour chicken is my ultimate take out food pleasure.. I never have made it myself before though. You definitely have inspired me to make this dish!
It really is! I’m not promoting this as a health food, but homemade is always better than takeout :). It’s not quite as guilty 😉
I never realized how easy it is to make Asian chicken. I have all the ingredients in my fridge/ Pantry! Defiantly going to try this recipe soon
Let me know how it works out :). This is what I love about the recipe, it only takes few ingredients.
Definitely a must try for me! i was actually hoping you’d make something like this, and you did:)Thanks you so much for your recipes and ALL your handwork you put in for us:)
I appreciate your comment so much. Thanks Veronika 🙂
Thank you so so so much for sharing this recipe! When you posted it on Instagram, I absolutely drooled! I love Panda Express’s chicken but they’ve lost their quality in my opinion and homemade is just the best! Again, Thank You!!!!
You’ll definitely be impressed if you’re a panda fan 🙂 Enjoy!! 🙂
Awesome recipie:) I bet it’s alot healthier then Panda Express; tho I too like your son love that place!!
2 questions: where to get sesame seeds and when do I add them?
How did you cook your beautiful broccoli?? Color is still perfect and shape still looks firm!!
The sesame seeds came in a little jar in the spice section. It’s only for garnish; they aren’t necessary; they only look nice in the picture 🙂 I steam cook broccoli on the stove for about 10 minutes :). We steam until it’s crisp tender. My husband doesn’t like over-cooked broccoli.
My husband likes to eat fresh broccoli. Or just heat fresh broccoli with meat part of the meal in the microwave. Would you believe?
I love raw broccoli but just as a snack with ranch :). At least he loves the healthier way; raw is always better 🙂
so making this tomorrow for dinner!!!
Enjoy! 🙂
Do you use 2 or 3 eggs?
I used 3 eggs. Initially I used 2 (that’s why there are only two in the ingredients picture), but I used another egg because I ran out of egg mixture. 3 eggs is best 🙂
I am so excited because I currently have everything I need to make this chicken. Looks simple and amazing at the same time. Love!
Isn’t that the best when you already have what you need for a recipe? I love that!
This is absolutely delicious! I made it with chicken tenderloins and they were really juicy! Thank you for sharing this recipe:) We loved it.
Mmm I bet it would be awesome with tenderloins! Thanks for the tip!
So my kids are about to nap and I really want to make this. I have almost everything but the apple vinegar.. I have the regular vinegar. How vital is it to use the apple one instead of regular!?!?! Thanks beautiful!
I haven’t tested it with regular vinegar so I’m not sure. I would probably lean on the side of caution and use the apple vinegar; it’s not as potent as regular vinegar and the flavor will probably be better.
I love orange chicken, this looks really easy to make. Tonights dinner. Thanks Natasha!
Enjoy! I hope you and your family love it!
This looks so delicious- my husband will go crazy over this!
I hope you both love it! 🙂
Moms dish has this recipe. Its yummy
Oh how funny! Hers is similar but a little different. I think most sweet & sour chickens look similar, but this one is originally Mel’s recipe (see her link in the top paragraph). 🙂
Yummm!!
It sure is! 🙂
Yum! I am so making this. It seems very simple. 🙂
It really was very simple. The only tedious part was dipping and sautéing but even that goes quickly 🙂
Yum, yum, yum!!! I can see why this sweet and sour chicken is a winner!!
I love your recipe and have to try it! Keep up your hard work Natasha!:)
Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Natasha. The photos of your dishes are always so beautiful! There is no need for orange juice or orange rind in this recipe to make it orange chicken?
I haven’t tried adding those in, but this recipe is definitely not lacking any flavor if prepared as is. It totally tastes like orange chicken except no orange products involved 🙂