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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.
love these recipes but corn starch can tear you up for days use aunt jemima pancake mix in place of corn starch
Thank you for sharing that with us!
This sweet and sour recipe was delicious 😋👌
Love it so much!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Naty!
I think this is a great foundational recipe that can be modified for personal tastes!
I only used 1.5 lbs of chicken with the same amount of sauce (2 eggs and 2/3 cup cornstarch). The sauce is definitely on the sweet side, and I’d probably cut out some sugar next time and add some pineapple for sweetness. I’d agree with other reviewers in that the sauce isn’t quite enough. It cooks down a lot in the last 20 minutes. It’s nice to have a thick sauce, but I might reduce the cooking time a bit or make more sauce.
I love the idea of adding pineapple. I will have to try that. Thank you for sharing!
I really loved your recipe. I have a question can I make this a day ahead? Can you help me? Thanks
Hi Maria, I do think this recipe is best enjoyed fresh and would probably get a little dry if you reheated it in the oven.
It was easy to make and surprisingly good. I wasnt sure about the cornstarch but the tastes so different but very good in comparison to using flour. Thanks for the tips along the way , such as letting pan to get hot first after adding more oil to fry. Definitely Thumbs up and 5 stars. My husband said it tasted just like chinese takeout without the fat.
That’s just awesome, Eleni!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Made a keto version of this recipe and it was AMAZING! Almond flour instead of corn starch, “swerve” sugar substitute, amino liquid instead of soy sauce, and sugar free ketchup. Added broccoli, sugar snap peas, and red bell peppers during the second half of the hour in the oven. I would double the sauce if adding veggies, was a little dry, but still one of my favorite chicken recipes overall! Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing your Keto version with us! That’s so great!
My family loves this recipe but we don’t always have the time to make it. Do you think it would be the same if I placed it in a crock pot instead of the oven for the last part of the recipe?
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker so I’m not sure and can’t advise.
Hi Natasha!! This recipe is delicious but some of of my family is vegetarian. Do you think we could substitute tofu for chicken?
I haven’t tried that, if you try tofu or cauliflower please let us know how you like it!
What can be alternative to a soy sauce ?
Hi Wendie, I haven’t tested anything different in this recipe but we do like this soy substitute product (Amazon affiliate link) – it is very good and we often use it instead of soy sauce.
Natasha,
Have you ever tried to make this recipe with white fish fillets?
Hi Genevieve, I haven’t tried with fish, but fish might not hold up as well when stirring since most fish is flaky and not as sturdy.
Greeting from The Netherlands, Natasha and All! Natasha, this recipe is absolutely off the chain delicious!! Loyal follower of your site and have made numerous recipes you’ve shared. You’re recipes have delighted this family of 5 many times over. Kindest regards to you, your family and all!
Would I be able to cut this recipie in half?
Hi Natalie, I always make the full batch but that should work if you are using a smaller baking dish since you don’t want the chicken to be too spread out while baking.
I just made this chicken last night, everyone in my household absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for sharing this goodness with us!
You’re welcome Alina! I’m glad to hear how much you both enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Best sweet and sour chicken ever! We loved it! I did cut back the sugar to 1/3 cup – everything else as outlined. Wonderful flavour! Thank you again Natasha! I would have given it 6 stars!
You’re welcome Lori! I’m happy to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Fantastic recipe . There is no need anymore to go to our insane expensive Chinese Restaurant. Many thanks for this. My family loved it so much.
Greetings from Switzerland
You’re welcome Martin! I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
made this tonight, but i used aa cut up whole chicken pieces 2 legs,thighs,wings,breasts and two pack pieces, let me tell you my 57 year old son and his friend mike absolutely loved it. But next time i am going to add pineapple chunks and green pepper chunks. but will be making this origanal sauce on spareribs, pork chops try it on lots. was a huge hit from the guys and myself. Thank you so much
You’re welcome Patricia! I’m glad everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review! 🙂
I just made this and it was excellent! I added chopped onion and 2 peppers and tripled the sauce since I like more sauce with my rice. I also cooked it an extra 20 minutes to cook out off the vinegar.
Hi Maria, that is probably a good idea to cook it longer if you tripled the sauce. I’m so glad you loved it! 🙂 Thank you for sharing your add-in ideas!
After a successful attempt at your Chicken Teryaki recipe, we loved this delectable Sweet & Sour chicken recipe Natasha – and so easy to prepare thanks to you. Perhaps I cut the chicken pieces a bit small – but I thought the Chicken Sweet & Sour looked ready to eat after 30 minutes in the oven at 325 F/160 C. The additional 30 minutes thickened and darkened the sauce and the meat was tender and delicious – but I am left wondering what just 30 minutes in the oven would do?
Hi Neil, it may be due to cutting the pieces too small but the reason for the longer cooking time is to 1. make the chicken super tender 2. allow the sauce time to form and cook off the vinegar. I think if you only baked 30 minutes, it would have a strong vinegary flavor and aroma.
Thank you for the quick response Natasha. I am going to use this recipe again to see what happens after reducing cooking time by 15 minutes. I like your recipe as is but my personal taste preference would be retaining a little more of the vinegar ‘sour’ taste. Thanks again for your creative recipes – keep ’em coming 🙂
I’ve made this multiple times, and it’s so good. Plus, I have a Red #40 dye allergy, so it’s nice to have a brightly-colored Chinese-type dish that I don’t have to check any ingredient labels for. Thanks for posting!
You’re welcome Kellie! I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review!